Batch

The following options are available in the Admin > Batch menu:

• Server Activity - shows the current server activity.
• Server Config - enables you to configure the servers.
• Task Type Configuration - enables you to configure the tasks.
• Tasks - opens the Task management page.
• Task System Cleanup - removes temporary files.

Server Activity

The Server Activity page shows the current load and the processes running on the Forsta batch servers. Click the Autorefresh on button to make the page refresh automatically every 5 seconds.

Figure 1 - The Server Activity page

Server Config

The Batch Server Configuration page displays information relating to the servers that are available for the various batch jobs and tasks (see the figure below), and allows you to specify which servers are to be used when running the various tasks. It also shows the status of the servers, that is, whether they are running or are stopped.

The servers are color-coded red or green:

• Green – means that the server is running.
• Red – means either that the server is not running, or that the batch executor initiating the batch jobs is not running even though the server is running.

The figure below shows an example of a system with three servers, all of which are currently running.

To allocate batch jobs to the servers (if you have a multiple server installation), check the boxes corresponding to the appropriate jobs and servers. If a task is not specified to run on any of the available servers, the text for that task will turn red. For a more detailed explanation of the processes, see the Forsta Server documentation.

Figure 2 - The Server Configuration page

Task Type Config

Go to Admin > Batch > Task Type Config to configure the Forsta Plus batch tasks (see the figure below). To change the settings on this page you must have the System_Batch_Administrate permission (go to Editing a User's Details for more information). Users without this permission are only able to view these values. The columns are:

• Description - the name of the task.
• Isolation Level - each task can be configured with an isolation level. The options are:
• Thread - the lowest isolation level, highest performance. With this level, the task runs in a separate thread in the common task system application domain.
• Process - this is the highest isolation level, and gives the lowest performance. This level runs the task instance in a separate process.
• Max Instances – the maximum number of instances that can run at one time on one batch server.
• Weight – used to indicate how resource-demanding the task is. For example, a batch server can run five tasks with weight 20 but only two tasks with weight 50 simultaneously. Each server may run a number of tasks of different types in parallel, and the task system will ensure that the sum of the weights for those tasks are less than or equal to 100.
• ID – the ID number of the task.

Figure 3 - The top few tasks in the Task Type Configuration page

Tasks

Go to the Admin > Batch > Tasks menu command to open the Task Management page (also available through Home > Tasks). Software Administrators have access to all batch tasks on the server. The layout is identical for all the tabs.

Figure 4 - Example of the Batch > Tasks list

In the event the list is extensive, you can search using the fields above the list and sort the list by clicking the appropriate column header. For statuses Aborted and Completed, only the last week's (7 days) tasks are displayed.

To view the Rule Executor page for a task, click on the blue Task ID link for that task. The window opens as shown below:

Figure 5 - Example of the Rule Executor window for a task

Changing Task Ownership

All tasks have a specified “owner”; in most cases the user who originally created the task. However, users can expire or be deleted, and if a task previously created by a now-expired/deleted user attempts to run then the task will abort. In this case, the administrator has the option of changing the task’s owner.

Note: To change a task owner, the administrator must have task_admin, system_admin, system_project_admin or project_admin permission. Users with other permissions will not see the Ownership tab.

1. Go to the Home > Tasks menu command.

The Task Management page opens.

2. Click on the blue Task ID link for the appropriate task to go to the Task Definition page.

The Task Definition page opens at the Instances tab.

3. Go to the Definition tab.

Note that the page header text displays the type of task.



Figure 6 - The Ownership tab

4. Type into the Owner field the UserID of the new task owner and click Save to save the changes.

All future occurrences of the task will be run under the new owner’s credentials.

Batch Task List

Batch tasks are logged. Own tasks are available to project administrators, all tasks are available to Forsta Plus administrators. Tasks may be in the queue, executing, completed, or aborted. The logs available are:

Activity Log Export Activity Overview Export Archiving Ascribe Codeframe Import Ascribe Export Batch Emailing Batch Emailing - Dedicated IP address Batch Emailing - Fixed Domain Bayesian Network Generator BitStream Generator Calculate Recoded Variables CAPI Bulk Assignment Upload Configuration Settings Export Contact Database Sampling Convert Panelist Credits Create Instant Analytics Report Create report from reportal Wizard CRM Connector task CustomerSat Survey Synchronization Data Central Rule Executor Data Synchronization Database Cleanup DB Generator Debug Survey Design log cleanup DocumentStore cleanup task Email CAPI Console URL End user uploading Enduser emailing Enduser Export Export Cati Activity Log Express Respondent Upload Hierarchy Import Hierarchy node assignments Hierarchy permissions Import Hub AM Program Loader Hub Calendar Synchronizer Hub Cleanup Hub Forsta Project Loader Hub Contact Database Synchronizer Hub Db Designer Loader Hub Entity Import

Import Triple-S Data Indexing history cleanup Instant Analytics Data Export Languages And Resources Deployer Launch Survey Linked Script Library Updating Log Reporting News Emailing NodeStore cleanup task Panel Portal Export Panel Portal Import Panel Portal Publish Panelist Credits Export Panelist Credits Import Panelist permissions upload Project Info Collector Project Info Exporter Quota Recalculate All Quota Upload Random Data Generator Recalculate All Quotas in Survey Remote Definition Import Report Cleanup Report Duplicate Report Publish Report Validate Reportal Definition Export Reportal Definition Import Reportal Excel2007 Export Reportal PDF Export Reportal PowerPoint2007 Export Respondent Bulk Upload Respondent Export Respondent Report PDF Export Restoring Archived Project Rule Executor Rule Set Executor Salesforce Synchronization Sample Generator Sample Upload Sampling - Change Date Sampling - Execute Job

Sampling - Export Job Sampling - Export Jobs Sampling - Export Matrix Sampling - Export Sample File Sampling - Import Job Sampling - Import Matrix Sampling - Lightweight Job Import Sampling - Refresh Survey History Job Information Sampling - Remove Sample Sampling - Survey Synchronization Search index optimization Send Push Message Single Page Survey Cleanup Single Page Survey Generation Standard code wrappers deployer Survey Data Template Export Survey Data Template Import Survey export Survey import Survey to Contacts Synchronization Surveylayout Export Surveylayout Import Table Content Export Table content upload Table Synchronization Task System Cleanup Template Duplicator Template Flattener Template Generator Text Analytics Transaction Usage Export Translation XML Export Translation XML Import Update report from reportal Wizard Upload Enduser Permissions For Report User Upload Weight Calculation WI Generator .NET Wizard Content Upload and Sync

Note: The Create Instant Analytics Report task is started from the Launch Survey task when the ‘Create/Update Instant Analytics’ checkbox is selected.

Available to project administrators:

• Creation of objects in survey
• Property changes of survey nodes

Task System Cleanup

This menu command runs a task that deletes any temporary files that may have been left in the system by other tasks. You can set the task to run as soon as possible, or later at a specified date/time. Scheduling the task to run later gives you the option of making it a recurring task.

Figure 7 - The Task System Cleanup dialog