Configuring maintenance windows

To distinguish between data that is generated in normal business hours and data that is generated during maintenance windows, create a maintenance window.

To create a maintenance window, create a JSON file in the following directory $PI_HOME/spl/instances/Analytics<topic_name>/config/training_exclusion_schedule<file_identifier>.json. Where <topic_name> is the name of the related topic. <file_identifier> is the part of the name of the JSON file that you use to identify it. The file name must include training_exclusion_schedule as a prefix. For example, $PI_HOME/spl/instances/AnalyticsTopic1/config/training_exclusion_schedule1.json.

You can create multiple files to specify different dates, resources, or events. All the files in the $PI_HOME/spl/instances/Analytics<topic_name>/config/ directory are detected by IBM® Operations Analytics Predictive Insights and parsed. Duplicates are ignored. All changes and additions to these files are implemented immediately and do not require you to restart IBM Operations Analytics Predictive Insights.

File format

The JSON file uses Cron expressions to make it easier for you to specify complex dates. For more information about these expressions, see Cron trigger tutorial.

The lowest level of granularity is hours. Minutes and seconds are not supported. The following table summarizes the available expressions.
Table 1. Cron expressions for maintenance windows
Unit of time Mandatory Allowed values Allowed special characters
Seconds Yes 0 - 59 ,-*/
Minutes Yes 0 - 59 ,-*/
Hours Yes 0 - 23 ,-*/
Day of the month Yes 1 - 31 ,-*?/LW
Month Yes 1 - 12 or JAN to DEC ,-*/
Weekday Yes 1 - 7 or SUN to SAT ,-*?/LW
Year No Empty or 1970 - 2099 ,-*/
The JSON file can contain two different types of special expression:
@blackfriday
Use this expression to exclude data that is generated on Black Friday, which is the day after Thanksgiving. This expression is to help you to capture this date in a Cron expression.
@always
Use this expression to exclude data from a resource regardless of time.
When the date that you specify in the Cron expression occurs on a weekend, you have three modes that you can use:
default
This mode ensures that data is on the specified date.
go_backward
This mode ensures that data is excluded from the previous Friday. Use this mode for pay roll runs or other applicable scenarios.
go_forward
This mode ensures that data is excluded from the next weekday, usually a Monday.

You can also specify a start and or end time in milliseconds. You can implement one or both of these fields. Use these values to optimize performance.

Examples

The following example excludes data from the xpto and abcdezw resources on the 23rd of every month. If the date falls on a weekend, data from the previous Friday is excluded. 

[
	/*
	{
		// 23rd of every month
		expression: * * * 23 * ?
		// optional config from here on 
		, strictlyOnWeekdayStrategy: go_backward
		, resourcePatterns: xpto, abcdezw
		, start: 1487688195000
		, end: 1487688196000
		
	},
]
The following example excludes data that is generated on the 28th of every month:

[
	/*
	{
		// 28th of every month 
		expression: * * * 28 * ?
		// optional config from here on 
		, strictlyOnWeekdayStrategy: go_forward
	}
	*/
]