Working with instances of cron tasks

You can create multiple instances for each cron task. You can also reload instances of cron tasks, and you can delete instances of cron tasks.

About this task

An instance is a copy of a cron task that you can change to meet your business needs. You can create multiple instances for each cron task.

You can change the attributes or parameters of a cron task instance. Using this method, the same cron task can perform different functions.

Each instance has an entry in the CRONTASKINSTANCE table. The instance includes the following attributes:
  • Set schedule string (defines the schedule for this instance)
  • Description
  • Flag indicating whether the instance is active
  • Datetime field indicating the date and time that the load or reload of the cron task is requested (not displayed to users)
  • Run as user ID

If you have a cron task that performs backups, you can create instances to perform backups at different frequencies, such as daily, weekly, or monthly.