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Use WordPress maintenance mode

  1. Choose the intended servers and sites. Start with one installation.
  2. Review the affected customers and maintenance window.
  3. Open Choose action → Bulk tools, search for maintenance, then choose Enable maintenance mode.

Bulk tools search showing the paired maintenance-mode actions

Choose the intended enable or disable entry for the selected sites. Check the final result after confirmation. Select the image to view it full size; use your browser’s Back command to return.
  1. Review the action and targets, then confirm. Read every site’s final result, including skips. Finished can include failed sites; see Read the outcome.

When finished, run Disable maintenance mode on the same sites, inspect final results and verify the public site is available again. A disconnected browser does not undo maintenance mode.

Command-line method

Section titled “Command-line method”

From a root terminal on the server hosting the sites, enable maintenance mode:

Terminal window
cpfence --bulk-enable-maintenance-mode

Review /var/log/cpfenceav/wp-sites-list.txt and the inventory/confirmation prompts first. This uses that server’s listed installations, not checked WebUI rows. Plan the enable/disable cycle during off-peak hours and notify affected customers.

When the work is finished, disable maintenance mode on the same list:

Terminal window
cpfence --bulk-disable-maintenance-mode

Read every site’s result and verify the public site is available before informing customers. If a site remains offline, inspect its individual error and resolve it rather than assuming the whole bulk action succeeded. Preserve the original list so you can apply the recovery action to the intended sites.