Orchestrator uses schedules to define the times when runbooks can run. For example, there are times when it is inappropriate to run some runbooks, such as backing up a runbook on a main server during regular business hours. You can create a schedule that will run according to a complex interval, such as the first and third Mondays and Thursdays of every month, except when these days fall on a holiday. You can also use schedules to enforce optimal use of your IT infrastructure resources.

Schedules use the system clock of the operating system on the computer that runs the runbook server, and not Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), to verify the runbook’s start time. This enables schedules to function in virtual machine environments, and to continue running even when the system clock is adjusted because of the move to or from Daylight Savings Time.

For additional help, please refer to the on-line documentation for System Center 2012 - Orchestrator.

Important
If a runbook is scheduled to start during an hour that is skipped when the system clock is adjusted forward by one hour, that starting time is skipped, and the runbook starts at the next scheduled time. If a runbook is scheduled to start during an hour that occurs two times because the system clock is adjusted backward by one hour, the runbook starts two times.

Conditional Links

You can create a schedule by using conditional links or by not using conditional links.

Creating a Schedule with Conditional Links

  1. Insert a See Check Schedule activity and configure this activity to verify the schedule that you created.

  2. In your runbook, insert the Monitor Date/Time activity as the first activity and configure how often this activity should start the runbook.

The Monitor Date/Time activity starts according to its configured interval and passes the runbook action to the Check Schedule activity. The Check Schedule activity verifies that the runbook can run at the current time.

If the runbook can run at that time, the Check Schedule activity returns a data value of true. It passes the runbook action to the next activity if there is a link to the next activity with an Invoke condition of Conforms to schedule from Check Schedule equals true. If the runbook cannot run at that time, the Check Schedule activity returns a published data value of false. It passes the runbook action to the next activity if there is a link to the next activity with an invoke condition of Conforms to schedule from Check Schedule equals false. This is useful when you want to implement conditional link branches according to the results of the schedule verification.

Creating a Schedule without Conditional Links

You can assign a schedule directly to a runbook if your runbook does not use conditional link branches, or if you do not want to process any part of your runbook because it is not allowed in the schedule.

Creating a Schedule and Assigning the Schedule to a Runbook

Runbooks that start before a prohibited time run until finished, even if they are still processing when the prohibited time arrives. They will not be interrupted after processing has started.

Use the following procedures to create a schedule, to assign the schedule to a runbook, or remove a schedule from a runbook.

To create a schedule

  1. From the Connections pane, right-click the Schedules folder or a subfolder of the Schedules folder, point to New, and then click Schedule to open the New Schedule dialog box.

  2. On the General tab, type a Name for the schedule.

  3. Type a Description that describes or explains the purpose of the schedule.

  4. Click the Details tab. Select the days that this schedule allows runbooks to run:

    Days of week: Select this option and select the days of the week when this schedule allows runbooks to run.

    Occurrence: Select the weeks of the month when the schedule allows runbooks to run.

    Days of month: Select this option and select the days of the month when this schedule allows runbooks to run. Specify the days of the month by entering the number of the day. You can use hyphens to describe ranges and commas to separate entries. For example, typing 1,3 will include the first and third day of the month. Typing 1-21 will include the first through to the twenty-first day of the month. You can combine both to create complex descriptions of the days of the month. Type all to specify all days of the month. Type last to specify the last day of the month.

    You cannot use all and last as part of a range of days. Additionally, if you typed a range of 5-31, this range works correctly for all months, including those with 28, 29, 30, and 31 days.

  5. Click Hours to open the Schedule Hours dialog box.

  6. Click and drag to select a group of hours in a week. The text at the bottom of the dialog box shows the time period that you selected. Then select one of the following:

    Permit (blue): assigns the time period that you selected as a time when runbooks are allowed to run.

    Denied (white): assign the time period that you selected as a time when runbooks are not allowed to run.

  7. Click OK.

  8. Click the Exceptions tab. The list displays all the days that are exceptions to the rules defined in the Details tab.

  9. Click Add to open the Date dialog box.

  10. Specify the date and select Allow or Disallow to allow or not allow the runbook to run on that day, and then click OK. The entry appears in the list.

  11. To modify an Exception entry, select it, and then click Modify. To remove the Exception entry, select it, and then click Remove.

  12. To modify a schedule, double-click the Schedule.

  13. To remove a schedule, right-click the Schedule, and then select Delete.

  14. Click Finish.

To assign a schedule to a runbook

  1. Right-click the runbook tab, and then click Properties to open the Runbook Properties dialog box.

  2. On the General tab, click the ellipsis (...) button to open the Select a Schedule dialog box.

  3. Select the schedule that you want to apply to the runbook, and then click OK.

  4. Click Finish.

    Every time the runbook is started, it checks the schedule to verify that it is allowed to run. If it is not allowed to run, it stops and does not restart until the next time it is started.

To remove a schedule from a runbook

  1. Right-click the Runbook tab, and then click Properties to open the Runbook Properties dialog box.

  2. On the General tab, click the ellipsis (...) button to open the Select a Schedule dialog box.

  3. Do not select a schedule. Click OK.

  4. Click Finish. The schedule is removed from the runbook.