Maintain Protection Using Scheduled Tasks

Scheduled tasks enable you to automatically perform specific Deep Security Manager tasks on a schedule. You can use the Deep Security API to perform all the scheduled task-related activities that you can do using the Deep Security Manager console, such as performing recommendation scans, checking for security updates, and synchronizing cloud accounts. See Schedule Deep Security to perform tasks in the Help Center for more information about the available types of scheduled tasks.

After you create a scheduled task you can run it at any time. You can also run them immediately upon creation and then immediately delete them. In this way, scheduled tasks provide access to several powerful and convenient tools for automating Deep Security via the API and SDK.

You use the following SDK classes when working with scheduled tasks:

ScheduledTasksApi: Provides access to scheduled tasks on Deep Security Manager. You can create, describe, modify, delete, search, and list scheduled tasks
ScheduledTask: Represents the scheduled task
ScheduleDetails: Defines the schedule for running the scheduled task
Task parameter classes: Define the task that the scheduled task performs. (See Create the Task for a list of classes.)

Create a scheduled task

Use the following general procedure to create a scheduled task (more detailed information follows):

Create a ScheduledTask object and configure the general properties.
Create a ScheduleDetails object to define the schedule on which the task runs, and add it to the ScheduledTask object.
Create a task parameter class to define the task to perform, and add it to the ScheduledTask object. A different task parameter class is available for each type of task. Note that the Synchronize Users and Check for Software Updates tasks do not require a task parameter class.
Use a ScheduledTasksApi object to create the scheduled task on Deep Security Manager.

Configure general properties

When you create a ScheduledTask object, use it to define the general properties:

Name
The type of task that it schedules
Whether the task is enabled
Whether the task runs after it is created

Python

discover_computer_task = api.ScheduledTask()
discover_computer_task.name = "Discover Computers - Daily"
discover_computer_task.type = "discover-computers"
discover_computer_task.run_now = False

JavaScript

const discoverComputersTask = new api.ScheduledTask();
discoverComputersTask.name = "Discover Computers - Daily";
discoverComputersTask.type = api.ScheduledTask.TypeEnum["discover-computers"];
discoverComputersTask.runNow = false;

Java

ScheduledTask discoverComputersTask = new ScheduledTask();
discoverComputersTask.setName("Discover Computers - Daily");
discoverComputersTask.setType(ScheduledTask.TypeEnum.DISCOVER_COMPUTERS);
discoverComputersTask.setRunNow(Boolean.FALSE);

After you set the general properties, configure the schedule and the task and add them to the ScheduledTask object.

Create the schedule

The following properties of a ScheduleDetails object controls when a task runs:

The recurrence type -- either monthly, weekly, daily, hourly, or none (to run once)
The recurrence of runs for daily, weekly, and monthly schedules. Daily and weekly recurrences are expressed as an interval such as every second day. For monthly recurrence, you specify specific months.
The number of times the task runs (recurrence count). The task is automatically deleted after the task runs the specified number of times. This is useful when you want to run a scheduled task only once.
The start time, for daily, weekly, and monthly recurrence types, determines the time of day that the task runs, specified in milliseconds (Epoch time). When the recurrence is expressed in intervals for daily and weekly schedules, the days or weeks on which subsequent runs occur are calculated from the start time. For example, when the recurrence is every second day, a start time that falls on a Monday means that the next day the task runs is Wednesday.
The time zone to use to interpret the start time.

Note that ScheduleDetails objects are not persisted as a separate entity on Deep Security Manager, but are stored as part of a scheduled task. You cannot persist a ScheduleDetails object for later re-use with other scheduled tasks.

Use the following general procedure to create the schedule:

Create a ScheduleDetails object and set the recurrence type.
Create a ScheduleParameters object that corresponds with the recurrence type, configure the recurrence of runs and the start time, and add it to the ScheduledTask object. The available ScheduleParameters objects are DailyScheduleParameters, HourlyScheduleParameters, MonthlyScheduleParameters, and OnceOnlyScheduleParameters.
Optionally, set the time zone on the ScheduledTask object.

For example, create a ScheduleDetails object for a daily schedule:

Python

daily_schedule = api.ScheduleDetails()
daily_schedule.recurrence_type = "daily"

JavaScript

const dailySchedule = new api.ScheduleDetails();
dailySchedule.recurrenceType = api.ScheduleDetails.RecurrenceTypeEnum.daily;

Java

ScheduleDetails dailySchedule = new ScheduleDetails();
dailySchedule.setRecurrenceType(ScheduleDetails.RecurrenceTypeEnum.DAILY);

The DailyScheduleParameters class corresponds with a daily schedule. This example configures the schedule using a custom interval:

Python

daily_schedule_parameters = api.DailyScheduleParameters()

daily_schedule_parameters.frequency_type = "custom"
daily_schedule_parameters.custom_interval = custom_interval
daily_schedule_parameters.start_time = start_time

JavaScript

const dailyScheduleParameters = new api.DailyScheduleParameters();

dailyScheduleParameters.frequencyType = api.DailyScheduleParameters.FrequencyTypeEnum.custom;
dailyScheduleParameters.customInterval = customInterval;
dailyScheduleParameters.startTime = startTime;

Java

DailyScheduleParameters dailyScheduleParameters = new DailyScheduleParameters();

dailyScheduleParameters.setFrequencyType(DailyScheduleParameters.FrequencyTypeEnum.CUSTOM);
dailyScheduleParameters.setCustomInterval(customInterval);
dailyScheduleParameters.setStartTime(startTime);

Finally, add the schedule parameters to the ScheduleDetails object:

Python

daily_schedule.daily_schedule_parameters = daily_schedule_parameters

JavaScript

dailySchedule.dailyScheduleParameters = dailyScheduleParameters;

Java

dailySchedule.setDailyScheduleParameters(dailyScheduleParameters);

Example: Daily schedule

The following example creates a daily schedule for use with a scheduled task.

Python

Maintain Protection Using Scheduled Tasks

Related classes

Create a scheduled task

Configure general properties

Create the schedule

Example: Daily schedule

Example: Monthly schedule

Configure the task

Example: Create a scheduled task

Create, run, and delete a scheduled task

Run an existing scheduled task