Suppose I have several cron jobs set up to run at the same time: do they execute in parallel or just one after another?
(My case is Debian squeeze with cronjobs put inside /etc/cron.d/mycronjobs).
4 Answers
For completeness, jobs in e.g. /etc/cron.{hourly,daily,weekly,monthly} are run sequentially. The run-parts script loops over all files in this directory.
02 4 * * * root run-parts /etc/cron.daily
So you can use that in combination with a naming convention (similar to the numbering in /etc/init.d/rc*.d for example) to make sure jobs run sequentially.
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What if I have several cron jobs within the same file, set to run at the same time?– GabrieleMay 3, 2012 at 10:38
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I'm not sure what you mean by "within the same file". But if you mean that you have several lines with the same time specification (like the
0 * * * *you posted earlier) then as other have posted there is no guarantee on the order they will run in. They may run in parallel on a multi-core system, AFAIK the order in which they run may even be different each day. The naming convention I mentioned in combination with a run-parts or the use of a master script that calls the actual backup scripts is the only way to ensure scripts are executed in a particular order.– BramMay 7, 2012 at 6:43 -
Ok then, since I need to be sure my scripts will run one after another, I think I'll go for a "master script" triggered by a cron job, and call any scripts from within the main script.– GabrieleMay 7, 2012 at 11:08
The tasks listed in cron will run in parallel, just as processes usually do. Theres no way of being sure which will start first, and no way in cron to make sure task A has complete before task B starts.
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1You can make sure task A has complete before task B starts by listing them on the same line and separating them with a semicolon.– NicholasMay 7, 2012 at 21:08
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That doesnt mean task A has completed successfully. Perhaps you could use a &&, but anything like this should be carried out by a script that is called.– SirchMay 8, 2012 at 8:42
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You can use any operands the bash shell supports. Using &&,||, or ; in cron is common practice in my experience.– NicholasMay 8, 2012 at 15:25
Cron is a daemon (service) that runs continuously; however, it reads crontabs once a minute.
The exact sequence in which jobs are executed will depend on the implementation of your systems' crond.
The loose files that some distributions put inside /etc/cron.d/ are scanned for their cron timer settings, since these files follow the normal crontab(5) syntax.
What order the individual jobs are executed in depends on the schedule you set for them, obviously.
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What if the schedule is set like this: ---- 0 * * * * root sh /var/opt/backup_scripts/backup1 - 0 * * * * root sh /var/opt/backup_scripts/backup2 ---- Will they run sequentially, i.e. backup1 and, when finished, backup2?– GabrieleMay 3, 2012 at 11:05
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The exact sequence in which jobs are executed will depend on the implementation of your systems' crond. man cron for details.– adaptrMay 3, 2012 at 14:10
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They will run in parallel. You can use the following methods to run the processes sequentially.
# Use a semicolon to run command2 after command1 has completed
02 4 * * * /path/to/command1 ; /path/to/command2
# Use two ampersands to run command2 after command1 has completed successfully.
02 4 * * * /path/to/command1 && /path/to/command2
# Use two vertical rules to run command2 after command1 has completed unsuccessfully.
02 4 * * * /path/to/command1 || /path/to/command2
