job scheduling by redwood
TRANSCRIPT
SAP Solution in Detail
SAP NetWeaver
SAP® CENTRAL JOB SCHEDULINGBY REDWOOD
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Executive Summary: A Flexible Job-Scheduling Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Introducing SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Overview of Application Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Repository . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Process Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Intuitive GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Key Functions of the Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Event Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
– Job Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
– Contextual Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
– Queue Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
– Applications: Logical Process Grouping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
– High Availability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Enterprise Calendaring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
– Adaptive Calendars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
– Time-Zone Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
– Dynamic Calendaring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
– Forecasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Workload Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
– Centralized and Intuitive GUI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
– Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
– Job-Chain Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
– Dynamic Load Balancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
– Administration and Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
– Enterprise Report Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
– Integration with Enterprise SOA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
– Application Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
– Legacy Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
– Operating System Job Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
– Systems Management Tool Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
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CONTENTS
Security Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
– User Role Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
– Centralized Authorization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
– Audit Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
– Repository Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
More Than a Simple Automation Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Functions and Benefits Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
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The SAP® Central Job Scheduling application by Redwood man-
ages all background processes from one or more applications on
one or more servers in heterogeneous environments. This real-
time, event-driven job-scheduling and process automation
application is suitable for any size of organization in any industry.
Providing centralized control over a single task or a multistep
suite of tasks, it uses a combination of event-driven and
calendar-based scheduling to mediate and resolve complex
dependencies between disparate applications and systems.
Through a choice of Microsoft Windows or other Web-based
interfaces, the job-scheduling application gives users detailed
information about the status of all processes and all inter-
dependencies. It also offers automatic error-control and error-
handling functions, including notification of process status and
disposition. And it provides scheduling and integration with
Java and Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) application
environments.
The Java technology is widely deployed, and through SAP Cen-
tral Job Scheduling by Redwood it becomes part of mainstream
corporate process automation. This enables integration of legacy,
distributed, and Web application server environments from a
single centralized console. The job-scheduling application can
be embedded within Java applications. It is also compatible with
application servers such as the SAP NetWeaver® platform, IBM
WebSphere, and BEA WebLogic. And it can be integrated with
development tools such as Apache ANT and Eclipse.
The job-scheduling application helps organizations address the
business challenges they face today – reducing cost of
ownership, increasing productivity, responding quickly to
changing demands, and improving flexibility – by delivering the
following functionality:
• Fast, efficient management of business-critical application
processes
• Management of complex processes through centralized
control of cross-enterprise networks
• Flexibility in process scheduling, enabling users to base start
conditions on real-time external business events, file events,
time and date, time windows, system load, and process
dependencies
• Single scheduling environment for all kinds of processes,
eliminating the need for multiple scheduling tools and elimi-
nating conflicts between solutions from different vendors
• Uninterrupted processing through automated restart of
processes, dynamic load balancing, and high-availability features
• Seamless integration with other open-system products and
applications, avoiding the pain of poorly specified application
program interfaces and “paper interfaces”
• Integration with systems management and network
management frameworks – the SAP Solution Manager tool,
HP OpenView, and IBM Tivoli Enterprise Console – maximiz-
ing the return on your investment in such tools
Successful end-to-end IT processes typically require the interac-
tion of a number of individual procedures in differing applica-
tions. These “compound applications” bring with them issues
of integration, performance, and management as well as the
risk of error. Managing such complicated processes can be
inefficient and costly unless you approach the challenge in a
structured way and make the most of opportunities to optimize
resources – through automation, for example. Automation
technology provides an effective means to manage complex
processes and mitigate risk, assuming it is built to be both robust
and reliable.
5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: A FLEXIBLE JOB-SCHEDULING SOLUTION
The SAP Central Job Scheduling application by Redwood is
an adaptive, scalable solution that provides the real-time, event-
driven job-scheduling and process automation you need to
manage background processing across multiple systems and
applications. Through a central point of control, it enables you
to orchestrate automation of the IT workload generated by
modern business practices and to efficiently manage the
compound applications this orchestration demands.
With its comprehensive automation rules, SAP Central Job
Scheduling by Redwood lets you manage both routine and
predictable workload as well as the ad hoc tasks that can be gen-
erated at any time by applications such as e-commerce, business-
to-business transfers, and do-it-yourself end-user interfaces. It
treats both planned and unplanned workloads as “events” and
builds relationships between these events to create dependencies
where appropriate.
By detecting and responding to business events, the job-
scheduling application lets you take a dynamic approach to
workload process automation. And because it responds immedi-
ately to events, it gives you the business agility, throughput, and
efficiency you need to optimize the use of available time and
resources. Processing that is balanced across all available time
instead of being restricted by artificial date and time boundaries
lets you avoid bottlenecks, keep user responses within agreed-
upon service levels, and maximize the use of computing
resources. As a result, it increases your ROI and allows you
to defer the need to acquire additional hardware.
By providing a central point of control, the application reduces
administrative overhead and eliminates the need for multiple
tools – formerly required to manage processes across different
applications. It also increases productivity by simplifying manage-
ment of the complex IT workload generated by business
processes.
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood provides a fully dynamic
job-scheduling and process automation environment. In opera-
tional terms, this means that any changes (such as changes to input
parameters and last-minute changes to requirements) can be
accommodated at any point up to execution, enabling your IT
organization to be completely flexible in meeting business pro-
cessing needs. Because the job-scheduling application responds to
events originating in both SAP and non-SAP software, it provides
the basis for real-time, event-driven cross-enterprise process
automation.
Through its inherent efficiencies, the application enables a
service-oriented approach to automation. And through its
support for environments based on Java and Web application
servers, it facilitates integration with enterprise service-oriented
architecture (enterprise SOA). By providing a common set of
reusable, immediately available services for process automation,
it can create a central infrastructure for managing and integrat-
ing workloads for legacy, existing, and future applications.
Integration with the SAP Solution Manager tool and the broader
SAP software management environment ensures that SAP
Central Job Scheduling by Redwood fits in easily with your
existing corporate IT management framework.
