Setting Communication Time Limit

You can specify a time period for each instance of Agent to communicate with Manager at [Communication Time Limit] on the Agent Operation Settings screen. According to a system time of an application server, you can restrict a time period when Agent polls Manager and when Agent transfers files for which a trigger fired. The following usages are considered.

  • Communicating only in the middle of a night when the communication cost is cheaper
  • Transferring data at night when a factory is closed
  • Balancing a load by shifting the time period for each instance of Agent to transfer data

The following figure shows an example of communication hours settings on the Agent Operation Settings screen:

Figure 2.20 Example of communication hours settings

The following figure shows an Agent-Manager communication example when communication hours are varied for each instance of Agent:

Figure 2.21 Example of Agent-Manager communications based on the communication hours settings

The following figure shows an example of polling Manager from Agent when communication hours are restricted between 8 o'clock and 16 o'clock. And 7 hours is set for the polling interval. Agent does not poll Manager other than communication hours.

Figure 2.22 Example of polling Manager from Agent when communication hours are restricted between 8 o'clock and 16 o'clock. And 7 hours is set for the polling interval

= Remarks =

For the following processing, Agent continues the processing after the time period for communication elapsed.

  • The first polling processing after Agent starts
  • The communication processing that began in the communication hours and that continues on

The following figure shows an example of polling Manager from Agent when communication hours are restricted between 8 o'clock and 16 o'clock. And 2 days is set for the polling interval. Even if it is the communication hours, because 2 days is set for the polling interval, there is a day that Agent does not poll Manager.

Figure 2.23 Example of polling Manager from Agent when communication hours are restricted between 8 o'clock and 16 o'clock. And 2 days is set for the polling interval

It becomes a time to be able to communicate with Manager, Agent starts to monitor if there is a file for which a trigger fired, and then Agent transfers the file for which the trigger fired. If the trigger conditions were met in the other than communication hours, when the conditions are not met at the beginning of the communication hours or the file has been deleted, the trigger does not fire.

The following example shows file transfer for which the communication hours are restricted between 8 o'clock and 16 o'clock.

Figure 2.24 Example of file transfer for which the communication hours are restricted between 8 o'clock and 16 o'clock

= Remarks =

If transfer processing does not end after the time period for communication elapsed, Agent continues the processing until the file transfer ends.

Starting time of Agent and polling interval

Regardless of the start time of Agent, polling interval setting, and whether it is in the communication hours, Agent always polls Manager just after its starting.

The second time for Agent to poll Manager at the time of the polling interval elapsed after the Agent initially starts is different according to whether the system time of the application server is in the communication hours as follows:

At the time of the polling interval elapsed after Agent initially starts, the application server is in the communication hours:
Agent polls Manager.
At the time of the polling interval elapsed after Agent initially starts, the application server is not in the communication hours:
Agent waits for the communication hours will begin again, and then polls Manager.

In both cases, after the second polling, Agent will poll Manager according to the polling interval during it is in the communication hours.

Even if there is a time difference between an Agent environment and the Manager environment, Agent polls Manager according to a system time of the application server.