Scheduling Process Initiation 

Use

In addition to starting processes in GP runtime, you can create tasks that initiate processes automatically, based on delayed-start and recurrent process schedules. With the tools of the Administration workset you can also monitor schedules to identify possible execution errors.

You need to stock up on certain materials at regular intervals. You create a task for initiating the order office material process. You specify the user-specific process name “order ink cartridges” and after completing the wizard steps, you create a schedule using the recurrent monthly type.

Prerequisites

·        In GP design time, you have configured and activated the process template that you want to schedule.

●      You have the appropriate rights to work with the Administration workset.

See: Portal Roles

Procedure

1. Create a Task

To be able to set up scheduled initiation of processes, you have to create a task for each relevant process template, specifying all necessary information such as the initiator, step processors and input parameters (if any).

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       1.      Navigate to Administration  → Schedule Process Initiation.

Tasks are listed in the Scheduled Processes table.

       2.      Under Scheduled Processes, choose Create.

       3.      Specify a name and description for the task and, optionally, a user-specific name and description for the process.

       4.      Choose the initiator of the process.

This may be the current user or any other user registered in the portal.

       5.      Select an activated process template from the gallery.

       6.      Optionally, supply input parameters if the process exposes them and requires them for execution.

       7.      Make sure that you assign users to all process roles. 

The following assignment methods guarantee that each process role has at least one user assigned:

¡        Default assignment at design time when the role type is Initiation Defined

○       Assignment at initiation when the role type is Initiation Defined

○       Setting the role type to Initiator

In addition, you can determine whether to use one process for all users (Single Initiation) or as many processes as users you assign to a selected role (Mass Initiation).

       8.      Configure the post-processing options for the task.

You may want to design and implement a post-processing class that handles process parameters once the process has been initiated. To use this class with the process initiation task, select the appropriate container type (Library, Service, or Application) and specify the names of the development component and the post-processing class.

       9.      Finally, choose Finish.

2. Create a Schedule

For each task, you can create one or more schedules and configure their execution depending on specific criteria.

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       1.      Select a task from the Scheduled Processes table and under Assigned Schedules, choose Create.

Once created, task schedules are displayed in the Assigned Schedule table.

       2.      Determine the schedule type – whether the process is to start once or repeatedly. You can choose between several recurrence options.

       3.      Specify the date and time of initiation.

At the scheduled date and time the system executes the task and updates the indicators for Status and Last Execution.

You can enter a date in the past. This may be necessary in exceptional cases, for example, for testing purposes. When you specify a schedule date in the past, the system always uses a current process start date and launches the process immediately.

       4.      Select the priority level of the schedule.

The system uses Middle as default. If there are several threads, the system processes those with high priority first.

       5.      Select the error mode.

Error modes specify whether to abort the processing or try to execute the scheduled process again.

You can configure a maximum number of attempts to initiate the process in case of an error. You should apply settings in the Config Tool while your SAP J2EE Engine is not running instead of in Visual Administrator at runtime. For more information, see Configure the Error Modes at the end of the procedure.

       6.      Finally, choose Save.

Optional: Configure the Error Modes

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       1.      Stop your portal server and start the Config Tool, for example, using the shortcut configtool_offline.bat provided by your SAP J2EE Engine.

The Configuration Editor opens.

       2.      In the Config Tool, navigate to Configuration → cluster data → server → persistent → caf~eu~gp~model → extended.properties and change the values of the following properties:

○       schedule.errormode.tryagain

○       schedule.errormode.trymax

The system uses the following default settings:

#!Scheduled Initiation Error Mode Try Again, max number of tries #!(Type : int, Default: '2') schedule.errormode.tryagain=2 #!Scheduled Initiation Error Mode Try Max (Try until success), max number of tries #!(Type : int, Default: '100') schedule.errormode.trymax=100

For more information, see the documentation of the Config Tool.

Result

You can monitor the status of process initiation schedules in execution and identify schedules that have not been completed.

More information: Monitoring Process Schedules