Using Scheduler Agents

Overview

If you have installed two or more Tidal Agents for Windows on separate machines, you can perform the procedures in this chapter. If you have only one agent, you may still want to read this chapter to understand how other agents are integrated in Enteprise Scheduler.

In previous exercises, you scheduled jobs to run on the Enteprise Scheduler master system which included an agent of its own. You can also run jobs on multiple external agents. Agents let you expand your computing power and flexibility, helping you get jobs done more quickly and efficiently.

For a Enteprise Scheduler master to recognize an agent, the Enteprise Scheduler agent software must be installed on that agent machine, and a valid license file must exist for it on the master. Refer to the installation guide for more information on licensing and registering agents.

The Enteprise Scheduler master provides centralized control over scheduling in a distributed computing environment. There is no limit on how many agents you can attach to a master, if your license contains the unlimited (floating) provision for agents. You can also schedule a job to run on any agent in your network.

Enteprise Scheduler lets you group multiple agents into sets called agent lists . When you associate one of these lists with a job, Enteprise Scheduler launches that job depending on the type of list:

  • Ordered List – Runs on the first agent available in the list, chosen sequentially from the top of the list
  • Balanced List – Runs on the agent with the lightest load at the time the job is ready to run.
  • Random List – Runs on an agent picked at random from the list.
  • Rotation List – Runs on the agent following the last agent used for execution.
  • Broadcast List – Runs on all agents in the list.

In this chapter, you learn how to run a job on an external agent. You will also learn how to create an inter-agent dependency, that is, a dependency on a job that runs on a different machine. We will add an agent and run a job that is located on it.

Note To complete the exercises in this tutorial, you need to:

  • Install Enteprise Scheduler in the default directory Scheduler (or the examples in this tutorial will not work properly)
  • Select the Super User option in your User definition
  • Configure a default agent
  • Create and have available the work day calendar

 

Defining An Agent Connection

To define an agent connection:

1. From the Navigator pane, select Administration>Connections to display the Connections pane.

2. Double-click the agent connection to display the Connection Definition dialog.

3. Click the Connection tab.

4. In the Machine Name field, enter the machine with the Enteprise Scheduler agent installed on it.

5. In the Master-to-Agent Communication Port field, enter the agent’s listener port number used during agent installation. The default port number for the first agent is 5912 .

6. Select the Enabled option, if not already selected.

7. Click OK .

The agent will begin the connection process. The agent status light is yellow until the agent is connected. The status light then turns green. This normally takes about 45 seconds or less.

Adding a Job that Requires Operator Release

To add a job that requires operator release:

1. From the Navigator pane, select Definitions>Jobs to display the Jobs pane.

2. Click the Add Job button to display a Job Definition dialog.

3. In the Job Name field, enter Agent_Job1 .

4. In the Command field, enter the full path to the Inv21.bat file.

5. Click the Schedule tab and select work day from the Calendar Name list.

6. Click the Run tab and from the Agent Name list, select the remote agent you are going to use.

7. Click the Options tab and select the Require operator release option.

8. Click OK to close the dialog.

9. Click OK to display the Effective Date dialog.

The job is placed in the production schedule with a Waiting on Operator status. We will release this job, but first let’s create a job with a dependency on this job to show the agent dependency feature.

Adding an Agent Job Dependency

In this section, you define a remote agent job dependency. You will use Agent_Job1 , created in the previous exercise, in the dependency condition for the new job. Defining a job that depends on a job run by a remote agent is the same as defining any other job dependency.

To add an agent job dependency:

1. Click the Add Job button to display a Job Definition dialog.

2. In the Job Name field, enter Agent_Job2 .

3. From the Command field, enter the full path to the Inv22 batch file.

4. Click the Schedule tab and in the Calendar Name list, select the work day calendar.

5. Click the Run tab and select the agent that exists on the master.

6. On the Dependencies tab, click the Add button and select Add Job Dependency from the list of options to display the Job Dependency Definition dialog.

7. In the Job/Group list, select the Agent_Job1 job.

Note Only jobs that have already been defined will appear in the menu. If you have not defined any jobs, none will appear.

8. Click OK to close the Job Dependency Definition dialog. This accepts the default dependency condition.

The Agent_Job1 job dependency appears in the Dependency section.

9. Click OK to close the Job Definition dialog.

10. Click OK again in the Effective Date dialog.

When the dialog closes, the Agent_Job2 job appears in the Jobs pane.

Releasing the Agent Jobs

To release the Agent jobs:

1. From the Navigator pane, select Operations>Job Activity to display the Job Activity pane.

2. Select the Agent_Job1 job.

3. Right-click the job, and then select Job Control>Release/Resume from the context menu to release Agent_Job1 from the Waiting on Operator status.

4. Click Yes in the Confirm dialog.

5. Click OK in the Information dialog.

The Agent_Job1 runs on the external agent. When it completes successfully, the Agent_Job2 runs on the local agent.

Summary

Congratulations! With the completion of this chapter, you have built a good foundation of knowledge about Enteprise Scheduler. You are ready for Enteprise Scheduler to increase and complement your productivity.

If you need any further information or training, contact tidal-support@cisco.com .