Scheduled Tasks

Scheduled tasks can be created to perform actions when the task is triggered at a scheduled time or at regular intervals.

The following actions can be performed:

  • Create a snapshot of a datastore
  • Reclaim space in a datastore
  • Create an alarm to notify that a datastore requires reclamation

In this topic:

Viewing task information

Creating a task to create a snapshot of a datastore

Creating a task to reclaim space in a datastore

Creating a task to create an alarm for datastore reclamation

Editing tasks

Deleting tasks

Viewing Task Information

When Scheduled Tasks is opened from DataCore Devices, a list of existing scheduled tasks that have been created in the plug-in is displayed. Task actions are initiated from this area. 

Scheduled Tasks List

Scheduled Tasks List

Name of the task

Type of task:

Create Alarm, Create Snapshot, or Reclaim Space

Name of datastore that the task action is applied to.

Date and time that the task was created, next scheduled to run, and last run time.

Last run result:

Success - The task has successfully run at the Last Run Time noted.

Has not been run - The task has been configured, but the start date and time is in the future and the task has not run yet.

Expired - The Next Run Time scheduled for the task was configured in the past and the task could not be run. Edit the task to set a new start date and time for a future time.

Failed - The task has run and failed. See the Windows Application logs in the Event Viewer for more information.

Scheduled Tasks Details

Create Snapshot Task Details

Name of the task.

Date: Date the task was created.

Insert Check Point: Yes (if a check point is inserted when the snapshot is created) or No (no check point)

Datastore: Name of the datastore from which a snapshot is created

Virtual Machines:  Names of virtual machines associated with the datastore

Schedule Options: Type of scheduled task created.

List of snapshots created by the task.

Creating a Task to Create a Snapshot of a Datastore

The task will create a snapshot in DataCore software of a selected datastore at the scheduled times. Snapshots will have the same name as the source datastore with the timestamp appended.

  • To successfully quiesce virtual machines before taking snapshots, VMware tools must be installed on the guest operating system. (Virtual machines that are not quiesced will still be saved in the snapshot and may be reverted (restored), although those restored virtual machines may be in a crash-consistent state.)
  • To send checkpoint markers to update snapshots on the replication destination, a snapshot must be pre-selected for the replication destination. (In the DataCore Management Console, select the snapshot to be updated in the Virtual Disk Details page>Replication tab for the destination virtual disk.)

To create a task to create a snapshot:

  1. In the DataCore Devices box on the DataCore, click Scheduled Tasks.
  2. In the menu bar, click Create Scheduled Task to open the Create Scheduled Task wizard.
  3. In Scheduled Task Type, select Create Snapshot and click Next.

  4. In Select Datastore, click the radio button to indicate which datastore to create a snapshot from.

  5. In Select Virtual Machines, select the virtual machines to quiesce, if desired, and click Next.  

    Quiescing will put the virtual machine in a consistent state before the snapshot is created. The snapshot will be created of the entire datastore, but only the selected virtual machines will be quiesced. (A VMware snapshot will also be created for the selected virtual machines and automatically removed once the DataCore snapshot is created.)

  6. In Snapshot Type, select either Differential Snapshot or Full Snapshot.   
    If the virtual disk associated with the datastore is the source virtual disk in a replication, select the check box at the bottom of the dialog box to send a checkpoint marker to the replication destination. If the check box is selected and a snapshot is configured on the destination, that snapshot will be updated. Click Next to continue.

  7. In Select Schedule, configure the start and recurrence of the task. Tasks can be run once, daily, weekly, or monthly. Tasks run once begin at the start date and time.
    1. A start date and time is supplied in the text box. To change the start, enter the new date and time in the text box. The time is represented in 24-hour local time.
    2. Select the schedule type and configure the parameters. Daily, weekly, or monthly tasks run on a recurring schedule.

      Schedule TypeDescription
      Run oneThe task will run once on the Start time supplied.  
      DailyEnter the number of days until the task should run again. For instance, to run the task every day, enter 1 in the Recur Every box.  To run the task every other day, enter 2. To run the task every 15 days, enter 15.  
      WeeklySelect the specific days of the week to run the task and enter the number of weeks until the task should run again. For instance, to run the task every other week, enter 2 in the Recur Every box.  
      Monthly

      In the Months box, enter the number of months until the task should run again and the day of the month that the task should run. For instance, to run the task every month on the 15th day of the month, enter 1 in the Recur Every box and 15 in the day box.  To run the task every other month on the 5th day of the month, enter 2 in the Recur Every box and 5 in the day box. The task will not be run on the 30th if the month does not have 30 days.  

    3. Select the check box at the bottom of the dialog box to automatically delete the snapshot and select the time frame (the number of days, weeks, or months) for doing so.
    4. Click Next to continue.
  8. In Specify Credentials, enter the task name at the top of the dialog box and enter the login credentials for the vCenter Server and DataCore Server. To use the same DataCore Server credentials used to log in to the DataCore Plug-in for VMware vSphere, select the use current login credentials check box. Click Next to continue.  
  9. In Summary, confirm that the correct selections have been made for the task and click Finish to complete. The new task will appear in the Scheduled Tasks list.

Creating a Task to Reclaim Space in a Datastore

Reclaiming space in a datastore can take a considerable amount of time and reclamation can be canceled if necessary.

To create a task to reclaim space:

  1. In the DataCore Devices box on the DataCore, click Scheduled Tasks.
  2. In the menu bar, click Create Scheduled Task to open the Create Scheduled Task wizard.
  3. In Scheduled Task Type, select Reclaim Space and click Next.

