Scheduling a ControlPoint Operation
The ControlPoint scheduler lets you set up ControlPoint operations to run in the background at a specified date and time, such as when system resource usage is low. Depending on your ControlPoint permissions, you can schedule:
·an Advanced Search
·any ControlPoint analysis
·most ControlPoint actions.
This feature is especially useful for:
·operations that might take a significant amount of time to complete (such as a an analysis run on a large farm)
·operations that you want to run during off-peak hours (such as moving an active site)
·enforcing corporate or regulatory policies (for example, by ensuring that user permissions are always set at the proper levels)
·analyses that you want to run and distribute on a regular basis (such as weekly site activity or storage usage).
Results of scheduled ControlPoint analyses can be sent to email distribution lists and/or posted to a SharePoint document library as a .pdf, an Excel formatted spreadsheet, or a csv file. Individual data sets within analyses can also be saved as SharePoint lists for use in creating dashboards.
ControlPoint uses a different (typically larger) limit on the number of line items that can be returned when an analysis is run on a scheduled basis than when run interactively. ControlPoint Application Administrators can, however, modify this limit.
NOTE: In a multi-farm installation, operations can only be scheduled for the home farm.
How Scheduled Jobs are Handled
The ControlPoint scheduler is driven by a SharePoint timer task, called the ControlPoint Scheduled Job Review. This task both checks for and initiates the scheduled jobs. By default, the timer task performs these activities every time it runs (by default, every 10 minutes). ControlPoint Application Administrators can, however, override this default so that the running of scheduled jobs is performed at less frequent intervals. See "Number of Minutes Scheduler Will Wait Before Next Group of Jobs (OVERIDESCHEDULETIMERMINUTES)" in the ControlPoint Administration Guide.
By default, up to five scheduled jobs can be running at any given time. ControlPoint Application administrators can, however, change this default value to allow moreor fewerjobs to run concurrently See "Maximum Number of Scheduled Jobs to Submit at One Time (MAXSUBMIT)" in the ControlPoint Administration Guide.
Scheduling a Recurring Analysis for Which a Specific Date Range or Time Period was Selected
If a ControlPoint analysis is scheduled to run on a recurring basis and includes a date range or time period, the ControlPoint scheduler will interpret it as a relative date range or time period (that is, relative to the date when the scheduled job is run). The first time the scheduled job runs, the analysis will cover the date range specified in the Parameters section. For subsequent job runs, the date range will be updated accordingly.
EXAMPLES:
·If you initiate an Audit Log analysis on a Monday for a date range that covers the the previous week, then schedule it to run on a recurring basis:
§the first time the scheduled job runs, the analysis will include data for the the week you specified it the analysis parameters
§the second time the scheduled job runs (at the end of the following week), the analysis will include data for the following week
§and so on.
·If you schedule a SharePoint Summary Report to run every 30 days, the analysis will include activity that occurred 30 days ending on the date the scheduled job runs, regardless of the date on which the report was initiated.
Creating a Scheduled Job
To schedule a ControlPoint operation:
1After initiating and specifying the parameters for a ControlPoint operation, open the Schedule section.
Note that, for some ControlPoint operations that are likely to be scheduled for purposes of compliance with corporate or regulatory policy, this section is labeled Enforce Policy.
2Enter a Job Name and Description.
TIP: Choose a brief but descriptive name that uniquely identifies the job. This will make it easier for you to identify it in the Schedule Monitor and Scheduled Jobs Report. If you choose to have the output posted to a SharePoint document library, the Job Name will also be used as the document Title.
3If you want the job to be active, make sure the Active box is checked.
NOTE: Once a scheduled job has been added, it can be activated or deactivated as needed.
4If you want to change the Output File Name, overwrite the default name.
CAUTION: The same default Output File Name is used for every action or analysis of a particular type. For example, whenever you schedule a Site Storage analysis, the default output file name is xcrSiteStorageReport, regardless of its scope, or who requested it. It is possible to have more than one job with the same output file name. Keep in mind, however, if more than one job with exactly the same output file name is posted to the same document library, an existing document will be overwritten with a more recent document with the same name.
