Analyzing Task Scheduler Telemetry

INTRODUCED IN: Business Central 2021 release wave 2

Note

Azure Active Directory is now Microsoft Entra ID. Learn more

Task scheduler telemetry gathers information about the execution of scheduled tasks. The data gives insight into what happens in background sessions that are coming from scheduled tasks. It provides information that lets you troubleshoot failures. The data can also help you determine whether tasks would be better scheduled for off hours to limit the load on the service.

For an overview of task scheduler and to understand the flow related to task execution, see Task Scheduler.

Note

In this article, main codeunit refers to the codeunit that's run by the TaskScheduler.CreateTask method.

Each scheduled task is assigned a unique identifier (ID), which is included in each trace related to the task. Using the ID makes it easy to query the flow of a task.

Task created

Occurs when a task was created by a TaskScheduler.CreateTask method call in AL code.

General dimensions

The following table explains the general dimensions of this trace.

Dimension Description or value
message Task {taskId} created: {codeunitObjectId} scheduled to run after {notBefore}. Ready to run: {isReady}
severityLevel 1

Custom dimensions

Dimension Description or value
eventId LC0040
codeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's main codeunit.
failureCodeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's failure codeunit. 0 indicates that there's no failure codeunit.
isReady Specifies whether the task was in the ready state when created. True indicates that the task is in the ready state. False indicates that the task isn't in the ready state.
notBefore Specifies the earliest date and time the task was scheduled to run.
taskId Specifies the unique identifier assigned to the task.
timeout Specifies the timeout that was set on the task. If a task takes longer to complete than the specified time, it's canceled. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.

Common custom dimensions

The following table explains other custom dimensions that are common to all task scheduler traces.

Dimension Description or value
aadTenantId Specifies the Microsoft Entra tenant ID used for Microsoft Entra authentication. For on-premises, if you aren't using Microsoft Entra authentication, this value is common.
companyName Specifies the display name of the Business Central company in which the task was run.
component Dynamics 365 Business Central Server.
componentVersion Specifies the version number of the component that emits telemetry (see the component dimension.)
environmentType Specifies the environment type for the tenant, such as Production, Sandbox, Trial. See Environment Types
formatId Specifies the regional setting of the session. The value is a culture identifiers (LCIDs), such as 1033 for English - United States.
languageId Specifies the language version of Business Central on which the task is run. The value is a culture identifiers (LCIDs), such as 1033 for English - United States.
telemetrySchemaVersion Specifies the version of the Business Central telemetry schema.

Task ready

Occurs when a task is set to the ready state by TaskScheduler.SetTaskReady method call in AL code. A task can't be run until it's in the ready state.

General dimensions

The following table explains the general dimensions of this trace.

Dimension Description or value
message Task {taskId} ready: {codeunitObjectId} set ready to run after {notBefore}.
severityLevel 1

Custom dimensions

Dimension Description or value
eventId LC0041
codeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's main codeunit.
failureCodeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's failure codeunit. 0 indicates that there's no failure codeunit.
isReady True
notBefore Specifies the earliest date and time that was scheduled to run.
taskId Specifies the unique identifier assigned to the task.
timeout Specifies the timeout that was set on the task. If a task takes longer to complete than the specified time, it's canceled. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
See common custom dimensions

Task removed

Occurs when a task is deleted by a TaskScheduler.CancelTask method call in AL code.

General dimensions

The following table explains the general dimensions of this trace.

Dimension Description or value
message Task {taskId} removed: {codeunitObjectId}.
severityLevel 1

Custom dimensions

Dimension Description or value
eventId LC0042
codeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's main codeunit.
failureCodeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's failure codeunit. 0 indicates that there's no failure codeunit.
isReady Specifies whether the task was in the ready state when removed. True indicates that the task was in the ready state. False indicates that the task wasn't in the ready state.
notBefore Specifies the earliest date and time that was scheduled to run.
taskId Specifies the unique identifier assigned to the task.
timeout Specifies the timeout that was set on the task. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
See common custom dimensions

Task canceled

Occurs when the execution of a task's main or failure codeunit is canceled by the service or by a user.

For example, the service cancels a task when:

  • It takes longer to complete than the specified timeout. The timeout is specified on the task when it's created. Or if no timeout is specified, then the default timeout of the service is used. For online, the default task timeout is 12 hours. For on-premises, the default timeout is specified by the Default Task Scheduler Session Timeout setting on the Business Central Server instance.
  • The Session.StopSession method was called from AL code.

Users can cancel a task a couple ways. For example, with Business Central online, they can use the Business Central admin center. With on-premises, they can run the Remove-NAVSession cmdlet.

