Configure a Monitor Schedule

Alation Cloud Service Applies to Alation Cloud Service instances of Alation

A monitor’s schedule determines when Alation Data Quality runs its checks and anomaly metrics automatically. You can choose from six schedule types, ordered from the most conservative to the most flexible: No schedule, Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Custom (cron).

The schedule selector is the same control everywhere you configure a monitor’s schedule: the Configure Monitor step of monitor creation, the Settings section of the Manage tab on an existing monitor, and the Schedule & Launch section of the Apply DQ Standards wizard.

Note

This feature is disabled by default and can be enabled using the alation_conf feature flag alation.native_data_quality.advanced_schedule_options.enabled.

Note

Alation Cloud Service customers can request server configuration changes through Alation Support.

Schedule Types

The following table describes each available schedule type.

Monitor Schedule Types

Schedule Type

Description

No schedule

The monitor does not run on a recurring cadence. It runs only when you click Run Now, when it is triggered through the API, or when it is triggered by an external pipeline.

Hourly

Runs the monitor at a defined hourly interval.

Daily

Runs the monitor once each day at a specified time.

Weekly

Runs the monitor on a specified day of the week at a specified time.

Monthly

Runs the monitor on a specified day of the month, or on a relative pattern such as the first Monday of the month.

Custom (Cron)

Runs the monitor according to a cron expression that you define, for full control over the schedule.

Note

Scheduling is only available for standard monitors. For information on standard and SDK-enabled monitors, see Add a Monitor.

Use No Schedule

Select No schedule when a monitor should never run automatically, for example, when execution is controlled entirely by an external pipeline or orchestration tool that calls the Alation API.

  1. In the schedule selector, click No schedule.

  2. Review the information panel that confirms the monitor will not run automatically.

When you select No schedule, the time-of-day and day-of-week configuration fields are hidden, since they no longer apply.

Note

No schedule is different from pausing a monitor. A paused monitor would normally run on its configured cadence but is temporarily stopped. A monitor with No schedule was never configured to run on a clock. Both options are available, and you can use either depending on your intent.

Define a Custom Cron Schedule

Select Custom (cron) when the four standard presets do not match your required cadence.

  1. In the schedule selector, click Custom (cron).

  2. In the cron expression field, enter a valid cron expression.

  3. Review the live validation indicator next to the field. A check icon indicates a valid expression. An error message indicates an invalid expression and describes the issue.

  4. Review the human-readable preview below the field, for example, “Every weekday at 9:00 AM.” This preview updates as you type.

  5. Optionally, click a quick-pick chip, such as Weekdays at 9 AM or Every 6 hours, to fill the field with a common cron pattern.

  6. Review the next-runs preview, which lists the next three to five times the monitor will run, shown in server time.

Note

The next-runs preview for a Custom (cron) schedule always displays times in the server’s timezone, since custom cron expressions run server-side. This differs from the Hourly, Daily, Weekly, and Monthly presets, which use the timezone you select when configuring that schedule.

  1. Optionally, click Learn cron syntax for a reference to cron expression formatting.

Important

You cannot save a monitor configured with Custom (cron) while the cron expression is invalid. Correct the expression before saving.

Common Cron Patterns

Common Cron Patterns

Use Case

Cron Expression

Weekdays at 9 AM

0 9 * * MON-FRI

Every 6 hours

0 */6 * * *

At 11 PM on days 28–31 of the month

0 23 28-31 * *

First Monday of the month

0 9 1-7 * MON

How Schedules Appear After Creation

After you save a monitor, its schedule is shown as a human-readable label so it remains easy to interpret at a glance. On the monitor detail page, Alation can also show the raw cron expression for verification.

Schedule Display Locations

Location

Example Display

Monitor summary card

“No schedule · Manual or API only” or “Runs every weekday at 9:00 AM”

Monitor list row

A truncated human-readable label, with the full label available in a tooltip

Monitor detail page

The human-readable preview is shown prominently, with the raw cron expression displayed below it for verification

Note

Changing an existing monitor’s schedule type does not affect monitors that already use the four original presets. Existing monitors keep their current schedule, and Alation does not automatically convert any monitor to No schedule.