Reducing impact of resource downtime

1. A method of reducing impact of resource downtime, comprising:

monitoring user access to the resource;

identifying baseline patterns in the monitored user access to the resource;

accessing an inventory identifying the resource and at least one other resource dependent on the identified resource: and

defining downtime for the resource based on the baseline patterns and expected time for taking the resource down and dependency of the at least one other resource on the resource, the downtime defined as at least one of a plurality of times that is less disruptive than other of the plurality of times to users of the resource when taking the resource down.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the downtime is defined based on identifying the resource to be taken down and alternative resources available while the resource is taken down.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein defining downtime further generates an output with a scheduled downtime when there is no expected demand for the resource.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising scheduling the defined downtime in advance of upgrades or maintenance to the resource.

5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising rescheduling a suggested downtime based on actual events.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving the resource identification and a proposed duration of downtime for the resource:

comparing the proposed downtime to the defined downtime; and

suggesting an alternative downtime based on the defined downtime to avoid disrupting user access to the resource.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the defined downtime includes a plurality of time windows when a single large block of downtime cannot be identified, the plurality of time windows enabling a single downtime job to execute as multiple separate jobs including multiple installation phases and then a final test phase.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising defining downtime to exclude times of high demand and based on availability of alternative network paths.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising precluding removing the resource from operation outside of the defined downtime.

10. A non-transient computer readable medium having program code stored thereon for reducing impact of resource downtime by:

identifying baseline patterns from monitored access to a resource;

accessing an inventory identifying the resource and a dependency of other resources on the resource; and

defining downtime for the resource based on the baseline patterns and expected time for taking the resource down and the dependency of the other resources, the defined downtime being at least one predicted time of a plurality of times that is less disruptive than other of the plurality of times to users of the resource when taking the resource down.

11. The program code of claim 10 further listening to user traffic involving the resource by a third-party monitor.

12. The program code of claim 10 further scheduling the defined downtime in advance of upgrades or maintenance to the resource.

13. The program code of claim 10 further rescheduling the defined downtime based on real-time events.

14. The program code of claim 10 further identifying the resource to be taken down and alternative resources for use when the resource is taken down.

15. The program code of claim 10 further:

using a proposed downtime for the resource;

comparing the proposed downtime to the defined downtime; and

suggesting an alternative downtime based on the defined downtime when the proposed downtime is outside of the defined downtime.

16. The program code of claim 10 further including notifying a user in advance of a scheduled downtime.

17. The program code of claim 10 further:

defining downtime to exclude times of high demand; and

precluding removing the resource from operation outside of the defined downtime and based on availability of alternative resources for the resource taken to be taken offline.

18. A system reducing impact of resource downtime, comprising a non-transient computer readable medium and a processor configured to execute instructions stored on the computer readable medium, wherein the medium includes program code instructions that, when executed, function as:

a traffic monitoring module to monitor data indicative of user access to a resource;

a trend analysis module to analyze the monitored user access and identify a baseline pattern; and

a scheduler engine to define a downtime for the resource based on the baseline pattern and expected time for taking the resource down, the scheduler engine retrieving all configurations including dependencies and impact for tiers of other resources dependent on the resource to be taken down, the defined downtime including at least one time predicted from a plurality of times that is less disruptive than others of the plurality of times to users of the resource when taking the resource down.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the scheduler engine stores the defined downtime in a data structure for persistence.

20. The system of claim 18 , further comprising a downtime application to:

access a proposed downtime for the resource;

compare the proposed downtime to the defined downtime; and

suggest an alternative downtime based on the comparison of proposed downtime and defined downtime, the alternative downtime avoid disrupting user access to the resource.