Scheduled tasks

Features

• Boot tasks

• Backup tasks

• Snapshot policies

• Automatic host discovery tasks

• Task orchestration

Boot tasks

A boot task defines the rules for scheduled startup and shutdown of VMs to ensure VM service

availability in the specified time period and resource release in other time periods.

Add a boot management policy

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Boot Tasks.
Click Add.
Configure the parameters as described in "Parameters."
Click OK.

Edit a boot management policy

On the top navigation bar, click Ops
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Boot Tasks.
Click Edit in the Actions column for a boot management policy.
Configure the parameters as described in "Parameters."
Click OK.

Delete a boot management policy

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Boot Tasks.
Click Delete in the Actions column for a boot management policy.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Display boot management policy time settings

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Boot Tasks.
Click View in the Actions column for a boot management policy.

Enable a boot management policy

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Boot Tasks.
Click Start in the Actions column for a boot management policy.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Disable a boot management policy

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Boot Tasks.
Click Disable in the Actions column for a boot management policy.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Delete VMs for a boot management policy

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Boot Tasks.
Click Delete in the Actions column for a VM in the VMs Using the Boot Management Policy area.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Parameters

Basic info

• Name: Name of the boot management policy.

Backup tasks

VM backup is a stable disaster recovery solution. The backup file for a VM will not be lost when the VM

image file is damaged or deleted. When VM data loss occurs because of server or storage device failure, software bug or virus, or misoperations, you can use the backup file to restore a VM. You can back up VMs in real time or perform scheduled backup as needed.

Snapshot policies

A snapshot is a replica of a VM as it was when you take the snapshot. If the image file of a VM is

damaged or deleted, the snapshot data will be lost. Snapshots can be used for VM recovery when application software and VM OS incompatibility occurs because of new application software installation, VM OS upgrade, or application software upgrade. You can create a snapshot for one VM (see "Manage VM snapshots"), or create a snapshot policy. When the time for executing the snapshot policy is reached, the system takes a snapshot for a VM, and generates a snapshot file.

Restrictions and guidelines

For the restrictions and guidelines for VM snapshots, see "Manage VM snapshots."

Add a snapshot policy

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Snapshot Policy.
Click Add.
Configure the parameters as described in "Parameters."
Click OK.

Edit a snapshot policy

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Snapshot Policy.
Click Edit in the Actions column for a snapshot policy.
Configure the parameters as described in "Parameters."
Click OK.

Delete a snapshot policy

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Snapshot Policy.
Click Delete in the Actions column for a snapshot policy.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Enable a snapshot policy

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Snapshot Policy.
Click Start in the Actions column for a snapshot policy.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Disable a snapshot policy

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Snapshot Policy.
Click Disable in the Actions column for a snapshot policy.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Remove a VM from a snapshot policy

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Snapshot Policy.
Click a snapshot policy.
Click Delete in the Actions column for a VM in the VMs Using the Snapshot Policy area.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Parameters

• Name: Name of the snapshot policy.

• Description: Description for the snapshot policy.

• Max Snapshots: Set the maximum number of snapshots that can be created for a VM.

○ If you use a snapshot policy to create an external snapshot for a VM, the number of snapshots that can be created depends on the smaller value between the maximum number of snapshots in the snapshot policy and that in system parameters. The management platform automatically deletes the earliest snapshot when the limit is reached during automatic execution of the snapshot policy.

○ If you create a snapshot manually from snapshot management, the maximum number of snapshots that can be created is the number set in system parameters. When the limit is reached, the system displays an error message and disables creation of new snapshots. You must first delete unnecessary snapshots before you create new ones manually.

• Snapshot Memory: Whether to include VM memory in the snapshot. This parameter is available only when a VM is powered on. Creating a snapshot with VM memory included for a VM when the memory usage of that VM is high might limit CPU performance of that VM. Memory snapshots are applicable to VMs with small memory and low snapshot timing sensitivity. As a best practice to avoid excessive dirty pages, large snapshot files, and service lag, perform this operation during off-peak hours. Alternatively, you can enable initiative CPU frequency underlocking to reduce dirty pages.

