Jobs
  • 18 Oct 2024
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Jobs

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Article summary

Every time you run a workflow in Itential Automation Platform (IAP), a corresponding job is created. A job is an instance of a workflow, along with its runtime data, that is in some state of execution on the platform: running, paused, canceled, or completed. Knowing how to manage jobs is essential to successful workflow execution, in which Operations Manager will serve as your job management hub.

This page provides an overview of job-related features in Operations Manager. On it, you will learn:

  • How to use the Jobs table to monitor job status and perform job actions.
  • How to use job visualizations, also known as the Job Details view, to view job properties, interact with a job's tasks, and troubleshoot job errors.

Jobs Table

Operations Manager displays all available jobs via table view. This table, the Jobs table, can be used to monitor job status and perform basic job management actions, such as pausing, watching, canceling, or deleting jobs. It is present in two locations:

  • The Operations Manager dashboard.
  • The Jobs page, accessible from the side navigation menu.

The functionality of the Jobs table remains the same regardless.

Figure 1: Operations Manager Dashboard
A screenshot of the Operations Manager dashboard in its Jobs view. On the side navigation menu, links to the expanded Jobs page are highlighted.

Jobs Page

Opening the Jobs page may pre-apply a filter to the Jobs table, depending on which link you select from the side navigation menu. For example, selecting All Jobs will bring you to a page displaying an unfiltered Jobs table, while selecting Errored Jobs will only list jobs in an error state.

Version Differences
Job deletion was introduced in version 2023.1.18 of IAP. It is unavailable in earlier versions.

The Jobs table is comprised of the following elements:

Label UI Element Function
1 Toolbar From left to right:
• Pause selected jobs (Pause)
• Cancel selected jobs (Cancel)
• Watch selected jobs (Watch)
• Clear any filters applied to the Jobs table (Clear Filters)
• Delete selected jobs (Delete)
• Toggle to filter the Jobs table to show only watched jobs

Pausing Jobs:
Actively running tasks will finish execution even if their containing job is paused. Furthermore, if an actively running task is the final task in a job, the job will complete as normal after task execution. The main exception to these rules is the childJob task, which will pause execution in step with its containing job.

Deleting Jobs:
Only completed or canceled jobs can be deleted.

Deleting Parent Jobs:
Deleting a parent job will also delete all of its children. This is the only way that child jobs can be deleted.
2 Filter Column Visibility Select which, if any, optional columns should be displayed on the Jobs table.

Version Differences:
The Job Type column was introduced in version 2023.1.18 of IAP.
3 Filter Controls Tailor your view of the Jobs table based on specific criteria (job name, job status, job type, etc).
4 Menu Button Opens a context menu of job management actions. Notably, this menu contains the View (View) option. Selecting this will open the job's visualization.
5 Job List View and manage your available jobs. Select jobs from the list to target them with toolbar actions. Click the job name, description, or identifier to open its visualization.
6 Pagination Controls Set the number of jobs that should be displayed on each table page and cycle through these pages.

Figure 2: Jobs Table
A labeled screenshot of the Jobs table.

Job Visualizations

The Jobs table is a useful tool for ascertaining job status at a glance and performing quick management actions; however, it does not feature in-depth tooling necessary for more detailed job operations. In those situations, you should open a job's visualization, also known as the Job Details view. Here, an interactive diagram of your job will be displayed, allowing you to perform advanced management actions, such as viewing job properties, interacting with job tasks, and troubleshooting job errors.

Job visualizations are comprised of the following elements as referenced below.

Label UI Element Function
1 Workflow Diagram Canvas view of the associated workflow in a job. Tasks are appended with status icons, tracking the progress of your job's execution.
2 Error History View information about any errors your job has encountered.
3 Status Indicator Determine the overall status of your job.
4 Menu Button Opens a context menu. Relevant actions will be displayed based on the job's current state.
5 Job Properties Panel View advanced information about your job as a whole.
6 Job Details Panel View advanced information about and interact with your job's tasks.

Figure 3: Job Visualization
A labeled screenshot of the job visualization/Job Details page.

Viewing Job Properties

The Job Properties panel, located on the right-hand side of the visualization, displays runtime information about your job. This information is organized into two tabs:

  • The Details tab displays a job's metadata properties, such as its identifier, description, start date, and associated workflow.
  • The Job Variables tab displays the runtime values of any job variables present.

To view this information, simply click the desired tab.

