Batch processing is one of the most crucial backend tasks that are taken care of by programmers/engineers. It involves running high volume and repetitive data jobs/tasks that allow businesses/users to process data whenever computing resources are available, with minimal user interaction.
Many prominent businesses, including banks, hospitals, IT, and accounting, that deal with the processing of large data sets regularly use batch processing. This backend process quietly powers the modern world, and its examples include anything from credit card transactions and the daily generation of bills to weather forecasts to temperature measurements.
The defining characteristic of batch processing is automatic updation/action with less or no manual intervention. However, the batch processing orchestration technology that is used today is typically decades old and isn’t designed to work with modern technologies like cloud and Kubernetes while triggering recurring time-based and triggered tasks.
Businesses today work on a variety of execution environments (e.g., cloud, on-premise, serverless, virtualized, etc.) and require superior authentication and authorization to kick off specific tasks/workflows. Additionally, certain tasks need to be triggered based on specific events or information being uploaded.
Another crucial development in this realm is the growing dependency of business processes on data pipelines. In addition, such workflows must also be monitored for failures, and the developers/engineers involved must be alerted to fix them faster in case of errors/failures.
Unfortunately, most task schedulers available today lack enterprise features such as authentication and authorization and are difficult to scale. Moreover, they can be pretty challenging to learn and require powerful servers for managing core scheduling activities.
Thankfully, there are a few scheduling solutions that address these problems head-on and help organizations manage their workflows with great ease and accuracy. This review will focus on Cesium Scheduler – a modern and powerful task orchestration platform that helps you run recurring workflows anytime and anywhere with minimal setup requirements.
Cesium Scheduler allows you to deploy and manage recurring time-based workflows and set up tasks with significantly less effort. It enables you to configure where, when, and how they take place. The platform also offers advanced authentication and provides a superior experience for engineers, developers, and managers.
Through this review, we will cover the following points:
- Introduction to Cesium Scheduler
- Key Features of Cesium Scheduler
- Our Final Verdict
So let’s begin. Shall we?
Introduction to Cesium Scheduler
Cesium Scheduler is a secure and flexible enterprise task scheduler designed to simplify batch workflows. Available as a SaaS product, Cesium makes it easy for teams to configure, run and monitor batch workflows across multiple cloud providers and compute platforms with minimum overheads.
Cesium Scheduler enables you to manage your batch workloads across multiple cloud providers or from your private data center. You can also use the application to set up your workflows with dependencies through a recurring schedule or link them to other workflows.
Cesium Scheduler helps you run recurrent workflows (like data extraction, data processing, data movement, security scans, periodic restacking, etc.) that are supposed to be triggered at specific intervals. The platform uses queues and messages to communicate commands/statuses across multiple systems and does not require any open ports in your network/firewall to run tasks and workflows inside your cloud infrastructure/data center.
Cesium Scheduler offers a Task Executor that needs to be downloaded and run as a daemon process on your system. Once set up (which only takes a few minutes), you are ready to execute tasks and workflows by mentioning what is to be done, where, and when. You can also set up dependencies, fix the order of steps to be followed, and choose where the task will be performed (inside your server or in data centers).
Cesium Scheduler offers in-depth insights into how each task is being performed and whether the individual steps involved were successful or not. You can view and modify workflows, view status and execution history, and change task details and environment variables (scripts). Additionally, workflows can be set up for different environments by reusing scripts.
Cesium Scheduler doubles up as an IT automation tool and can also be used by non-technical users. It is a light and fast task orchestrator that integrates smoothly with platforms like Shell, Python, Java, Docker, etc. In addition, it offers a pay per workflow setup that allows scaling organizations to use the platform to reduce their workloads.
Impressed already? We haven’t discussed the key features yet!
Key Features of Cesium Scheduler
1. Task Executor
The Task Executor is a software that needs to be downloaded and run on your system for executing workflows and communicating the state of execution of tasks. It runs as a daemon process on your server/data center and is configured through a properties file.
The Cesium Scheduler task executor must be connected with a workspace/department and would require internet access to function smoothly. It initiates outbound network connections from the system it is running on into the core schedule in the cloud. This allows you to map and execute tasks automatically without opening any ports on your network.
The Task Executor is a crucial component of Cesium Scheduler that is deployed inside your infrastructure to execute workflows and manage processes and outcomes associated with tasks.
Task Executors are highly configurable and can be set up for any user role through an ID and password. Your machine only requires an outbound internet connection to reach Cesium’s cloud servers, and the rest is taken care of automatically.
2. Workflow & Workload Configuration
With Cesium Scheduler, you can configure the workflow or workload (series of steps to be completed) for any task. The platform allows you to set up workflows through shell scripts and Python scripts and fix the order of steps by end-users.
Once a workflow is configured, Cesium Scheduler sends out commands and executes them as described. The platform helps you set up dependencies and send emails to all users involved. It also lets you define what is to be done, what should trigger each task (scheduled or on-demand execution), and when they should take place.
3. Environment Variables
Cesium Scheduler enables you to run already packaged workflows on different environments using configs. Environment variables allow you to point to file locations and references for improving outcomes. They can also be used to create workflows for different environments by reusing scripts.
4. Permissions & Alerts
Cesium Scheduler offers an array of access control features that improve the security of your processes. In addition to role-based access control, it also provides notifications that help you know how each workflow is executed.
Apart from the above features, Cesium Scheduler also offers a graphical workflow editor and is the first of its kind to offer a scheduler as a service. The application also provides a holistic, real-time view of when and how each step is performed and allows you to run them on-demand, as scheduled or manually.
Our Final Verdict
Cesium Scheduler can be used by businesses for a variety of applications. It allows users to automate tasks and create detailed workflows to reduce task burden and perform actions independently (or depending on inputs). With Cesium Scheduler, businesses of all sizes and types can create and customize their tasks with great precision.
Cesium is both user-friendly and cost-effective and offers a range of features to help organizations automate complicated tasks in various environments. Considering the numerous applications of the platform in different domains and its array of helpful features, we are inclined to give Cesium Scheduler a ‘Perfect Score’ in our ratings – hoping that it will simplify many business operations in the future.
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