Job scheduler considerations

When choosing a job scheduler product, you need to consider a variety of different features. The following is a list of features to consider when determining which job scheduler to use:

  • Automated job scheduling
    • Flexibility in scheduling jobs
    • Unattended (or attended) job processing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with total compliance to the schedules you set
    • Natural extension of the IBM® i operating system
    • Complete control of how, when, and where a job is submitted
    • Extensive job dependencies such as objects (existence of a file or records within a physical file), the activity or inactivity of other jobs, or the status of a line, controller, or subsystem
    • Complete calendaring functions, including fiscal and holiday calendars
    • Multiple runs per day

  • System and user-defined parameters
    • Current® date, submission date, previous date, and current time can be passed into application programs
    • User-defined parameter values can be created, changed, and passed into application programs

  • Workload/history forecasting
    • Forecasts all scheduled jobs to be run next week, next month, or next day
    • Optimize production requirements
    • Historical tracking and logging of all Advanced Job Scheduler activity

  • Network management
    • Jobs can be set up on any IBM i product in the network to run on any other IBM i product on the network
    • Provides complete job history of the job on the submitting system
    • Group and dependent jobs can be submitted through the network

  • Report distribution and management
    • Routing, monitoring, and controlling of all output reports generated by Advanced Job Scheduler or IBM ioperating system
    • Spooled file distribution to multiple output queues or to remote systems with optional banner pages
    • Spooled output can be duplicated or sent to any user on the IBM i network

  • Security
    • Existing IBM i security can be utilized within Advanced Job Scheduler
    • Specify who in your organization has authority to set up or change information about scheduled jobs
    • Authority can be specified for either the individual functions of Advanced Job Scheduler or for specific jobs

  • Graphical user interface
    • Point and click capabilities when scheduling a job
    • Manage jobs
    • Maintain dependencies
    • Track scheduler activity and log information

  • Other key features
    • Multiple commands per job
    • Definition for job LDA (Local Data Area)
    • Console monitor to run jobs in restricted state
    • Check maximum run time for each job
    • Interface directly to a message-based third-party paging system
    • Provisions for full online documentation of each job
    • Extensive cursor-sensitive help text on all displays