Figure 4: Job Properties (Details Tab & Job Variables Tab)
Two screenshots of the Job Properties panel. In the left screenshot, the Details tab is selected; in the right, the Job Variables tab.

Version Differences:

Prior to IAP version 2023.1, multiple types of workflows could be created in Automation Studio. Because each workflow type has a unique feature set, the contents of the Job Properties panel can differ depending on which type of workflow is associated with the job.

Task Interactions

The Job Details panel, located at the bottom of the visualization, serves as a control panel for viewing and managing your job's tasks. It is presented in a table format, similar to the Jobs table UI:

Label UI Element Function
1 Toolbar From left to right: clear any filters applied to the Job Details table (Clear Filters); select which, if any, optional columns should be displayed on the Job Details table (View Column); or filter the Job Details table to show only actionable tasks.
2 Start Auto-Work Enable the Auto-Work feature. If Auto-Work is already enabled, this button will instead be labeled Stop Auto-Work.
3 Filter Controls Tailor your view of the Job Details table using filters.
4 Menu Button Opens a context menu. Relevant actions will be displayed based on the task's current state.
5 Task List View and manage available tasks.
6 Pagination Controls Set the number of tasks that should be displayed on each table page and cycle through these pages.

Figure 5: Job Details Table
A labeled screenshot of the Job Details panel/table.

Several common job management tasks are detailed in the subsections below.

Viewing Task Information

In much the same way as the Job Properties panel provides information about your job as a whole, the Task Properties panel provides information about the individual tasks that compose your job.

To access the Task Properties panel:

  1. Locate your desired task on the Job Details table.
  2. Click the View (View) button located at the end of the relevant table row; this button may initially be hidden by a context menu. The Job Properties panel will transform into the Task Properties panel.
  3. When you are finished, click the Back to Job Properties (Arrow Empty Left) button located at the top-left corner of the Task Properties panel.

The information displayed by the Task Properties panel is organized into three tabs:

  • The Actions tab contains actions that can be performed on the selected task, such as working or retrying it.
  • The Variables tab contains job variables related to the selected task.
  • The Details tab contains the task's metadata properties, such as status, name, and description.

To view this information, simply click the desired tab.

Figure 6: Task Properties Panel (Actions Tab, Variables Tab, Details Tab)
Three screenshots of the Task Properties panel. In the left screenshot, the Actions tab is selected; in the center, the Variables tab; and in the right, the Details tab.

Interacting with Actionable Tasks

You can interact with any actionable tasks present in your job directly from the Job Details table. To do so:

  1. Locate your desired task on the Job Details table.
  2. Click the menu button located at the end of the relevant table row; a context menu appears.
  3. A Work (Work) or Retry (Retry) button will be listed in the context menu, depending on which type of actionable task you are interacting with. Click the applicable button.
Auto-Work:

To interact with actionable tasks automatically as your job progresses, enable the Auto-Work feature by either:

  • Clicking the Auto-Work button located at the top-right corner of the Job Details panel.
  • Appending the ?autoWork=true query string to the URL of a running job. This is useful for inserting links in automated communications such as e-mails and alerts.

In general, Auto-Work will execute until it exhausts all actionable tasks or a user clicks the Stop Auto-Work button; however, it will be disabled prematurely if a user navigates away from the Job Details page, including by opening other jobs.

Reverting Tasks

While your job is in a paused or errored state, you can use the Revert (Revert) button of any successfully completed task, accessible via its context menu or Task Properties panel, to re-run the job from that task forward. This allows you to re-attempt a portion of job execution to fix task errors, such as incorrect manual task inputs or remote service timeouts, that may otherwise result in the failure of the job.

Viewing Job Errors

As your job executes, Operations Manager continuously monitors the status of its component tasks, taking note of any errors that occur. These errors are cataloged on the Job Errors table, accessible by clicking the Error History button located near the top-right corner of the visualization.

To copy information from the table to your system clipboard, simply hover over the relevant table field and click the Copy to Clipboard (Content Copy) icon that appears.

Figure 7: Job Errors Table
A screenshot of the Job Errors table. The Error History button is highlighted in the background.

Task Properties Error Information:

Task errors are also displayed via the Task Properties panel. In such cases, the Actions tab will be replaced by the Error tab, as shown below.

Figure 8: Error Tab
A screenshot of the Task Properties panel. The Error tab is highlighted.

Further Reading

  • For more information on how to view and interpret job execution insights, refer to the Job Metrics page.
  • For a definition of actionable tasks and detailed instructions on how to work them, refer to the Actionable Tasks page.

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