What is a workflow execution?
Workflow execution
A workflow execution is an instance of an executed workflow.
In Workflows, Workflow Executions, you can see the list of executions that have been run since the last cleanup, including the inputs provided, their status (Idle, Running, Success, Error, or Canceled), their run time, and how they were triggered. The list can show you the status of scheduled and running workflows, and serve as a record of succeeded and failed executions.
The list shows the 1000 most recent executions by default. Statistics showing the status of workflows are based on the 4000 most recent executions.
Double-click on an execution to open an information page that shows the input entered, tasks that succeeded, any error messages that were produced, and a Flow diagram showing the tasks that executed.
Workflow tasks
A task defines a specific logical step in a workflow. Each task can take input data and produce output data.
A single task is a logical step that can perform an action; for example, performing a REST request using std.http or CLI request using std.ssh. A task can call other workflows. A task can also be iterated over a list of items performing bulk operations.
Tasks can be chained together based on the following criteria:
Tasks that are not chained are executed at the same time.
Execution workers
Execution workers are queues used by NSP to maximize the number of operations that can be executed at one time.
A workflow execution is automatically assigned one of the following workers, based on how the execution was initiated:
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trigger: executions initiated by a Kafka trigger or schedule
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LSO: executions initiated by large-scale operations performed by an NSP operator or Device Administrator APIs
Assigning executions to execution workers ensures that , for example, the execution of a large-scale operation will not prevent a scheduled execution from running on time.
Execution worker information is read-only.
Execution status
You can view the status of an execution from the list in Workflows, Workflow Executions. Select an execution and click (Table row actions).
The status of the execution can be any of the following:
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If the execution represents a child workflow and the parent workflow or task stops before the child runs, the child execution will remain in this state.
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Error: an error has been encountered by this execution or by a child workflow.
If a child workflow is in an error state but the error is handled by the parent task, the parent workflow will not enter an error state.
An error encountered by a related workflow execution will not cause another execution to enter an error state. For example, if Task 1 requires both Workflow 1 and Workflow 2 to succeed, and Workflow 2 encounters an error, Task 1 will fail, however, the status of Workflow 1 will be based only on the progress of that workflow.