About Platform Agents

A Platform Agent is a small piece of software that runs on a computer inside the customer network and communicates with RunMyJobs through the Secure Gateway. A Platform Agent can manage communication with sever-based parts of RunMyJobs, issue instructions to the local operating system, submit and monitor Jobs, handle File Events, and monitor local information such as CPU load and paging rate. You can think of a Platform Agent as a stand-in for the computer where work is actually done, allowing RunMyJobs to configure and execute such work.

Platform Agents come in a variety of flavors, with different types available for different platforms. If you require support for an OS that is not in this list, consult your Redwood account representative.

Note: Platform Agents are responsible for the actual execution of Jobs on an OS level. You do not need a Platform Agent for many types of Job Definitions, including RedwoodScript, SAP, and Workflows.

Platform Agent Installers

There are two ways to obtain a Platform Agent installer.

• When you create a Job Server that requires a Platform Agent, you can create and download customized Platform Agent installer.

• If you want to install a Platform Agent without creating a Job Server, you can download a generic Platform Agent installer and configure it during installation.

Anatomy of a Platform Agent

Each Platform Agent consists of two independent processes: the job-processor and the network-processor.

• If the network connection fails or the network-processor process is terminated, the connection to RunMyJobs is lost. However, if the job-processor process is still running, any Platform Server Jobs that were already started will continue until they complete. Once the connection to RunMyJobs has been reestablished (by reconnecting the network or starting the network-processor), the status of the Jobs is updated in RunMyJobs.

• If the job-processor process terminates, the network-processor process tells RunMyJobs, and the Job goes into Error status.

Both the network-processor and the job-processor store information on the file system and ensure the information is received by the central Redwood Server.

Active vs Monitoring Platform Agents

Active Platform Agents require a license and allow you to schedule workload, use file events, and monitor system usage.

Note: Monitoring Platform Agents on Windows and UNIX do not require a license. They only let you monitor a system and its processes.