Network Supervisor's Toolkit

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DOSque "DOS/Network Command/Program Execution Queue" (C)Copyright 1993-1994 by Skip Bremer Version 2.4 June 1994 TABLE OF CONTENTS ============================================================================== Topic Section ----- ------- Introduction ...................................................... 1 Miscellaneous ..................................................... 2 Requirements Limits Start-Up Options Renaming DOSque Required Files Quick Start ....................................................... 3 Start-Up Batch File ............................................... 4 Commands .......................................................... 5 Setup ............................................................. 6 Types of Jobs ..................................................... 7 Editing Jobs ...................................................... 8 DOSque Screen ..................................................... 9 Temporary Batch File .............................................. 10 Credits ........................................................... 11 Shareware ......................................................... 12 Evaluation Copy Distribution Registration Disclaimer INTRODUCTION (1) ============================================================================== DOSque was designed as a simple yet effective queue system for both network and DOS stand-alone environments. We work in an environment that demands an easily changeable, concise queue system to help us provide proper support for a large Netware 386 (tm) wide area network domain spanning Texas. We need a DOS command queue to help us perform necessary network activities during non-production periods. Because we could not find one that offers the flexibility we required, we wrote our own. We hope it helps you as much as it has helped us in controlling our environment. Please use DOSque as you see fit, but if you continue to use it, please abide with the Shareware section of this documentation. Here is a quick overview of DOSque: o Small 25K executable. o Near unlimited number of queue items. o No memory taken by the queue system when running commands. o Run anything from the queue system including Terminate and Stay Resident programs (TSRs). o No unnecessary restrictions like queue jobs being scheduled too close together, etc. DOSque was written in Turbo Pascal 7.0 (real mode) with assembly extensions. MISCELLANEOUS (2) ============================================================================== Requirements ------------ DOSque's only two known requirement is that it must run under DOS 3.1 or higher and it obviously requires a dedicated workstation when actively queuing. It also runs fine from a Windows DOS session and from DOS shells. Limits ------ Maximum queue items: 400 Maximum length of queue commands: 58 Maximum length of queue descriptions: 58 Start-Up Options ---------------- DOSque must started with the command DOSque in a batch file except for the first time when it is started with the /MAKE option. See the Start-Up Batch File Setup section for complete information on this subject. Required Files -------------- The following files are necessary to run DOSque: DOSQUE.EXE The DOSque program. DOSQUE.INI The DOSque file that holds the optional encrypted password. DOSQUE.DAT The DOSque data file that holds all queue jobs and their specific information. You should not edit this file. DOSQUE.LOG The log file maintained by DOSque. QUE.BAT The start-up batch file made the first time you run DOSque. This file may be called any name you wish and should be placed in your path. QUICK START (3) ============================================================================== To quickly get the queue system up and running, do the following (check the documentation later for specifics): o Place DOSQUE.EXE in the directory you wish to run it from. o Run DOSQUE.EXE /MAKE once. o Edit/rename the resulting QUE.BAT as necessary. o Place QUE.BAT in your path. o Run QUE.BAT (or whatever you renamed it to). o Add jobs as required. START-UP BATCH FILE (4) ============================================================================== As part of the initial setup performed by running DOSQUE.EXE /MAKE once, the file QUE.BAT will be made in DOSque's home directory. You should place DOSQUE.EXE in the directory you wish to run it from before running it for the first time because the home directory information is used in creating this batch file. If you have already run it once and wish to move DOSQUE.EXE, then you may either run DOSQUE.EXE again with a /MAKE parameter (creating a new QUE.BAT) or simply edit the existing QUE.BAT. QUE.BAT should be in your path for easier loading, but DOSQUE.EXE does not need to be there. DOSQUE.INI and DOSQUE.DAT will always be in the same directory as DOSQUE.EXE. Here is a commented queue.BAT: @echo off ;Cosmetics f: ;Change to home drive and directory cd \login ::previous run file exists? if exist dq$run.bat del dq$run.bat ;Delete previous run file dosque /batch %1 ;Run DOSque ::no command? if not exist dq$run.bat goto END ;Did we quit? ::run temporary batch file call dq$run ;Run batch file made by DOSque f: ;Change to home again cd \login ::do it again ;Keep running the batch file (and the queue) f: ;Change to home drive and directory cd \login que /rerun :END ;Place to go to when quitting QUE.BAT changes to its home directory only to make it easier for you to manage a queue environment. By keep the various batch file commands that DOSque may call to perform your jobs in one location, it is easier to manage the entire queue situation. Of course, directly called DOS commands have no need to be in this directory. COMMANDS (5) ============================================================================== DOSque has very few commands. They