General dimensions

The following table explains the general dimensions of this trace.

Dimension Description or value
message The messages will depend on whether the error occurred in the main codeunit of failure codeunit.

Main codeunit
Task {taskId} main codeunit {codeunitObjectId} canceled. It will not be retried and the failure codeunit {failureCodeunitObjectId} will be run. Reason: Exception is not retriable.

Task {taskId} main codeunit {codeunitObjectId} canceled. It will be retried. Reason: Exception is retriable.

Task {taskId} main codeunit {codeunitObjectId} canceled. It will not be retried. Reason: Exception is retriable but the maximum number of attempts has been reached.

Failure codeunit
Task {taskId} failure codeunit {failureCodeunitObjectId} canceled. It will not be retried. Reason: Exception is not retriable.

Task {taskId} failure codeunit {failureCodeunitObjectId} canceled. It will be retried. Reason: Exception is retriable.

Task {taskId} failure codeunit {failureCodeunitObjectId} canceled. It will not be retried. Reason: Exception is retriable but the maximum number of attempts has been reached.
severityLevel 2

Custom dimensions

Dimension Description or value
eventId LC0044
attemptNumber Specifies the run attempt on the codeunit. 0 indicates the first run of the codeunit. Any value other than 0 indicates a retry.
cancelReason Specifies why the task was canceled.
cancelReasonMessage Specifies the exception that caused the cancellation.
codeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's main codeunit.
failureCodeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's failure codeunit. 0 indicates that there's no failure codeunit.
isReady True
notBefore Specifies the earliest date and time to the task was scheduled to run.
result Canceled
serverExecutionTime Specifies the amount of time it took the server to run the codeunit. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
sessionId Specifies the unique identifier of the session in which the task's codeunit was run.
sqlExecutes Specifies the number of SQL statements that were executed by the codeunit before the task was canceled.
sqlRowsRead Specifies the number of table rows that were read by the SQL statements before the task was canceled.
taskId Specifies the unique identifier assigned to the task.
timeout Specifies the timeout that was set on the task. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
totalTime Specifies the amount of time it took before the task was canceled. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
See common custom dimensions

Task failed

Occurs when the execution of task's main codeunit or failure codeunit fails because of an exception thrown by the AL runtime.

General dimensions

The following table explains the general dimensions of this trace.

Dimension Description or value
message The messages will depend on whether the error occurred in the main codeunit ot failure codeunit.

Main codeunit
Task {taskId} main codeunit {codeunitObjectId} failed. It will not be retried and the failure codeunit {failureCodeunitObjectId} will be run. Reason: Exception is not retriable.

Task {taskId} main codeunit {codeunitObjectId} failed. It will be retried. Reason: Exception is retriable.

Task {taskId} main codeunit {codeunitObjectId} failed. It will not be retried. Reason: Exception is retriable but the maximum number of attempts has been reached.

Failure codeunit
Task {taskId} failure codeunit {codeunitObjectId} failed. It will not be retried. Reason: Exception is not retriable.

Task {taskId} failure codeunit {failureCodeunitObjectId} failed. It will be retried. Reason: Exception is retriable

Task {taskId} failure codeunit {failureCodeunitObjectId} failed. It will not be retried. Reason: Exception is retriable but the maximum number of attempts has been reached.
severityLevel 3

Custom dimensions

Dimension Description or value
eventId LC0045
attemptNumber Specifies the retry attempt on the codeunit. 0 indicates the initial run of the codeunit, not a retry.
codeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's main codeunit.
failureCodeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's failure codeunit. 0 indicates that there's no failure codeunit.
failureReason Specifies the exception that thrown as a result of the error.
isReady Specifies whether the task is in the ready state. True indicates that the task is in the ready state. False indicates that the task isn't in the ready state.
notBefore Specifies the earliest date and time that was scheduled to run.
result Failure
serverExecutionTime Specifies the amount of time it took the server to run the codeunit. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
sessionId Specifies the unique identifier of the session in which the task's codeunit was run.
sqlExecutes Specifies the number of SQL statements that were executed before the task failed.
sqlRowsRead Specifies the number of table rows that were read by the SQL statements before the task failed.
taskId Specifies the unique identifier assigned to the task.
timeout Specifies the timeout that was set on the task. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
totalTime Specifies the amount of time it took to create the company. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
See common custom dimensions

Analyzing report generation failures

When a task fails, the failureReason column in the CustomDimensions will include the name of the exception that was thrown by the AL runtime.