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INTRODUCING SAP CENTRAL JOB SCHEDULING BY REDWOOD
The job-scheduling application is based on a three-tier architec-
ture consisting of one or more clients, one or more servers, and
a central repository. (Note: In this document, the term “client”
refers to an end-user interface used for administration and
operation.) Client software is available for Microsoft Windows
and Web browsers, with additional interfaces provided by a
command-line interface (CLI) and application-program interfaces
(APIs). In SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood, clients are
used to administer the processes, queues, and servers and to
submit and monitor the processes. This architecture can be seen
in Figure 1.
Repository
The repository is the central location for all processing definitions,
rules, and information. It can (but does not have to) reside on
a server within the job-scheduling application. Connections
to the repository can be made fault-tolerant by using standard
high-availability products. These connections can also exploit
clustering products you are already using, such as Microsoft
Cluster Server, and VMS and UNIX clustering.
Process Servers
The servers that execute processes within SAP Central Job
Scheduling by Redwood include several agent processes that
execute tasks. Process servers run on UNIX, Windows, Linux, Java,
or OpenVMS platforms. The job-scheduling application is
configurable for a single server or for networked computer
environments with multiple servers.
Intuitive GUI
The Redwood Explorer administrative interface provides
an intuitive GUI that enables you to administer jobs, queues,
calendars, events, and servers easily. It can administer all objects
in SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood. It also contains job
and message monitors, a security administration tool, forecasting
tools, and a repository administration tool. Redwood Explorer
provides a central point of control across the entire IT infra-
structure, delivering centralized management that increases
productivity and reduces operational overhead.
In addition to Redwood Explorer, SAP Central Job Scheduling
by Redwood includes a thin client – Process Manager for the
Web – that provides remote access via the Internet, the Redwood shell
CLI, and a full-function programmatic API. This thin client
enables management and control functions for process auto-
mation to be embedded in custom environments, including
Java EE applications.
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OVERVIEW OF APPLICATION ARCHITECTURE
Business Applications Process Servers
Clients
SAP
PeopleSoft
Oracle
JD Edwards
i2
Retek
Manugistics
Microsoft Windows
Custom
Command Line
Browser
HP 3000
VMS
Windows NT, 2000, XP
UNIX
Java EE
IBM System i5
Repository
Mainframe
Figure 1: Architecture of the SAP® Central Job Scheduling Application by Redwood
This section describes the key functions of SAP Central Job
Scheduling by Redwood. These functions include event
management, enterprise calendaring, workload management,
integration, and security management.
Event Management
One of the differentiating benefits of SAP Central Job Scheduling
by Redwood is its ability to automate business processes based
on different events that occur across the enterprise. This event-
driven functionality enables jobs to be initiated in real time.
Events are signals for jobs to start executing. If a job is made
dependent upon one or more events, it will not execute until
all those “event signals” are raised.
Five types of events are supported by process servers. They
include the following:
• Manual events
These are raised manually through one of the client interfaces.
• Job-status events
These are raised when the status of a job changes.
• Return-code events
These are raised when a job gets a specific return code.
• File events
These are raised by the event agent when specific files are
created or modified on the operating system. Wild cards can
be included in the file name where the exact name is not
known (for example, “\temp\*.dat*” where “*” is the wild card
meaning “any number of characters”).
• External events
When external processes have detected exception conditions,
changes in status of system components, messages on an
operator console, or any other incident, they are called in
directly via an API or CLI, and required actions are initiated
automatically.
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KEY FUNCTIONS OF THE APPLICATION
The Java process server available with SAP Central Job Scheduling
by Redwood supports additional event types such as arrival of
an e-mail into a monitored mailbox. When a job is triggered by
an event, it can be started automatically – even when this action
is not explicitly requested – assuming that all other conditions
upon which the job is dependent have also been met. (These
conditions might include preceding jobs, parameter input,
and time conditions.) Events are defined by the administrator.
Job Definition
Jobs that are to be automated on one or more servers must be
defined to SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood. These
jobs (or processes) include several elements designed to ensure
optimum throughput and service levels:
• Command text
• Parameters and validation
• Job chains
• Applications
• Resource locks
• Standard SAP task support
Command Text
In SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood, jobs or processes
are defined as “scripts.” These scripts (see Figure 2) can execute
operating-system commands and job-control language programs
or functions on one of the process servers. The job-scheduling
application determines the type of process by interpreting the
command text or by giving a “type” definition for each script,
including DOS CMD, SQL, Korn Shell, Perl, Java, IBM z/OS JCL,
and OpenVMS DCL.
Parameters and Validation
One or more job parameters can be defined in the command
text. Job parameters enable users to define generic command
texts that behave differently according to parameter values.
This allows the texts to be reused and reduces the administrative
Resource Locks
Locks prevent jobs from running concurrently – for example,
when two or more jobs need access to the same system resource,
such as a tape unit. A job that is dependent upon a lock must
request the lock before it can start. A job waiting for a lock
gets the status LOCKWAIT if the lock has already been obtained
by another job. The status of the requesting job changes to
RUNNING when the other job releases the lock and the requesting
job gets the lock.
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Figure 2: Script Dialogue in Redwood Explorer Tool
Figure 3: Manual Input Options Are Available
workload. A job with one or more parameters defined can
only start after all of the parameter values have been resolved.
Typically, parameter values are validated when the values have
been entered and job execution has been requested.
You can set default parameter values, enabling values to be
passed automatically from one job to the next. You can also
input or override values manually (see Figure 3) if demanded
by the nature of the workload.
