Creating scheduling forecasts

Scheduling forecasts enable you to view the upcoming execution load for recurring requests and for requests that will only run once. You can create multiple scheduling forecast to view the execution load over time periods of different lengths, for time periods that are divided or "sliced" in different ways, and, for recurring or non-recurring requests.

Once a forecast is built, charts are available showing the forecast by slice. A vertical bar chart is the default. A horizontal bar chart and a line chart are also available.

When creating and viewing scheduling forecasts, consider the following:

  • Specifying too small a slice time with too large a duration will result in both long forecast build times and charts that are not readable.
  • A recurring request can end up in a slice more than once and can be in more than slice. If a request runs every 15 minutes and you have a one-hour slice time and forecast a two-hour window, that request will be in both slices and it will be in each slice four times.
  • Slices are always rounded down. For example, if you specify a quarter-hour slice and the forecast starts building at 9:10, the first slice will be from 9 am to 9:14:59 but will only include any that are scheduled to run from 9:10 to 9:14:59 because your start time was mid slice. The same goes for the last slice. If the ending time is mid slice, the last slice will only include schedules up to that time.

There is a delivered purge request to clean up expired forecasts. The default frequency of the purge is once a month, and the default limits are to purge any forecasts where the end time is less than 30 days. It does NOT delete the forecast record itself, only the slices and members of generated forecasts.

  1. In the Async Administrator, select Forecasting.
  2. On the Scheduling Forecasts page, click Create.
  3. On the Scheduling Forecast form, specify this information:
    Async Scheduling Forecast
    Specify a name for the forecast.
    Description
    Specify a description for the scheduling forecast.
    Last Forecast Time
    The last time that the forecast was generated.
    Time Slice Size
    The slice of time to show counts for. Valid options are: Minute, Five Minute, Ten Minute, Quarter Hour, Half Hour, Hour, Day, Week, Month.
    Time Zone
    The time zone to use. It defaults to the user's current time zone.
    Slice Date Format
    The date format to use in charts. Valid options are: Full, Long, Medium, Short. The default is Short.
    Requests To Include
    Specify the requests to include in the forecast. Valid options are: Recurring Only, One Time Only, and All.
    Exclude System Requests
    Select this check box to exclude system requests from the forecast.
    Start Time Offset
    Define the time that the forecast period begins. You can define this time in two ways. If you select Specify in this field, you can then specify a date and time in a Start Time field. If you select Minutes, Hours, Days, or Months in this field, you then need to specify a number in the Start Time Multiplier field. For example, if you specify Hours in the Start Time Offset field and then specify 2 in the Start Time Multiplier field, the start time will be two hours after the current time when you build the forecast. When setting the start time offset, you need to specify a time that is sufficiently in the future to avoid the forecast trying to pick up actively running requests. The minimum offset is two minutes, but if you use Minutes in the Start Time field, consider a greater value than two.
    Duration Option
    Define the time that the forecast period ends. You can define this time in two ways. If you select Specify in this field, you can then specify a date and time in the End Time field. If you select Minutes, Hours, Days, or Months in this field, you then need to specify a number in the Duration Length field. For example, if you specify Days in the Duration Option field and then specify 14 in the Duration Length field, the forecast period will end 14 days after the forecast period started.
  4. Click Save to save the scheduling forecast. For information on building and viewing, a scheduling forecast, see Building and viewing scheduling forecasts.