In this article

Overview

Ultra Tasks define the configuration to run an Ultra Pipeline on a Snaplex. When you activate an Ultra Task, the associated Snaplex starts one or more Pipeline instances that continuously process documents from a Feedmaster or another message queue. If you modify assets related to an active Ultra Task, in some cases, the Snaplex restarts the Pipeline instances automatically.

For high availability and disaster recovery, you can run a Pipeline in multiple regions. To do this, create multiple Ultra Tasks for the same Pipeline using the same alias. Assign each Ultra Task to a Snaplexex in a different region. When an Ultra Pipeline in one region fails, a Snaplex in another region can run the Ultra Task by invoking the Ultra Task with the same alias. Learn more about the deployment architecture for providing high availability and disaster recovery.

You can tune Ultra Task performance by specifying the number of Pipeline instances to run and the maximum number of documents that one instance should process at a time. Also, you can specify how many times a Pipeline can fail before the Snaplex disables the Ultra Task. Configuration Options describes the fields that control these behaviors: Instances (per Snaplex), Max In-Flight, and Maximum Failures.

Instances Per Snaplex

When you create an Ultra Task, you have the option to load balance processing across nodes. The number of instances controls how many pipelines are started to process the Ultra requests. Since the pipelines are automatically started and are always running, the number of pipelines needs to be balanced. Having too many instances uses up slots, resulting in extra load on the node. Having too few could result in delays for requests if the request volume is higher than running instances.

Manual

As a default option, this selection sets the number of pipeline instances to start, regardless of the number of JCC nodes. Use this setting in Ultra Tasks where the pipeline limits the number of concurrent calls from downstream systems.

For example:

An Ultra Pipeline calls a SOAP service and the service can process five API calls at one time => Set the number of instances to 5 for the Snaplex.

Instances per Node

This selection sets the number of pipeline instances per node. Use this setting during times when the request volume on the Ultra Task is predictably steady and when there are no limits on the number of concurrent requests that the downstream systems can process.

For example:

Setting this to 2 runs two pipeline instances on each JCC node. Setting this to four runs eight instances start.

This setting suits both types of Ultra Pipelines, providing redundancy through scaling.

AutoScaling

Scale the number of pipeline instances based on the number of requests being processed. This option can be used when the request rate is expected to be variable, with low and peak volumes being significantly different.

Prerequisites

• A Snaplex with one or more Feedmaster nodes.

• Write permissions for the Project Space.

• A valid Pipeline.

Workflow

Open

• Use Designer or Manager to create an Ultra Task.

• Invoke the Ultra Task as described in Invoking Ultra Pipelines as Tasks.

• Check status by Viewing Ultra Task Execution Details. Monitor Ultra Pipeline from the Dashboard Pipeline tab.

Limitation

The names of assets, projects, or project spaces are restricted to UTF-8 alphanumeric characters and certain special characters, excluding the comma.

Creating an Ultra Task

1. From Designer or Manager, open the Create Task dialog:

   • In Designer with the Pipeline open, in the toolbar, click More Tools. Click Create Task and select Ultra Task:

     Open

     

      

   • In Manager, from the left navigation, select the Project containing the Pipeline. In the toolbar, click Create and select Task > Ultra Task.
     
     

      

     The Create Task dialog displays:
     
     

      

2. Edit the required fields:

   1. Name. Enter a name. This name is used in the URL when the Pipeline has unconnected inputs/outputs. 
      The names of assets, projects, or project spaces are limited to UTF-8 alphanumeric characters and these special characters except for comma: !"$%&'()*+-.:;<=>@[]^_`{|}~.

   2. Pipeline. If not already selected, click the drop-down menu and select the Pipeline to be triggered by the Ultra Task. 

      If you choose a Pipeline that contains parameters, the parameters display in the Create Task dialog, where you can modify them. In the following example, the parameter keys path, full, and table name are displayed, with their entries as the corresponding values. In the full field, the values contain nested JSON.
      
      

       

   3. Snaplex. From the drop-down menu, select a Snaplex that has a Feedmaster. 

3. Modify the applicable optional fields as described in Configuration Options.

4. Click Save.

5. (Optional) To create an API in API Manager, click Save and create API. Learn more about creating APIs from Ultra Tasks.

Configuration Options

Editing an Ultra Task

1. Click Manager.

2. From the left navigation, select the Project Space to which the Ultra Task belongs.

3. Select the Tasks tab.

4. Click the Ultra Task name. The Edit Update Task dialog appears.

5. Edit the Ultra Task and click Save to close the dialog.

Changing the Run Policy

When you create an Ultra Task, Ultra is set as the Run Policy by default. If you change the Run Policy setting to Triggered or Scheduled, you must re-configure the Task.

Viewing Ultra Task Execution Details

After you create and enable your Ultra Task, you can view execution details.

1. In Manager, navigate to the Ultra Task and select Details from the dropdown menu:

2. On the Task Details page, view execution statistics by clicking Run Details:

Related content

• Invoking Ultra Pipelines as Tasks

• How to Enable and Disable Tasks

• How to Move a Task

• Task Details

• How to Run a Pipeline from a URL (Triggered Task)

• How to Schedule a Task