Standard SAP Task Support
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood delivers support for a
number of standard SAP software processing tasks that integrate
directly with the existing SAP application environment. These
supported tasks include the following:
• Management of processes in ABAP™ programming language
• Integration with process chains using the SAP NetWeaver
Business Intelligence (SAP NetWeaver BI) component
• Monitoring of process status via Redwood Explorer
• ABAP variant handling
• iDoc monitoring
• Mass activity processing
• Migration of SAP software processes from the SAP computer
center management system into SAP Central Job Scheduling
by Redwood
Further details on integration with SAP-specific tasks and
environments can be found in the “Application Integration”
and “Systems Management Tool Integration” sections of
this document.
Contextual Processing
In addition to the command text and job parameters, a job
definition (script) may contain a number of execution controls
that enable processing to be performed in the context of prevail-
ing conditions. The execution controls influence job behavior
during execution. SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood
supports the following execution controls:
• Calendar
This combines the time window in which the job is allowed
to execute and the “submit frame” defining frequency (for
example, “every 10 minutes”).
• Queue
This is used to define the order in which the process is executed.
• Priority
This refers to job priority. High-priority jobs are executed
before low-priority jobs.
• Lock
A lock must be requested before the job can execute. Locks
prevent jobs from running concurrently and are often related
to a physical resource such as a backup device.
• Resource
This defines which process server is used for execution.
If more than one process server is able to run a specific job,
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood automatically
performs a load-balancing function to select the one that is
least resource-constrained.
• Format type of the output file
Some examples are PDF, PostScript, XML, and HTML.
The job-scheduling application uses the format to publish or
view the output file correctly, but it does not do any format
conversions.
• Restart options
The job can be restarted automatically when the status is set
to ERROR, UNKNOWN, KILLED, or COMPLETED.
• Logon account
This is the user account required by the job (for example, the
account required to execute a program). SAP Central Job
Scheduling by Redwood can use the same database account
that was used when requesting the job or use the database
account of the job-definition owner.
• Overdue
Process status is set to OVERDUE in two situations:
– The job has not been run when the time window closes
after the scheduled job start time.
– The job-scheduling application server is unavailable.
• “Keep” properties
This defines the number of versions of the job history to be
retained. You can set keep properties systemwide or per user.
You can also set a date function to clear the job history.
• Status on submit
Use this property to start a job with the status HOLD instead
of the default status, SCHEDULED.
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Pre- and Postprocessing
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood can initiate a pre-
execution procedure just before the job starts running. A post-
execution procedure can be initiated immediately after the job
is executed.
A pre-execution procedure can be used to check specific
conditions. A post-execution procedure can be used to reset a
job status, start another job, scan log and output files, or clear
or raise an events signal.
Dependencies
Jobs can be made dependent upon several objects:
• Calendar
The job will only run in the time window specified.
• Other jobs
Jobs can be made dependent on the outcome of other jobs by:
– Defining a job chain
– Coding a control program
– Setting a trigger that fires when a job gets a specific status
– Using a pre- or post-execution procedure that is run by the
server just before or after the execution of the job
• Events
Events can be raised automatically when jobs reach a specific
status (for example, LATE). They can also be raised manually
in response to external processes. However an event is raised,
it can be used to influence job dependencies.
• Files
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood also supports file
events, which are triggered when a specified file is created or
modified on the server. Jobs and job flow are then dependent
on the arrival of files anywhere in the managed network.
• Resources
A job can run in a specific queue that is limited by CPU and
paging rate. SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood will not
start executing the job when the CPU load or paging rate of
the systems serving the queue exceeds the defined thresholds.
Starting and Scheduling a Job
Once a job is defined, authorized users can request that it be
executed. This is also called “submitting” a job. After job execu-
tion is requested, SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood
calculates an execution date and time. The job gets the status
SCHEDULED until the execution date and time arrive. When
the execution date and time arrive, the status is changed to
QUEUED. The job-scheduling application then verifies that
all dependencies are fulfilled (CPU load, paging rate, events,
pre-execution rules, and so forth) before the job actually starts
running and is given the status RUNNING. The status is changed
to COMPLETED when the job is completed successfully, or
ERROR when a failure condition occurs.
Queue Management
The administrator in SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood
can define multiple queues to manage and prioritize processes.
These queues can be based on the operating-system platform
(such as Windows, UNIX, or Linux) or on business functions
(such as finance, accounting, or sales). Any name can be used
for a queue. Each queue is served by one or more process
servers. Defining multiple servers for each queue lets you take
advantage of the application’s dynamic load-balancing and
high-availability features.
Queues also help manage service levels by providing a “throttling”
mechanism. Take, for instance, a queue that has been defined to
manage ad hoc jobs (such as random reports) submitted by
users. As these unplanned jobs consume system resources, they
often slow down online transaction processing of user responses,
affecting productivity. But if you set the queue for a “queue depth”
of one, then only one job at a time will be allowed to execute,
ensuring that online services are not affected.
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The parameters that define queue limits can be modified
dynamically for maximum efficiency. For example, a “report”
queue could be set to permit only two resource-hungry jobs
to run during the online day, then change over automatically at
6 p.m. to allow multiple jobs to run when the online service is
closed or has fewer users.
See the “Dynamic Load Balancing” section for a description of
how job queues can aid throughput and effect high availability.
Applications: Logical Process Grouping
A job definition or group of job definitions can also be
defined as a specific “application” in SAP Central Job Scheduling
by Redwood. Such applications are logical groups of related
processes, jobs, and job chains – for example, “MONTH_-
END_FINANCE” or “PRODUCTION_FORECASTS.” This kind
of grouping enables a business-focused view of the IT processes
and provides an additional level of access filtering. You can use
the application name to filter processes in the Redwood Explorer
job monitor. Applications help create an operational environment
that reflects the requirements and structure business users can
relate to.
High Availability
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood is designed to be a
reliable and robust component of the IT infrastructure. Ensuring
high availability depends on the following:
• Availability of the repository
This can be achieved by implementing standard operating-
system clustering techniques for the platform on which the
repository is installed, such as the Microsoft Cluster Server,
the IBM High Availability Cluster Multiprocessing server
(HACMP), and the Symantec (VERITAS) Cluster Server. This
enables you to use existing corporate high-availability solutions,
since no proprietary technology is required. The repository
can also be made highly available through deployment of
database-specific clustering technology.
