A Scope Action can be scheduled to run at periodic times, even if no one is logged-in during execution. This is useful if you want to report updated information at regular intervals. When you schedule the execution of a scope action, Goverlan creates a Scheduled object and inserts it into the Windows Scheduled Tasks folder of the local machine. You should only use Goverlan to modify or remove these scheduled tasks.
The Scope Action main view uses different icons for scheduled versus non-scheduled scope actions.
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Scope Action Object |
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Scope Action Object Scheduled |
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Scope Action Object Scheduled Disabled |
It also contains a Next Run column which displays scheduling information.
To schedule a scope action, select it and either:
Right click on the mouse and select Scheduler >> Schedule Execution from the menu.
Click on the Schedule... button of the Ribbon Bar.
The Schedule window includes three tabs as described below.
The Scope Actions Task tab allows you to configure specific information for scheduling a scope action.
Enabled - Use this option to either enable or disable a configured schedule. Disabled schedules are not executed.
Run As - Specify the user account to use to run the scope action. A user account must be specified for all scheduled scope actions. Once you have specified the user account, click on the Set password... button to enter the password.
Note: Once you have entered an account in the Run As field, it is remembered for subsequent scheduling of scope actions. However, the password is not saved. Make sure that a password is specified every time.
Process Priority - Specify the priority of the scope action execution process. This setting controls the amount of CPU resources used during the execution of the scope action. A Normal or Low Priority should be used if the scope action will run while you are working on the machine. A High Priority can be specified if the scope action will run on a dedicated machine or server. In most cases, a Normal Priority is the desired setting.
Execution Mode - Defines what is done with the reported data previously generated.
All Objects - New Data Set: Erase previously generated report data and re-run the scope action on the full scope.
All Objects - Merge Output Data: Re-run the scope action on the full scope and merge the resulting report data with the existing one. This mode is useful to generate an asset management data set.
Failed Objects Only - Merge Output Data: Preserve already generated report data and re-run the scope action only on the objects which failed during the last execution. If new report data is generated, it is merged with the existing data set. This mode is useful if you configure a scope action to execute tasks (like installing an MSI package), and want to keep on executing the scope action at regular intervals until all machines are processed.
Output format - Specify the output format for the scope action. A scope action always generates outputs in XML. However, you can configure the scope action to convert the XML output into other formats. For more information about the available output formats, see Viewing a Report.
The output files are stored in the directory as configured in the Scope Action object.
Run the program - If you have a script which processes the generated output data (i.e., transfer the generated report onto a Web server), you can configure its execution in this field. For more information, see: Run_the_Following_Program.
Email Notification - This section can be used if you want to receive an email notification containing execution information once the scheduled scope action is executed. To activate email notification, enter an email address in this field. To deactivate email notification, simply leave this field blank.
If you activate email notification, the following settings must be configured:
SMTP Settings
Since the scope action runs under an arbitrary user account, Goverlan may not be aware of the SMTP default settings of your company. Click on the SMTP Settings button to access the SMTP configuration window. See SMTP Settings.
Subject field
The text entered in this field will be placed in the email subject field.
Content
Use this section to configure the contents of the email notification. By default, the email body contains the name of the scope action, the execution status code, and if applicable, a link to the generated report. You can request more information to be emailed as follows:
Execution Console - Include the execution console content in the email. The console information includes error messages and execution statistics (see Console Window in Executing a scope action).
Output Report - Include the scope action report in the email. The report is inserted in the email in a simple text format. Use special care when activating this option. If the scope action generates large amount of information, it might not be appropriate to embed it into the notification email.
Once you have configured the email notification settings, you can click on the Test Account button. Goverlan will then send a test email to the specified email address using the configured SMTP settings.
The Schedule tab is used to configure the actual execution schedule and the Settings tab is used to configure miscellaneous execution options such as power management settings. These tabs are identical to the native Windows Scheduled Task Schedule and Settings tabs and behave exactly the same way.
For more information about these settings, use the Microsoft help files provided. You can also use the context sensitive help option to view the description of each setting.
To modify the settings of a scope action schedule, select it and either:
Right click on the mouse and select Scheduler >> Modify Schedule from the menu.
Click on the Schedule... button of the Scope Action Ribbon Bar.
To disable or re-enable a scope action schedule, select it and either:
Right click on the mouse and select Scheduler >> Enable/Disable Schedule from the menu.
Click on Schedule On/Off button in the Ribbon Bar.
Note: If you cannot enable a schedule which is shown as disabled, check that the schedule settings are correct.
To remove the schedule of a scope action, select it and either:
Right click on the mouse and select Scheduler >> Remove Schedule from the menu.
Click on the Un-Schedule button in the Ribbon Bar.
A scheduled scope action executes at the designated times, even if no one is currently logged-into the machine. The execution of a scheduled scope action happens in the background and the execution window is not displayed. However, if you are currently logged-in under the account used for the scheduled scope action, a task bar icon is displayed in the tray during the scope action execution:
Place the mouse cursor over the execution icon to view the current status of the execution.
Right click on the mouse over the execution icon to show or hide the execution window. You can also double click on the icon to toggle the show/hide functions. Making the execution window visible will allow you to control its execution (pause, abort, etc.).
If you are not logged-into the machine or are logged-in using a different user account than the one configured for the schedule, you will not see the scope action execution icon in the tray and consequently, you will not be able to abort the execution process.
