MultiBatch Q&A from E-BITUG 2023!

It was such a pleasure to spend a few days in Edinburgh for this year’s E-BITUG event, catching up with familiar faces and striking up friendships with new ones.

Insider Technologies took the opportunity to showcase the latest release of MultiBatch, and our exhibit was very well attended!

Indeed, we welcomed so many people that we simply couldn’t answer all of the questions during the event, and we’re still following up with responses. This edition of NonStop Insider couldn’t have come at a better time as it allows us to address some of the more frequently asked questions, as well as provide a glimpse of what’s to come in MultiBatch 10.1!

So, in no particular order, here are the top 5 questions asked by the E-BITUG audience:

1.    How does MultiBatch differ from NetBatch?

Quite simply, it’s Insider Technologies’ commitment to continuous development. The NetBatch Plus manual was last updated in 2002. MultiBatch 10 was released in 2022, and version 10.1 is well underway, with a release scheduled in October 2023.

MultiBatch is designed for and by the NonStop customer. We have created a multi-year roadmap for the product, which we will continue to validate with HPE NonStop customers. NetBatch and NetBatch Plus have been in “maintenance mode” for 20 years; MultiBatch is a product that actively evolves based on customer needs.

2.    How does MultiBatch embrace modernisation?

Modernisation is at the core of the MultiBatch roadmap. We recognise that traditional NonStop skills are being lost to the industry as TACL programmers and Guardian operators come to the end of their careers.

Organisations employing NonStop are having to face the reality that their new cohorts of developers, engineers and operators will not be classically trained in NonStop. Insider Tech has introduced two new interfaces to deal with the unique challenges that are presented to administrators and operators. These are:

a.   an Admin GUI from a slimmed-down and rationalised version of what was originally the all-encompassing MultiBatch GUI

b.    an Ops GUI providing a new, simplified, and intuitive interface which will ultimately remove the need for the command line

This brings workload scheduling on NonStop to a whole new generation of operators.

3.    Is there any restriction to the number of Job Dependencies?

No. Whilst a job is set to have a maximum of 10 next and 10 previous dependencies, operators can include intermediate pass-through jobs to remove any restriction.

For example, where JOBA has more than 10 next dependencies using JOBB and JOBC as two intermediate next jobs increases the maximum to 20.

Dependencies can be by job or segment. Segments are contained within jobs and are typically used to keep associated processing together. A job can contain up to 200 segments.

A single schedule can have up to 2,500 jobs, and there is no limit to the number of schedules.

4.    How does MultiBatch support Disaster Recovery?

MultiBatch can recover your running schedule onto your DR node and continue processing from the point of failure. If required, the configuration can be dynamically changed to match the new node as part of the recovery process.

The monitor process writes to an audited file as processing progresses, and this file is replicated to the DR node.  A simple recovery process allows the file to be read into a new monitor process on the DR node, and the current processing position can be examined before restarting.

All major components of MultiBatch are designed to be fault tolerant. Traditional passive NonStop process pairs are used to ensure seamless fail-over in the case of CPU failure.

5.    What is Auto Deployment?

MultiBatch allows operators to utilise a control node to maintain their schedules ready for deploying to testing, trialling and production. MultiBatch simply extracts a schedule from one environment and inserts it into a target environment; no configuration changes are needed.

The migration process offers simple and effective cross-node deployment, dynamically changing monitor names, node names, volumes and sub-volumes.

Deep parameterisation allows token substitution at the point schedules are loaded to allow environment-specific value integration.

MultiBatch is the workload automation manager designed specifically for HPE NonStop, making best use of the fault tolerance and scalability features.

It delivers best-in-class functionality for the demanding workload requirements of mission-critical systems by combining high-performance and parallel processing with enhanced operational control across your HPE NonStop nodes from a single interface.

Here is just a quick overview of the key benefits:

• Sophisticated and integrated job definitions. Jobs are run directly as defined in the configuration database without the need to write separate control scripts.
• A unique Job/Segment/Unit structure that facilitates both parallel processing and sophisticated process dependencies.
• Deep support for OSS processes. Specific support is included in the user interface and scheduler equally to that provided for Guardian processes.
• Job dependency logic is managed centrally in the scheduler. There is no requirement to write specific job release logic. Job dependencies are automatically adjusted depending on the job set selected.
• Support for on-demand processing in addition to supporting your traditional regular daily schedules. Pre-defined job templates are used as the basis for ad-hoc job processing.
• An active roadmap that ensures continuous investment and innovation.

If you’d like to know more about how MultiBatch can transform your workload schedules, or if you just have a question that we’ve not covered, please get in touch!

MultiBatch remains a critical part of the world’s most demanding companies employing HPE NonStop. Insider Technologies will showcase MultiBatch 10 and the associated GUIs at this year’s major HPE events, including TBC.

If you would like to join the MultiBatch 10.1 Beta Program, please contact us.

David Hall | Product Owner
david.hall@insidertech.co.uk
+44 (0) 161 876 6606
http://insidertech.co.uk