• Availability of the process servers
In SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood, process servers
are in constant communication with both each other and the
repository. Should any of the process servers become unavail-
able, the others are immediately on alert. Workload targeted
at the failed process server can be automatically redirected to
one of the remaining servers in the environment – one serving
the same queue(s) – ensuring there is no interruption to
throughput. When the failed server comes back online, it will
automatically rejoin the group and resume its role.
Enterprise Calendaring
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood provides alternatives
to setting a job start date and time explicitly. For example, it
enables you to use an adaptive job calendar, time-zone support,
dynamic calendaring, and forecasting.
Adaptive Calendars
A job calendar combines a time window and a submit frame.
The time window defines the period in which the process is
allowed to start (for example, “between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
during work days”), while a submit frame (see Figure 4) defines
the restarting cycle or frequency (for example, “every hour”).
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Figure 4: The “Submit” Dialogue, Including the Calendaring Parameters
When you start a job with a time window, the job-scheduling
application calculates the job start time according to the time
window. Then, prodded by the submit frame, the application
restarts the job automatically after completion of the required
cycle period.
Time-Zone Support
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood provides comprehen-
sive support for organizations that operate across multiple time
zones from a central location. It resolves the complexities of
managing and mediating workloads in this situation by auto-
matically enabling the administrator or operator to associate
the current view with the prevailing time at any location on
the globe, irrespective of where the user is located. For example,
scheduling a task to happen at midnight “Sydney time” could
have an effect on users accessing the same data through online
systems in both Europe and the United States. Being able to
display a planned workload in any given time zone, then view
it from the perspective of another time zone, avoids potential
conflicts and improves productivity.
The job-scheduling application also makes allowances – auto-
matically – for the two periods each year when countries around
the world are moving to and from daylight saving times, catering
to both Northern and Southern hemispheres.
By supporting complex global processing requirements, the
application helps you avoid the errors resulting from manual
calculations, improves reliability, reduces contention, and
maintains service levels.
Dynamic Calendaring
Because times and dates are treated as events by the job-
scheduling application, calendar-based scheduling can be treated
in the same dynamic way as event-driven scheduling, as shown
in Figure 5. Thus changes to the time- and date-based
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Figure 5: Dynamic Calendar Definition
conditions under which a task or process will start can be
accommodated easily at any time up to the point of execution.
This provides a powerful way to ensure that scheduling is flexible
and responsive. Changes do not involve wholesale reapplication
of an entire day’s workload or affect any other unrelated tasks.
Dynamic changes to the calendar can be job-specific; they do
not have to be “undone” before the next run of the same task.
This flexibility enables your organization to respond quickly to
changing business requirements.
Forecasting
A forecast of all future-scheduled jobs can be displayed through
the job monitor using a familiar calendar-type view selected
from the job monitor interface, as shown in Figure 6. The cal-
endar view also enables you to alter job schedules using a simple
drag-and-drop mechanism. This forecast view gives you a clear
look at the planned processes over an extended period (not just
the next 24 hours). And because it uses a familiar model, it
removes any specific training requirements, thus increasing
operational productivity.
Workload Management
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood gives users a central
point of control. From here they can manage, configure, and
monitor all scheduling tasks.
Centralized and Intuitive GUI
Redwood Explorer is the key administrative and operational
interface for the management and control of cross-enterprise
workload. Designed with an intuitive look and feel (see Figure 7),
this single point of control enables user- and role-specific access
to the process automation environment – for administrators,
operators, and end-users.
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Figure 6: The Job Monitor Forecast View
Figure 7: Redwood Explorer, an Intuitive GUI
Automation
Automation should be the underlying principle for any job-
scheduling solution. That’s why SAP Central Job Scheduling by
Redwood provides a centralized automation engine for orches-
trating and managing cross-enterprise processes. The engine
delivers a set of reusable core services that can be invoked to
automate the execution of any application or operating-system
processes across a distributed environment. This design ensures
that the automation can be applied to all existing environments.
And because it enables the job- scheduling solution to embrace
emerging technologies and architecture (such as enterprise
SOA), it also secures and “future-proofs” your investment.
Automation is based on rules defined around the occurrence of
events. Once detected, an event triggers any number of actions,
from the very simple – executing a single job – to the very
complex – initiating a series of interrelated tasks across multiple
applications and locations. The benefits of an efficient automa-
tion regime include the following:
• Reduced operational and administrative overhead
• Potential for implementing unattended operations
• Reduced risk of errors associated with manual intervention
• Optimized use of IT resources
• Improved service levels
Job-Chain Control
Job chains are used to execute one or more jobs, either in parallel
or sequentially, via steps, events, and conditional processing. In
parallel processing, all job calls in one step are executed at the
same time. In sequential processing, SAP Central Job Scheduling
by Redwood waits until all calls are completed before proceeding
to the next step.
A job chain includes the following objects:
• Steps
A step contains one or more calls to processes that can be
executed in parallel.
• Events
Job-chain execution can be made dependent on events or
can raise events to control execution of subsequent processes.
• Preconditions
Such a condition might include a check for a date, a test
for file existence, or console confirmation.
• Postconditions
A postcondition can allow processing to return to the
previous level, allow it to return to the main level, or raise
an error signal upon reaching a specific job status.
• Call parameters
These are default value expressions you can add to job
parameters in a call or refer to in another step.
Job chains can manipulate process flow dynamically, based on
the outcome of jobs within the chain itself. For example, steps
can be bypassed, operator responses can be requested via the
console, error conditions can be set, and execution can be put
on hold. Job chains are defined through an intuitive dialogue.
They can also be configured and viewed through the job-
scheduling application’s “diagrammer,” which provides a drag-
and-drop interface for building the basic job-chain structure
(see Figure 8).
