Tasks

Tasks are setup for stages™ processes (signal process, redundancy, auto feed…), configuring the signals from alarm receivers, and running SGS provided software (Mail Service, Report Distribution). Tasks continuously update themselves so that when a task fails or is behind, notifications can be made.

Task Setup

Tasks are setup in the Task Setup window (Utilities | Processing | Task Setup).

Tasks involving stages™ processes are pre-setup with stages™ delivery. These tasks relate to SQL database procedures.

Tasks involving Receivers are setup during stages™ delivery and as Receivers are added. These tasks interpret the signals received by alarm receivers and stages™ Connect boxes and format them for signal processing.

Tasks involving SGS software are setup during installation of SGS Mail Service and SGS Report Distribution.

'No Signal Warning Time' can be entered for a Task. If there is no signal received on the task in the time interval entered, the Task will go into error with the ‘!010 – Task No Signal Warning’ event code.

**For more information on how to set up Receiver Tasks, go to the Receiver page.

Task Status

In Utilties | Processing | Task Status, the status of all tasks is displayed in a refreshing list.

Signal Processing is tracked on the top pane. If there is a signal processing problem, the row will turn red.

Tasks are enabled and disabled in the Task Status window (Utilities | Processing | Task Status). The Task Status displayed in the list (Running, Not Running, Shut Down…). Enabled Tasks display normally, Disabled tasks are italicized and grayed out, Tasks in error display with a red background. The times Last Status of the task (based on checks by the Late Process), and the Last Signal received on the task are displayed.

The list refreshes automatically. The default refresh rate is 20 seconds and can be set for this instance in the upper right corner. Selecting a row from the list will open the task in the Task Status pane on the right. In this pane, the task can be Enabled or Disabled using the link, or the setup can be opened.

The Task Setup list can be viewed in the Setup tab, and a Log of Task disables and enables can be viewed in the Disable Log tab.

Task Supervision

Task Supervision generates an Event Code for problem with a task on the active server. Tasks update their status every 20 seconds. The Lates Program checks every 2 minutes for late tasks. There are four types of task problems:

When a task has not updated itself in the past 90 seconds, stages™ will generate event code “!006” (TaskEr). This applies to all tasks except for Signal Processing and Redundancy. (see below)
When Signal Processing (typically task#11) is behind, stages™ will generate event code “!007” (SigBehind). When notified that Signal Processing is behind, go to the Task Status window (Utilities | Processsing | Task Status). The Signal Processing row will be red. If the amount of signals to process is going down, it is likely a large burst of signals has come in and the processor is catching up. If the amount of signals to process is going up, then it is likely that there is a problem with the signal processor.
When Redundancy is behind, stages™ will generate event code “!008” (RedProblem). Redundancy is checked between all servers on the network. A problem can occur between the active server and a backup server, or between two backup servers. Large data transfers can cause redundancy to momentarily fall behind. An event code will be generated when there is a problem detected by the Lates Program in two consecutive checks. When notified of a redundancy problem, check the Redundancy Status window (Utilties | Processing | Redundancy Status) for more details on the late redundancy task. Like the Signal Processing, the problem row will be red.
Receiver Tasks can be set up to supervise receiver lines by checking for signals within a timeframe. If the set time has expired without a signal, the Lates Program will generate signal code "LineTO" on the Task Site.

Event Codes can be setup with whatever priority and Action Plan is appropriate. The priority level should be fairly high, especially event code !007 for Signal Processing. Action plans should involve the operator notifying someone capable of resolving the problem.

**event codes beginning with characters such as “!” are listed after numbers and before letters in the event code setup.

Task Accounts

Tasks are set up with Sites for alarm generation. The site name should be the description of the task, with the Xmit# being the Task#. For instance the Signal Processing (Task#11) site will have a site name of Signal Processing and an Xmit# of Task11. The only setup needed for the site is the required fields on the New Site window and the Device with the Xmit#. Each receiver task should have its own site with a site name identifying the receiver.

Since there are multiple tasks involving redundancy, alarms associated with event code !007 for redundancy problems are linked to the Site with an Xmit# of RedStatus. This site is necessary for Redundancy error alarms.

Dispatch

Task related alarms are entered into Dispatch Queues just like other alarms, available in the Alarm Buffer (Site | Alarm Buffer) or auto fed to an available operator. Alarms are only created if the site is not already in alarm. An operator should partial clear an alarm once the problem has been relayed and only full clear it once the problem is resolved. This prevents multiple alarms for a task going to different operators.

Signal Log

A log of signals processed by task number is available in the Signal Log window (Utilities | Processing | Signal Log). Double clicking on a row associated with a site will open the dispatch window.