AutoSys Monitoring with WCC — Workload Control Center Guide
- WCC (Workload Control Center) is the browser-based monitoring dashboard for AutoSys, hosted on Tomcat
- Flow View shows jobs as a visual dependency graph — essential for understanding blast radius of a failure
- Every WCC action is equivalent to a sendevent command — WCC is a visual wrapper, not a different system
- WCC is the browser-based UI for AutoSys, hosted on Tomcat (port 8080/8443).
- Key views: Monitor > Jobs (real-time list), Flow View (dependency graph), Job Activity (timeline).
- Every WCC action maps to a sendevent command — it's a visual wrapper, not a different control plane.
- Performance: WCC auto-refreshes every ~30 seconds; for immediate status use autostatus or autorep.
- Production insight: During an incident, Flow View shows blast radius in seconds; click a failed job to jump to its logs.
- Biggest mistake: Confusing WCC's refresh lag with real-time — don't trust WCC for sub-second job status without CLI cross-check.
Quick WCC Debug Cheat Sheet
Batch run stalled — no visible progress
In Filter field, select status = FAILURE. This highlights all failed jobs instantly.Click on the first red node in the chain (top of the failure cascade) to view its log path.Job is stuck in ACTIVATED status
Run autorep -J job_name -d to see the exact dependency condition and current status of upstream jobs.If an upstream job is ON HOLD, release it via right-click → Release. If it's FAILED, you need to force start it first.WCC not loading or returning errors
Check port: ss -tlnp | grep 8080 (or 8443 for HTTPS)If Tomcat is running but WCC is unresponsive, restart it: $AUTOSYS/wcc/bin/shutdown.sh && $AUTOSYS/wcc/bin/startup.shProduction Incident
Production Debug GuideSymptom → Action: Use WCC as your first diagnostic tool
WCC (Workload Control Center) is the browser-based monitoring and management UI for AutoSys. It's hosted on Apache Tomcat (which AutoSys installs automatically) and accessible via a standard web browser. While experienced admins often prefer the command line for speed, WCC is invaluable for understanding the state of a complex job flow at a glance — especially during incident response.
Accessing WCC
WCC runs on the AutoSys application server. The default URL is typically http://autosys-server:8080/wcc or https://autosys-server:8443/wcc for SSL.
Before you can access it, verify Tomcat is running. The AutoSys installation includes a bundled Tomcat server configured specifically for WCC. You'll find the startup scripts in $AUTOSYS/wcc/bin/.
If you're running WCC in a clustered environment, each application server hosts its own WCC instance. You'll need to know the hostname or load balancer VIP. Most teams bookmark the URL in their on-call browser profile — don't be the person fumbling for a bookmark at 3 AM.
# Default WCC URL format # http://autosys-server-hostname:8080/wcc # https://autosys-server-hostname:8443/wcc (SSL) # Check if WCC (Tomcat) is running on the server ps -ef | grep -i tomcat # Check the Tomcat port is listening ss -tlnp | grep 8080 ss -tlnp | grep 8443 # If WCC is down, restart Tomcat $AUTOSYS/wcc/bin/shutdown.sh $AUTOSYS/wcc/bin/startup.sh
Key WCC views for day-to-day monitoring
WCC provides several views. These are the ones you'll use most:
Monitor > Jobs: A real-time list of all jobs with their current status, colour-coded. Filterable by status, machine, owner, or name pattern. This is your primary monitoring view.
Monitor > Flow View: Shows jobs as nodes in a dependency graph with connecting arrows. When a job fails, you can immediately see which downstream jobs are blocked. Essential for understanding impact during incidents.
Monitor > Job Activity: A timeline view showing job start and end times. Useful for spotting jobs that are running longer than usual.
Administration > Calendars: View and manage AutoSys calendars.
Administration > Machines: View agent machine status — which are ACTIVE, MISSING, or INACTIVE.
Using WCC during an incident
When the on-call team gets paged at 3 AM because a batch run is failing, WCC is where you start. The flow of an incident investigation:
- Open WCC and go to Monitor > Jobs. Filter by status = FAILURE to see all failed jobs.
- Click on the first failed job — it's likely the root cause if multiple jobs failed.
- Switch to Flow View to see the dependency chain. This shows you exactly which downstream jobs are blocked.
- Check the failed job's logs by clicking 'View Log' or checking its std_out_file attribute.
- After fixing the root cause, Force Start the failed job via right-click → Force Start.
- Monitor the downstream jobs as they cascade from ACTIVATED to RUNNING to SUCCESS.
Pro tip: In large environments, use the filter to show only jobs that are ON HOLD or FAILURE — this reduces noise and highlights the critical path.
