Glossary

This glossary includes terms and definitions for IBM Workload Automation on Cloud.

Depending on the workload automation tasks you want to accomplish, Workload Automation on Cloud provides you different interfaces. Table 1 shows a mapping of the terms used in the different interfaces to facilitate your user experience.
Table 1. Summary of commonly used workload automation terms in the different interfaces
Application Lab Dynamic Workload Console Self-Service Catalog Self-Service Dashboards
agent workstation n/a workstation
application workload application n/a n/a
category n/a category category
process job stream service n/a
process library n/a catalog n/a
step job n/a n/a
trigger run cycle n/a n/a
variable variable parameter n/a
The following cross-references are used in this glossary:
  • See refers you from a term to a preferred synonym, or from an acronym or abbreviation to the defined full form.
  • See also refers you to a related or contrasting term.

To view glossaries for other IBM products, go to www.ibm.com/software/globalization/terminology.

A BC D E F H I J L N O P R S T V W

A

actual start time
The time that a Tivoli Workload Scheduler job instance or job stream instance actually starts. See also:
ad hoc job
A job that is inserted into the current plan. These jobs are unique to the plan, and are not saved in the database. See also:
ad hoc prompt dependency
A prompt dependency that is defined within the properties of a job or job stream and is unique to that job or job stream. See also "prompt dependency".
agent
In the Application Lab, an agent is an installed component that runs steps on a computer. In the Dynamic Workload Console and the Self-Service Dashboards, the agent is called workstation.
application
In the Application Lab, a set of processes that addresses a specific business need. For example "Data Transfer Management". It is equivalent to the concept of "workload application" in the Dynamic Workload Console.

B

branch job
A job that you define to evaluate a particular job status or output and, based on specified conditions, it decides which jobs to run within the job stream.

C

calendar
A list of scheduling dates. Calendars are defined in the database and are mostly assigned to run cycles. Calendars can be used either to identify the dates when job streams or jobs can be run (when used with inclusive run cycles), or when they cannot be run (when used with exclusive run cycles). A calendar can also be designated for use as a non-working days calendar in a job stream. See also:
catalog
The catalog is a collection of services. See also "service".
category
A collection of applications organized by specific business area. For example "Data Management". See also "application".
CPU
See "workstation".
cpu time
The processor time used by a job. See also "duration".

D

database
It consists of a set of tables containing the definitions for all scheduling objects (jobs, job streams, resources, workstations, domains, parameters, prompts, variables, and files).

See also "plan".

dependency
A prerequisite that must be satisfied before a job or job stream can start. See also:
distributed network
A connected group of workstations that use the Tivoli Workload Scheduler distributed engine to perform workload scheduling. See also:
duration
The elapsed time that a job is expected to take to complete (estimated duration) and actually takes (actual duration). See also:
Dynamic Workload Console
A web-based graphical user interface used to create, modify, and maintain job scheduling objects, to manage the production environment, and to produce reports. See also "views".

E

earliest start time
The time before which a job or job stream cannot start. The job or job stream can start after the earliest start time provided that all other time restrictions and dependencies are satisfied. See also:
engine
The core software for the scheduling environment.
exclusive run cycle
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. See also "run cycle".
external dependency
A dependency defined in one job or job stream that refers to another job stream or to a job in another job stream.
external job
A job referred to in an external dependency. See also "external dependency".

F

fence
Regulates whether a job can be run on a workstation. The job fence is a priority level that the priority of a job must exceed before it can run.
follows dependency
A dependency where a job or job stream cannot start until other jobs or job streams have completed successfully. See also "dependency".
freedays calendar
See "non-working days calendar".

H

holidays calendar
The default non-working days calendar for all job streams. You must create it and name it "holidays", otherwise the default non-working days are considered to be all Saturdays and Sundays. See also:

I

inclusive run cycle
A run cycle that specifies the days and times that a job stream is scheduled to be run. Exclusive run cycles take precedence over inclusive run cycles. See also "run cycle".
interactive job
A job that runs interactively on a Windows desktop.
internal status
The current status of jobs and job streams in the Tivoli Workload Scheduler engine. The internal status is unique to Tivoli Workload Scheduler. See also "status".

J

job
A unit of work, like a command or a program, that is processed at a workstation. See also "job definition" and step.
job conditional dependency
A specific check of the status or return code of a conditional predecessor job within a condition.
job definition
A definition of a unit of work that resides in the database of the distributed Tivoli Workload Scheduler engine and can be added to a job stream. Job definitions can be created before creating a job stream, or can be created as part of the creation or modification of a job stream. See also "job stream".
job instance
A job scheduled for a specific run date in the plan. See also "job".
job limit
See "limit"
job status
See "status".
job stream
A list of jobs that run as a unit (such as a weekly backup application), along with run cycles, times, priorities, and other dependencies that determine the exact order in which the jobs run.
job stream instance
A job stream that is scheduled for a specific run date in the plan. See also "job stream".

