5 Job Management

All tasks, such as asset discovery or OS provisioning, create jobs. Because each task runs as a job, you do not have to wait for one job to finish before you start the next action. This chapter describes how to work with jobs and work with the results.

About Jobs

To launch a new job, go to the Navigation pane to select an asset and then go to the Actions pane to select an operation. For some tasks, you can start from the Actions pane and then identify the targets. After the job is launched, you can monitor and control it from the Jobs pane.

From the Jobs pane, you monitor the progress of current jobs and can review historical jobs. You can see the status of all jobs and view detailed information about a specific job in its current state. You can view information about jobs, view categories of jobs, and take actions on jobs. The following information is displayed for each job:

  • Job status:

    • Running – The job is in progress.

    • Waiting for User Input – The job has started, but needs information from a user before it can be completed.

    • Failed – The job was not successful.

    • Partially Successful – Some of the job's tasks were completed successfully. This could be a job with multiple tasks, in which some tasks completed but others failed, or a job with multiple targets, in which the job was successful for only some targets.

    • Stopped – A user stopped the job.

    • Scheduled – The job has been scheduled to run at a specific time. It might be a one-time job or a recurring job.

    • Successful – The job has completed.

  • Job ID – A unique identification number.

  • Type of job – For example, the Discovery-Custom type identifies a job as a result of a Custom Discovery action.

  • Name of job

  • Mode of job – Simulated or Actual Run. Some action can be simulated.

  • Owner of job – The user who launched the job.

  • Date and time – The timestamp of when the job started or is scheduled to start.

  • Elapsed time

You can take the following actions on jobs:

  • View details about the job, including the status of all tasks.

  • Respond to prompts during a job.

  • Interrupt a running job. You can re-run the job later.

  • Remove a job from the history.

  • Restart a job that had partial success, failed, or was stopped.

  • Create a new job with a new Job ID based on a previous job, for example, to repeat a successful complex multi-step job on another target.

Viewing Job Details

You can view detailed information about a job:

  • Job ID

  • Run ID: If a job has been run multiple times, each run of the job will have a separate run ID.

  • Job Type

  • Start Date

  • Elapsed Time

  • Status

  • Creation Date

  • Description

  • Mode (Simulation or Actual Run)

  • Owner

  • Task Execution Order

  • Failure policy

  • Recurring job status and Next Scheduled Time

  • List of tasks

  • Task execution order

  • Task progress/results

  • Event logs: Event logs are generated by tasks as they progress.

To View Job Details

  1. Expand the Jobs pane at the bottom of the UI.

  2. Select a job.

  3. Click the View Job Details icon or double-click the job. The job details of the most recent run ID are displayed.

  4. (Optional) Click the down-arrow near the Job Details title to see information about how the job was run.

  5. (Optional) Select a different run ID from the list. The job details for the new run ID are displayed.

To see only those jobs for a particular asset, use the asset's Jobs tab to see both running jobs and jobs that have been completed.

To View Jobs for an Asset

  1. Select the asset in the Assets section of the Navigation pane. The Summary page of the selected asset is displayed in the center pane.

  2. Select the Jobs tab in the center pane. The Jobs page is displayed, showing the Current and Historical jobs for the selected asset, and their status.

Answering Questions

Some jobs require user input to complete. A job that requires a response has the status of Waiting for User Input.

To Answer Questions For a Job

  1. Select the job that requires input.

  2. Click the Answer Questions icon. The Answer Pending Questions window is displayed.

  3. (Optional) Click the page icon next to a component to display the component details.

  4. Answer the questions in one of the following ways. Click Reset to set the response for every question to the default value.

    • Select Yes or No for each question using the buttons in the right column.

    • Click Yes to All to set the response for every question to yes.

    • Click No to All to set the response for every question to no.

  5. Click Submit. The job is resubmitted using the same Job ID and Run ID.

Stopping a Job

You can stop a job that is running. All tasks in progress are interrupted and tasks that have not yet started are aborted. The completion status of the job depends on the number tasks that have completed, been interrupted, and not started.

To Stop a Job

  1. Expand the Jobs pane at the bottom of the UI.

  2. Select the job ID of a running job.

  3. Click the Stop Selected Jobs button.

  4. Click Stop Job to confirm. The job is stopped.

Re-running a Job

If a job is completed, you can repeat the job with a new Run ID.

If a job is partially completed, failed, or stopped, you can repeat the job on failed or incomplete targets.

To Re-Run a Job

  1. Expand the Jobs pane at the bottom of the UI.

  2. Select one or more job IDs to re-run.

  3. Click the Re-run Selected Job button.

  4. Click Run Job to confirm. The job runs again with a new Run ID.

To Re-Run a Job on Failed Targets

  1. Expand the Jobs pane at the bottom of the UI.

  2. Select the job that you want to re-run.

  3. Click View Job Details.

  4. Click Rerun Job on Failed Targets.

  5. Click Run Job. The job is run again with the same Run ID.

Copying a Job

You can copy a job, using an old job as a template for a new job.

To Copy a Job

  1. Expand the Jobs pane at the bottom of the UI.

  2. Select the job that you want to copy.

  3. Click Copy Job. The New Job wizard is displayed.

  4. (Optional) Modify the job information for its new task. Click Next.

  5. Select a schedule for the job and click Next.

  6. Review the job information and click Submit Job. The new job is submitted with a new Job ID.

Deleting a Job

Deleting a job removes it from the queue entirely. It cannot be re-run or resumed, and its job details are not available.

Note:

You cannot delete jobs that are running. You must stop the job and then delete it.

To Delete a Job

  1. Expand the Jobs pane at the bottom of the UI.

  2. Select the job ID or IDs that you want to delete.

  3. Click the Delete Selected Jobs icon.

  4. Click Delete Job to confirm. The job is deleted.

Changing the Maximum Time for a Job

The default time for a job is 180 minutes. Complex jobs or some environments can require more time for a job to finish.

To Change the Maximum Time for a Job

  1. Edit the /var/opt/sun/xvm/satellite.properties file.

  2. Edit the osp.default_timeout property to increase the number of minutes allowed for jobs. The example adds another hour to the expiration time.

    ##################################
     # OS Provisioning
     ##################################
     # Default Timeout of OSP Job
     osp.default_timeout=240

  3. Restart the Enterprise Controller.