1 Set a schedule
Manage Software can schedule a deployment for later. Just above the button that applies your changes there is a checkbox called Enable Schedule.
When you tick it, a date-time picker appears below it, with the hint Schedule Start....
Click the calendar icon to choose the date the deployment should start. Today’s date is marked in yellow. Click the date where the deployment should start.
If you need to be more precise, click the clock icon to set the start time. The time is in your own time zone.
The schedule is now set. Click Apply Changes to create the scheduled deployment. If the start time is in the past on a single resource you get the message Scheduled start time must be now or later. and nothing is created.
On the Manage Software tab of Device Manager and User Manager the same options are shown directly under Schedule Settings: an optional schedule name, Schedule Start..., Schedule End..., Use Wake-On-Lan and Ignore maintenance windows. Here Use Wake-On-Lan and Ignore maintenance windows start unticked. The changes you make in the block are remembered while you work, so you do not need to confirm them separately.
2 Advanced settings
More settings are available by clicking the small settings icon next to Enable Schedule. It opens a Schedule window with these fields:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Job Name | Gives the scheduled deployment a name, which makes it easier to find in Deployment Manager and Edit Schedule. If you leave it empty, SoftwareCentral makes a name: Software Management on followed by the computer name on a single resource, or for example Software Deployment of 3 packages to 12 computers on multiple resources. |
| Schedule End | The latest run time. By default this is 7 days after the start time. |
| Use Wake-On-Lan | Turns on the computer if it is offline when the deployment starts. On by default. |
| Ignore maintenance windows | Lets the deployment run outside the computer’s maintenance windows. On by default. |
Click OK to close the window. Untick Use Wake-On-Lan or Ignore maintenance windows if you do not want them.
3 Remove a scheduled deployment
Scheduled deployments show up in the assigned software grid, just like any other assigned software, flagged with an orange status icon and the text Scheduled Deployment - Starts after and the start date.
To cancel one, click Remove and then Apply Changes. The computer is taken out of the scheduled collection and its licence, if the software uses licence checking, is released. To change the times of many computers at once, or to run a schedule early, use Edit Schedule.
4 See also
5 Best practice
- Give every schedule a Job Name you will recognise, such as the change number.
- Keep the default 7-day end unless you have a reason; a schedule that ends too soon is the usual reason a computer “missed” its job. If you schedule more than a week ahead, set Schedule End yourself so it is after the start.
- Pick a start time with the computer’s users in mind; tick Ignore maintenance windows only for work that cannot wait.
- Check the result in Edit Schedule after applying.