L

latest start time
The time before which the job or job stream must start. The job or job stream can start before the latest start time provided that all other dependencies are satisfied. See also:
limit
A means of allocating a specific number of job slots into which Tivoli Workload Scheduler is allowed to launch jobs. A job limit can be set for each job stream, and for each workstation. For example, setting the workstation job limit to 25 permits Tivoli Workload Scheduler to have no more than 25 jobs running concurrently on the workstation.
list
A means of filtering plan and database objects and presenting them in a table.

N

non-working days calendar
A calendar assigned to a job stream to represent the non-working days when job streams and jobs are not to be run. It can also be used to designate Saturdays or Sundays, or both, as workdays. Formerly called freedays calendar. See also:

O

offset-based run cycle
A run cycle that uses a combination of user-defined periods and offsets. For example, an offset of 3 in a period of 15 days is the third day from the beginning of the period. It is more practical to use offset-based run cycles when the cycle is based on cyclic periods. See also:

P

parameter
In the Application Lab, is a value that a user must provide when a service is submitted. In the Dynamic Workload Console, an entity that enables job instance-specific values to be substituted in job and job stream scripts, either from values in the database or at run time. See also:
plan
The means of scheduling jobs. Objects in the database become instances in the plan. See also:
planned start time
The time that Tivoli Workload Scheduler estimates a job instance will start. This estimate is based on start times of previous instances of the job. See also:
predecessor
A job or job stream that must complete successfully before successor jobs or job streams can be started. See also "successor".
predefined prompt dependency
A prompt dependency that is defined in the database and can be associated to any job or job stream.
priority
A way of determining the order in which jobs and job streams start. In Tivoli Workload Scheduler, priorities for each job and job stream range from 0 to 101. A job or job stream with a priority of 0 does not run.
process
In the Application Lab, a process is a sequence of steps. It is equivalent to the concept of job stream in theDynamic Workload Console and service in the Self-Service Catalog. See also:
process library
In the Application Lab, a collection of all your processes, arranged by folders. It is equivalent to the concept of catalog in the Self-Service Catalog. See also:
prompt dependency
A dependency where an operator must respond affirmatively to a prompt so that the dependent job or job stream can run. See also:

R

resource
Either physical or logical system resources. Resources are used as dependencies for jobs and job streams. See also "resource dependency".
resource dependency
A dependency where a job or job stream cannot start until the required quantity of the defined resource is available. See also "resource".
rule-based run cycle
A run cycle that uses rules based on lists of ordinal numbers, types of days, and common calendar intervals. For example, the last Thursday 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. See also:
run cycle
Specifies the days that a job stream is scheduled to run. See also:

S

scheduled time
The time when a job or job stream is scheduled to run. See also:
service
An automated workflow submitted on-demand to end users. It is implemented by a job stream or a process. See also "job stream" and "process".
simple run cycle
A specific set of user-defined days a job stream is run. A simple run cycle is defined for a specific job stream and cannot be used by other job streams. See also "run cycle".
status
The current job or job stream status within the Dynamic Workload Console. See also "internal status".
step
In the Application Lab, a unit of work, like a command or a program, that has to run on an agent. In the Dynamic Workload Console it is equivalent to the concept of job. See also "job".
successor
A job that cannot start until all of the predecessor jobs or job streams on which it is dependent are completed successfully. See also: "predecessor".

T

task
In the Dynamic Workload Console, a filter, by scheduling object type, which returns a list of objects with attributes matching those specified in the task definition.
time restriction
Determines the times before which, after which, or both, that a job or job stream cannot be run. Specifying both defines a time frame within which a job or job stream runs. Jobs can also have a repetition rate. For example, Tivoli Workload Scheduler can launch the same job every 30 minutes between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
trigger
In the Application Lab, a condition that, when satisfied, starts a process. It is equivalent to the concept of "run cycle" in the Dynamic Workload Console. See also "run cycle".

V

Variable
A parameter to which you assign a specific value. In the Application Lab, the actual value of the variable is replaced in the steps when the process runs. In the Dynamic Workload Console, the actual value of the variable is replaced in the jobs when the job stream runs. See also:
views
Elements of the graphical user interface of the Dynamic Workload Console used for viewing and modifying scheduling objects.

W

weekly run cycle
A run cycle that specifies the days of the week that a job stream is run. For example, a job stream can be specified to run every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday using a weekly run cycle. A weekly run cycle is defined for a specific job stream and cannot be used by multiple job streams. See also "run cycle".
workload application
In the Dynamic Workload Console, a collection of job streams that implements a specific business need. It is equivalent to the concept of "application" in the Application Lab.
workload service assurance
An optional feature that you use to flag jobs as mission-critical for your business and to ensure that they are processed in a timely manner. The progress of jobs and job streams on the critical path can be monitored and events raised if the planned finish time is at risk.
workstation
A definition of an individual computer or computer partition on which jobs and job streams run. See also "job" and job stream.
workstation class
A workstation class is a group of workstations with similar job-scheduling characteristics. Any number of workstations can be placed in a class. Job streams and jobs can be assigned to run on a workstation class. This makes replication of a job or job stream across many workstations easy. See also "workstation"