are listed below along with an explanation of their activities. F1 HELP DOSque contains context sensitive help. Press it anytime. F2 ADD This key will add new job definitions to the queue. See the Editing Jobs section for more. F3 LOG This key will view the END of the DOSQUE.LOG file, thereby showing you the most recent queue activity. When viewing the log, the DEL key will delete it. You should do this when the log becomes so large that it takes noticeable time for DOSque to find the end of it for viewing. Although writing to it never slows down no matter how large it is, reading can become slow because DOSque reads sequentially through the file to find the end of it for viewing. F4 CHANGE This key will allow you to change the highlighted job's definition. See the Editing Jobs section for more. F5 COPY This key will let you copy the highlighted job so that the new job can then be more easily defined when editing it. See the Editing Jobs section for more. F6 SHOW This key toggles the Next Run/Last Run column's information. Next Run shows in order the jobs as they will run data and time wise. Last Run shows the history of the last jobs run, also in order. F7 STATUS This key toggles the highlighted job's status from Ready to Hold. When a job is ready, it will run at its queue data and time. When on hold, it will not. If you take a job off hold during the same day (date) that it was supposed to run, it will run immediately, else it will automatically cycle to its next run date. When taking a job like this off hold, you will be prompted if the job is going to run immediately. The same holds true when re-starting DOSque or returning from the DOS shell option: if there are any jobs ready to go, you will be prompted with an option to temporarily place them on hold so you can evaluate the queue situation first. F8 DELETE This key will let you delete the highlighted job from the queue. Once deleted, you can not undo it. F9 RUN This key will let you run the highlighted job, even though its queue activation time has not arrived. This does not change its next queue time. F10 QUIT This key quits DOSque. If a password has been made, then this option requires the password. ÆF1 DOS This key allows you to open a temporary DOS session. If a password has been made, then this option requires a password. ÆF10 PASSWORD This key allows you to define or remove the optional system password. Among other times discussed above, the password will be required when attempting to interrupt the screen saver function. This, of course, is not true if DOSque itself is interrupting the screen saver to accomplish a queue job. ESC PREVIOUS This key backs you out of prompts, if necessary. SETUP (6) ============================================================================== To set up DOSque, place DOSQUE.EXE in the directory from which you would like it to run. This directory does not have to be in your path. From this directory, run DOSQUE /MAKE. This command will make the sample start-up batch file, QUE.BAT. You should then edit this batch file if needed and then placed it somewhere in your path. That is all there is to it. You are now ready to run QUE.BAT which will activate your queue system. TYPES OF JOBS (7) ============================================================================== There are basically two types of queue jobs that can be set up and run with DOSque: weekly and date specific. Weekly jobs are defined as follows: o runs at a specific time on the same day or days every week. o runs at a specific time every day. Date Specific jobs are defined as follows: o runs at a specific time once in a lifetime. o runs at a specific time once each month. o runs at a specific time each year. See the Editing Jobs section for a complete breakdown on how to set up these types of jobs. EDITING JOBS (8) ============================================================================== Jobs are set up and edited by pressing F2 ADD or F4 EDIT from the main queue screen. A pop-up editing window appears asking the following questions. DOS Command: This is the actual DOS command that will be placed in the temporary batch file for running when this job meets its next queue time. The command can be any valid DOS command, including Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) programs. If you have more than one DOS command required, then place them into a batch file and place the path (if required) and the name as the answer to this question. Description: The optional screen description for this job. Hour: This is the hour of the day that this job will run. It is always required and must be issued in 24 hour time. Minute: This is the minute of the hour of the day that this job will run. It is always required. Weekly/Date Specific: Enter a W for weekly or a D for date specific. Note that this item can always be changed later. In fact, you can enter the below information for both weekly and date specific for this job and both will be remembered. Then you may later switch between the two as desired by editing this job. The answer you give here will dictate the next questions that are asked of you while editing the job. If weekly... Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa: Place a Y in each day that you wish this job to run at the specified time. The job will run on those days forever unless you kill the job or place it on hold (or you, of course, quit DOSque). If date specific... Day of month: Enter the day between 1 and 31 of the month that you wish the job to run. This is a required field for date specific jobs. If you do not fill in the following month and year fields, then this job will run every month on this day at the specified time forever, else it can run on specific months (and/or years) on this month day. Month: Enter the month for this job to run on the month day. If nothing is entered, then it will run every month. Year: Enter the year that this job should run on the month and day specified. If nothing is entered here, then it will run on the specified month and day every year. If a year is given, then this becomes a once in a lifetime job. DOSQUE SCREEN (9) ============================================================================== The header at the top of the DOSque screen looks something like this: |-------Days----------|or|--Date--| |Next Run| DOS Command HH:MM Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Da Mo Year MM-DD-YYYY Status or |Last Run| DOS Command: The actual command to be run for this job. HH:MM: The job time. