General settings
The General tab defines how often a job runs, how noisy it is allowed to be, and how it behaves on failures.
Configuration fields
| Field | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Job identifier shown in lists and reports | Yes |
| Description | Notes about the job's purpose | No |
| Frequency | How often to run (simple or CRON) | Yes |
| Max Notify Freq | Minimum time between notifications | No |
| Retry on failure | Number of retries after a failed run (default: 3) | No |
| Run Expire Time | Age at which old runs and reports are deleted (default: 6 months) | No |
Scheduling
Simple frequency
Set how often the job runs, in natural intervals.
Advanced (CRON)
Turn on the Advanced switch to type a CRON expression in the Cron field:
| CRON expression | Description |
|---|---|
0 9 * * * | Every day at 9:00 AM |
0 */2 * * * | Every 2 hours |
0 9 * * 1-5 | Weekdays at 9:00 AM |
0 0 1 * * | First day of every month |
*/10 * * * * | Every 10 minutes |
0 9,17 * * * | At 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM |
Anaphora refuses to save a CRON expression that the scheduler cannot run, for example 0 */25 * * *. A stored job with
such an expression shows Never runs on the Jobs list.
If Anaphora is down when a job should run, it does not run the job late. The job runs at its next scheduled time. At startup, the log names the runs that were missed.
Notification throttling
Max Notify Freq sets the minimum time between two delivered reports, whatever the job frequency. A run inside this time still runs, but sends nothing. Use it for high-frequency alerting jobs.
Select the checkbox to turn on throttling. The default is 3 hours. If the job runs more often than once a day and throttling is off, the General tab shows a Throttle Frequency button that sets the default.
Why throttling matters
Example configuration
| Job frequency | Throttling | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Every 5 minutes | 3 hours | Max 8 notifications/day |
| Every 10 minutes | 1 hour | Max 24 notifications/day |
| Every hour | 6 hours | Max 4 notifications/day |
| Daily | None | 1 notification/day |
High-frequency sampling with throttling gives an alerting-style workflow:
- Job runs every 5 minutes to detect issues quickly
- Throttling prevents notification fatigue
- Recipients get timely alerts without spam
Retry policy
Select the Retry on failure checkbox to retry a failed run automatically. Then set the number of retries, from 1 to 10. New jobs use 3 retries.
Anaphora retries in increasing intervals: 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, 2 days, and 3 days after the initial failure.
- A run is retried when its capture fails, or when its report reached no destination. A report that reached some destinations is not sent again.
- A capture that runs longer than 30 minutes is stopped, stored as failed, and retried.
- Retries are listed under the run that failed first, in its Attempts.
- If you start a manual run after a scheduled run failed, the pending retries of the scheduled run still happen.
Housekeeping (data retention)
Select the Run Expire Time checkbox to delete old runs and their reports automatically after the time you set (months, days, and hours). New jobs use 6 months. Clear the checkbox to keep runs forever (Never expire). An hourly clean-up deletes the expired runs and their report files.
High-frequency jobs make more data. Without housekeeping:
- 10-minute job = 144 runs/day = 4,320 runs/month
- Each run may include snapshots and reports
- Without retention limits, storage can grow fast
Best practices
For scheduled reports
Frequency: Daily at 9 AM (0 9 * * *)
Throttling: None (reports always deliver)
Retry: 3 attempts
Housekeeping: 90 days
For alerting jobs
Frequency: Every 5-10 minutes
Throttling: 1-3 hours (balance speed vs. noise)
Retry: Job runs often enough; retries usually not needed
Housekeeping: 14 days (less storage needed)
For compliance/archival
Frequency: Weekly or monthly
Throttling: None
Retry: 5 attempts (make sure it succeeds)
Housekeeping: Never