A technique to quiesce a database without causing after-arriving access requests to abnormally terminate interrogates database management system control structures associated with the database. Specified modifications to these control structures can be made so that subsequent access requests to the database (i.e., during quiesce operations) are not abnormally terminated. Once quiesced, regular or special purpose maintenance or testing operations, the starting or stopping of log keeping operations or similar operations may be made to the database. Once these are complete, the database control structures may be updated again to permit pending/scheduled access requests to proceed.