Black out date/time on scheduler

[patrick_mcauliffe]

I have tables that I need to run ETL jobs on every 5 mins. But, a batch job runs every day for an hour at the same hour. During that time I can't query the source.
With the current scheduler setup; it appears that my only option would be set up multiple schedules. Each running once a day, and a separate schedule for every 5 minute increment of the day with the exception of the one hour my source can't be touched.
Rather than that degree of hassle, doesn't it make more sense to set up a scheduled with and/or/not criteria?
Example:
Run every X minutes on Y days
Except: during %t am - %t am on Z days

I've seen some applications that have a visual scheduler for setting the exception times. That would be pretty cool too.
Bonus points if you can make an admin console for the server which allows the admin to set blackout date/time by table or DSN for all users (override their schedules).

[jroot]

I find that the Scheduler is very limited in being able to customize when jobs are run. As far as I can tell there is no way to make a workflow run from 7am-5pm, every 2 or 15 minutes, only on weekdays. Using Cron expressions is a great option since it is a standardized format already used in the Analyst world.

My two examples would be written like:

0 0/2 7-17 ? * MON,TUE,WED,THU,FRI *

0 0/15 7-17 ? * MON,TUE,WED,THU,FRI *

http://www.cronmaker.com/

This would prevent running workflows all through the night and on days where it is completely unnecessary.

Thanks!

[JulieM]

Hi Patrick, 

Thank you for the feedback! I agree that having the ability to easily add exceptions or blackout date/time(s) to a recurring schedule is really useful.  We’re doing a lot of work on a new Gallery Scheduler for the upcoming 11.0 release and while this isn’t something we have slotted for that release we will definitely keep this in mind for a future release.  Thanks again for the great feedback!

Julie

[rdoptis]

Being able to block certain time windows from being able to have schedules set would also allow for dedicated maintenance timeframes where end user jobs wouldn't have to be cancelled or delayed. For example, the first Sunday of the month could have a 2 hour window set where no schedules could be setup and would allow for the server to be taken offline for the latest Windows patches, full backups, hardware upgrades etc.

[michael_lynton]

I"m sad that this idea doesn't have more traction. This is such a huge pain point for scheduler. I'm currently scheduling a workflow that needs to be run at 8a, 12p, and 3p. I have to add it to scheduler 3 separate times because the options are so lacking. Then, if I ever make a change to that workflow, it will require 3 updates to scheduler because it's stored in the db. 

[hemanth_gangaram]

Having options for recurring timed schedules would really help. Along those lines, wondering if there is a way to limit or control which workflows can run between certain times - say midnight to 7am only select workflows can run? Is there such a capability in the server?

We are looking at how we can restrict users running against production database when there is batch processing occurring against the database during that window. 

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@jroot wrote:

I find that the Scheduler is very limited in being able to customize when jobs are run. As far as I can tell there is no way to make a workflow run from 7am-5pm, every 2 or 15 minutes, only on weekdays. Using Cron expressions is a great option since it is a standardized format already used in the Analyst world.

My two examples would be written like:

0 0/2 7-17 ? * MON,TUE,WED,THU,FRI *

0 0/15 7-17 ? * MON,TUE,WED,THU,FRI *

http://www.cronmaker.com/

This would prevent running workflows all through the night and on days where it is completely unnecessary.

Thanks!

---

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@jroot wrote:

I find that the Scheduler is very limited in being able to customize when jobs are run. As far as I can tell there is no way to make a workflow run from 7am-5pm, every 2 or 15 minutes, only on weekdays. Using Cron expressions is a great option since it is a standardized format already used in the Analyst world.

My two examples would be written like:

0 0/2 7-17 ? * MON,TUE,WED,THU,FRI *

0 0/15 7-17 ? * MON,TUE,WED,THU,FRI *

http://www.cronmaker.com/

This would prevent running workflows all through the night and on days where it is completely unnecessary.

Thanks!

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[JulieM]

Hi all, I am marking this post as Under Review as this is something we are actively looking for Scheduling on the Server.  Keep the great feedback coming!

[JulieM]

Hi all, thank you so much for posting here.  This idea looks similar to another Idea post: https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Product-Ideas/Black-out-date-time-on-scheduler/idc-p/73180 but I wanted to ask your opinions.  @jroot, @hemanth_gangaram, @michael_lynton do you feel these posts are generally asking for the same functionality?  If the thought is that these posts are duplicates, then I can combine and update the star counts as well.  Thank you!

[jroot]

@JulieM 

Yes, they look pretty similar to me. Being able to set schedule exceptions would definitely solve for my use case as long as it would apply to the scheduler tool for desktop use.

Thank you!

-Joe

[michael_lynton]

@JulieM Yes the requests are similar. I never would have found the other one due to the nature of it's subject, so thanks for pointing it out. 

I'd like to add, that hopefully the feature would be available to 'Scheduler' and not just 'Server/Gallery'. Thx!

[KylieF]

Updating this idea's status back to Comments Requested, to be in line with past product updates.