Commvault

Job Priority - CommCell® Console

Owned by Carl Brault (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Nov 30, 2021 by tdopko@commvault.com (Unlicensed)
4 min read

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Great thanks to Mike Byrne for his hard work with the screen captures!


Commvault® software implements a robust method for configuring job priorities. There are three different number values that make up a job priority, the job type, client, and agent. The three numbers are combined to form a three-digit priority level.
In Commvault® software the zero value has the highest priority and the nine value has the lowest priority.


Each job type has a specific priority value associated with it:

  • CommCell administrative operations such as data aging and the CommServe DR backup have a zero-level priority.
  • Restore operations have a zero-level priority.
  • Backup operations have a one level priority.
  • Auxiliary copy jobs have a two-level priority.

The backup and restore priority numbers cannot be modified. It would risk breaking the system and prevent jobs from running.

Job priority number overview


Job Type Priority

Job type priority, such as an auxiliary copy is modified from the Job Management applet.




To change Job Type priority number

1 - From the Configuration menu, click the Job Management tool.

2 - Job Type priority number can be changed by clicking a job type.


Client Priority

Client priorities are configured for individual clients in the Job Options tab in the Client Properties. The default client priority is six.




To change Client priority number

1 - Expand Client Computers | Right-click the client and choose Properties.

2 - Click the Advanced button to modify job priority.

3 - Define the client priority number.


Agent Priority

Agent priorities are configured for each agent type in the Job Management applet in the control panel and have a default priority of six.




To change Agent Type priority number

1 - From the Configuration menu, click the Job Management tool.

2 - Agent Type priority number can be changed by clicking an agent type number.



Customizing Priority Numbers

The first digit in the priority value cannot be modified but the client and agent priorities can be. By default, the order for the priority is job, client and agent. However, the client and agent priorities can be reversed by specifying the 'Priority Precedence' setting in the Job Management applet in the Configuration menu.




To change Agent Type priority number

1 - From the Configuration menu, click the Job Management tool.

2 - Define if priority should be given to clients or agent types.


Example: if an Oracle backup is running with an agent priority set to four on a client with a priority set to six, the default priority for the backup would be 164. One for the backup type, six for the client, and four for the agent type.




Dynamic Priority

A new dynamic priority mechanism is available in SP11. It is applied to concurrent jobs with the same priority number. Dynamic priority intelligently prioritizes the backups based on machine learning.


Dynamic Priority Logic:

  • Strike Count - is defined as the number of failures that happened since last successful backup job of the same backup level. Strike count is for a subclient and is computed dynamically.
  • Estimated Completion Time -The Estimated completion time is forecast based on previous backup job patterns of the same backup level on the subclient using machine learning.

Dynamic Priority Calculation:

  • When jobs have equal Operation/Client/Agent priorities, the subclient with the greater Strike Count is prioritized.
  • When the jobs have equal Strike Count also, the subclient with the higher Estimated Completion Time is prioritized.

Dynamic priority example





Determining How Active Jobs Behave Based on Priorities

When multiple jobs are launched at the same time, the job priority determines the order in which they run. In addition to this behavior, a backup or restore job will preempt other jobs (i.e, Auxiliary Copy), unless the other job is also a backup job. In this case, no preemption occurs. For example, if all resources are currently used by an auxiliary copy job with low priority, if a backup job with higher priority is launched, the running auxiliary copy job is suspended. The resources, therefore, become available for the backup job. Once the backup job completes and resources are available again, the suspended auxiliary copy job is then resumed.



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