AutoSys Machines
From a hardware perspective, the AutoSys architecture is composed of two types of machines, attached to a network -
Server Machine
The AutoSys server is the machine on which the event processor, the event server (database), or both, reside. In a basic configuration, both the event processor and the event server reside on the same machine.
Client Machine
The AutoSys client is the machine on which the remote agent software resides, and where AutoSys jobs are to be run. A remote agent must be installed on the server machine, and it can also be installed on separate physical client machines.

AutoSys Instance
An AutoSys instance is one licensed version of AutoSys software running as an AutoSys server with one or more clients, on a single machine or on multiple machines. An AutoSys instance is defined by the instance ID – a capitalized three-letter identifier defined by the $AUTOSERV environment variable. An instance uses its own event server and event processor and operates independently of other AutoSys instances. One could install multiple AutoSys instances. For example, you may want to have one instance for production and another for development. Multiple instances can run on the same machine, and can schedule jobs on the same machines without interfering or affecting the other instances.

Events
AutoSys is completely event-driven. That is, for a job to be activated by the event processor, an event must occur on which the job depends. For example, a prerequisite job has completed running successfully or a required file has been received. Events can come from a number of sources, including the following:
Jobs changing states, such as starting, finishing successfully, and so forth.
Internal AutoSys verification agents, such as detected errors.
Events sent with the sendevent command, sent from the Send Event dialog, the command line, or user applications.
As each event is processed, the event processor scans the database for jobs that are dependent on that event in some way. If the event satisfies another job’s starting condition, that job is either started immediately, or if necessary, queued for the next qualified and available machine. The completion of one job can cause another job to be started, and in this way, jobs progress in a controlled sequence.

Alarms
Alarms are special events that notify operations personnel of situations requiring their attention. Alarms are integral to the automated use of AutoSys. That is, jobs can be scheduled to run based on a number of conditions, but some facility is necessary for addressing incidents that require manual intervention. For example, a set of jobs could be dependent on the arrival of a file, and the file is long overdue. In such a case, it is important that someone investigates the situation, make a decision, and resolves the problem.

• Alarms are informational only.
• Alarms are system messages about a detected problem.
• Alarms are sent through the system as an event.
• Alarms have special monitoring features to ensure they will be noticed.

Utilities
To help you define, control, and report on jobs, AutoSys has its own specification language called Job Information Language, or JIL, for defining jobs, machines, monitors, and reports. This language is processed by the jil command, which reads and interprets the JIL statements that you enter and then performs the appropriate actions, such as adding a new job definition to the database. AutoSys also provides a set of commands that run essential utility programs for defining, controlling, and reporting on jobs. For example, the autorep command allows you to generate a variety of reports about job execution, and the sendevent command allows you to manually control job processing. Additional utility programs are provided to assist you in troubleshooting, running monitors and browsers, and starting and stopping AutoSys and its components. AutoSys also provides a database maintenance utility that runs daily by default.

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