Real-time progress of job-chain execution can also be
monitored through the job-chain diagrammer, which has an
auto-refresh function.
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Figure 8: A Job Chain with Four Steps, and How It Looks in the "Job-Chain
Diagrammer"
Dynamic Load Balancing
The job-scheduling application dynamically allocates jobs or
processes to one of the available process servers. Each process
server is configured to serve one or more processing queues
(see the “Queue Management” section). When a queue is con-
nected to multiple servers, a process or job in that queue can be
executed on any of those servers. The application selects the
process server having the fewest resource constraints to do the
job, balancing the workload evenly across the environment.
This strategy makes optimum use of processing resources,
increases workload throughput, and improves adherence to
service-level agreements.
Administration and Monitoring
Redwood Explorer provides a real-time view of currently
executing workload at different levels depending on the type of
user, defined here:
• Administrative users
From the administrative perspective, Redwood Explorer
provides a powerful centralized console for defining all
aspects of the managed workload across the entire application
and operating landscape. It handles definition of jobs, job
chains, queues, applications, events, calendars, submit frames,
users, groups, roles, and configuration of all other aspects of
the environment. This ability to define everything in one
place eliminates the need for multiple management tools and
increases the management capacity of a single administrator.
• Operational users
Redwood Explorer also acts as a central operations manage-
ment console for all processes. With its multiple configurable
views, it lets you create specific environments for groups of
operators, enabling them to see and manage jobs and processes
they are authorized to handle. You can even customize and
filter views for specific individuals if needed for security,
granting operational control at a very granular level.
The central operational interface is the Redwood Explorer job
monitor, as shown in Figure 9. This monitor provides a central
overview of all jobs running on all managed servers in any
queue. After selecting a job in the monitor, administrators and
operators can view the details and, given the right authority,
alter the status of scheduled and running processes. Completed
or failed processes can be restarted if required. The monitor also
displays all messages that are sent to operators and enables
operators to respond to messages that require a reply.
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Figure 9: Redwood Explorer Job Monitor
In addition to using the Redwood Explorer interface, adminis-
trative and operational employees can use the Web-based
Process Manager for the Web to access the job-scheduling appli-
cation’s repository across a low bandwidth Internet link for
remote access.
User Access and SAP NetWeaver Portal Integration
The granularity of roles and security provided by Redwood
Explorer enables user access to be granted securely so that
employees can monitor the progress of their own tasks through
the Windows-based GUI without exposing other processes
to potential interference. For SAP customers, this function is
further enhanced through the integration of the job-scheduling
application with the SAP NetWeaver Portal component. This
integration allows SAP business users to track and monitor
Enterprise Report Management
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood automatically captures
output files and log files created by jobs. And it provides report
management software for additional flexibility.
Output and Log Files
Users of the job-scheduling application can view output files
and log files immediately post-execution through the job
monitor. They simply select the job and click on the details they
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Figure 10: SAP NetWeaver® Portal, iView (Portlet) Monitor Figure 11: The Built-In ASCII Output Viewer in Redwood Explorer
progress of ad hoc ABAP reports they have submitted or of system-
submitted jobs to which they have access through a specific
iView (portlet). Figure 10 shows the portal and iView monitor.
want to see. By exploiting shared-file-system technology, the
job-scheduling application ensures that log and list data from
all jobs is available for central viewing without requiring that
the repository be filled with large amounts of data and without
copying data across the network.
Users can view output and log files via the application’s built-in
ASCII viewer (see Figure 11), or they can use Redwood Explorer
to activate the Microsoft Windows application associated with
the file extension.
Report Management
Additional flexibility is provided via the optional Report2Web
for SAP solutions module, available through Redwood Software.
This module enables automated distribution of any process out-
put or report data to a Web-based repository accessible by any-
one with access to a Web browser. For example, reports from the
mySAP™ ERP Financials solution or output from SAP NetWeaver
BI can be distributed online and burst or split into sections that
only the relevant individuals are authorized to view. This speeds
up secure access to data, which is especially important in
fast-close scenarios.
Report2Web is a Web-based document, report, and output man-
agement solution that enables organizations to securely publish,
store, and deliver documents online. Eliminating the need to
modify existing applications, it captures, organizes, and stores
documents in a centralized repository, extracts meaningful
information, and automates the delivery of personalized content
to individuals. Report2Web improves the efficiency and reduces
the latency of communications, both internally and externally
(to business partners and customers), saving time and money
and providing improved information security. It can be integrated
into the process automation and job-scheduling environment
provided by SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood.
Integration
Through its ability to detect and respond to events occurring
in both the business and IT environments, SAP Central Job
Scheduling by Redwood can provide a common automation
and scheduling service as part of any organization’s service-
oriented architecture (SOA). This service is achieved through
centralized management across all platforms via a uniform
set of reusable, “callable” rules and procedures.
Integration with Enterprise SOA
Because these reusable procedures range from legacy platform
job-control-language support to Java-based Web services
integration, the job-scheduling application facilitates integration
with enterprise SOA. By using the job-scheduling application
within an enterprise SOA framework, you accomplish the
following:
• Create a future-proof technical service for the management
and automation of legacy, current, and future application
workload
• Reduce the cost and complexity of implementing and
integrating applications
• Prevent users from seeing any back-end processing generated
by business requirements
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood also enables organi-
zations to take advantage of grid and adaptive computing
solutions. Certified for use with the Adaptive Computing
Controller tool from SAP, it can be used in conjunction with
suitable hardware platforms to further optimize resource
utilization and workload throughput.
Application Integration
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood provides a centralized
platform for management of ERP applications. This enables
complex dependencies to be set up across multiple applications
and multiple operating-system environments. By complementing
and enhancing the application-specific tools, the job-scheduling
application provides an integrated application environment
where all processes can be automated and monitored to deliver
maximum efficiency and optimum performance.