  4. In Select Datastore, click the radio button to indicate which datastore to create a snapshot from.

  5. In Specify Reclamation Percentage, enter the percentage of total available (free) space that should be reclaimed during the reclamation process. The percentage entered should be no more than 80% of the total available space in the pool in order to keep sufficient space available for storage provisioning during the reclamation process. Click Next to continue.

  6. In Select Schedule, configure the start and recurrence of the task.  Tasks can be run once, daily, weekly, or monthly. Tasks run once begin at the start date and time.
    1. A start date and time is supplied in the text box. To change the start, enter the new date and time in the text box. The time is represented in 24-hour local time.  
    2. Select the schedule type and configure the parameters. Daily, weekly, or monthly tasks run on a recurring schedule.

      Schedule TypeDescription
      Run oneThe task will run once on the Start time supplied.  
      DailyEnter the number of days until the task should run again. For instance, to run the task every day, enter 1 in the Recur Every box. To run the task every other day, enter 2. To run the task every 15 days, enter 15.  
      WeeklySelect the specific days of the week to run the task and enter the number of weeks until the task should run again. For instance, to run the task every other week, enter 2 in the Recur Every box.  
      Monthly

      In the Months box, enter the number of months until the task should run again and the day of the month that the task should run. For instance, to run the task every month on the 15th day of the month, enter 1 in the Recur Every box and 15 in the day box. To run the task every other month on the 5th day of the month, enter 2 in the Recur Every box and 5 in the day box. The task will not be run on the 30th if the month does not have 30 days.

    3. Select the check box at the bottom of the dialog box to automatically delete the snapshot and select the time frame (the number of days, weeks, or months) for doing so.
    4. Click Next to continue.
  7. In Specify Credentials, enter the task name at the top of the dialog box and enter the login credentials for the vCenter Server and DataCore Server. To use the same DataCore Server credentials used to log in to the DataCore Plug-in for VMware vSphere, select the use current login credentials check box. Click Next to continue.  
  8. In Summary, confirm the correct selections have been made for the task and click Finish to complete. The new task will appear in the Scheduled Tasks list.

Creating a Task to Create an Alarm For Datastore Reclamation

This task will create warning and alert level alarms when the specified alarm conditions have been met. The alarm conditions are a percentage of the datastore capacity. The percentage represents the delta between the amount of allocated space in the associated virtual disk and the amount of used space in the datastore. This delta represents the amount of "wasted" space that could be reclaimed.

The default settings are 20% - warning level alarm and 50% - alert level alarm.

In this case:

  • The warning level alarm would be met when the virtual disk allocated space minus the datastore used space reaches 20% of the total datastore capacity.
  • The alert level alarm would be met when the virtual disk allocated space minus the datastore used space reaches 50% of the total datastore capacity.

To create a task to create an alarm:

  1. In the DataCore Devices box on the DataCore, click Scheduled Tasks.  
  2. In the menu bar, click Create Scheduled Task to open the Create Scheduled Task wizard.
  3. In Scheduled Task Type, select Create Alarm and click Next.

  4. In Select type, select Datastore Reclamation and click Next.

  5. In Select Datastore, select the radio button for the datastore to monitor and click Next.

  6. In Specify Alarm Conditions, enter the percentage of total datastore capacity when the warning and alert level alarms should be created. Click Next to continue.

  7. In Select Schedule, configure the start and recurrence of the task. Tasks can be run once, daily, weekly, or monthly. Tasks run once begin at the start date and time.
    1. A start date and time is supplied in the text box. To change the start, enter the new date and time in the text box. The time is represented in 24-hour local time.  
    2. Select the schedule type and configure the parameters. Daily, weekly, or monthly tasks run on a recurring schedule.

      Schedule TypeDescription
      Run oneThe task will run once on the Start time supplied.  
      DailyEnter the number of days until the task should run again. For instance, to run the task every day, enter 1 in the Recur Every box. To run the task every other day, enter 2. To run the task every 15 days, enter 15.
      WeeklySelect the specific days of the week to run the task and enter the number of weeks until the task should run again. For instance, to run the task every other week, enter 2 in the Recur Every box.  
      Monthly

      In the Months box, enter the number of months until the task should run again and the day of the month that the task should run. For instance, to run the task every month on the 15th day of the month, enter 1 in the Recur Every box and 15 in the day box. To run the task every other month on the 5th day of the month, enter 2 in the Recur Every box and 5 in the day box. The task will not be run on the 30th if the month does not have 30 days.

    3. Select the check box at the bottom of the dialog box to automatically delete the snapshot and select the time frame (the number of days, weeks, or months) for doing so.
    4. Click Next to continue.
  8. In Specify Credentials, enter the task name at the top of the dialog box and enter the login credentials for the vCenter Server and DataCore Server. To use the same DataCore Server credentials used to log in to the DataCore Plug-in for VMware vSphere, select the use current login credentials check box. Click Next to continue.  
  9. In Summary, confirm the correct selections have been made for the task and click Finish to complete. The new task will appear in the Scheduled Tasks list.

Editing Tasks

The schedule and credentials for an existing task can be changed. To change other task parameters, the task should be deleted and recreated.

To edit a task:

  1. In the DataCore Devices box on the DataCore, click Scheduled Tasks.
  2. In the Schedule Tasks list, select the task to edit and click Edit in the menu bar.
  3. In Select Schedule, select the new schedule and click Next.
  4. In Specify Credentials, enter the new credentials and click Finish.

Deleting Tasks

To delete a task:

  1. In the DataCore Devices box on the DataCore, click Scheduled Tasks.
  2. In the Schedule Tasks list, select the task to delete and click Delete in the menu bar.