Job that runs past the next scheduled start time

Hello group
I have a problem that I'm considering if the SQL Server Agent and Job
scheduling can help me solve.
I need to check some status very often (approximately every 30. sec.). I
have learned that you can get the job sceduling to start this often, so that
should not be a problem.
Normaly the job will just check this status and then stop.
Once in a while the status will signal that further processing should take
place. This processing may last more than 30 seconds, and therefore last
beyond the next start time of the job.
Is this a problem?
Will I have the same job running multiple times? That is not good.
When will the next job then start? Will it start 30 sec. after the long
running job completed, or will jobs queue op while the long running job is
processing so that I will get multiple starts when the first job completes?
I hope that you can understand my issue.
Regards
Anders> Will I have the same job running multiple times?
No. Agent is simple in this regard. If the job is already running when it is supposed to start, then
Agent will *not* start another instance of that job.
> When will the next job then start? Will it start 30 sec. after the long running job completed, or
> will jobs queue op while the long running job is processing so that I will get multiple starts
> when the first job completes?
Neither. It will start when it is supposed to. Say for simplicity of this example that you want to
start it every minute. Now, you have one occasion where it starts at 13:00:00 and it runs for 110
seconds. The job will not start at 13:01:00 since it is already running. As I said, this occasion
takes 110 seconds so it finishes at 13:01:50. Next time it is supposed to start is 13:02:00, and now
it isn't running so Agent will start it.
--
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://sqlblog.com/blogs/tibor_karaszi
"Anders K. Olsen" <akol_dk@.hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:OM4PQuc%23HHA.700@.TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Hello group
> I have a problem that I'm considering if the SQL Server Agent and Job scheduling can help me
> solve.
> I need to check some status very often (approximately every 30. sec.). I have learned that you can
> get the job sceduling to start this often, so that should not be a problem.
> Normaly the job will just check this status and then stop.
> Once in a while the status will signal that further processing should take place. This processing
> may last more than 30 seconds, and therefore last beyond the next start time of the job.
> Is this a problem?
> Will I have the same job running multiple times? That is not good.
> When will the next job then start? Will it start 30 sec. after the long running job completed, or
> will jobs queue op while the long running job is processing so that I will get multiple starts
> when the first job completes?
> I hope that you can understand my issue.
> Regards
> Anders
>|||Tibor Karaszi" <tibor_please.no.email_karaszi@.hotmail.nomail.com> wrote in
message news:%23GdwCgd%23HHA.1208@.TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> Will I have the same job running multiple times?
> No. Agent is simple in this regard. If the job is already running when it
> is supposed to start, then Agent will *not* start another instance of that
> job.
Sometimes simple is good :-)
>> When will the next job then start? Will it start 30 sec. after the long
>> running job completed, or will jobs queue op while the long running job
>> is processing so that I will get multiple starts when the first job
>> completes?
> Neither. It will start when it is supposed to. Say for simplicity of this
> example that you want to start it every minute. Now, you have one occasion
> where it starts at 13:00:00 and it runs for 110 seconds. The job will not
> start at 13:01:00 since it is already running. As I said, this occasion
> takes 110 seconds so it finishes at 13:01:50. Next time it is supposed to
> start is 13:02:00, and now it isn't running so Agent will start it.
This is fine for our purposes, so we will continue along this line.
Thank you for your help.
Regards
Anderssql