Standard features such as dynamic load balancing, event-driven
scheduling, and complex dependency resolution can be used
across application environments, enabling flexible management
of business-critical applications. And because the job-scheduling
application enables this management to be orchestrated from
a single console, it reduces the need for skills and expertise in
disparate application-specific tools.
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Integration of SAP Applications
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood provides for specific
management of complex SAP landscapes, including the following:
• SAP business applications and associated environments such
as the mySAP ERP application, the mySAP Business Suite
family of business applications, SAP NetWeaver BI, SAP industry
solutions, SAP NetWeaver Portal, and SAP Solution Manager
• Earlier SAP application platforms such as SAP R/3® software
(functionality now available in mySAP ERP)
SAP software tasks are managed through direct integration with
SAP-published APIs. As the following table shows, SAP Central
Job Scheduling by Redwood has undergone extensive certification
to ensure the greatest possible levels of integration and
functionality.
This degree of integration enables SAP Central Job Scheduling
by Redwood to control SAP processing and enables the applica-
tion’s administrator or operator to easily manage the many
tasks unique to the SAP software environment. Tasks specific to
SAP software include (but are not restricted to) the following:
• ABAP variant management
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood simplifies the
management of ABAP variants by enabling a central point of
administration for all variants across all SAP instances and
providing a means for the administrator to use a single job
definition. The definition can be reused multiple times with
different variant values. This reduces management overhead,
allows dynamic changes to variants, and cuts down dramatic-
ally on the number of jobs that need to be defined to the
system.
• Mass activity processing
Some SAP software, such as the SAP Advanced Planning &
Optimization (SAP APO) component and SAP industry
solutions, use mass activity processing to ensure workload
completion. In these cases, a single parent SAP job will
“spawn” multiple jobs. It is difficult for SAP administrators to
predict when the spawned jobs will run and for how long.
Further difficulties arise when successor jobs run too soon
after the parent job has completed (before the spawned jobs
have finished), causing corrupt results. SAP Central Job
Scheduling by Redwood resolves these problems by auto-
matically detecting spawned jobs, inserting them dynamically
into the current scheduled workload, tracking their progress,
ensuring that no subsequent jobs start while spawned jobs are
still running, and raising alerts for any errors.
• iDoc monitoring
SAP Central Job scheduling by Redwood enables a single point
of monitoring for all iDocs across all SAP instances. All the
necessary information for each iDoc can be retrieved on a
per-instance basis. For monitoring purposes, inbound and
outbound iDocs in a corresponding SAP instance are listed as
separate jobs in the job-scheduling application. The status of
an iDoc is translated to a status code to initiate other actions
if required, such as releasing a subsequent job once iDoc
processing is complete or raising alerts if there is an error.
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SAP Interface1 SAP Release Levels
BC-XBP 6.10 – Background Processing,
Job Scheduling, Web AS 6.10 (version 2.0)
SAP® Web AS 6.10; SAP Web AS 6.20;
SAP Web AS 6.30; SAP Web AS 6.40
BC-XBP 4.5 – Background Processing,
Job Scheduling, R/3 4.5
SAP R/3 4.5; SAP R/3 4.6
J2EE-DEP 6.40 – J2EE Application
Installation/Deployment 6.40
SAP Web AS 6.40
AC-CCI 1.0 – Adaptive Computing
Controller, Command Interface 1.0
SAP Web AS 6.40
BC-XAL 6.10 – External Alert and
Monitoring 6.10
SAP Web AS 6.10; SAP Web AS 6.20;
SAP Web AS 6.30; SAP Web AS 6.40
BC-XMW 6.10 – Write Interface, CCMS
Monitoring Architecture 6.10 (version 1.0)
SAP Web AS 6.10; SAP Web AS 6.20;
SAP Web AS 6.30; SAP Web AS 6.40
BW-SCH 3.0 – BW, Scheduling 3.0 SAP BW 3.0; SAP BW 3.5
EP-BP 6.0 – Enterprise Portal Business
Package Certification
SAP EP 6.0
1. Please note: SAP R/3 functionality is now found in the mySAP™ ERP application;
SAP Enterprise Portal (SAP EP) is now the SAP NetWeaver® Portal component;
SAP Web Application Server (SAP Web AS) is now the SAP NetWeaver Application
Server (SAP NetWeaver AS) tool; SAP BW is now referenced as the business information
warehouse in the SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence component; and CCMS
stands for computer center management system.
Table 1: SAP Certification for the SAP® Central Job Scheduling Application by Redwood (February 2006)
• Integration of SAP process chains
Some SAP applications, such as the business intelligence
warehouse component of SAP NetWeaver BI, the mySAP Supply
Chain Management (mySAP SCM) application, and SAP APO,
enhance SAP job flows using “process chains.” A process
chain defines the flow for executing SAP jobs – for example,
by calling up mySAP ERP or ABAP reports and information
packages – and defines the dependencies between them.
However, these dependencies are only defined locally on each
SAP software instance and can not be defined throughout the
SAP landscape between different applications. SAP Central
Job Scheduling by Redwood can be used to define the depend-
encies between the process chains and other SAP and non-SAP
systems as well as to provide an overview of control and
process execution.
• Integration of Adaptive Computing Controller
Redwood has partnered with several major hardware vendors
to achieve certification for the Adaptive Computing
Controller. Because SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood
enables the implementation of adaptive batch processing
on and across the different hardware platforms, you can easily
add and remove computing resources with minimal adminis-
trative effort. Thus you can operate, observe, and manage an
adaptive business solution from a central point.
For example, a grid platform such as the Fujitsu Siemens
FlexFrame or Unisys E7000 uses multiple server “blades” or
nodes, each equipped with the ability to take on a different
workload when needed. During normal processing periods,
some nodes may be handling regular background workload
while others are looking after online users. When peak
workload occurs, such as at period end, the job-scheduling
application uses low-level information such as CPU load,
job-queue data, and information from the Adaptive Computing
Controller to dynamically alter the workload running
each node. Some nodes can be redeployed to deal with the
increased load demanded by period-end runs until they can
be released back to their usual tasks.
