Windows Scheduled Tasks Test

The Task Scheduler on Windows systems enables you to automatically perform routine tasks - eg., starting an application, sending an email, or showing a message box - on a chosen computer. Tasks can be scheduled to execute:

  • When a specific system event occurs.

  • At a specific time.

  • At a specific time on a daily schedule.

  • At a specific time on a weekly schedule.

  • At a specific time on a monthly schedule.

  • At a specific time on a monthly day-of-week schedule.

  • When the computer enters an idle state.

  • When the task is registered.

  • When the system is booted.

  • When a user logs on.

  • When a Terminal Server session changes state.

Administrators need to continuously track the status of tasks so scheduled, so that they can always tell which tasks are running as per schedule and which scheduled tasks have failed. The Windows Scheduled Tasks test helps in this regard. This test monitors pre-configured tasks at periodic intervals and reports the count of tasks in various stages of progress. To determine which tasks are in what state currently, use the detailed diagnosis of the test.

This test is disabled by default. To enable the test, go to the enable / disable tests page using the menu sequence : Agents -> Tests -> Enable/Disable, pick the desired Component type, set Performance as the Test type, choose the test from the DISABLED TESTS list, and click on the << button to move the test to the ENABLED TESTS list. Finally, click the Update button.

Target of the test : A Windows host

Agent deploying the test : An internal/remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the Windows system being monitored

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter Description

Test Period

How often should the test be executed.

Host

The host for which the test is to be configured.

port

The port at which the specified host listens

Tasklist

By default, all is displayed here indicating that the test monitors all scheduled tasks by default. You can override this default setting by providing a comma-separated list of tasks to be monitored. Note that the task name specified here should be exactly the same as that which is displayed in the 'Scheduled Tasks' window that appears when the 'Scheduled Tasks' option in the Control Panel is clicked. 

Exclude folder

If this test is being configured for a Windows 2008 system and above, then you can exclude all scheduled tasks that reside in specific folders from the monitoring purview of this test. For this , provide a comma-separated list of folders to be excluded in this text box. For instance, \Microsoft,\*\Windows\*,\*\WPD,\*\Windows Defender. By default, this parameter is none.

DD Frequency

Refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD frequency.

Detailed Diagnosis

To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option.

The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability
  • Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.
Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Running tasks

Indicates the number of tasks that were running during the last measurement period.

Number

 

Succeeded tasks

Indicates the number of tasks that were executed successfully during the last measurement period.

Number

Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know which tasks have succeeded.

Failed tasks

Indicates the number of tasks that failed during the last measurement period.

Number

A task is said to have failed when the most recent attempt to start the task did not work.

Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to view the failed tasks.

Disabled tasks

Indicates the number of tasks that were disabled during the last measurement period.

Number

If one or more attempts to run a task was missed, then such a task is counted as a disabled task. Tasks that have been explicitly disabled by a user will also be included in the disabled tasks count provided, the task ran during the last test execution. 

Unknown tasks

Indicates the number of tasks that could not be identified during the last measurement period.

Number

Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to determine the unknown tasks.

Queued tasks

Indicates the number of tasks that were in queue during the last measurement period.

Number