• Timeout: Timeout timer for creating a memory snapshot for VMs. If memory snapshot creation is not finished before this timeout timer expires, the snapshot creation task will be canceled. A value of 0 indicates that the memory snapshot duration is not limited. You can manually cancel a snapshot task on the task console.

• Initiative CPU Frequency Underlocking: Select whether to enable initiative CPU frequency underlocking. After you enable this feature, the system will reduce the CPU scheduling frequency of a VM to reduce the migration data and accelerate its migration. Enabling this feature might decrease VM performance.

• Consistency Snapshot: Select whether to create a consistency snapshot. High disk IO load might cause consistency snapshot creation failures. As a best practice, create consistency snapshots when the disk IO load is low. Memory snapshot and consistency snapshot are mutually exclusive.

Automatic host discovery tasks

Automatic host discovery enables you to manage all the automatic host discovery tasks in the

management platform. After you enable an automatic host discovery task, the system automatically searches for available hosts and adds them to the cluster to which the task belongs. By default, only one automatic host discovery task can be added for a cluster. A single automatic host discovery task can automatically add multiple hosts to a cluster.

Restrictions and guidelines

• Running automatic host discovery tasks cannot be edited.

• An ARM host built by a VM cannot be added to the management platform via an automatic host discovery task.

• A host cannot be discovered when the following conditions are met:

○ The host is unreachable.

○ The management platform version of the host is inconsistent with the current management platform version.

○ The number of physical CPUs managed by the management platform has reached the limit.

○ The host has been managed by a management platform.

○ The offset between the system time of the host and other hosts in the resource pool is greater than 5 minutes.

○ The host uses a shared file system of another management platform.

Add an automatic host discovery task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Auto Host Discovery.
Click Add.
Configure the parameters as described in "Parameters."
Click OK.

Edit an automatic host discovery task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Auto Host Discovery.
Click Edit in the Actions column for a task.
Configure the parameters as described in "Parameters."
Click OK.

Delete an automatic host discovery task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Auto Host Discovery.
Click Delete in the Actions column for a task.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Display detailed information about an automatic host discovery task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Auto Host Discovery.
Click the name of a task to view its detailed information.

Bulk delete automatic host discovery tasks

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Auto Host Discovery.
Select the target tasks, and then click Delete.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Start an automatic host discovery task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Auto Host Discovery.
Click Start in the Actions column for a task.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Bulk start automatic host discovery tasks

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Auto Host Discovery.
Select the target tasks, and then click Start.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Suspend an automatic host discovery task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Auto Host Discovery.
Click Suspend in the Actions column for a task.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Bulk suspend automatic host discovery tasks

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Auto Host Discovery.
Select the target tasks and click Suspend.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Parameters

• Task Name: Name of the task.

• Description: Description for the task.

• Data Center: Select a data center for the task.

• Cluster: Select a cluster for the task.

• Stretched Region: Host group to which the host to be discovered belongs. This field is required only when stretched cluster is enabled.

• Start IP: Enter the start IP address of the IP address range for IP addresses of hosts that can be discovered. The start IP address must be lower than the end IP address.

• End IP: Enter the end IP address of the IP address range for IP addresses of hosts that can be discovered. The end IP address must be greater than the start IP address.

• Username: Username that is used to access the host through SSH.

○ If root SSH is enabled, only user root is supported.

○ If root SSH is not enabled, only user sysadmin is supported.

Task orchestration

Perform this task to create VM migration or cloud rainbow migration tasks in bulk, and perform

centralized management, orchestration, and execution of the tasks. This method not only improves migration efficiency but also reduces the risk of human errors, which ensures the continuity and stability of critical applications. Task orchestration integrates information such as task status and migration status, helping you monitor migration task execution in real time. You can immediately execute or edit migration tasks, or edit or adjust the priority for VMs in the tasks.

Restrictions and guidelines VM migration

• To create, edit, delete, configure, and immediately execute VM migration orchestration tasks, operators must have both task orchestration and migration permissions. If you only have the task orchestration permission, operators can only view orchestration tasks.

• When you create a VM migration orchestration task, the VM parameters at the time the task is created apply. As a best practice, make sure the VM state remains unchanged during orchestration task creation and execution.

