Introduction to AutoSys — A Beginner’s Guide

 

Introduction to AutoSys — A Beginner’s Guide

AutoSys is a powerful automated job control and scheduling system that helps IT teams schedule, monitor, and manage workloads across different platforms and environments. It’s widely used by schedulers, operators, and developers who need to run batch jobs reliably and efficiently across servers in enterprise environments.

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What is AutoSys?

AutoSys is a workload automation tool that allows users to define jobs, set schedules, and control the execution of tasks on remote machines. A job in AutoSys can be any action such as a script, command, executable, or batch file that needs to run at a defined time or based on specific conditions.

Unlike traditional schedulers, AutoSys offers:

• Centralized control of job workflows across distributed systems

• Event-based automation where jobs can trigger based on other job outcomes

• Monitoring and alerting to track job execution and handle failures efficiently

• Support for many platforms including UNIX, Linux, Windows, and enterprise systems like SAP and z/OS.

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Who Should Use AutoSys?

This guide is especially helpful for:

• Schedulers and operators who define, monitor, and control workload automation

• Application developers who build systems integrating with AutoSys

• System administrators managing distributed batch processing

• IT teams handling complex workflows or mission-critical jobs.

To use AutoSys effectively, you should be familiar with the operating systems and technologies where the jobs will run, such as UNIX/Linux or Windows environments.

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Key Concepts in AutoSys

Jobs and Job Definitions

In AutoSys, a job is any task you want to automate. Each job has a job definition containing attributes that describe:

• What to run (script, command, executable)

• Where to run (machine/server)

• When to run (schedule or conditions)

• How to run (dependencies, notifications)
  These definitions help the AutoSys scheduler determine how and when to execute the work.

Automated Job Control

AutoSys is event-driven: it monitors events and decides when to initiate jobs. Events can be:

• Scheduled times

• Completion of other jobs

• File triggers or system conditions

When all required conditions are met, AutoSys triggers the job and tracks its status until completion.

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Agents and Extensions

To execute jobs on remote systems, AutoSys uses agents. These are small software components installed on machines where jobs run. Agents enable AutoSys to:

• Execute scripts and commands

• Transfer files

• Monitor files and processes

• Work with databases or application servers

You can also enhance agent capabilities by installing agent plug-ins that add specialized functionalities such as database monitoring or advanced file handling.

Modern AutoSys versions replaced older remote agents with more capable Workload Automation Agents that support additional job types and platforms.

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Events, Alarms, and Utilities

AutoSys uses events to drive automation. For example:

• A scheduled time event might trigger a data backup job.

• A dependency event might start a follow-up job only after another finishes successfully.

Alarms are special notifications that alert operators when jobs fail or require attention. Operators can intervene manually using commands like sendevent to resolve issues or restart jobs.

AutoSys also provides a suite of utilities to manage, monitor, and troubleshoot jobs. These include tools for defining jobs (via JIL), checking job status, sending events, archiving logs, and controlling system components.

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Why AutoSys Matters

AutoSys simplifies complex workload automation needs by centralizing job scheduling and monitoring across heterogeneous systems. It helps organizations:

• Improve operational efficiency

• Reduce manual intervention

• Ensure timely execution of critical tasks

• Maintain visibility over distributed job flows

Because it supports flexible scheduling, dependencies, and automation at scale, AutoSys is a preferred choice for enterprise environments that require robust and reliable workload control.