Target Node Options

Setting

Indicates...

<specific_server>

The task runs only on the server you specify.

Any server

The task runs on any server connected to the database. Use this option if the task only needs to run on one server and it doesn't matter which one. For example, in a clustered environment, if all servers in the cluster share a single database for a parts inventory application, and a particular function needs to run on that database once a day, any server in the cluster can perform that function. The Any server option is the default setting when clustering is enabled.

Note:

The Any server option does not specify an order in which servers are used to execute tasks. In other words, no load balancing is performed. Instead, an instance of the scheduler runs on each server connected to the database. Periodically, each instance checks the database in which information about scheduled jobs is stored. The first scheduler instance to find a task that is due to start runs it, then marks the task as complete in the database where information about scheduled jobs is stored. The scheduler instances running on the other servers connected to the database then know not to run the task. This behavior will not change if you install a third-party load balancer.

All servers

For clustered Integration Servers only. If you select All servers, the task runs on all servers in the cluster. For example, suppose you run an application on each server in the cluster, and each server maintains its own database for that application. If you need to run a cleanup task against all the databases every day, then from one server you can schedule a task to run every day on all the servers in the cluster.

When you schedule a task to run on all servers in the cluster, the server divides the task into a main or parent task, and a child task for each server in the cluster. See Tasks in a Clustered Environment below for more information about these tasks.