Schedule Policies

With schedule policies, you can define distinct time periods during which different policies should be applied to your workloads.

Overview

Schedule policies allow you to optimize resource usage by applying different optimization strategies during specific time windows. This is particularly useful for workloads that have predictable usage patterns, such as:

• Development environments that are only used during business hours
• Batch processing jobs that run during off-peak hours
• Applications with different usage patterns on weekdays vs weekends

Creating a Schedule Policy

To create a schedule policy:

1. Navigate to the Policies page
2. Click the Create new policy button
3. Select Policy Schedule

Schedule Policy Configuration

Default Policy

The default policy is applied to all attached workloads during times that are not specified by the Override policies.

Override Policies

Override policies allow you to define specific time periods during which a different policy should be applied to your workloads. You can add multiple override policies by days and time periods.

Configuration Options

History Window Data Points

Periods Configuration

For each period, you need to specify:

• Start and end time (in UTC timezone)
• Days of the week when the policy should be applied

You can specify multiple periods for each override policy.

Examples

Example 1: Daily Evening Schedule

Configuration:

• Policy: cost
• Schedule: Every day from 9 PM to 8 AM (UTC)
• Data Collection: Current selected time periods

Use Case: Apply cost-optimized settings during off-peak hours when workloads typically have lower resource requirements.

Example 2: Weekend Schedule

Configuration:

• Policy: cost
• Schedule: Weekends from 6 PM Friday to 8 AM Monday (UTC)
• Data Collection: Current selected time periods

Detailed Schedule:

Use Case: Apply cost-optimized settings during weekends when business applications typically have minimal usage.

Example 3: Combined Daily and Weekend Schedule

Configuration:

• Policy: cost
• Schedule:
  • Weekends from 6 PM Friday to 8 AM Monday (UTC)
  • Every day from 9 PM to 8 AM (UTC)
• Data Collection: Current selected time periods

Detailed Schedule:

Use Case: Apply cost-optimized settings during both off-peak hours and weekends for maximum cost savings.

Best Practices

When to Use Schedule Policies

• Development environments that are only active during business hours
• Batch processing workloads that run during off-peak periods
• Applications with predictable usage patterns (e.g., business applications used only on weekdays)
• Cost optimization for non-critical workloads during low-usage periods

Configuration Tips

1. Start with a conservative approach: Begin with a single override policy and expand as needed
2. Consider timezone differences: All times are in UTC, so account for your local timezone
3. Monitor performance: Ensure that the scheduled policy changes don’t impact application performance
4. Test thoroughly: Validate that your schedule policies work as expected before applying to production workloads
5. Use appropriate data collection: Choose between Current selected time periods and All data points based on your workload’s usage patterns

Common Patterns