Manager and agent types
About this task
Primarily, workstation definitions refer to physical workstations. However, in the case of extended and network agents, the workstations are logical definitions that must be hosted by a physical HCL Workload Automation workstation.
HCL Workload Automation workstations
can be of the following types:
- Master domain manager (MDM)
- The domain manager in the topmost domain of a HCL Workload Automation network. It either contains or connects to the relational database that stores the scheduling object definitions. It creates or updates the production file when the plan is created or extended and distributes it in the network. It performs all logging and reporting for the network.
- Backup master
- A fault-tolerant agent or domain manager capable of assuming the responsibilities of the master domain manager for automatic workload recovery.
- Domain manager
- The management hub in a domain. All communications to and from the agents in a domain are routed through the domain manager.
- Backup domain manager
- A fault-tolerant agent capable of assuming the responsibilities of its domain manager.
- Dynamic domain manager
- An installed component in a distributed HCL Workload Automation network that is the management hub in a domain. All communication to and from the dynamic agents in the domain is routed through the dynamic domain manager.
- Backup dynamic domain manager
- A workstation which can act as a backup for the dynamic domain manager, when problems occur. It is effectively a dynamic domain manager, waiting to be activated. Its use is optional.
- Fault-tolerant agent (FTA)
- A workstation capable of resolving local dependencies and launching its jobs in the absence of a domain manager.
- Dynamic agent
- Dynamic agents run the same types of jobs as fault-tolerant agents.
From classic job types such as docommand and scripts, to more specific
job types such as Java, database, file transfers, InfoSphere DataStage,
Cognos, and OSLC to name a few. Dynamic agents can be defined in pools
and dynamic pools.
- Run workload dynamically
- It communicates with the server the status of its resources. In
this way the product is able to dynamically run your workload to the
best available resources by:
- Automatically discovering scheduling environment resources.
- Automatically following resource changes
- Requesting additional resources when needed
- Matching job requirements to available resources
- Controlling and optimizing use of resources
The characteristics listed above provides high availability and load balancing potentialities to your environment and well suite virtualized environments.
When a job is submitted, either as part of a job stream in the plan or through ad hoc submission, HCL Workload Automation checks the job requirements, the available resources and the related characteristics and submits the job to the resource that best meets the requirements to run it.
- Run both existing job types and job types with advanced options
- It can run:
- Existing job types. For example docommand and scripts.
- Job types with advanced options, both those supplied with the product and the additional types implemented through the custom plug-ins. For example, those supplied with the product are DB2®, file transfer, and web services. Those implemented through the custom plug-ins are the ones you developed using the Integration Workbench of the Software Development Kit (SDK). To run these job types you must also install the Java™ run time.
- Manage dynamic workload broker logical resource
- It can remotely run, from the agent, the dynamic workload broker resource command on the server. To manage the resource command you must also install the Java run time.
- Pool
- Pools are groups in which you add specific dynamic agent workstations according to the requirements of the job. Jobs are assigned dynamically to the best available dynamic agent applying a load balancing policy by choosing the agent with the lesser amount of jobs to run.
- Dynamic pool
- Dynamic pools are groups in which you specify the requirements and HCL Workload Automation selects the dynamic agents that meet the requirements. Jobs are assigned dynamically to the best available dynamic agent applying an optimization policy to identify the best agent.
- Standard agent
- A workstation that launches jobs only under the direction of its domain manager. It is not fault-tolerant.
- Extended agent
- A logical workstation definition that helps you launch and control jobs on other systems and applications, such as PeopleSoft, SAP, and z/OS®.
- z-centric agent
- Runs jobs scheduled from IBM Workload Scheduler for z/OS but is installed in the HCL Workload Automation environment. It has no fault-tolerance and communicates directly with the IBM Workload Scheduler for z/OS controller through the RESTful HTTP interface. In IBM Workload Scheduler for z/OS it has the same functionality as a computer automatic workstation even though it runs in the distributed environment.
- Network Agent
- A logical workstation definition for creating dependencies between jobs and job streams in separate HCL Workload Automation networks.