Sample KQL code (failed tasks)

This KQL code can help you get started analyzing task failures:

// Task failed
traces
| where timestamp > ago(60d) // adjust as needed
| where customDimensions has 'LC0045' // for performance 
| where customDimensions.eventId == 'LC0045'
| project timestamp
// in which environment/company did it happen
, aadTenantId = customDimensions.aadTenantId
, environmentName = customDimensions.environmentName
, environmentType = customDimensions.environmentType
, companyName = customDimensions.companyName
// what codeunit to run
, codeunitObjectId = customDimensions.codeunitObjectId
, failureCodeunitObjectId = customDimensions.failureCodeunitObjectId
// task info
, formatId = customDimensions.formatId
, isReady = customDimensions.isReady
, languageId = customDimensions.languageId
, notBefore = customDimensions.notBefore
, taskId = customDimensions.taskId
, timeout = customDimensions.timeout
// execution info
, failureReason = customDimensions.failureReason // this contains the name of the exception thrown by the AL runtime

Task completed

Occurs when the execution of a task's main codeunit or failure codeunit succeeds with no errors.

There's no event emitted for task started. You can infer the task-start time by subtracting the totalTime from the task completed timestamp.

General dimensions

The following table explains the general dimensions of this trace.

Dimension Description or value
message Task {taskId} main codeunit {codeunitObjectId} completed. - This message indicates that the task was fully executed successfully.

Task {taskId} failure codeunit {failureCodeunitObjectId} completed. - This message indicates that an error occurred in the task, but it was successfully handled by the failure codeunit.
severityLevel 1

Custom dimensions

Dimension Description or value
eventId LC0043
attemptNumber Specifies the retry attempt on the codeunit. 0 indicates the initial run of the codeunit, not a retry.
codeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's main codeunit.
failureCodeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's failure codeunit. 0 indicates that there's no failure codeunit.
isReady Specifies whether the task is in the ready state. True indicates that the task is in the ready state. False indicates that the task isn't in the ready state.
notBefore Specifies the earliest date and time that was scheduled to run.
result Success
serverExecutionTime Specifies the amount of time it took the server to run the codeunit. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
sessionId Specifies the unique identifier of the session in which the task was run.
sqlExecutes Specifies the number of SQL statements that were executed.
sqlRowsRead Specifies the number of table rows that were read by the SQL statements.
taskId Specifies the unique identifier assigned to the task.
timeout Specifies the timeout that was set on the task. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
totalTime Specifies the amount of time it took to run the codeunit. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
See common custom dimensions

Task timeout changed because it was exceeding the max timeout value

INTRODUCED IN: Version 22.0

Occurs if the timeout defined on a task exceeds that maximum timeout allowed by the server. The task is then assigned the timeout that's equal to the maximum timeout allowed by the server.

Note

For Business Central online, the maximum timeout allowed is 23:59:59. For Business Central on-premises, the maximum timeout allowed is determined by the MaxTaskSchedulerSessionTimeout setting on the Business Central server instance (for more information, see Configure Business Central Server.

General dimensions

The following table explains the general dimensions of this trace.

Dimension Description or value
message Task {taskId} timeout changed to: {timeout} because it was exceeding the max timeout value.
severityLevel 1

Custom dimensions

Dimension Description or value
eventId LC0057
attemptNumber Specifies the retry attempt on the codeunit. 0 indicates the initial run of the codeunit, not a retry.
codeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's main codeunit.
failureCodeunitObjectId Specifies the ID of the task's failure codeunit. 0 indicates that there's no failure codeunit.
isReady Specifies whether the task is in the ready state. True indicates that the task is in the ready state. False indicates that the task isn't in the ready state.
notBefore Specifies the earliest date and time that was scheduled to run.
result Success
serverExecutionTime Specifies the amount of time it took the server to run the codeunit. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
sessionId Specifies the unique identifier of the session in which the task was run.
sqlExecutes Specifies the number of SQL statements that were executed.
sqlRowsRead Specifies the number of table rows that were read by the SQL statements.
taskId Specifies the unique identifier assigned to the task.
timeout Specifies the timeout that was set on the task. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
totalTime Specifies the amount of time it took to run the codeunit. The time has the format hh:mm:ss.sssssss.
See common custom dimensions

Task scheduler and performance

Scheduled tasks or job queue entries that are set to run on a recurring schedule can impact the performance of Business Central under either of the following conditions:

  • They run too frequently.

    Consider how often the task or job needs to run. Especially for polling scenarios, you might have better and more performant ways to react, such as using webhooks.

  • They run heavy jobs while many users are also using Business Central.

    Consider running them outside working hours. This might decrease locking and deadlock issues both for users and for the task or job itself.

Task Scheduler
Telemetry overview
Enabling Telemetry
Alert on Telemetry