You likely know the work of “Cron” a server utility that helps you schedule and automatically executes jobs at a predefined time. In SMSPlus, there are several jobs that need cron support to execute, and most of these are inevitable for the application to function properly, i.e. Send Message cron, etc. Here on this page, you can manage the time interval of different jobs that the application manages through the cron support.
Admin Main Navigation -> Setup -> Cron Settings
Before we discuss the intervals you can setup for the different jobs, let’s note down the function of the main cron job. You setup an interval for the main cron using your server environment, this time also reflects in Cron Status (Top Right Area) of the title bar. The primary or main cron runs after the set interval and checks if there is any job to execute. If it finds any job holding for the execution, the command will execute it. Then it runs again after the preset time interval completes and the cycle continues. Here on the Cron Status page, you can see the status of other Jobs setup with cron support.
Cron Settings
Here on the main page that you land after clicking “Cron Settings” from the main navigation, you specify a time for the different jobs to execute after. The minimum interval is 5 minutes while the maximum interval you can specify for the job is 20 minutes. In case you apply the maximum time as 20 minutes, the system would push the job after every 20 minutes for the main cron to execute on its interval. It is how it functions.
Run Now
Next to every cron time that you can setup on this page, you can see a button “Run Now”. Clicking on it would terminate the preset time of the specific cron for the instance, and will run it immediately on the very next interval of the main cron. What it means is that if the Send Message cron is set at 20 minutes, and you click on Run Now. The system will push the job for execution with an immediate effect without waiting for another 20 minutes. The maximum delay that can occur in this case would be the time of the main cron interval.
Run General Cron
Click to Run the General Cron command without waiting for its interval to complete. What it means that if the main/general cron is set to run after every 5 minutes to execute jobs holding for execution, clicking Run General Cron will run the general cron immediately without having to wait for 5 more minutes.
Update Settings
Click to update your settings for the cron intervals.