• When a non-Euler VM is migrated to a Euler host, the following parameters no longer take effect:

○ Provision.

○ Migration Policy.

○ Migration Rate Limit Policy.

○ Migration Acceleration.

○ Concurrent VM Migration.

○ Timeout.

• The number of concurrent migration orchestration tasks takes effect upon the next submission of migration orchestration tasks. A migration task triggered by migration orchestration is counted in the number of concurrent migration orchestration tasks even if it is in canceling state.

• Immediately executing tasks is limited by the number of concurrent migration orchestration tasks.

• Migration orchestration tasks are submitted every minute. If submission of tasks is not completed within one minute, the remaining tasks will be submitted in the next minute. For the tasks to be executed successfully, set appropriate start time and end time for them.

• You can view the operation logs of migration orchestration tasks, including orchestration task submission logs, orchestration task cancellation logs, and migration logs triggered by orchestration tasks.

• The start time and end time of orchestration tasks are based on the system time rather than the browser time. Make sure the browser time is consistent with the system time.

• If you immediately execute an orchestration task earlier than its start time, the task will not be executed again when the start time is reached.

• If you set both the timeout timer and end time for a task, the system automatically performs two cancel operations sequentially when the timeout timer and end time expire.

• The VM migration orchestration tasks of VMs that are migrated out through cloud rainbow are deleted.

• If an operator does not have permissions to the source host or destination host of a VM, the system does not check the host architecture and version. If a host architecture inconsistency exists, or the VM migrates from a high-version CVK host to a low-version CVK host, the system displays an error message after you click OK.

• In an RBAC scenario, the sysadmin user has both task orchestration and migration permissions, but cannot change network settings.

• When you upgrade the system from an earlier version to the current version, if the original environment has completed migration orchestration tasks, information such as the source hosts, destination hosts, and source storage pools cannot be displayed. The information about unexecuted migration orchestration tasks will be updated during the upgrade. The source hosts are the hosts where the VMs currently reside, and they might differ from the hosts configured in the tasks.

• After a version upgrade, log query and display for original orchestration tasks might be inaccurate.

• In an orchestration task, if you change the configured port group, make sure the new port group is available on the destination host. If the new port group is unavailable on the destination host, do not change the port group.

• When you configure an orchestration task, if you do not specify any destination port group for a MAC address, no network change will be made to the corresponding network interface.

• When you copy an orchestration task, VMs to which you do not have permissions and VMs that have already added to other orchestration tasks (including tasks that have not started and running tasks) are filtered out. (For more information about the permissions of a VM, navigate to the Permissions tab of that VM.)

• After a VM is added to an orchestration task and task execution is completed, if you delete the VM from the management platform, the orchestration task remains in the status after execution, but the migration status changes. For example, an orchestration task has only one VM and VM migration failed. The orchestration task status is failed before you delete the VM, one migration task is in failed status. After you delete the VM, the status of the orchestration task remains failed, but no migration task is in failed status.

• When the orchestration task end time is reached, canceling a running VM migration task might fail. If VM migration cannot be canceled because it is about to finish, the migration task will continue to be executed. If the migration task has been submitted to the task console but is not yet recognized as cancelable, the system tries to cancel the migration again after a period of time.

• The VM migration priority specified in an orchestration task guarantees the order in which VM migration tasks are submitted to the task console. After the task console receives the tasks, the management platform performs unified scheduling of them. This does not guarantee that a VM migration task with a lower priority is executed later than a VM migration task with a higher priority.

Cloud rainbow migration

• To create, edit, delete, configure, and immediately execute cloud rainbow migration orchestration tasks, operators must have both task orchestration and cloud rainbow permissions. If you only have the task orchestration permission, operators can only view orchestration tasks.

• When you create a cloud rainbow migration orchestration task, if you select a non-Euler VM, you can only select one destination storage pool for all storage volumes of the VM.

• After you add a VM to a cloud rainbow migration orchestration task, its configuration items such as alias, source cloud resource, and source host/storage pool are not updated in real time on the interface when they change. Only the alias of the VM is updated when the migration of that VM in the orchestration task is executed.

• Immediately executing tasks is limited by the number of concurrent migration orchestration tasks.

