DSXchange

Hi,

I'm looking for a recommendation on how be to inhibit the execution of a sequence or schedule. On-site we have a maintenance group that have a habit of just stopping processes.

The current thinking is to have a 'stop file' resident in a folder and stop the start of sequences if its there. I can see the reverse (wait for file), might work but I'm just after ideas on any better options.

All help gratefully received.

Thanks

The Wait For File Activity stage supports either way--waiting for a file to appear or disappear. So you could have it check for a 'maintenance file' and wait for it to disappear. Just be sure the team understands having the file present won't stop any jobs that are already running. Sounds like they need to be severely disciplined...!

Disciplined, or punished?

I tell my infrastructure support people that they have two choices: do some planning and announce any "outage" in advance, or watch me do a verbal scorched earth routine.

It should be very simple. The system is in use, or it is the private playground of the maintenance guys. One cannot have it both ways. We had a similar situation in our non-production regions at one point, prompting one developer to label it The Wild West, and it didn't get resolved until someone got a word in edgewise at a budget meeting for how much it was costing us in both resources and missed deadlines.

The file thing is a cheap and dangerous substitute for automated scheduling. If the jobs are dependent on hardware being available, any scheduler worth buying will have an on-off "switch" which will automatically hold jobs in any scenario where maintenance must be done. Making the developer code for that contingency is like making the IT team hire someone to guard the electrical outlet in case someone might blunder by and pull the plug.

What Franklin said, redoubled.