Reboot at Noon = Bad idea
Ok, today I rebooted one of our servers, we did that at Noon. Since this server didn't handle anything people would "miss" we didn't think much about trying to let everyone know.
Now this server was the SBS server, so it did bring exchange and ISA down. We also share the network printers off of this box, so those came down as well.
Really though, Internet is limited to just a few users, Outlook lets you work offline and reconnects on it's own. Printers was the only thing we thought might be a problem, but most people would retry their print jobs on their own.
Well, something went wrong this time. Not with the server, it rebooted just as it should, but the timing was bad. It caught 3 users logging out, trapping them on the "Running logout scripts". 2 people where trying to print, and for some reason 4 people lost access to file share, and 1 person excel locked up.
The question is why? All the files are stored on a NAS apart from the SBS box, We have a 2nd DNS/AD server setup, so finding the nas shouldn't be a problem. I understand the logoff scripts (they are on the SBS box) and the printers I understand.
Rebooting at Noon might be good for some people. The thing to know is your users. Understand your users, and the impact you have on them when doing updates, Patches, upgrades, ect. I don't belive everything has to be done after hours. You do need good planning, understanding of the network, and understanding of the users and their habits.
Lesson Learned.