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Cron Expressions in Observability

DataOps Observability lets you use a cron scheduler to set custom component expectations and instance conditions.

The system translates cron syntax and time zone definitions to set the date/time for batch pipeline runs, dataset arrivals, and instances.

Cron fields and characters

Observability cron expressions are strings of five fields separated by spaces:  

Where:

  • minute = 0-59
  • hour = 0-23
  • day-of-month = 1-31
  • month = 1-12 or JAN-DEC
  • day-of-week = 0-6 or SUN-SAT

Complex expressions

Observability supports more complex expressions, like:

  • Every x hours = */hours
  • Every x days = */days
  • Multiple days of the week = Day,Day

Best practices

Use APScheduler Expression types as a reference for the expressions you can build.

While the cron scheduler can handle the schedules that best suit your organization's expectations and workflow, the shortest suggested schedule is 10 minutes. Considering the event time to live, the longest suggested schedule is 30 days.

Introduction to Observability

Configure Component Expectations

Configure Instance Conditions

Cron Expressions in Automation