In addition to batching events, it is possible to specify the time intervals at which each batch should be sent to the correlator. This is achieved by adding a time offset, in milliseconds, after the BATCH tag. For example, the following:

specifies two batches of events to be sent 50 milliseconds apart.

The addition of a ‘time’ allows simulations of ‘bursts’ of events, or more random distributions of event traffic. Times are measured as an offset of from when the current file was opened. If only one file of events is being read and transferred, then this would be the same as since the start of a run (i.e. from the time that the engine_send tool starts processing the event data). If multiple files are being read in, the timing starts all over again upon the (re)opening of each file.

If the time given for a batch is less than the current time, or if no time is given following a BATCH tag (or if no BATCH tag is provided) then the events are sent as soon as they are read in, immediately following the preceding batch.