5For ControlPoint analyses only:
a) If you want the date and time that the job is run to be appended to the file name, click the Include Date Time stamp in the file name box. (This will enable you to retain a historical record of analysis results that may be used as a record of compliance with policies or regulations.)
b)If different than the default, select an Output Type from the drop-down.
NOTES:
§If you choose CSV, output will be in the form of raw analysis data that can be imported into another program for further examination.
§If you choose SharePoint List, each individual data set within the analysis will be saved as a separate list. (The number of data sets depends on the complexity of the analysis.) You can also choose to Keep Previous Version as an alternative to Include Date Time stamp. If you check the Keep Previous Version box, ControlPoint will append a date and time stamp to all but the current version of the file name.
6Complete the Schedule Details as follows:
|
If you want to ... |
Then ... |
|---|---|
|
run an operation one time only |
Enter or select a Start date ( |
|
run an operation at regular intervals |
a.For Start, enter the first date ( b.Click the Recurring box. c.For Run every: ·enter the interval (as a positive integer) at which you want the job to run ·select an interval type (Hour, Day, or Month) d.For Until, enter or select the last date ( |
) and time (
).NOTE: Dates and times correspond to those of the server on which the ControlPoint scheduler is running.
7Complete the Distribution Details as follows:
|
If you want to ... |
Then ... |
|---|---|
|
have a notification email sent to one or more recipients when the job completes* (and, in the case of an analysis, have output included in the email as an attachment) |
complete the Send to:, Subject, and Message fields. (The From field will automatically be populated with the email address stored as that of the primary Site Collection Administrator for the ControlPoint Configuration site.) NOTE: You can either use the SharePoint People Picker as you would when selecting users on which to perform a ControlPoint action or analysis, or enter one or more email addresses (separated by semicolons), in the Send to field. |
|
have analysis results posted to a SharePoint document library |
Complete the Add to Library or List field as follows: ·Click [Select] to display the Destination Selection Page pop-up dialog, and select a document library from the Destination Farm Tree. (Note that only lists and libraries within the current farm for which you have Full Control access display). ·Select a library from the tree (You can also enter a full or partial Name or URL to narrow your selection). ·Click [OK] to dismiss the dialog and populate the field with the full url path to the selected library. NOTE: When a document is placed into a SharePoint document library, the Output Filename becomes the document Name, and the Job Name becomes the document Title. |
|
have data sets within analysis results saved as SharePoint lists |
Complete the Distribution Site field as follows: ·Click [Select] to display the Destination Selection Page pop-up dialog, and select a site from the Destination Farm Tree. (You can also enter a full or partial Name or URL to narrow your selection). ·Click [OK] to dismiss the dialog and populate the field with the full url path to the selected site. CAUTION: If you are scheduling an analysis to run on a recurring basis and choose to save previous versions, be aware that a large number of lists may accumulate on the selected site (especially if analyses with multiple data sets are run frequently). |
|
have analysis results emailed to administrators responsible for sites within the selected scope |
check either or both of the following boxes: ·Send to Admins - Results will be emailed to recipients who meet the criteria for admins that the ControlPoint Application Administrator has defined for the ControlPoint Configuration Setting SiteAdminCriteria ·Send to Site Collection Admins - Results will be emailed to members of the Site Collection Administrators group. NOTE: Currently, ControlPoint does not evaluate membership in Active Directory groups. Therefore, emails will not be sent out to users whose permissions have been granted solely through membership in one or more Active Directory groups. |
|
have a separate result set generated at each level of the hierarchy and email only the relevant result set(s) to the responsible administrator |
·check the Create Reports by Selection Hierarchy box. NOTES: ·This option is available only if Send to Admins has been checked ·This option is not available for all analysis types. ·Result sets will be generated at the lowest level of the hierarchy at which the report can normally be run. ·When this option is checked and an analysis is scheduled to run on a recurring basis, ControlPoint will re-evaluate the list of recipients every time the job is run. |
8To save the job, click [Schedule].
Once a scheduled job has been created, it can be accessed via the Schedule Monitor.