How To Schedule A Task In Windows Server 2008

If y'all would like to read the next part in this article series delight go to Working with the Windows Server 2008 Task Scheduler (Part 2).

The Windows Task Scheduler is practically equally one-time as Windows itself. Information technology has been around since at least Windows NT 4.0, and has evolved relatively niggling over the years. Since the days of Windows NT, the Windows Job Scheduler has existed in the form of a command line tool called AT.

The AT was used to run tasks at a specific time. Although AT worked really well, it required the ambassador to enter a number of complicated command line switches.

Somewhere along the way, Microsoft introduced a graphical interface to the AT tool (I think it was first released in the Windows 98 Resource Kit, but I tin't recall for certain). This tool, called WinAT, greatly simplified the procedure of using the Windows job scheduler, but for some reason it just never seemed to have defenseless on with administrators.

Although the AT command is alive and well in Windows Vista and in Windows Server 2008, Microsoft has finally brought the Windows Task Scheduler into the twenty first century. The AT control hasn't really inverse at all though. In fact, if yous look at the screen capture shown in Figure A, you tin can come across that the Windows Vista version of the AT command looks the same as what was used in much older versions of Windows.

Figure A: The Windows Vista version of the AT control looks like what you would find in much older versions of Windows

The Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 versions of the Chore Scheduler offering many more capabilities than what take previously been included in the Windows Task Scheduler, but these new capabilities are not exposed through the AT command. Instead, there is a new GUI console that provides you with admission to all of the new capabilities. In Windows Server 2008, you tin access the new and improved Windows Task Scheduler past opening the Server Manager and navigating through the console tree to Server Manager | Configuration | Task Scheduler. Y'all tin can see what this console looks like in Figure B.

Effigy B: The initial Windows Chore Scheduler screen displays all of the tasks that have completed in the last 24 hours

Triggers

Ane of the biggest differences between the Windows Server 2008 / Windows Vista chore scheduler is the number of triggers that are available. A trigger is an event that causes the scheduled activity to occur. If you lot are using the AT command as an interface to the Windows Chore Scheduler, then the only trigger that is available to yous is a schedule trigger. For example, yous can configure the Windows Chore Scheduler to perform an action at a specific date and time. You have the choice of making the result recurring, but that's really most it as far equally trigger options go.

If you employ the new graphical interface for the Windows Task Scheduler, you nonetheless have the selection of creating scheduled triggers, but at that place are a lot more options that are available to you as well. Some of the other triggers that are offered include:

At Log On
At Startup
On Idle
On an Consequence
At Task Creation / Modification
On Connection to User Session
On Disconnect from User Session
On Workstation Lock
On Workstation Unlock

As you can imagine, these various types of triggers give you a lot of flexibility. For instance you could create a job that automatically runs a script when a certain system event occurs. Likewise, you could create a task that displays a security warning message each time a user unlocks their computer.

Actions

Simply as Microsoft has created lots of new types of schedule triggers, they accept as well given you more options when it comes to performing an action once a trigger occurs. If you've ever worked with the AT command, then you know that previously your simply option for performing an action was to run a command. This command could be an executable program, or it could exist a batch file.

The Windows Task Scheduler GUI in Windows Server 2008 notwithstanding allows yous to execute a control when a trigger occurs, simply that isn't your simply option. Yous also have the pick of sending an Email bulletin (with an optional attachment) or of displaying a message in a window on the motorcar on which the trigger has occurred.

Technically speaking, all of these options are possible when using the AT command. The difference is that if y'all want to use the AT command to transport an Electronic mail message or to display a text bulletin, then y'all would have to write a script that would generate the message, and then set up a task that would launch the script at the scheduled time. Windows Server 2008 frees you from having to exercise the scripting, because it offers built in tools for sending E-mail letters of displaying text messages. All you accept to do is to fill in the various fields.

Conditions

The prissy thing nigh the Windows Server 2008 Task Scheduler is that it besides allows you to control the conditions nether which a trigger takes effect. For example, you may only want the scheduled task to run if the computer is running on Air conditioning ability, and non if it is running on bombardment. Likewise, if the estimator is in hibernation, you demand to decide if the computer should wake upwards to perform the triggered task, or if y'all would adopt for the computer to stay asleep.

If Windows is running on a laptop, then there may exist times when a network connexion is unavailable. If the triggered task is network dependant, then it would exist pointless to run the task if the chore requires network connectivity, then you will need to tell Windows whether or not the task is network dependant.

These are all examples of weather that can affect the way that a chore can run. Equally yous can see in Effigy C, Windows allows you to pre-configure these, and other conditions so that the Windows Job Scheduler knows under which circumstances to run a triggered task.

Figure C: Windows provides a number of optional conditions that you can configure

Settings

Settings are similar to conditions, but are used once the triggered task is already running. For instance, a setting volition let yous to tell Windows what to do if the triggered task fails, or if information technology runs for an excessive length of time. You can besides use settings to strength a job to stop under sure situations or even to automatically delete an expired job. You tin can encounter the settings that are available to you in Figure D.

Effigy D: Settings permit you lot to control how a task behaves once information technology starts

Conclusion

In this commodity, I have talked about the bones components that brand upwards the new and improved Windows Task Scheduler. In Part 2 of this article series, I will bear witness you how to create a job, and talk about some of the built in tasks.

If you would like to read the next part in this article serial please go to Working with the Windows Server 2008 Task Scheduler (Function 2).

Source: https://techgenix.com/working-windows-server-2008-task-scheduler-part1/

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