Patent ID: 7440973

Claim:
In a database environment, a computer-implemented method for managing system resources of a computer system, the method comprising: defining a plurality of maintenance windows during which system tasks may be executed by the computer system without significantly impacting user tasks, the plurality of maintenance windows comprising a first maintenance window and a second maintenance window; scheduling a first system task to execute during the first maintenance window; scheduling a second system task to execute during the second maintenance window; allocating system resources for the first system task during the first maintenance window; and inhibiting the at least one system task from executing on the computer system, except during the first maintenance window; wherein: the first maintenance window is defined to recur periodically over a first interval, such that the first system task executes periodically over the first interval; and the second maintenance window is defined to recur periodically over a second interval, such that the second system task executes periodically over the second interval.