Schedule maintenance jobs and make failures visible
Goal
You should be able to demonstrate the result described in the lesson and explain why each step was necessary.
You should be able to demonstrate the result described in the lesson and explain why each step was necessary.
Step-by-step
01
Write a script first
Put the logic in a script you can run manually rather than embedding a long pipeline in crontab.
02
Use absolute paths
Cron has a minimal environment, so specify full command and file paths.
03
Redirect output
Send stdout and stderr to a log file or monitoring system.
04
Avoid overlapping runs
For long jobs, use flock or another lock so a second run cannot start before the first finishes.
05
Test manually
Run the exact script as the intended user before relying on the schedule.
Verify before moving on
You should be able to demonstrate the result described in the lesson and explain why each step was necessary.
You should be able to demonstrate the result described in the lesson and explain why each step was necessary.
Troubleshooting
If a command or screen differs from the lesson, stop and verify the version you are using before forcing a change.
What you learned
You now understand the purpose of this part of the system and have a concrete result you can verify before continuing to the next lesson.