Running a job repetitively

Question

Hi,
We need to run a script (SCRIPT_A) every hour, every workday from 14:00 to 20:00. This script is in a job chain (GLOBAL_JOBCHAIN) which is executed every workday too.
We use "schedule parameters" and "timewidows" to schedule scripts between 14h and 16h, then 15h and 16h, etc.
Global_Jobchain
  Step 1
     <some task(s) that need to run first>
  Step 2
     SCRIPT_A
         schedule parameter time window = PARTITION.FROM_1400
  Step 3
     SCRIPT_A
         schedule parameter time window = PARTITION.FROM_1500
  Step 4
     SCRIPT_A
         schedule parameter time window = PARTITION.FROM_1600
  Step X
     <some task(s) that need to run afterwards>
We have have a problem when the SCRIPT_A (launched in the step 2) running from 14h to 16h30.
We have 2 cases :
1) With a precondition on the jobchain step, steps 3 and 4 are "skipped"
2) With no precondition on the jobchain steps, step 3 is "scheduled" (wait 15h at the next day), and step 4 stay in "chained".
The process we want to obtain is step 3 "skipped" (step 3 is executed only between 15h et 16h), but step 4 is executed at 16h30(because his timewindows is between 16h and 17h)
Thank you for your help,

Answer 1

Hi,
The reason the step 3 is waiting until the next day is that step 2 runs so long that the time window for step 3 is closed, and the next allowed execution is for the next day.
So you could combine the calls to SCRIPT_A in one step, each still with their own time window just as they have now.
Then, if the first call runs too long, the second call will start in parallel with it at 15:00, so in this setup it is assumed that that is OK.
If that is not OK, so the jobs should not run in parallel, then the situation with the preconditions seems the correct behaviour: step 2 runs so long that step 3 can not be executed => skipped, maybe even also step 4 depending on how long step 2 runs.
Regards,
Anton.