5 1 0:Blocking Events

Overview

SEP sesam provides options to prevent the activation of events on specific days or at certain hours. You can create and schedule a blocking event. A blocking event is any type of event that prevents another event from starting, allowing you to control the execution of tasks. You can create and schedule blocking events to achieve the following:

• Prevent activation of a scheduled task or task group on a certain date
• Prevent activation of any or all types of events on a certain date
• Prevent activation of a scheduled task or task group within a specific timeframe

To create a blocking event, you can configure it during the initial setup of an event or modify the event properties. Blocking events are scheduled in the same way as other events, and you can define the desired timeframe and recurrence pattern. You can choose to use the default calendar or create a custom calendar using the User Defined option. To block equal events, both regular events and blocking events can be used.

To resolve scheduling, determine which events get blocked and correctly queue events in a backup day, event priority is used. The priority of a blocking event must be higher than the priorities of the events it is intended to block. Event priorities in SEP sesam range from the lowest priority of 1 to the highest priority of 99. Note that priority 0 cannot be blocked or used for blocking other events. For more information see Event Priority.

Key features

The main characteristics of a blocking event are:

• A blocking event is created by enabling the Blocking date checkbox during the configuration of an event.
• When a schedule is deactivated (Execution off option in the schedule), it stops the execution of all events associated with that schedule, including blocking events.
• A blocking event impacts other events when their schedules overlap.
• On a SEP sesam backup day, a blocking event suppresses the execution of other events, regardless of whether they are scheduled to run before, during, or after the blocking event.

Blocking a task or task group on a certain date

You can create an event that will block scheduled events of a specific task or task group from running on specified dates. A blocking event is based on a task or a task group, and it will block execution of equal events with lower priority on the days when schedules overlap. This is useful, for example, to exclude holidays or other special occasions, when certain tasks should not run.

For example, a backup event that executes the task server_backup is configured to run daily with priority 2. A second backup event for the same task server_backup is only scheduled for December 24^th every year as a blocking event with priority 9. On December 24^th, the priority check detects the server_backup event with higher priority and blocks the execution of the daily backup.

Any other events with a lower priority than the blocking event will also be suppressed. Note that an event's priority only affects those with lower priorities; events with the same (or higher) priority remain unaffected.

To create a blocking event for a task or task group, perform the following steps:

1. From Main selection -> Scheduling -> Schedules, select and right-click a schedule. Then select the event type you want to add (for example, New Backup Event).
2. Under Sequence control, set up the Priority of your blocking event. SEPuler always executes the events with the highest priority first. Then select the Blocking date check box. When using this option, make sure you assign a high priority that overrides the priority of the event you intend to block.
3. Under Object, select the task or task group to which you want to link this event.
4. Click OK to save the event.

Screenshots

For more information on creating an event, refer to article for your event type in Standard event types.

Blocking any or all types of events on a certain date

You have the option to block the activation of individual event types or all types of events on a specific date. This provides you with precise control over task execution and enables effective management of event dependencies.

To achieve this, use a Newday event as blocking event and select the types of events you want to block. You can select only certain event types or block all SEP sesam events. A Newday blocking event will prevent the execution of all scheduled events of the selected type on the designated day.

Screenshots

For detailed instructions on creating a Newday event to block any or all types of events on a specific date, refer to Newday event as blocking event.

Blocking a task or task group within a specific timeframe

You can define a time range to block the execution of a specific event or task group within a designated timeframe. This feature is particularly useful when you want to restrict the execution of tasks to specific hours of the day, ensuring that they do not overlap with other critical activities.

For example, database transaction logs are typically backed up continuously throughout the day because they are crucial for maintaining data integrity. A backup event that executes the task PRD_HDB_Logs is configured to run daily every 15 minutes with priority 1. A second backup event for the same task PRD_HDB_Logs is scheduled to run daily between 12 PM and 2 PM as a blocking event with priority 9. During this timeframe the priority check detects the PRD_HDB_Logs event with higher priority and prevents backups of the transaction logs.

A regular or a blocking event can be used to prevent the execution of equal events with a lower priority. For example, you can block backup jobs during certain business hours or while a more critical backup job is running. The period during which the events are blocked is defined by the Start time frame option. Note that this timeframe begins when the event actually starts, not at the time it is scheduled.

To create a blocking event that will prevent execution of other events of the same type during a specific time period of a day, you first need to set the SEP sesam profile to change the default setting, and then add a database key suppress_with_timerange with the value yes to the SEP sesam database. Then you create a custom schedule that defines the prohibited time period and add the blocking event to this schedule.

Note

Enabling the suppress_with_timerange key impacts both regular and blocking events. A regular event can also be used to block equal events with lower priority during the time it is active and running. If you are using this feature, ensure that the Start time frame scheduling option is properly configured before activating the suppress_with_timerange key. Without the Start time frame setting, events will block other events for the entire backup day.

To create a blocking event for a task or task group within a timeframe, perform the following steps (note that it is assumed the regular backup task is already scheduled):

1. Set a SEP sesam profile as described in What happens when I set a profile.
2. Run the following command to insert a database key to the SEP sesam database:

    sm_db "INSERT INTO defaults (key,user_name,value) VALUES ('suppress_with_timerange','sesam','yes');"

   Alternatively, you can add or modify this key in Web UI. In the navigation menu click System Configuration -> System Settings, and search for key supress_with_timerange. Modify or add this key with the following values:

   • Key: suppress_with_timerange
   • User Name: sesam
   • Value: yes
3. Create a schedule that defines the required timeframe. For example, you can create a weekly execution schedule from Monday to Friday with a starting time of 12:00 PM (option Start) and a duration of 2 hours (option Start time frame).

Screenshots



4. Right-click this schedule and select the event type you want to add (for example, New Backup Event).
5. Under Sequence control, set up the Priority of your blocking event and select the Blocking date check box. Make sure to assign a priority that overrides the priority of the event you intend to block.
6. Click OK to save the configured blocking event.

	Warning
	If the schedule option Start time frame is not configured when using the suppress_with_timerange key, the event will block other events for the entire backup day instead of the intended time range.

See also

Managing Events - Managing Schedules - NEWDAY Events

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