ZTL CTLR ADDRESSES CONCERN WITH SUPVR TO DELAY MAINT TAKE-DOWN OF HOST COMPUTER ONLY TO OBSERVE THE COMPUTER FAIL WHEN CTLRS STILL HAVE TFC REQUIRING COORD COM CTL WITH OTHER ATC FACILITIES AND ACFT.

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I ARRIVED FOR DUTY ON MY SHIFT AT XA30. I WAS ADVISED SHORTLY THEREAFTER THAT THE HOST COMPUTER WAS SCHEDULED TO GO DOWN FOR MAINT AT XC00. AT APPROX XB00 I ADVISED THE WATCH SUPVR THAT XC00 WAS NOT A GOOD TIME BECAUSE OF TFC. AT XC00 THE COMPUTER WENT DOWN. THIS MEANS NO AUTOMATED FLT PLAN PROCESSING; NO AUTOMATED HDOFS; NO WX INFO; ETC. AT THE TIME THE COMPUTER WENT DOWN; WE WERE TOLD IT WAS NOT THE SCHEDULED MAINT; BUT THAT IT HAD 'FLOPPED.' THIS WAS VERY SUSPICIOUS IN THAT THIS TYPE OF MAINT IS DONE GENERALLY WITHOUT REGARD TO TFC OR CTLR WORKLOAD. AT THE TIME OF THE 'FAILURE;' I WAS WORKING APPROX 15 ACFT; WITH ANOTHER 15 DEPS PROPOSED OFF OF ATLANTA. I WAS WORKING 3 ACFT ON APCH TO MCN; VECTORED FOR ILS; WHICH REQUIRED CONSTANT FREQ COM. THIS LEFT NO TIME TO MANUALLY PASS FLT PLANS. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 513806: THE WX WAS IMC AT SOME OF THE ARPTS THAT WE WERE PROVIDING APCH CTL SVC FOR; SO ACFT WERE HAVING TO BE VECTORED FOR APCHS ALSO. IN ADDITION TO THAT; THE INBOUNDS HAD TO BE CALLED AND WE HAD TO CALL TO GET THE WX AT THE ARR ARPTS BECAUSE THE AUTOMATED WX RPTING WAS LOST WHEN THE COMPUTER WENT DOWN.