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Running and Monitoring Jobs

  • Article

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista

A job is created for each media asset that's dropped in a watch folder and meets the watch folder file filter requirements. For example, if the File filter setting for a watch folder is set to detect all Windows Media Video (.wmv) files, a job is created for each .wmv file that's dropped in the watch folder. Media files with file-name extensions that don't match the watch folder's File filter setting will be ignored.

The following topics describe how to run jobs on media files and how to monitor and manage the jobs that are run:

  • Running Jobs

  • Viewing Job Details

  • Managing Jobs

Running Jobs

After you drop specified assets in a watch folder, the watch folder's job manager creates a job for each file and moves them one at a time into the watch folder's WorkQueue directory. This directory contains folders that store the jobs as they're being processed. Media assets that are processed successfully are placed in the watch folder's Finished folder while media assets that can't be processed are placed in the Failed folder. These folders are visible by default so that you can retrieve their contents more easily. The WorkQueue directory contains other folders that temporarily store jobs as they're run through the job workflow. These folders are hidden folders. To view them, you must turn on the Folder views option in Windows that shows hidden files, folders, and drives.

To start running jobs, do the following:

  1. Make sure that the watch folder is configured and started. For more information, see Configuring Watch Folders.

  2. Copy assets to the watch folder directory. You should copy the source media assets and paste the copies into the watch folder in order to preserve the original sources.

Note

If you specified a playlist file-name extension in the watch folder's File filter setting, don't drop multiple playlist files in the watch folder that reference the same media files. The watch folder's job manager will schedule jobs for media files that are referenced in one playlist. When all of the media files that are referenced in the playlist are present, the playlist file and media assets are moved as a group to the watch folder's WorkQueue directory. Another playlist that references the same media files then can't be processed, because the media files have been removed from the watch folder with the previous playlist. To schedule jobs for this playlist, you must drop the missing media files into the watch folder again.
Media files are usually large. As jobs are run, job files (which include the source media files, job manifest files, and the transformed output for completed jobs) accumulate in the WorkQueue directory, cluttering the disk and potentially impacting performance. For more information about how to configure maintenance settings that remove job files, see Running File Maintenance.

Viewing Job Details

As jobs are processed through the WorkQueue folders, you can use the Job Monitor feature pages in IIS Manager to view the progress of currently running jobs. You can also view a list of jobs that are scheduled for processing and the jobs that were completed or canceled. Click the following feature page names in the Connections pane in IIS Manager to view job progress and status:

  • Job Monitor. Displays the currently running jobs for all watch folders.

  • Queued. Displays the scheduled jobs that aren't yet running for all watch folders. Jobs are displayed in this list if the maximum number of concurrent jobs is running in the watch folder, or if there aren't enough CPU resources available to start new jobs. Queued jobs are processed into running jobs by the watch folder's job manager as currently running jobs are completed.

  • Finished. Displays the jobs that were completed successfully.

  • Failed. Displays the jobs that failed.

  • Canceled. Displays the jobs that were canceled.

The following sections describe the UI elements in Job Monitor pages that you can use to view details about the jobs that are run.

  • Jobs List Elements

  • Job Details Elements

Jobs List Elements

On each Job Monitor page, you can view the following details about the jobs that are run in a Jobs list.

Element name Description

Asset

The name of the source media file that's being processed in a job.

Submitted

The data and time that a job was created for the source media file by the watch folder's job manager. A job is created only if other watch folders with higher Priority settings aren't running jobs.

Progress

The completion percentage of running jobs on the Job Monitor page.

Completed Tasks

The number of tasks in the task workflow that have been completed. For example, 1 of 2 means that the first task in the workflow is completed but the second task isn't completed. This list element can be viewed only on the Job Monitor, Failed, and Canceled pages.

Priority

The job priority value, which is the same as the watch folder priority value.

Status

On the Job Monitor and Queued pages, the job status. The following status values can be displayed: Submitted, Configuring, Running.

Watch Folder

The friendly name of the watch folder in which the job is run.

Job Template

The friendly name of the job template that contains the job tasks.

Job Details Elements

Each Job Monitor feature page contains a Job Details area in which you can view the following additional details about a job that you select in the Jobs list.

Element name Description

Details

This tab displays the following information about the selected job:

  • Asset. The name of the source media file that's being processed in the job.

  • Started. The date and time the job was started. The watch folder's job manager starts a submitted job only if the current number of running jobs is less than the Concurrent jobs limit set for the watch folder and if adequate CPU resources are available.

  • Finished. The date and time the job was stopped. A job is stopped when it completes successfully ("finishes") or fails, or when a job is canceled.

  • Elapsed time. On the Job Monitor page, the elapsed time of the currently running job. On the Finished, Failed, and Canceled pages, the amount of time that passed between when the job started and when it stopped. On the Queued page, the value is always 0 because queued jobs aren't started.

  • Scheduler. The friendly name of the task scheduler that manages the job tasks.

  • Tasks completed. On the Finished page, the number of tasks that were run for the job.

Activity Log

This tab displays the events that are generated by tasks while the job is running. These events are also recorded in a job instance log file for the job, which is created when the job finishes. For more information about how to specify the amount of event activity to display or log, see Logging and Monitoring Watch Folder Events.

Job Manifest

This tab displays the contents of the job manifest file that accompanies the source media file as it's processed. The job manifest uses Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) 2.0 XML syntax and contains Resource Description Framework (RDF) metadata that describes the job for the tasks in the workflow.

Managing Jobs

The following actions are available in the Actions pane for jobs that you select in the Jobs list in Job Monitor feature pages.

Element name Description

Explore Watch Folder

Opens the watch folder for the selected job in Windows Explorer so that you can view the contents of the watch folder.

Explore Job Folder

Opens a job instance folder in the watch folder WorkQueue directory in Windows Explorer so that you can view and retrieve the contents.

  • On the Job Monitor page, opens the Running folder.

  • On the Queued page, opens the Submitted folder.

  • On the Finished page, opens the Finished folder.

  • On the Failed page, opens the Failed folder.

  • On the Canceled page, opens the Canceled folder.

Resubmit Job

Resubmits a failed job (on the Failed page) or a canceled job (on the Canceled page). A resubmitted job uses the same watch folder and job template settings that were used when the job was originally submitted. If you want to resubmit a failed or canceled job with updated watch folder or job template settings, you must drop the source media assets in the watch folder again.

Cancel Job

Cancels a running job (on the Job Monitor page) or a queued job (on the Queued page). Canceled jobs are moved from these pages to the Canceled page.

Delete Job

On the Finished, Failed, and Canceled pages, deletes job files from the corresponding watch folder WorkQueue folders. Job files include the source media files, job manifest files, and any transformed output that exists.

See Also

Concepts

Configuring Watch Folders