The October network downtime was required to address two specific issues.

SIMS
SIMS is basically a database of information and that database is in a format called SQL.  The college is currently using SQL 2008, but from Easter 2015 SIMS will need to run on SQL 2012.  In addition, the method that we used to push out updates to SIMS uses something called SOLUS.  We are using SOLUS2 and from Easter 2015 we need to be using SOLUS3.  It was decided to update both of these things during the October 2014 half term as staff will probably require SIMS during the February half term and Easter holiday revision sessions which are likely to occur.
Both SIMS updates have been completed.

Storage space
As a couple of members had already identified, the college was running out of storage space on both the Media drive (M) and the Student Shared Drives (W).  In addition the network was also low on available space in ‘behind the scenes’ areas.  While we had the spare capacity, that unused storage space was not in the right locations for us to simply add additional space to the locations that needed it.  Instead we had to shuffle multiple smaller blocks of data around the network, to free up larger blocks, which could then be allocated to more appropriate locations…very much like a logic puzzle game.  This movement of data could only be done when the corresponding server was offline, hence the intermittent outage of the various servers on the network.  This movement of data has now been completed and we should be fine for storage space in the medium term.
Additional Storage space allocated to required areas