Schedules

Overview

Schedules automate recurring compliance scans and hardening jobs using cron expressions. Set up schedules to ensure regular security assessments.

Navigation

Menu: Infrastructure > Schedules

Page Layout

Toolbar

Schedule Table

Pagination

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

Creating a Schedule

1. Click Create Schedule button
2. Fill in the schedule form:

Schedule Form Fields

3. The form shows a human-readable preview of the cron schedule
4. Click OK to create

SCAP Profile Selection

When creating a compliance scan schedule:

• First select the host
• The profile dropdown is filtered to show only profiles compatible with the host’s OS
• If host has no detected OS, all profiles are shown

Editing a Schedule

1. Click the Edit button (pencil icon) on a schedule row
2. Modify fields in the edit modal
3. Click OK to save changes

All fields are editable including the enabled status.

Enabling/Disabling Schedules

Two ways to toggle schedules:

1. Toggle Switch: Click the switch in the Enabled column
2. Edit Modal: Change the Enabled field in the edit form

When a schedule is:

• Enabled (On): Schedule will run at specified times
• Disabled (Off): Schedule is paused, will not run

Deleting a Schedule

1. Click the Delete button (trash icon) on a schedule row
2. Confirm deletion in the popup dialog
3. Schedule is removed from the system

Cron Expression

Cron expressions define when schedules run. Format:

minute hour day month weekday
  0-59  0-23 1-31  1-12   0-6

Preset Schedules

Select from common presets in the dropdown:

Custom Expressions

To enter a custom cron expression:

1. Open the cron expression dropdown
2. Type the custom expression in the input field at the bottom
3. Press Enter to apply

Examples:

Cron Field Values

Special Characters

Human-Readable Preview

When you enter a valid cron expression, an info alert appears below the field showing the human-readable schedule description. This helps verify the schedule is correct before creating.

Cron Validation

The form validates cron expressions:

• Must have exactly 5 parts separated by spaces
• Each part must be within valid ranges
• Invalid expressions show error messages

Schedule Types

Compliance Scan Schedule

Runs automated CIS compliance scans:

1. Select Compliance Scan as task type
2. Choose target host
3. Select SCAP profile (filtered by host OS)
4. Set cron schedule

Use cases:

• Weekly security assessments
• Daily compliance monitoring
• Pre-audit verification

Hardening Schedule

Runs automated hardening jobs:

1. Select Hardening as task type
2. Choose target host
3. Set cron schedule

Warning: Automated hardening should be used carefully. Ensure servers are tested before enabling automated hardening in production.

Schedule Execution

How It Works

1. Scheduler checks for due schedules every minute
2. When a schedule is due, it creates a job
3. Job is added to the queue
4. Worker processes the job
5. Last run time is recorded
6. Next run time is calculated

Viewing Execution History

• Compliance Scans: Go to Compliance page, filter by host
• Hardening Jobs: Go to Jobs page, view by host
• Last/Next Run: Check the schedule table columns

Timestamps

• Last Run: Shows when the schedule last executed
• Next Run: Shows when the schedule will next execute
• Times are displayed in your browser’s local timezone

Best Practices

Compliance Scanning

• Weekly scans for most environments
• Daily scans for high-security environments
• Schedule during low-usage periods

Hardening

• Avoid automated hardening in production without testing
• Use for development/test environments first
• Always have monitoring in place
• Consider manual hardening for production

Schedule Naming

Use descriptive names:

• Weekly Compliance - Web Servers
• Daily Security Scan - Production
• Monthly Hardening - Dev Environment

Time Selection

• Avoid business hours for resource-intensive scans
• Consider server time zones
• Stagger schedules to avoid overload
• Use off-peak hours (2 AM, 3 AM)

Troubleshooting

Schedule Not Running

1. Verify schedule is enabled (toggle is on)
2. Check cron expression is valid
3. Verify scheduler service is running
4. Check worker is processing jobs
5. Review scheduler logs for errors

Jobs Queued But Not Running

1. Check worker service status
2. Verify Redis connection
3. Review worker logs
4. Check Jobs page for stuck jobs

Wrong Execution Time

1. Verify cron expression in the schedule
2. Check server timezone
3. Note: All times are in server timezone
4. Use the human-readable preview to verify

Schedule Shows Old Next Run Time

1. Check if schedule is enabled
2. Refresh the page
3. Verify scheduler service is running
4. Next run time updates after each execution

Too Many Jobs Queued

1. Reduce schedule frequency
2. Stagger schedules across hours
3. Consider disabling low-priority schedules
4. Check if previous jobs are completing

Related Pages

• Compliance Scanning - View scan results
• Jobs - View hardening job history
• Hosts - Manage target servers