• Integration of SAP Solution Manager
See the “Systems Management Tool Integration” section.
Integration of Non-SAP Applications
Automation of non-SAP applications enables seamless end-to-
end workload integration across the wider environment. Other
application environments that can be managed include the
following:
• Oracle
• PeopleSoft
• Baan
• Other customer-specific and third-party applications
The central point of control provides a single point of manage-
ment for all workloads, which means that cross-application
dependencies are implemented reliably, latency in the schedules
is removed, productivity is increased, and the cost of ownership
is reduced.
Java Process Management
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood provides integration
between Java and non-Java applications, enabling process
automation and job scheduling across the enterprise from legacy
mainframe systems, through midrange distributed systems and
Microsoft Windows, to new technologies such as Java EE appli-
cations. The same event-driven approach to process automation
can be implemented for Java workload using the same set of
event criteria as well as additional Java-specific functions such as
exploiting JMS message queues.
Comprehensive open-Java APIs enable the functionality in SAP
Central Job Scheduling by Redwood to be embedded in any
third-party or in-house-built Java applications. This allows the
full set of scheduling services to be called from inside the
application.
The Java EE process server in SAP Central Job Scheduling by
Redwood can run on any Java EE–compliant Java platform,
including the SAP NetWeaver Application Server component
as well as IBM WebSphere and BEA WebLogic.
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Legacy Management
Mainframe and midrange environments are embraced by SAP
Central Job Scheduling by Redwood in several ways:
• Direct management through deployment of dedicated,
platform-based process servers
• Remote management through communication of commands
and responses across the network
• Integration with existing platform-specific job-scheduling
solutions
The approach you adopt depends on the nature of the workload
that requires automation and the infrastructure available.
Whichever method you use, SAP Central Job Scheduling by
Redwood can act as central repository for all the process
automation information in the entire environment, enabling
easy integration across legacy, existing, and future application
environments. The job-scheduling application provides support
for the following operating systems:
• IBM z/OS
• IBM System i5 (OS/400, iSeries)
• OpenVMS
• Fujitsu Siemens BS2000
Operating System Job Management
In addition to automating application-based jobs and processes,
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood lets you automate
operating-system tasks – and in the same way. Many end-to-end
processes require some interaction with operating-system
tasks – such as a file transfer between different servers, initiating
a system backup following the completion of specific workload
or the provisioning of additional system resources to alleviate
system load. It is often at the point of execution that delays and
errors can occur in these processes.
By embracing operating-system jobs in the general job-
scheduling environment, organizations can maximize the benefit
they get from automation and ensure that general “housekeeping”
tasks are executed at the appropriate moment.
Systems Management Tool Integration
Systems management frameworks provide a high-level “cockpit”
view of the entire IT infrastructure, enabling centralized control
of key operational areas. SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood
can be integrated with these tools to provide the alerting and
automation required to ensure that job scheduling is included
in the overall systems management environment.
SAP Solution Manager
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood is certified for integra-
tion with SAP Solution Manager for both “read” and “write.”
This means that information regarding the status of jobs outside
the SAP software environment can be passed to SAP Solution
Manager by the job-scheduling application – and that SAP
events detected by SAP Solution Manager can be intercepted by
the job-scheduling application. These intercepted events can be
used for making decisions regarding subsequent SAP processing
or non-SAP processing as well as for passing information to a
higher-level systems management framework. Here are several
scenarios in which this integration can help improve the efficiency
and responsiveness of the SAP monitoring infrastructure by
adding an automation function that is not otherwise available:
• Information from SAP Solution Manager triggers the
job-scheduling application.
In this scenario, SAP-based events and information are passed
from SAP Solution Manager to the job-scheduling application
and used to determine a particular course of action, depending
on the event.
• Information from the job-scheduling application is
passed to SAP Solution Manager.
In this case, SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood can pass
on the information or publish it to SAP Solution Manager,
which uses it to supplement information held in the central-
performance history database and adds it to the data that
can be used for service-level reporting, performance analysis,
and so on.
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• A customer is creating a fully automated SAP
application environment.
The two-way flow of information between SAP Solution
Manager and SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood,
combined with the event-driven automation functionality of
the job-scheduling application, enables customers to build
sophisticated automation procedures into the entire SAP
software landscape, linked across all SAP applications.
• A customer is integrating SAP and non-SAP automation
applications.
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood provides the
functionality needed to create a seamless interface between
SAP and non-SAP process automation and to publish
information about non-SAP applications to SAP Solution
Manager.
Systems Management Frameworks
Organizations that have deployed high-level systems management
frameworks such as IBM Tivoli Enterprise Console (IBM TEC),
HP OpenView, or CA Unicenter are seeking to maximize their
ROI from these complex management environments. The value
of these frameworks or tools can be limited by the quality of
information they receive and, critically, by their ability to respond
to exceptions in the most effective way.
By integrating with these tools, SAP Central Job Scheduling by
Redwood ensures that the detailed information it holds about
the status of every job running on any application anywhere in
the environment can be made available to the framework to aid
any automated decision-making process should an exception
occur. Failed, late, or incomplete job events can be flagged as
exceptions and forwarded to the systems management console
via traditional simple network management protocol (SNMP)
"trap" messages, or the invocation of framework-specific
interfaces such as ‘wpostzmsg’ (IBM TEC) or ‘opcmsg’ (HP
OpenView). Once the information is available to the framework,
instructions for context-specific corrective action can be passed
back to the job-scheduling application for action.
Alternatively, SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood can
make the decision as to what action needs to be taken (thereby
responding to events more quickly) and pass information up
to the systems management console about what has happened
and how it was fixed for inclusion in an appropriate database.
Systems management framework integration enables the
following:
• Faster notification and rectification of exception conditions
• Increased ROI in systems management frameworks
• Greater consolidation and centralization of management
Security Management
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood provides the security
needed to ensure that only authorized personnel can perform
administrative or operational tasks. Security is applied at several
levels and can be integrated with existing enterprise security
standards.