• The start time and end time of orchestration tasks are based on the system time rather than the browser time. Make sure the browser time is consistent with the system time.

• If you immediately execute an orchestration task earlier than its start time, the task will not be executed again when the start time is reached.

• After a version upgrade, log query and display for original orchestration tasks might be inaccurate.

• When you add VMs to an orchestration task, the available VM list does not include VMs in the recycle bin. If a VM is moved to the recycle bin after being added to an orchestration task, the VM is not removed from the orchestration task and its migration orchestration parameters cannot be edited. If the orchestration task is executed immediately then, or the start time of the task is reached, the system will prompt an error.

Add a VM migration orchestration task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Task Orchestration.
Click Add.
Configure task information: Enter the task name, select a task type (VM Migration) and a migration type, enter the start time, end time, and maximum number of concurrent VM migration count. Migration types include Host, Storage, and Host and Storage. Click Next.

○ Start Time: Time when the task starts to be executed. The start time is not exact and might be delayed due to the concurrent migration task number limit. When the limit is reached, the task will be executed in the nearest whole minute to the specified start time.

○ End Time: Time when the system tries to cancel the task. If you do not specify the end time, the task will not be canceled. If you specify the end time, the task will be canceled in the nearest whole minute to the specified end time.

○ Max Concurrent VM Migrations: The maximum number of subtasks in an orchestration task that can be submitted to the task console for simultaneous execution. For example, an orchestration task contains 10 subtasks and the value for this field is set to 2, a maximum of two subtasks from the orchestration task can be executed simultaneously on the task console. The task console also has a limit on the number of VM tasks. The actual number of tasks scheduled concurrently is the smaller value between the maximum number of concurrent VM migrations in an orchestration task and the maximum number of VM tasks on the task console.
Select VMs: Select the VMs to be associated with the orchestration task. Click Next.
Configure destination hosts: Select a destination host (required when the migration type is Host or Host and Storage). You can select a destination host for each VM individually, or select multiple VMs and click Select Destination Host to bulk configure destination hosts. Click Next.
Configure destination storage pools: Select a destination storage pool (required when the migration type is Storage or Host and Storage) and a format for each VM. To bulk configure destination storage pools and bulk specify formats, select multiple VMs and click Select Destination Storage Pool and Bulk Set, respectively. Click Next. Specify Format: If the destination storage pool type is local file directory, shared file system, or NFS, you can specify the disk format for the VM after migration. Options include Same Format, Intelligent, and High-Speed.
Configure migration information: Configure migration task parameters. For description of the parameters except for the Adapt to CPU Operating Mode parameter, see "Migrate a VM." Adapt to CPU Operating Mode: Whether to adapt to the destination host's CPU operating mode during VM migration. When this feature enabled, if the VM CPU operating mode for the destination cluster is not compatible with the current VM CPU operating mode, the VM CPU operating mode for the destination cluster applies after migration. If this feature is disabled, applications might encounter issues because some instruction sets required by the applications are lost after VM migration.
Click OK.

Add a cloud rainbow migration orchestration task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Task Orchestration.
Click Add.
Configure task information: Enter the task name, select a task type (Cloud Rainbow Migration) and a migration type (Migrate Out or Migrate In), enter the start time, end time, and maximum concurrent VM migration count. Click Next.

○ Start Time: Time when the task starts to be executed. The start time is not exact and might be delayed due to the concurrent migration task number limit. When the limit is reached, the task will be executed in the nearest whole minute to the specified start time.

○ End Time: Time when the system tries to cancel the task. If you do not specify the end time, the task will not be canceled. If you specify the end time, the task will be canceled in the nearest whole minute to the specified end time.

○ Max Concurrent VM Migrations: The maximum number of subtasks in an orchestration task that can be submitted to the task console for simultaneous execution. For example, an orchestration task contains 10 subtasks and the value for this field is set to 2, a maximum of two subtasks from the orchestration task can be executed simultaneously on the task console. The task console also has a limit on the number of VM tasks. The actual number of tasks scheduled concurrently is the smaller value between the maximum number of concurrent VM migrations in an orchestration task and the maximum number of VM tasks on the task console.

