Jobs

Jobs

Overview

The Jobs page displays the history and status of all hardening jobs executed in the system. Hardening jobs apply CIS benchmark configurations to hosts to improve their security posture.

Navigation

Menu: Infrastructure > Jobs

Page Layout

Toolbar

Button	Description
Refresh	Manually reload the job list

The page shows “Auto-refresh every 10 seconds” indicator.

Jobs Table

Column	Description
Host	Target server hostname (resolved from host ID)
Profile	CIS profile used (e.g., cis-level1-server, cis-level2-server)
Status	Current job status with warning icon if error exists
Duration	Time taken to complete (in seconds)
Started At	Job start timestamp
Completed	Job completion timestamp
Actions	View Output button

Pagination

Default page size: 50 items
Available sizes: 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 items per page
Shows range indicator (e.g., “1-50 / 127”)

Job Statuses

Status	Color	Description
pending	Gray	Job is waiting to be picked up by worker
queued	Blue (processing)	Job is queued for execution
running	Blue	Job is currently executing
completed	Green	Job finished successfully
failed	Red	Job encountered an error

Error Indicator

When a job has an error message, a warning icon (yellow/red) appears next to the status tag. Hover over the icon to see the error message.

Viewing Job Details

Click the View Output button on any job row to open the details modal:

Details Modal Contents

Field	Description
Job ID	Full unique job identifier (UUID)
Host	Target server hostname
Profile	CIS profile used for hardening
Status	Current status with color tag
Priority	Job priority level
Created	Job creation timestamp
Started At	When the job started executing
Completed	When the job finished
Duration	Execution time in seconds
Error	Error message if job failed (displayed in red box)
Ansible Output	Full Ansible playbook execution log
Result	Job result data (if available)

Ansible Output

For completed or failed jobs, the Ansible Output section shows the full playbook execution log:

PLAY [Apply CIS Hardening] *****
TASK [Gathering Facts] *****
ok: [192.168.1.10]
TASK [section1 : Ensure mounting of cramfs filesystems is disabled] *****
changed: [192.168.1.10]
...

The output shows:

Each task executed
Status (ok, changed, failed, skipped)
Any error messages or warnings

The output panel supports scrolling and has a maximum height of 400px.

Auto-Refresh

The Jobs page automatically refreshes every 10 seconds to show updated job statuses. This allows you to monitor job progress in real-time without manually refreshing.

Job Workflow

1. Job Creation

Jobs are created when:

User clicks Harden on a host (Hosts page)
User clicks Bulk Harden for selected hosts
A schedule triggers automatically (Schedules page)
Quick Fix is initiated from compliance scan results

2. Job Queuing

New jobs enter the pending state and are added to the job queue.

The worker process picks up jobs from the queue based on priority.

3. Job Execution

The worker:

Connects to the target host via SSH
Runs the Ansible hardening playbook
Applies CIS configurations based on the selected profile
Records the output and results

4. Job Completion

Jobs complete with one of two outcomes:

Success (completed):

All tasks executed without critical errors
Host configuration was modified
Run a new compliance scan to verify improvements

Failure (failed):

An error prevented completion
Check the error message and Ansible output
Common causes: SSH connectivity, permissions, package conflicts

Understanding Profiles

CIS Level 1 - Server

Basic hardening suitable for most server environments:

Disables unnecessary services
Configures basic security settings
Minimal impact on functionality

CIS Level 2 - Server

Comprehensive hardening for high-security environments:

All Level 1 controls
Additional restrictions
May impact some applications

CIS Level 1 - Workstation

Basic hardening for workstation systems.

CIS Level 2 - Workstation

Enhanced hardening for workstation systems.

STIG Server/Workstation

DISA STIG compliance profiles for server and workstation systems.

Error Handling

Common Errors

Error	Cause	Solution
SSH connection failed	Host unreachable	Check network connectivity and SSH credentials
Permission denied	Insufficient privileges	Ensure SSH user has sudo access
Package not found	Missing dependencies	Install required packages on host
Service failed to start	Configuration conflict	Review Ansible output for details
Connection timeout	Network issues	Check firewalls and network connectivity

Viewing Error Details

Find the job with the warning icon in the Status column
Hover over the warning icon for a quick preview
Click View Output for full details
Review the Error field in the modal
Search for “FAILED” or “error” in the Ansible Output

Job Priority

Jobs have a priority field that affects execution order:

Higher priority jobs are executed first
Priority is set when creating the hardening job from the Hosts page
Default priority levels: Lowest, Low, Normal, High, Critical

Canceling Jobs

Currently, jobs cannot be canceled once started. The job will run to completion or failure.

For long-running jobs, you can:

Wait for completion
Check the worker logs for progress
Contact an administrator if the job appears stuck

Best Practices

Before Running Jobs

Backup: Ensure host has recent backups
Test: Run a compliance scan first to understand current state
Schedule: Run during maintenance windows
Communicate: Inform affected users

After Job Completion

Verify: Run a compliance scan to confirm improvements
Test: Verify applications still function correctly
Document: Record changes made

Monitoring

Check Jobs page daily for failed jobs
Investigate failures promptly
Track compliance improvement over time
Use the auto-refresh feature to monitor running jobs

Hosts - Starting hardening jobs
Compliance Scanning - Verifying results
Schedules - Automating jobs
Hardening - Detailed hardening information

Host Management Reports