Scheduling Reports
You can run Network Director reports as needed or you can automate reports to run in batch by creating a schedule. You can associate a single schedule with one or more reports when you create the report definition. Although you can create a schedule during the report definition process, it is helpful to have the schedules configured before defining the report. To create a new schedule you name the schedule and set the time and frequency of the run.
This topic describes:
How to Create or Manage Schedules
You create a schedule from the Manage Schedules page. You can display this page from the Report mode Tasks pane.
Select Report in the Network Director banner. The Report mode Tasks pane displays the tasks available in the Report mode. Reports run in any network view (Logical, Location, or Device).
Select Manage Schedules in the Tasks pane. The Manage Schedules page opens, displaying all existing report schedules.
From the Manage Schedules page, you can:
Create a new schedule
Edit an existing schedule
See the details of a schedule
Delete a schedule
Managing Schedules
Use the Manage Schedules page to administer report schedules. From this page, you can create new schedules and view, modify, and delete existing schedules. On the Manage Schedules page, a table of existing report schedules appears. You can sort and customize this table to exclude fields that might not be relevant to your needs. The fields in the table are defined in Table 1.
Table 1: Manage Report Schedules
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Schedule Name | The name of the schedule. Indicate the purpose of the schedule in the name. |
Schedule Type | Schedules are either One-Time or Recurring.
|
Recurrence Pattern | How often the pattern repeats. The pattern applies only to recurring schedules. Valid values are:
|
Description | Details of the reoccurrence pattern. |
Status | Either Active or blank. Active indicates the schedule is running. |
From this page you can:
Display a summary of all the parameter settings of a schedule by selecting the schedule and clicking Details. The Report Schedule Summary opens.
Create a new schedule by clicking Add. The Create Schedule window opens.
Select a schedule and change the settings by clicking Edit. The Edit Schedule window opens.
Select a schedule and click Delete to remove a schedule.
Caution Take care when deleting a schedule. Network Director enables you to delete a schedule even if it is active.
Creating New Schedules
Use the Create Schedule window to create a one-time or a recurring schedule.
To create a new schedule:
- Click Add on the Manage Schedules page. The Create Schedule window opens.
- Enter the name for the schedule in Schedule Name. Indicate the purpose of the schedule in the name.
- Choose a one-time run-option or a recurring schedule from
the list.
One-time schedule options are described in Table 2.
Recurring schedule options are described in Table 3.
Depending on the schedule range selected, these settings change dynamically.
Table 2: One-Time Schedule Options
Field
Action
Execute Start Date
Select the date when the schedule is run. You can either fill in a date directly or click the calendar icon to pick a date from a traditional calendar.
Execute Start Time
Select the time the report is run. Time is shown in 24-hour clock format in increments of 15 minutes.
Table 3: Recurring Schedule Options
Field
Action
Hourly
Run the report associated with the schedule, hourly between these hours at intervals of x minutes. Start and end times are shown are in 24-hour clock format, in increments of 15 minutes. For example, if you want to schedule a report to run from 1 am to 3 pm at 30 minute intervals, your settings would be:
between 13:00 and 15:00 at 30 min(s).
Daily
Run the report associated with the schedule either every weekday or on the specified number of sequential days. Use the up and down arrows to set the number of sequential days or click Every weekday.
Weekly
Run the report associated with the schedule on one or more days of the week. Set the schedule to repeat the run in the specified number of weeks. Use the up and down arrows to set the weekly frequency of how often the schedule is repeated. Click one or more of the days when the report is run.
Monthly
Run the report associated with the schedule either on a certain day of the month or on a specified day and week for the specified number of months.
For example, if your organization has a congestion spike at the end of the fiscal quarter, you might want to run reports on the last Friday every 4 months.
- Specify when to start and end implementation of this schedule
as described in Table 4.
Table 4: Range of Recurrence Fields
Field
Action
Start Time:
Select the time of day. The clock is in 24-hour format, in increments of 15 minutes, when the schedule begins to run.
Start Date:
Select the date when the schedule is first implemented. Format is yyyy-mm-dd.
No end date
Select to indicate to continue to use this schedule until it is modified or deleted.
End After: x occurrence
Select to run the schedule for a specified number of times. Use the up and down arrow keys to specify the number of times to run the schedule.
End by:
Select a time and date to stop running the schedule. Date format is yyyy-mm-dd. Select the time from the list; clock times are in increments of 15 minutes.
- Click Add to finish and to validate the schedule.
Editing Schedules
To change an existing schedule:
- Select a schedule from the list in the Manage Schedules page.
- Click Edit to reopen the schedule settings.
- Change the settings based on the values described in Table 2.
- Click Edit to save the revised settings.
Deleting Schedules
Network Director enables you to delete an active schedule. Be aware that deleting a schedule that is active will cause reports not to run.
You can also permanently remove a schedule by selecting the schedule in the Manage Schedule page and clicking Delete.