OPEN SOURCE - Job Scheduler - Benefits

Job Scheduler
 
 
Why use a Job Scheduler - when there is cron  (Unix) or at  (Windows) to do this job?
 
One simple reason for Job Scheduling is: cron and at follow the principle of fire & forget.
There are limited possibilites to react to job execution results. While you can implement your own processing control for Unix, it will be a lot of work and it will be like reinventing the wheel.

Have a look at the discussion at Slashdot on the subject Better Scheduler Than Cron?
There you will find the most important arguments pro and con dedicated Job Schedulers.

The differences are:
  • The Job Scheduler provides automatically log files for running programs
  • The execution status of programs is automatically checked and an administrator will receive protocols by eMail
  • The sequence of job starts can be organised depending on their execution status
  • Job Schedulers are controlled by a graphical user interface
  • Job Schedulers can be used to create complex job chains and job dependencies

For more information how to use and migrate crontabs with Job Scheduler see Using and Migrating Cron with Job Scheduler  (HTML)  (PDF)

What are the differences between commercial products and our Job Scheduler?
 
  • The Job Scheduler is available as Open Source licence. The source code is available for all users, individual modifications are permitted.
  • The Job Scheduler is licenced under the GNU Public Licence (original Version).
    The software can be used without licence fee by private and commercial users.
  • For commercial users a Closed Source licence is offered, including additional
    support options and indemnitiy agreements.
  • Last but not least, commercial Job Schedulers offer a wider support for operating systems and more functionality for system spanning job management.
What are the differences between this Job Scheduler and other Open Source products?
 
Each product has it's strength, in other words it is the software design that decides what purpose a Job Scheduler is most suited for. A concise overview on some products is found at

Our focus for the Job Scheduler design is:
  • Support for simple and complex business cases, from simple programs and scripts to very sophisticated scheduling tasks
  • Availability of an API for Java and scripting language as Perl, Javascript, VBScript
  • Bullet-proof logging of jobs, tasks and optional use of databases to store log files
  • Wide support for Open Source and commercial databases
  • Availability of standard job packages (Housekeeping, Database Maintenance, Reporting)


Some differences to other Open Source Job Schedulers:
  • Quartz Job Scheduler is mainly integrated with J2EE applications, but less suitable as a standalone Job Scheduling system
  • The Maui Job Scheduler is more focussed on Unix operating systems with Java or Python
  • Condor-G and OpenPBS are Job Schedulers that are preferably used in larger grid based frameworks, e.g. with Globus Toolkit
 
 
 
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