User Role Management
The administrator must define users in the repository before
any job can be defined, submitted for execution, or monitored.
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood has a fine-grained
security model (see Figure 12) that includes access and usage
privileges at both system and object levels. Privileges can be
granted and revoked via Redwood Explorer.
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Figure 12: Security Tool in SAP® Central Job Scheduling by Redwood
Partitions
In addition to allowing you to use the definition of individual
users and groups of users to determine different levels of access
and functionality, SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood
enables you to create process automation “partitions” within a
single repository. Partitions are discrete, protected areas of the
repository to which only specific users are allowed access and
within which the full functionality of SAP Central Job Schedul-
ing by Redwood exists but cannot be seen by or influenced by
other partitions in the same repository. Nor can it see or be
influenced by other users. In effect, each partition is “ring-
fenced” and operates as if it is a completely separate installation
of the job-scheduling application.
This ability to create partitions is a powerful tool for organizations
that want to provide very secure access to process automation
within different departments. (For example, a partition might
be defined for finance or human resources that only certain
individuals can use.) It is also useful for service providers
delivering a process-automation service to customers.
Centralized Authorization
Security policies in many organizations demand the use of
centralized authorization mechanisms to maintain high levels
of protection for their IT infrastructure. Various architectures
support this, such as Kerberos, Microsoft Active Directory, a
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), or a public-key
infrastructure. SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood can
integrate with and participate in these architectures, ensuring
that existing corporate security standards and policies are
adhered to and maintained as a standard part of the process-
automation environment.
All job-scheduling-application clients (Windows, CLI, Web
interface, and API) require a user name and password before a
connection can be established with the repository. User and
security administration mechanisms take care of all types of
authentication and authorization.
SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood is operated by several
groups of users, each with its own set of privileges. These groups
include the following:
• Administrators
An administrator is responsible for ensuring that the installation
and configuration of SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood
ensure an optimum environment. Administrators use the
Redwood Explorer and have administrator privileges. Typically,
they are also granted operating system and repository database
privileges.
• Business users and operators
Operators are responsible for starting processes and making
sure they execute correctly. Operators use Redwood Explorer
or Process Manager for the Web to submit and monitor jobs
and to view job output files. They can also use the Redwood
Explorer messages monitor to respond to various console
messages. This group is granted operator privileges as well as
privileges for specific jobs.
• Developers
Developers are responsible for defining single- and multistep
process flows. They use the Redwood Explorer and have
developer privileges to define processes.
Privileges are established per user or group of users and are
stored in the Redwood repository. In Redwood Explorer, the
availability of menu options is determined by each user’s
authorization level. User- and role-based security enables the
following:
• Integration with corporate security policies ensuring adherence
to standards
• Creation of business-related groups and roles
• Secure partitioning of workload management between different
operational groups
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Audit Control
All actions taken against any object within the SAP Central Job
Scheduling by Redwood repository are recorded and can form
part of a configurable centralized audit trail. You can use this
information to generate management reports and, if necessary,
to track specific actions of individual users.
The ability to maintain an audit trail ensures that the process-
automation environment adheres to corporate policies and
standards, helps with governance, risk management, and
compliance (GRC) requirements in Sarbanes-Oxley and Basel
II, and increases business customer confidence in overall system
security.
Repository Management
The SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood repository holds
all the information about the configuration of the entire
process-automation and job-scheduling landscape. It is critical
to protect it from deliberate damage through robust security
controls as well as to ensure its reliability through regular
management tasks such as backup and maintenance.
Secure management of repository objects enables this mainte-
nance to be performed by authorized individuals only; associated
custom reporting can be created as part of the audit trail.
Standard database-maintenance routines using industry-standard
commands and queries ensure that skill-set requirements are
kept to a minimum and that existing corporate practices for
database management and availability can be used. This keeps
administrative costs to a minimum and eliminates the need
for proprietary backup or recovery methods.
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SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood is much more than
a simple tool that automates background jobs for the SAP
software landscape. It is a powerful process-automation appli-
cation that exploits the power of a robust repository and a
highly available, distributed environment to ensure reliable and
accurate processing of business application workload across all
applications and operating-system environments.
Through low-level integration with SAP applications – including
mySAP ERP, mySAP Business Suite, SAP NetWeaver BI, mySAP
SCM, and SAP industry solutions, SAP Central Job Scheduling
by Redwood streamlines your ability to manage processes that
require interaction among and integration with different SAP
components. This integration can also be extended across the
non-SAP environment through innovative dynamic scheduling
that enables events anywhere in the landscape to control and
manage processing. The result is a centralized solution for reducing
the cost of managing the increasingly complex, multiapplication
workload that business organizations demand.
To learn more about SAP Central Job Scheduling by Redwood
and find out how it can help your organization achieve high
levels of business success, contact your SAP representative or
visit us at www.sap.com/centraljobscheduling.
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MORE THAN A SIMPLE AUTOMATION TOOL
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FUNCTIONS AND BENEFITS SUMMARY
Function Reduce TCO Increase
Productivity
Achieve Faster
Response
Improve
Flexibility
Event-driven scheduling • • • •Intelligent job definition • • •Job-chain management • • • •Intuitive GUI: Redwood Explorer • • •High availability • • •Intelligent application connectors • •Java process management • •High-throughput processing • • •Dynamic workload balancing • • • •Enhanced time-zone support • • • •Partitions • • •Operating-system job management • • •Legacy process management • •Alert notification • • •Integration with systems management tools • • •Adaptive computing support • • • •Dynamic workload monitoring • • •Dynamic calendaring • • •Adaptive calendars • • •Execution-control optimization • • • •Automatic error recovery • • • •Logical queue management • • •Graphical job-forecast management • •Contextual processing • • •
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www.sap.com/contactsap
50 080 400 (06/07)