Schedule Interfaces

By default, an interface runs on a schedule with a run time of 12:00 A.M. daily, but it can be altered to run at any time of day, down to the second.

If an interface does not have a schedule (as in., the Schedule Info fields are not populated on the Vertical View of the Interfaces page), the interface must be run manually until a schedule is added.

NOTE: It is recommended to synchronize Retry Intervals and Interface Schedules so that two instances of the same interface are not attempting to run at the same time.  Refer to Set Retry Parameters for more information.

Interfaces can be scheduled to run two ways (as determined by the SCHEDULE TYPE field):

  • Frequency – A numeric value describing how often the schedule runs.
  • RunTime – The specific time when the interface is run.

Run an Interface on a Frequency Schedule

Running an interface on a Frequency schedule allows users to determine how often an interface runs, for example, every 10 minutes or once a month. Users cannot, however, configure the exact time of day the interface runs.

NOTE: The exact time the interface runs is determined by how frequently the Interface (Initiator) service page runs. By default, this service page runs every 30 seconds (refer to the Configure Automate Service Pages section for information on the recommended schedule).

When the Interface (Initiator) service pages runs, an interface is submitted to run if:

  • The current date is greater than the last run time of the Automate job plus the configured Frequency, and
  • The day that the interface is to run is enabled on the Schedule Info tab of the interface

To run an interface on a Frequency schedule in Automate:

  1. Select Interfaces in the Navigation pane.

  2. Click Vertical View for desired interface.

  3. Click the Schedule Info tab.

  4. Click Edit.

    View the field description for the Interfaces page’s Vertical View

  5. Enter the number of times an interface is run per chosen unit of measure in the Frequency field.

  6. Select a unit of measure at which the frequency runs from the UOM list box. Options are Day, Hour, Minute, Month, and Second.

  7. Click the check boxes next to the names of the select day(s) of the week the interface is to run.

    NOTE: The Days field is automatically populated with when the interface is schedule to run, based on the information populated in the Frequency and UOM fields.

  8. Click Save.

Example:

Frequency: 5 minutes

Days: Monday and Wednesday

On Monday at 12:00 A.M., the interface is submitted once the Interface (Initiator) service page runs and the current date is greater than the last run time of the Automate job plus the Frequency set for the interface schedule. If it takes the service page 3 minutes to run and the Frequency is 5 minutes, the interface is submitted at 12:08 A.M. The interface continues to run on this schedule until Tuesday at 12:00 A.M. The same schedule begins again on Wednesday at 12:00 A.M and runs until Thursday at 12:00 A.M.

Run an Interface on a RunTime Schedule

Running an interface on a Run Time schedule allows users to select a specific reoccurring date and time to run the interface.

To run an interface on a Run Time schedule in Automate:

  1. Select Interfaces in the Navigation pane.

  2. Click Vertical View for desired interface.

  3. Click the Schedule Info tab.

  4. Click Edit.

    View the field description for the Interfaces page’s Vertical View

  5. Enter the specific time when the interface is to run in the Run Time field.

  6. Click the check boxes next to the names of the select day(s) of the week the interface is to run.

    NOTE: The Days field is automatically populated with when the interface is schedule to run, based on the information populated in the Run Time and Day Info fields.

  7. Click Save.

Manually Run an Interface

Interfaces can be manually run to test the interface, to rerun the interface due to errors in the last run, or if the interface needs to be run before the next scheduled time.

To manually run an interface in Automate:

  1. Select Interfaces in the Navigation pane.
  2. Click Vertical View for the interface. Run options are:

  • Debug – Immediately runs the interface in the foreground with full logging information. Debug Mode must be enabled on the Vertical View of the Interfaces page.

  • Execute – Immediately runs the interface in the foreground.

  • Submit – Submits the interface to run in the background.

NOTE: These icons are only active when ACTIVE is enabled for the interface.