Recurring schedules overview

Use recurring schedules to run tasks at regularly repeating intervals. This type of schedule is especially useful for routine tasks that should be run on a regular basis but that do not require specific data to be present for successful completion. For example, the AMI Readings Import (ARI) Cleanup Task and the Stale Data Detection Process Task are typically run on recurring schedules.

IEE starts tasks scheduled for the same time simultaneously, rather than sequentially. IEE can run these tasks simultaneously because it does not have to wait for specific data to arrive prior to starting the task.

IEE allows flexibility in defining the recurring schedules, but they still must be configured within a framework that has a structural regularity. For schedules that are not confined to such a structure, use Data-Driven Schedules.

The scheduling options are Daily, Weekly, and Monthly.

• Daily. Schedules tasks to be run every day, or at specified daily intervals (such as every third day, for example). The tasks can run once each scheduled day at a specific time, or they can run at defined intervals during each scheduled day.

• Weekly. Schedules tasks to run on selected days of the week (Sunday through Saturday) either every week or at defined weekly intervals. For example, you can specify that tasks run every second Tuesday and Thursday. The tasks can run once each scheduled day at a specific time, or they can run at defined intervals during each scheduled day.

• Monthly. Schedules tasks to run on a certain day of the month, specified either numerically (1 through 31), or according to position (the third Monday of each month, for example). In addition, the tasks can be run once a month, or at defined monthly intervals (every other month, for example). Finally, the tasks can run once each scheduled day at a specific time, or they can run at defined intervals during each scheduled day.

All three scheduling options have a starting date. They can have a defined end date, or they can run open ended.

Adding a daily recurring schedule

1. Go to System Operations > Schedules > Recurring Schedules.

2. Right-click Schedules and click Add. IEE creates a new schedule entry in the schedule tree, with nested a Tasks entry below.

3. Enter an ID and Description.

4. Use the dropdown to select the Time Zone where the task runs.

5. In the Frequency Type dropdown menu, select Daily.

6. The Schedule Type dropdown list tags the schedule with a category for identification purposes only. The selection has no functional effect.

7. The Holiday Schedule checkboxes determine if holidays are considered when scheduling tasks.

8. Under Daily Recurring Parameters, in the Days box, enter or select how often you want the task to recur daily.

9. Under How often daily to recur, select either:

   • Occurs Once At, and in the Occurs Once At field, enter the time at which you want the task to recur, using 24-hour notation.

     or

   • Occurs Every, and in the Occurs Every field, enter a whole number for the interval of minutes or hours at which you want the schedule to recur. In the Starts At field, enter the time at which you want the scheduled intervals to start, and in the Ends At field, enter the time at which you want to scheduled interval to complete.

10. Under For How long should the schedule recur, use the From dropdown menu to select the date on which you want the recurring schedule to start.

11. To set the schedule recurrence to continue indefinitely, select No End Date. To select an end date for the schedule recurrence, select Selected End Date, and use the dropdown menu to select a date on which you want the recurring schedule to end.

12. Under the new schedule name, right-click Tasks and click Add.

13. Select the Task Type, Task Template, and Task Owner using the dropdown menus. For a list of task types you can add to a recurring schedule, see "Recurring schedule task types" in the IEE MDM Help.

14. Click Add.

15. Repeat the procedure to add additional tasks to this recurring schedule.

16. Click Save.

17. To delete a schedule or task, either right-click on the name and select Delete or click the delete button .

Adding a weekly recurring schedule

1. Go to System Operations > Schedules > Recurring Schedules.

2. Right-click Schedules and click Add. IEE creates a new schedule entry in the schedule tree, with nested a Tasks entry below.

3. Enter an ID and Description.

4. Use the dropdown to select the Time Zone where the task runs.

5. In the Frequency Type dropdown menu, select Weekly.

6. The Schedule Type dropdown list tags the schedule with a category for identification purposes only. The selection has no functional effect.

7. The Holiday Schedule checkboxes determine if holidays are considered when scheduling tasks.

8. Under Weekly Recurring Parameters, in the Every field, enter or select the number of weekly intervals at which you want the schedule to recur.

9. Select the checkboxes that correspond to the days of the week on which you want the weekly intervals to occur.

10. Under How often daily to recur, select either:

    • Occurs Once At, and in the Occurs Once At field, enter the time at which you want the task to recur, using 24-hour notation.

      or

    • Occurs Every, and in the Occurs Every field, enter a whole number for the interval of minutes or hours at which you want the schedule to recur. In the Starts At field, enter the time at which you want the scheduled intervals to start, and in the Ends At field, enter the time at which you want to scheduled interval to complete.

11. Under For How long should the schedule recur, use the From dropdown menu to select the date on which you want the recurring schedule to start.

12. To set the schedule recurrence to continue indefinitely, select No End Date. To select an end date for the schedule recurrence, select Selected End Date, and use the dropdown menu to select a date on which you want the recurring schedule to end.

13. Under the new schedule name, right-click Tasks and click Add.

14. Select the Task Type, Task Template, and Task Owner using the dropdown menus. For a list of task types you can add to a recurring schedule, see "Recurring Schedule Task Types" in the IEE MDM Help.

15. Click Add.

16. Repeat the procedure to add additional tasks to this recurring schedule.

17. Click Save.

18. To delete a schedule or task, either right-click on the name and select Delete or click the delete button .

Adding a monthly recurring schedule

1. Go to System Operations > Schedules > Recurring Schedules.

2. Right-click Schedules and click Add. IEE creates a new schedule entry in the schedule tree, with nested a Tasks entry below.

3. Enter an ID and Description.

4. Use the dropdown to select the Time Zone where the task runs.

5. In the Frequency Type dropdown menu, select Monthly.

6. The Schedule Type dropdown list tags the schedule with a category for identification purposes only. The selection has no functional effect.

7. The Holiday Schedule checkboxes determine if holidays are considered when scheduling tasks.

8. Under Monthly Recurring Parameters, select either:

   • rbDay, and in the Day field, enter or select the day of the month on which you want the task to recur. In the months field, enter or select the monthly intervals at which you want the task to recur.

     or

   • Day of the Week, and use the dropdown menus to schedule the monthly recurrence to occur on the First, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or Last Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. In the month(s) field, enter or select the monthly intervals at which you want the task to recur.

9. Under How often daily to recur, select either:

   • Occurs Once At, and in the Occurs Once At field, enter the time at which you want the task to recur, using 24-hour notation.

     or

   • Occurs Every, and in the Occurs Every field, enter a whole number for the interval of minutes or hours at which you want the schedule to recur. In the Starts At field, enter the time at which you want the scheduled intervals to start, and in the Ends At field, enter the time at which you want to scheduled interval to complete.

10. Under For How long should the schedule recur, use the From dropdown menu to select the date on which you want the recurring schedule to start.

11. To set the schedule recurrence to continue indefinitely, select No End Date. To select an end date for the schedule recurrence, select Selected End Date, and use the dropdown menu to select a date on which you want the recurring schedule to end.

12. Under the new schedule name, right-click Tasks and click Add.

13. Select the Task Type, Task Template, and Task Owner using the dropdown menus. For a list of task types you can add to a recurring schedule, see "Recurring Schedule Task Types" in the IEE MDM Help.

14. Click Add.

15. Repeat the procedure to add additional tasks to this recurring schedule.

16. Click Save.

17. To delete a schedule or task, either right-click on the name and select Delete, or click the delete button .