# Step 1: Check WCC Monitor > Jobs, filter by status = FAILURE # Visual: red jobs immediately visible # Parallel: command-line equivalent autorep -J % -s FA # Step 2: Click the failed job in WCC to see its attributes and log paths # Command-line equivalent: autorep -J failed_job -d cat /logs/autosys/failed_job.err # Step 3: Use Flow View to see which downstream jobs are blocked # Command-line equivalent: autorep -J % | grep -E 'AC|IN' | head -20 # show ACTIVATED/INACTIVE jobs # Step 4: After fixing, restart via WCC (right-click > Force Start) # Command-line equivalent: sendevent -E FORCE_STARTJOB -J failed_job
Understanding Monitor > Jobs View
The Monitor > Jobs view is your day-to-day dashboard. It displays a table of all jobs with columns: Job Name, Status, Last Start Time, Last End Time, Machine, Owner, and Exit Code. You can sort by any column and filter by status, machine, owner, or job name pattern.
Color coding: SUCCESS (green), FAILURE (red), RUNNING (blue), ACTIVATED (yellow), ON HOLD (grey), INACTIVE (white). This makes status scanning fast.
You can right-click any job to perform actions: Force Start, Hold, Rerun, Kill, Release. The actions are equivalent to sendevent commands.
One overlooked feature: the 'View Log' popup shows the last N lines of the job's stdout and stderr. However, if the log is on the agent and the agent is unreachable, this won't work. Always have direct SSH access as a fallback.
Pro tip: Save a custom filter for jobs on your team's critical path. For example, filter by job name pattern PAYROLL% and status != SUCCESS to quickly spot non-green jobs in the nightly batch.
tail -100 via SSH instead.Monitor > Flow View: Managing Dependencies Visually
Flow View is WCC's most powerful feature for incident response. It displays jobs as nodes in a directed graph, with arrows representing condition dependencies (SUCCESS, FAILURE, EXIT code, etc.). You can zoom in/out, pan, and click any node to see its details.
When a job fails, its node turns red. All downstream jobs that depend on it are highlighted as blocked (ON HOLD or ACTIVATED with greyed-out arrows). This visual representation immediately answers the question: 'What is affected?'
You can also edit dependencies from Flow View? No — WCC is read-only for dependencies. You must use JIL to change conditions. However, you can view the dependency details by clicking a job and looking at the 'Depends' tab.
Flow View also supports 'Trace' mode: click a job and select 'Trace Upstream' — this highlights all jobs that must succeed before this one can run. Useful for debugging a stuck ACTIVATED job.
Pro tip: In large flows with hundreds of jobs, use the Filter in Flow View to show only jobs with status = FAILURE or ON HOLD. This declutters the graph and highlights the problem chain.
# Find jobs blocked by a specific failed job autorep -J downstream_job -d | grep -i condition # Show all jobs that depend on a given job (reverse dependency) autorep -J % -q | grep "upstream_job_name" # View the full dependency tree recursively (bash snippet) autorep -J % -q | awk -F' ' '{print $1}' | while read job; do echo "--- $job depends on ---" autorep -J $job -d 2>/dev/null | grep -i "condition" done
- Each job = a component in the circuit.
- Arrows = wires carrying voltage (conditions).
- Failed job = blown fuse. Red node = fuse blown.
- Downstream jobs = components waiting for power. They won't run until the upstream fuse is replaced.
- WCC Flow View is the circuit schematic — trace the failure path from the blown fuse.
Administering Machines and Calendars
The Administration views in WCC let you manage two critical aspects of AutoSys: machines and calendars.
Administration > Machines: Shows a list of all machines connected to the AutoSys application server. Each machine has a status: ACTIVE (agent is connected and healthy), MISSING (agent not responding after 20 minutes), INACTIVE (agent was deactivated). If a machine is MISSING, jobs assigned to that machine will stay in ACTIVATED state waiting for an available agent. You can right-click a machine to toggle its status or view properties.
Administration > Calendars: View and manage calendar definitions. Calendars control which days jobs run. You can create, edit, delete calendars. Changes take effect immediately — no restart needed. Pro tip: Never delete a calendar that's still referenced by active jobs. WCC will warn you, but double-check with autocal_asc first.
Limitation: WCC does not allow you to add or remove machines — only view and change their status. Machine registration is done via JIL or the AutoSys admin utility.
Pro tip: Use the Machine view during an incident to verify that the agent on the critical machine is ACTIVE. A MISSING agent is a common root cause of stuck jobs.
Troubleshooting WCC Connectivity and Performance
WCC can be temperamental. Here are common issues and what to check:
WCC won't load: Check Tomcat process with ps -ef | grep tomcat. If Tomcat is running, check if the port is listening: ss -tlnp | grep 8080. If Tomcat is not running, start it: $AUTOSYS/wcc/bin/startup.sh. If it crashes immediately, check catalina.out for OutOfMemory errors or port conflicts.
