Cron (Background task runner)

EthosCE uses a process called “cron” to schedule its background tasks. Tasks such as credit reporting, search indexing, data denormalization and reminders all rely on the background task in order to be started.

For example with credit reporting, when a learner earns credit, it is not reported to the certifying board immediately. The credit goes into a queue and waits for cron. The next time cron runs, the credit is reported.

Background task frequency

Cron is scheduled to run every 15 minutes. In practice, this means that a task will be triggered anytime from immediately (if cron is about to run) to 15 minutes later (if cron just ran).