Run cycle

A run cycle specifies the days that a job stream is scheduled to run. A cycle is defined for a specific job stream and cannot be used by multiple job streams.

Run cycles can be either inclusive or exclusive; that is:

inclusive: A run cycle that specifies the days and times that a job stream is scheduled to run. Inclusive run cycles give precedence to exclusive run cycles.
exclusive: A run cycle that specifies the days and times that a job stream cannot be run. Exclusive run cycles take precedence over inclusive run cycles.

Run cycles

When defining a run cycle, you need to specify the following properties:

Rule

Run cycle rules are based on lists of ordinal numbers, types of days, and common calendar intervals. For example, the first Monday of every month. Rule-based run cycles are based on conventional periods, such as calendar months, weeks of the year, and days of the week. There are four different types of available rules:

Simple: By selecting a simple rule type, you can specify the run cycle days directly from the calendar widget.
Calendar: By selecting a calendar rule type, you can reference an existing calendar that is saved in the database and the days that are defined on that calendar are used as a base for the run cycle.
iCalendar RRule: By selecting an iCalendar RRule type, you can enter an iCalendar Recurrence Rule expression and use it as base for the run cycle. From the Graphical Designer, a RRule generator is available; for more information, see iCalendar RRule generation
Run cycle group: A run cycle group is a single, reusable item that contains one or more run cycles. For more information, see Run cycle group definition.

Time restrictions: You can use time restrictions to define the time properties of the run cycle and the actions to take if the latest start time defined for the job stream.

Exclusive run cycles

When defining an exclusive run cycle, you need to specify the following properties:

Rule

Exclusive run cycle rules are based on lists of ordinal numbers, types of days, and common calendar intervals. For example, the first Monday of every month. Rule-based exclusive run cycles are based on conventional periods, such as calendar months, weeks of the year, and days of the week. There are four different types of available rules:

Simple: By selecting a calendar rule type, you can reference an existing calendar that is saved in the database and the days that are defined on that calendar are used as a base for the exclusive run cycle.
Calendar: By selecting a calendar rule type, you can reference an existing calendar that is saved in the database and the days that are defined on that calendar are used as a base for the exclusive run cycle.
iCalendar RRule: By selecting an iCalendar RRule type, you can enter an iCalendar Recurrence Rule expression and use it as base for the run cycle. From the Graphical Designer, a RRule generator is available; for more information, see iCalendar RRule generation
Run cycle group: A run cycle group is a single, reusable item that contains one or more exclusive run cycles. For more information, see Run cycle group definition.

Time restrictions: You can use time restrictions to define the time properties of the exclusive run cycle and the actions to take if the latest start time defined for the job stream.

iCalendar RRule generation

In the Rule section of the trigger Properties panel, you can select the iCalendar RRule type and then enter an expression or generate one by clicking Generate RRule. The Create Recurring Event panel appears, and you can define the following parameters:

Table 1. iCalendar RRule generator parameters
Basic parameters	Meaning	Description
`FREQ`	Frequency	Defines the core interval of time for the recurrence. The available frequency options are: Daily Daily by freedays Daily by working days Weekly Monthly Yearly Note: If you set the frequency to `DAILY; BY FREEDAY` or `DAILY; BY WORKING DAY`, the only other parameter that you can define for the recurring event is `INTERVAL`.
`INTERVAL`	Interval	Defines how often the `FREQ` repeats (from 0 to 2,147,483,647).
`BYDAY`	Day of the week	Specifies one or more days of the week, for example: `MO`, `TU`.
`BYMONTH`	Month of the year	Specifies one or more months of the year, for example: `1` for January.
`BYMONTHDAY`	Day of the month	Specifies the specific day of the month (from -31 to 31). For example: `BYMONTHDAY=1` is the first day of the month.

The check marks (✓) in the following table outline the supported combinations for recurrence parameters:

Table 2. Recurrence parameters compatibility
Frequency (`FREQ`)	`BYDAY`	`BYFREEDAY`	`BYWORKINGDAY`	`BYMONTH`	`BYMONTHDAY`
`DAILY`		✓	✓	✓
`WEEKLY`	✓			✓
`MONTHLY`	✓			✓	✓
`YEARLY`	✓			✓

After having defined the necessary parameters, click Set rule to add the generated RRule to the Expression field.