Scheduling a Flow

Scheduling a flow enables a job or dataflow to run automatically at a specified time or times.
Note: Scheduling a recurring date and time: All flows start the first day of each month, and repeat according to the recurring schedule you set. Recurrence scheduling defines the start and end time and interval on which flows will run. For example, if you schedule a flow to run every six days, at 2:00 AM, the flow will run day 1, day 6, day 12, day 24, through the end of the month, at the same time.
  • On a specific date and time
  • On a recurring basis on the specified dates and times
Note: In order to create, edit, or view a schedule, you must have View permission for the secured entity type being scheduled, either Dataflows or Process Flows.
  1. If you have not already done so, expose the flow.

    You can expose a flow by opening it in Spectrum Enterprise Designer and selecting File > Expose/Unexpose and Save.

  2. Open Spectrum Management Console.
  3. Go to Flows > Schedules.
  4. Click the Add button .
  5. In the Name field, enter the name you want to give to this schedule. This is the name that will be displayed in the schedules listing.
  6. In the Flow field, enter the job or process flow that you want to run. Only jobs and process flows that are saved and exposed are available here.
  7. After you specify a flow, additional fields appear below the Flow field, one field for each of the flow's source stages (such as Read from File) and sink stages (such as Write to File).
    These fields show the files that will be used when the flow runs by this schedule. By default, the flow will use the files specified in the flow's sources and sinks. You can specify different files to use when this schedule runs by replacing the file path with the path to another file. For example, if your flow has a Read from File stage that reads data from C:\FlowInput\Customers.csv but you want to use data from C:\FlowInput\UpdatedCustomers.csv when this schedule runs, you would specify C:\FlowInput\UpdatedCustomers.csv in the Read from File field.
    Note: In order change the files used in the source and sink stages you must have Read permission for the Resources - File Servers secured entity type.

    Note that when a flow is triggered by a schedule the files used by a flow must reside on the Spectrum Technology Platform server or on a file server defined as an external resource in Spectrum Management Console. This applies both to jobs as well as job activities within a process flow. If a source or sink stage references a file on a client computer to modify the dataflow or override the dataflow file location.

    Option 1: Move the file to the Spectrum Technology Platform server or file server then modify the dataflow:
    1. Open the dataflow in Spectrum Enterprise Designer.
    2. Double-click the source or sink stage.
    3. In the File name field, click the browse button.
    4. Click Remote Machine then select the file you want.
      Note: If you are running Spectrum Enterprise Designer on the same machine as the Spectrum Technology Platform server, it will appear that clicking Remote Machine is no different than clicking My Computer. However, you must select the file using Remote Machine in order for the system to recognize the file as being on the Spectrum Technology Platform server.
    Option 2: Override the dataflow file location when this schedule runs.

    You can override the file references contained in the flow when this schedule runs. To do this, replace the default file shown in each source and sink field with a path to a file on the Spectrum Technology Platform server or a file server resource defined in Spectrum Management Console.

  8. In the Trigger field, select one of these options:
    Date/Time
    Run the flow once at a specific date and time.
    Recurring Date/Time
    Run the flow on multiple dates and times using a pattern of recurrence.
    Control File
    Run the flow when a file appears in a specified directory. For information about using a control file, see Triggering a Flow with a Control File.
  9. Specify the date and time or the recurrence interval for running the flow.
    Note: If you chose Recurring Date/Time in the Trigger field, be sure to select a start date that conforms to the recurrence pattern. For example, if you chose to run the flow on the first Monday of the month, be sure to select a date that is the first Monday of the month. If you select a date that does not meet the recurrence pattern, the flow may run at an unexpected time. Also, selecting a start date in the past may result in the flow running at an unexpected time.
  10. If the flow is configured to send email notifications you can specify additional recipients for the notifications that will be sent when this schedule runs. The recipients you specify here will receive notifications in addition to those recipients specified in the flow's notification settings. To configure a flow to send notifications, open the flow in Spectrum Enterprise Designer and go to Edit > Notifications.
  11. Click Save.