Select VMs: Select the VMs to be associated with the orchestration task. The VMs will be migrated out of or migrated to the management platform based on the selected migration type. Click Next. When you use the cloud rainbow migration function to migrate a VM of a cloud resource in a non-converged version, ensure that there are no VMs with the same name in tasks that are being executed simultaneously.
Select remote cloud resources. If no remote cloud resources are created, you can add local and remote cloud resources on this page. For the procedure and parameters, see "Manage cloud rainbows."
1. Configure destination hosts: Select a destination host for each VM. You can select a destination host for each VM individually, or select multiple VMs and click Select Destination Host to bulk configure destination hosts. Click Next.
  
  ○ Timeout: Set the maximum duration for online VM migration. If a migration task fails to be completed within the duration, the system automatically cancels the task.
  
  ○ VM Group: When you migrate a VM to the management platform, select the group to which the VM belongs after migration. This parameter is available only when you select the Migrate In migration type.
  
  ○ Compress: When this feature is enabled, the system compresses the transmitted data during cloud rainbow migration to reduce the total amount of transmitted data.
2. Configure destination storage pools: Select a destination storage pool and a format for each VM. To bulk configure destination storage pools and bulk specify formats, select multiple VMs and click Select Destination Storage Pool and Bulk Set, respectively. Click Next.
3. Click OK.

Immediately execute a task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Task Orchestration.
Select VM Migration or Cloud Rainbow Migration from the Task Type list.
Click Run Now in the Actions column for the desired task.
Click OK.

Copy an orchestration task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Task Orchestration.
Select VM Migration or Cloud Rainbow Migration from the Task Type list.
Click Copy in the Actions column for the desired task.
Enter the name, start time, end time, and maximum concurrent VM migration count for the new task.
Click OK.

Edit an orchestration task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Task Orchestration.
Select VM Migration or Cloud Rainbow Migration from the Task Type list.
Click Edit in the Actions column for the desired task.
Edit the task name, start time, end time, and maximum concurrent VM migration count.
Click OK.

Delete an orchestration task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Task Orchestration.
Select VM Migration or Cloud Rainbow Migration from the Task Type list.
Click Delete in the Actions column for the desired task.
Click OK.

Configure task scheduling settings

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Task Orchestration.
Select VM Migration or Cloud Rainbow Migration from the Task Type list.
Click Task Scheduling Settings.
Set the maximum number of orchestration tasks of the selected type that can run simultaneously.
Click OK.

Add VMs to an orchestration task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Task Orchestration.
Select VM Migration or Cloud Rainbow Migration from the Task Type list.
Select the target orchestration task, click Add VMs above the VMs Using This Policy list.
Select the VMs to be added, and configure destination hosts, destination storage pools, and migration information for them.
Click OK.

Edit a VM in an orchestration task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Task Orchestration.
Select VM Migration or Cloud Rainbow Migration from the Task Type list.
Select the target orchestration task, click Edit in the Actions column for the target VM in the VMs Using This Policy list.
Edit the destination host, destination storage pool, format, migration rate limit policy, migration speed, and adaption to CPU operating mode as needed.
Click OK.

Adjust the priority of VM migration tasks

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Task Orchestration.
Select VM Migration or Cloud Rainbow Migration from the Task Type list.
Select the target orchestration task, click More in the Actions column for a VM in the VMs Using This Policy list. Options include:

○ Top: Move the VM to the top of the list.

○ Bottom: Move the VM to the bottom of the list.

○ Move To: Move the VM before or after another VM. After configuration, click OK.

Delete VMs from an orchestration task

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.
From the left navigation pane, select Scheduled Tasks > Task Orchestration.
Select VM Migration or Cloud Rainbow Migration from the Task Type list.
Select the target orchestration task.
To bulk delete VMs, select the VMs to be deleted in the VMs Using This Policy list and click Delete. To delete a single VM, click Delete in the Actions column for that VM.
Click OK.

View orchestration task operation logs for a VM

On the top navigation bar, click Ops.

Boot tasks​

Backup tasks​

Snapshot policies​

Automatic host discovery tasks​

Task orchestration​

Boot tasks

Backup tasks

Snapshot policies

Automatic host discovery tasks

Task orchestration