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Scheduler

What is the Scheduler?

The Scheduler helps Instrument Scientists plan and manage experiment time on instruments and equipment.

With the calendar interface, they can:

  • Create, view, organize, and adjust scheduled time slots (also called experiments)
  • Filter by instrument, equipment, or local contact for efficient planning

This ensures clear visibility of upcoming work and streamlined allocation of beam time.

Accessing the Scheduler Interface

The scheduling service is not available by default within the core User Office Application. Instead, it runs as a separate microservice. As a dedicated application, the User Office Scheduler has its own URL, typically different from the User Office Core URL. The exact URL depends on the infrastructure setup.

Prerequisites

System Requirements

  • Docker-enabled environment

Essential Configuration

  • The scheduling service must be deployed and activated to allow access.
  • Users must have appropriate permissions as Instrument Scientists or administrators (User Officer) to access and modify scheduling data.

Scheduling Proposals

  • Not all proposals show up in the Scheduler. A proposal becomes eligible for scheduling only when it enters a specific status (done via User Office Core). You can define this status using the UPSERT_PROPOSAL_BOOKING_TRIGGER_STATUSES environment variable for the scheduler service (e.g. SCHEDULING) Example:
UPSERT_PROPOSAL_BOOKING_TRIGGER_STATUSES="SCHEDULING"

Hint: Use comma to add more than one status

UPSERT_PROPOSAL_BOOKING_TRIGGER_STATUSES="SCHEDULING, ALLOCATED"

In the example above, proposals in SCHEDULING status will appear in the planning sidebar, and administrators can assign time slots (experiments) accordingly. There are two ways to set a proposal to the SCHEDULING status:

  1. Through Workflow: Configure the workflow to automatically transition proposals to SCHEDULING status based on predefined criteria. For more details on configuring the SCHEDULING status, refer to the Creating Workflow guide.

  2. Manual Status Change: The User Officer can manually change the status of a proposal to SCHEDULING within the User Office Core application.

  3. Proposals need to be Accepted by the User Officer in order to be scheduled.

  4. It is necessary to check the RabbitMQ box in the SCHEDULING status of the Call Workflow to allow the proposal to be processed in the scheduler. To enable this:

  5. Open your workflow. scheduler_wf

  6. Click on the path that leads to SCHEDULING status workflow tree.

scheduler_wf_status

  1. Click on Status Actions and check the RabbitMQ box.

scheduler_wf_rabbit

Ensure the proposal is Accepted and its status matches the configured trigger status (e.g. SCHEDULING). Once these two conditions are met, you can allocate time slots, and they will appear in the scheduler.

scheduler_pre_status

scheduler_pre_allocate

Interface

Left Panel

The left panel displays the menus available in the Scheduler interface. The default page is Calendar, where all planned time slots are visualized. Additional menus, such as Equipment List and Equipment Request, will be added to manage equipment and related requests.

scheduler_menu

Calendar Page

The calendar interface is designed for Instrument Scientists, allowing them to view planned time slots. NOTE: Instrument Scientists can only schedule operations for the instruments they are assigned to.

scheduler_calendar

Calendar Features:

  • Default Display: The calendar defaults to Calendar mode, providing a classic view of the schedule.

Available Filters:

  • By instrument: Filters time slots by specific instruments (e.g., beamlines like ROCK).
  • By equipment: Filters by the equipment in use (details available in the Equipment List menu).
  • By local contact: Displays time slots by the associated Instrument Scientist.

scheduler_filters

Display Types:

The right panel allows you to change the calendar display type using three options:

  1. Calendar: Classic view (default).

scheduler_view_calendar

  1. Table: Structured tabular view of time slots.

scheduler_view_table

  1. Timeline: Chronological view similar to Outlook, providing a linear and intuitive representation of time slots.

scheduler_view_timeline

Event Management

A NEW EVENT button is available to create new events, such as:

  • Maintenance: Scheduling a time period for instrument or equipment maintenance.
  • Shutdown: Scheduling machine downtime.

scheduler_new_event

scheduler_plan_down

Time Slots to Plan

Time slots are directly linked to proposals. When a proposal reaches the SCHEDULING status (or other configured status), it appears in the planning sidebar and can be assigned time.

Example:

  • Proposal is in SCHEDULING
  • Currently scheduled for 2 days and 3 hours

This section provides a clear overview of planning and managing beam time for instruments and equipment.

Drag proposal onto the calendar to specify desired start date scheduler_plan_drag

Edit the experiment details (e.g duration and Local Contanct) and activate the Experiment time scheduler_plan

You should now see the experiment time in the callendar scheduler_planned