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What is Cron Job?

A scheduled task in Unix-like systems that runs automatically at specified times or intervals.

Cron is a time-based job scheduler. Users define tasks in a crontab file using a specific syntax: minute, hour, day of month, month, day of week, followed by the command. For example, "0 2 * * * /backup.sh" runs a backup script at 2 AM daily.

Cron is essential for system maintenance, log rotation, automated backups, and any recurring task.

Related Terms

Systemd Timer
A systemd unit that triggers services on a schedule or at specific events, serving as a modern alternative to cron jobs.
Kernel
The core component of an operating system that manages hardware resources and provides services to software.
Linux Bridge
A software-based network switch in the Linux kernel that connects multiple network interfaces at Layer 2, enabling VM and container networking.
Firewalld
A dynamic firewall management tool for Linux that provides a D-Bus interface for managing firewall rules with zones.
Awk
A powerful text processing language for extracting and manipulating structured data from files or command output.
Xargs
A command that builds and executes commands from standard input, useful for processing lists of items.
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