Chains
This feature allows you to run multiple tasks in sequence. You can run programs, scripts, email, web, ftp and most other tasks from the Chain. If a certain task fails you can choose to stop the Chain or skip ahead to another task in the chain.
Creating a Chain
From the front panel click on the Chain button .
Adding Tasks to your Chain
The table on the upper right displays the tasks you can add to your Chain.
Select the task you need to add and choose your task options.
Hit the "Add Task" button. Your task will be added to the table on the bottom of the window.
Deleting Tasks from your Chain
Select the task in the bottom table and hit the delete button.
Editing Tasks in your Chain
Select the task in the bottom table and hit the edit button. The task parameters will be loaded into the window. You can then make any changes you require and hit the "Update Task" button.
Positioning a Task within your Chain
Select the task in the bottom table and use the move up or move down
buttons as required.
Skip to Step options
You can choose to skip to certain step in the chain if a certain exit code criteria is met. If you wish to stop the chain because a certain exit code criteria is met, just enter a Skip to Step value which is greater than the total steps in the chain.
Skip to Step (or Title)
1) You can enter either the step number in the chain, or the task title. This has to be a valid task title in the chain list.
2) You can also run multiple tasks simultaneously using the following rules:
a) Separate each Task Title by &. Example: TaskTitle1&TaskTitle2&TaskTitle3 (no spaces allowed)
b) You can only enter Task Titles, NOT step numbers.
c) TaskTitle1 has to be a valid Task Title in the chain list
d) TaskTitle1 CANNOT be the last step in the chain list. You can add a dummy Echo task as the last step in the chain if TaskTitle1 happens to be your last step.
e) TaskTitle2, TaskTitle3 etc.. DO NOT have to be in the chain list. They have to be valid Tasks in the main Task Table.
f) In this simultaneous mode, all tasks (TaskTitle2, TaskTitle3.. etc.. ) will be triggered simultaneously, and the chain will then continue normally at TaskTitle1.
Rerun Options
You can choose to rerun the task if it meets certain exit code criteria. You can also set the maximum number of times to rerun a task. The task will be rerun while the rerun criteria is valid until the maximum rerun count has been met.
Maximum Wait Time
This is the maximum time (T1) the Chain will wait for your task to finish. Please note that the Chain will not kill or terminate your task because it is unsafe to do so. It just waits for your task to complete normally. If the task does not complete normally in the allotted time, the chain will assume that the task has failed. The email, web, ftp and most other tasks will terminate normally.
For the DirChange and Command tasks, please ensure that you can Terminate the task within the Task settings itself. Both these tasks have a safe Termination time (T2) that can be set within the task. Please set T1 T2. If you have set the Command or DirChange task to rerun on failure, please set the T1 (T2+Td)*n, where Td is the delay between reruns and n is the number or reruns.
Why not just Kill a task when the wait time is exceeded
Short answer from us: In the chain, each task is run as a thread. Killing a thread is unsafe and may corrupt your system hours or days in the future.
Long answer from Java documentation: Because it is inherently unsafe. Stopping a thread causes it to unlock all the monitors that it has locked. (The monitors are unlocked as the Thread Death exception propagates up the stack.) If any of the objects previously protected by these monitors were in an inconsistent state, other threads may now view these objects in an inconsistent state. Such objects are said to be damaged. When threads operate on damaged objects, arbitrary behavior can result. This behavior may be subtle and difficult to detect, or it may be pronounced. Unlike other unchecked exceptions, Thread Death kills threads silently; thus, the user has no warning that his program may be corrupted. The corruption can manifest itself at any time after the actual damage occurs, even hours or days in the future.