Slow page loads: WCC performance degrades when the database (where AutoSys stores job data) is under load. Also, a large number of jobs (10k+) can slow down the initial page load. Tip: Use filters to reduce the data returned. For example, filter by a specific machine or job name pattern before loading.
Session timeout: WCC has a configurable session timeout (default 30 minutes). If you step away, you'll be logged out. The session is in Tomcat's web.xml. You can extend it, but that's a security trade-off.
Stale data across multiple tabs: If you have multiple WCC tabs open, each may have its own session. They don't auto-sync. Closing and reopening WCC is the quick fix.
WCC vs CLI conflict: Sometimes WCC shows a job as RUNNING but the CLI shows it as SUCCESS. This is a browser cache issue. Press Ctrl+F5 or clear the browser cache.
Log viewer fails: The 'View Log' button in WCC tries to read from the agent's log location. If the agent is unreachable (MISSING), it will fail. Use SSH to the agent directly.
# Check Tomcat process ps -ef | grep tomcat # Check if port is listening ss -tlnp | grep -E '8080|8443' # Check catalina logs for errors tail -200 $AUTOSYS/wcc/logs/catalina.out # Restart Tomcat $AUTOSYS/wcc/bin/shutdown.sh $AUTOSYS/wcc/bin/startup.sh # If restart fails, check disk space # Tomcat needs free space for logs and temp files df -h # If WCC is still down, continue operations via CLI autorep -J % sendevent -E FORCE_STARTJOB -J my_job
| WCC View | What it shows | CLI equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Monitor > Jobs | All jobs with real-time status | autorep -J % |
| Monitor > Flow View | Visual dependency graph | No direct equivalent (use autorep -J % -d to see conditions) |
| Monitor > Job Activity | Timeline of job runs | autorep -J % -run 1 |
| Administration > Machines | Agent machine statuses | autorep -M % |
| Administration > Calendars | Calendar definitions | autocal_asc -r calendar_name |
🎯 Key Takeaways
- WCC (Workload Control Center) is the browser-based monitoring dashboard for AutoSys, hosted on Tomcat
- Flow View shows jobs as a visual dependency graph — essential for understanding blast radius of a failure
- Every WCC action is equivalent to a sendevent command — WCC is a visual wrapper, not a different system
- If WCC is down, all monitoring and operations can continue via command-line tools (autorep, sendevent, autostatus)
- WCC's auto-refresh has 5-30 second latency; always cross-check critical actions with CLI
- Use filters aggressively in WCC to reduce noise and focus on the failure chain during incidents
⚠ Common Mistakes to Avoid
Interview Questions on This Topic
- QWhat is WCC in AutoSys?JuniorReveal
- QWhat is the Flow View in WCC and when would you use it?JuniorReveal
- QHow do you access WCC?JuniorReveal
- QCan you perform all AutoSys operations from WCC or only some?Mid-levelReveal
- QWhat do you do if WCC is down but you still need to monitor and manage jobs?SeniorReveal
Frequently Asked Questions
What is WCC in AutoSys?
WCC (Workload Control Center) is the browser-based UI for AutoSys. It provides real-time job monitoring, visual dependency flow views, calendar management, and machine status. It runs on Apache Tomcat, which AutoSys installs automatically.
What port does WCC use?
WCC uses port 8080 by default (HTTP) or 8443 (HTTPS). Access it at http://your-autosys-server:8080/wcc from any browser with network access to the server.
What is the Flow View in WCC?
Flow View shows AutoSys jobs as nodes in a visual dependency graph, connected by arrows representing condition dependencies. When a job fails, you can immediately see which downstream jobs are blocked, making it invaluable during incident response.
Can I manage AutoSys without WCC?
Yes. Everything WCC does can be done via command-line tools: autorep for reporting, sendevent for job control, jil for job definitions, and autocal_asc for calendars. WCC is a convenience layer, not a requirement.
What should I check if WCC is not loading?
Check if Tomcat is running (ps -ef | grep tomcat) and the port is listening (ss -tlnp | grep 8080). Restart Tomcat if needed with the startup.sh script in the WCC bin directory. Also check disk space on the AutoSys server — full disks stop Tomcat.
Does WCC work during an Active-Active cluster?
Yes, each application server runs its own WCC instance. You can access any of them. However, the load balancer should stick to one session for a given user to avoid seeing stale data from different nodes. Also, if you kill Tomcat on one node, users on that node need to reconnect to another. DNS round-robin is common.
How do I extend the WCC session timeout?
The session timeout is configured in the Tomcat web.xml file located in $AUTOSYS/wcc/conf/web.xml. Look for the <session-timeout> element (value in minutes). Changing it requires a Tomcat restart. Be aware that longer timeouts increase security risk — sessions left open on a shared workstation could be misused.
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