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su: The days this job will run ONLY if this is a "weekly" job. Da Mo Year: The month day and optionally the month and optionally the year that this job will run ONLY if this is a "date specific" job. Next Run: This shows, in sorted order, the next date and time each job will run. Last Run: This shows, in sorted order, the last time each job ran. Status: One of the following: Ready - Job is set up properly and will run at its next queue time. Hold - Job is on hold and can not run again until taken off hold with the F7 key. If a job is taken off hold on the same day on which it is now late for its run, you will be asked to confirm as the job will run immediately. Bad - Job is not set up properly; probably an incomplete date specific edit resulting in no feasible run date. Overdue- Job is ready but could not yet run. This is probably resulting from a job previous to this job that is still running and has made this job go past its run time. As soon as the other job finishes, and DOSque returns to its main screen, this job will become Ready and will run immediately - ONLY if the day is still the same as that on which the job was queued to run. If the day has become the next calendar day, then this job's next run date will cycle to the next allowable run time for this job. Therefore, be careful when grouping jobs around the bewitching hour (12:00 midnight)! TEMPORARY BATCH FILE (10) ============================================================================== When a job runs, DOSque makes a temporary batch file containing '@echo off' and the actual job DOS command. The name of this batch file is DQ$RUN.BAT and it will be located in DOSque's home directory. Example ------- If a queue item's DOS command was this: copy thisfile f:\there then the corresponding batch file would look like this: @echo off copy thisfile f:\there CREDITS (11) ============================================================================== Turbo Pascal is a trademark of Borland International. MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Netware and Novell are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Trademarks of other companies or products mentioned in this file are the property of their respective companies. SHAREWARE (12) ============================================================================== Evaluation Copy --------------- THIS IS NOT FREE SOFTWARE! You may evaluate and use this product, but if you decide to make use of it on a regular basis, you must register your copy. Note: Businesses, government agencies and institutions are required to register this software package before extended use. We offer several inducements to you for registering. First of all, you will receive the most up-to-date copy of the program -- and we update the program on a regular basis. Second, you will never see the shareware message again. Make no mistake, however -- this is a fully functional version of DOSque that is not "crippled" in any way. Distribution ------------ This is "user-supported" software. You are hereby granted permission to distribute this evaluation copy of DOSque and its documentation, subject to the following conditions: 1. Shareware DOSque may be distributed freely without charge in evaluation form only. 2. DOSque in its shareware form may not be sold, licensed, or a fee charged for its use. If a fee is charged in connection with DOSque, it must cover the cost of copying or dissemination only. Such charges must be clearly identified as such by the originating party. Under no circumstances may the purchaser be given the impression that he is buying a registered version of DOSque. 3. Shareware DOSque must be presented as a complete unit with documentation. Neither DOSque nor its documentation may be amended or altered in any way without permission of the copyright holder. 4. By granting you the right to distribute the evaluation form of DOSque, you do not become the owner of DOSque in any form. Any other use, distribution or representation of DOSque is expressly forbidden without written consent from the author. Registration ------------ The non-commercial single-user registration fee for DOSque is $40.00 US. ($5 shipping is included.) The commercial/government and multi-system site fee for DOSque is: Non-network environment: Per site - $160.00 US. Network environment: Per site - $160.00 US. ($10 shipping is included.) Send a check, money order or company P.O. for the appropriate amount to: Skip Bremer -DOSque 3401 Cactus Wren Way Austin, Texas 78746 No credit cards. Thank you. Telephone: 512-328-2465 Compuserve ID: 71614,2556 Disclaimer ---------- The author does not warrant that the functions contained in this program will meet your requirements or that the program operation will be uninterrupted or error free. The author specifically disclaims all other warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of fitness for any particular purpose and of merchantability. In no event will the author be liable to you for any damages, including but not limited to any lost profits, lost savings, commercial damage or other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use this program, or for any claim by any other party.