Maintenance Windows for Kean University Systems and Services

Table of Contents

• Overview: Maintenance Windows
• Standard Maintenance Windows Schedule
  • IT Managed Windows Workstations
  • IT Managed Mac Workstations
  • Computer Labs (Windows OS)
  • Computer Labs (macOS)
  • Windows Servers
  • Telecommunications
  • Networking
  • Registration Systems
• Exceptions from Standard Maintenance Windows
• Monthly: Managed Computers (Desktop and Laptop)
  • Operating System

Overview: Maintenance Windows

As a part of our commitment to the security and operability of the Kean computing network, we regularly perform maintenance on the systems managed by IT.

Due to the complexity and convergence of our IT environment, we adhere to a monthly maintenance window schedule to maintain system security, continuity, and reliability. During these maintenance windows, you may experience interruptions to various services, such as servers, software applications, and network connectivity (voice, video, data communications, and internet) at our Union, Ocean, Skylands and Wenzhou campuses.

What to expect?

During system updates, you may experience temporary interruptions to:

• Essential services (software applications and server resources).
• Network connectivity (voice, video, data communications, and internet).

Affected Platforms, Audience & Systems

The table below outlines the platforms and systems in scope that standard maintenance applies to, and the affected audience.

Reporting a Problem or Inquiring About Service Disruptions Please refer to How to Contact the Help Desk Effectively with any concerns to ensure you are directed to the appropriate IT resource.

Standard Maintenance Windows Schedule

This schedule outlines the routine maintenance of the systems below.

Day/Time	Routine Maintenance Windows
Second Tuesday of Every Month 23:00 - 05:00	IT Managed Windows Workstations Application of routine Microsoft Patch Tuesday system and security patches to Windows-based workstations. Please be aware that every update requires a restart. The update will automatically process during the scheduled maintenance window, and you will be notified accordingly. Audience & Services Affected: Kean Faculty & Staff
Updates are applied the week following the Apple security releases 18:00 - 22:00	IT Managed Mac Workstations Application of routine Apple system and security patches to Mac-based workstations. Please be aware that every update requires a restart. The update will automatically process during the scheduled maintenance window, and you will be notified accordingly: Audience & Services Affected: Kean Faculty & Staff
Second Tuesday of Every Month 23:00 - 05:00	Computer Labs (Windows OS)  Application of routine Apple system and security patches to Mac-based Computer Labs computers will adhere to the following schedule:  The second Tuesday of every month, from 23:00 - 05:00.  Audience & Services Affected: Kean Students and Faculty
Updates are applied the week following the Apple security releases 18:00 - 22:00	Computer Labs (macOS)  Application of routine Microsoft Patch Tuesday system and security patches to Computer Labs computers will adhere to the following schedule:  The second Tuesday of every month, from 18:00 - 22:00.  Audience & Services Affected: Kean Students and Faculty
Third Tuesday of Every Month 00:00 to 04:30	Windows Servers  Application of routine operating system and security patches to Windows-based servers.  Types of Updates:  Security updates, Service Packs, and Feature Packs Audience & Services Affected: Network (Domain Services), Authentication, Availability of University Related Applications
Monthly, Beginning on the Second and Third Wednesday of the Month 18:00 - 22:00	Telecommunications Routine updates of high-availability servers are applied monthly, on a staggered basis.  Audience & Services Affected: Voice, Video, & Data Communications  *Please note that these updates exclude SaaS based offerings, such as Zoom, Teams, WebEx, etc.
Second Thursday of Every Other Month, Starting in February 20:00 - 24:00	Networking Routine code upgrades for switches, access points, and management software are applied during the maintenance window.  Audience & Services Affected: Voice, Video, & Data Communications
First Wednesday of Every Month 18:00 - 22:00	Registration Systems  Routine upgrades to registration systems. Maintenance will not be performed during high academic, registration, or financial disbursement periods.  Audience & Services Affected: Student Portal, Registration Systems, Directory Systems

*Apple does not follow the monthly ‘Patch Tuesday’ cadence. Mac systems are only patched on the second Tuesday of each month, when there are available updates offered by Apple. For more information, see Apple security releases.

Exceptions from Standard Maintenance Windows

There may be cases where an emergency or time-critical update is required to ensure rapid remediation and restoration to services. In such cases, users will be notified of the disruption to the service and a tentative timeline to restoration. Additional details below:

• Kean IT will notify the Kean community when a planned maintenance activity may cause a significant outage or occur/extend past the normal maintenance window.

Standard Maintenance is restricted to "Emergency Only" during the following times:

• The week before and during the first two weeks of the Fall and Spring semesters.
• Financial Aid Disbursement/Refund Processing (Financial Aid Calendar)
• The week of Final Exams. 
• For exact dates please refer to the Academic Calendar.

Emergency Only/Non-Standard Maintenance Details

Monthly: Managed Computers (Desktop and Laptop)

To preserve optimal system performance and security, IT will conduct routine maintenance on managed desktops and mobile devices. This approach will help to mitigate any potential disruptions to regular business operations.

Available updates will be deployed (downloaded and installed) on all IT-managed computers during these two maintenance windows. Devices that are not managed by IT are not included in this maintenance schedule.

If IT-managed computers are not powered on during the monthly maintenance window, updates will be pushed the next time the computer restarts.

System updates are only applied after a system reboot. You will have the opportunity to defer the update process from initiating for two days; however, on the third day your device will reboot within 2 hours of being notified.