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Cron Setup

Configure scheduled tasks for automated order sync, inventory updates, and tracking synchronization.

Overview​

GSM Middleware uses server cron jobs (not WordPress cron) for reliable, scheduled operations:

  • Order Sync: Fetch new orders from e-commerce platforms
  • Inventory Sync: Update product quantities from Business Central
  • Tracking Sync: Post tracking numbers to e-commerce platforms
  • BC Insert: Export orders to Business Central
  • BC Verify: Verify orders created in Business Central

Prerequisites​

  • Shell/SSH access to server
  • Permission to edit crontab
  • PHP CLI installed
  • Plugin installed and activated

Cron Scripts Location​

/path/to/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/gsm-middleware/cron/
├── order-sync.php
├── inventory-sync.php
├── tracking-sync.php
├── bc-insert-items.php
└── bc-verify-items.php

Basic Cron Setup​

Edit Crontab​

# Open crontab editor
crontab -e

Add Cron Jobs​

Recommended schedule:

# Order Sync - Every hour at :00
0 * * * * /usr/bin/php /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/gsm-middleware/cron/order-sync.php >> /var/log/gsm-middleware/order-sync.log 2>&1

# Inventory Sync - Every 30 minutes
*/30 * * * * /usr/bin/php /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/gsm-middleware/cron/inventory-sync.php >> /var/log/gsm-middleware/inventory-sync.log 2>&1

# Tracking Sync - Every 30 minutes
*/30 * * * * /usr/bin/php /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/gsm-middleware/cron/tracking-sync.php >> /var/log/gsm-middleware/tracking-sync.log 2>&1

# BC Insert - Every 15 minutes
*/15 * * * * /usr/bin/php /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/gsm-middleware/cron/bc-insert-items.php >> /var/log/gsm-middleware/bc-insert.log 2>&1

# BC Verify - Every 15 minutes (offset by 5 minutes)
5,20,35,50 * * * * /usr/bin/php /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/gsm-middleware/cron/bc-verify-items.php >> /var/log/gsm-middleware/bc-verify.log 2>&1

Save and Exit​

  • vi/vim: Press Esc, type :wq, press Enter
  • nano: Press Ctrl+X, press Y, press Enter

Cron Schedules Explained​

Order Sync (Hourly)​

0 * * * *
  • Runs: Every hour at :00 (1:00, 2:00, 3:00...)
  • Duration: 2-5 minutes typically
  • Purpose: Fetch new orders from platforms

Why hourly?

  • Balances freshness with server load
  • Allows time for BC export to complete
  • Prevents overwhelming external APIs

Inventory Sync (Every 30 Minutes)​

*/30 * * * *
  • Runs: :00 and :30 of every hour
  • Duration: 5-10 minutes typically
  • Purpose: Update product quantities

Why every 30 minutes?

  • Keeps inventory reasonably current
  • Prevents overselling
  • BC inventory doesn't change instantly

Tracking Sync (Every 30 Minutes)​

*/30 * * * *
  • Runs: :00 and :30 of every hour
  • Duration: 1-3 minutes typically
  • Purpose: Post tracking numbers to platforms

BC Insert (Every 15 Minutes)​

*/15 * * * *
  • Runs: :00, :15, :30, :45 of every hour
  • Duration: 1-2 minutes typically
  • Purpose: Send orders to Business Central

Why every 15 minutes?

  • Quick turnaround for order fulfillment
  • Prevents large backlogs
  • Manageable batch sizes

BC Verify (Every 15 Minutes, Offset)​

5,20,35,50 * * * *
  • Runs: :05, :20, :35, :50 of every hour
  • Duration: 30-60 seconds typically
  • Purpose: Confirm orders created in BC

Why offset?

  • Runs after BC Insert has time to complete
  • Prevents conflicts
  • Ensures orders have time to appear in BC

Advanced Schedules​

High-Volume Configuration​

For sites with >1000 orders/day:

# Order Sync - Every 15 minutes
*/15 * * * * php cron/order-sync.php

# Inventory Sync - Every 15 minutes
*/15 * * * * php cron/inventory-sync.php

# BC Insert - Every 5 minutes
*/5 * * * * php cron/bc-insert-items.php

# BC Verify - Every 5 minutes (offset)
2,7,12,17,22,27,32,37,42,47,52,57 * * * * php cron/bc-verify-items.php

Low-Volume Configuration​

For sites with <100 orders/day:

# Order Sync - Every 2 hours
0 */2 * * * php cron/order-sync.php

# Inventory Sync - Every hour
0 * * * * php cron/inventory-sync.php

# BC Insert - Every 30 minutes
*/30 * * * * php cron/bc-insert-items.php

# BC Verify - Every 30 minutes
15,45 * * * * php cron/bc-verify-items.php

Log Management​

Create Log Directory​

sudo mkdir -p /var/log/gsm-middleware
sudo chown www-data:www-data /var/log/gsm-middleware
sudo chmod 755 /var/log/gsm-middleware

Rotate Logs​

Create logrotate configuration:

sudo nano /etc/logrotate.d/gsm-middleware

Add configuration:

/var/log/gsm-middleware/*.log {
    daily
    rotate 30
    compress
    delaycompress
    notifempty
    create 0640 www-data www-data
    sharedscripts
}

Monitoring Cron Jobs​

Check if Cron is Running​

# View crontab
crontab -l

# Check cron service
sudo systemctl status cron

# Check cron logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/syslog | grep CRON

Monitor Execution​

Real-time monitoring:

# Watch all logs
tail -f /var/log/gsm-middleware/*.log

# Watch specific operation
tail -f /var/log/gsm-middleware/order-sync.log

Check last run:

SELECT name, 
       order_last_run, 
       inventory_last_run, 
       tracking_last_run
FROM rm_sites;

Troubleshooting​

Cron Not Running​

Check cron service:

sudo systemctl status cron
sudo systemctl restart cron

Check syntax:

# Test PHP script manually
/usr/bin/php /path/to/cron/order-sync.php

Check permissions:

ls -la /path/to/cron/
# Should be executable

Jobs Running But Failing​

Check logs:

grep ERROR /var/log/gsm-middleware/*.log

Common issues:

  • PHP memory limit
  • Execution timeout
  • Database connection
  • API credentials

Multiple Instances Running​

Prevent overlapping:

Add lock file check to scripts or use flock:

*/15 * * * * /usr/bin/flock -n /tmp/order-sync.lock /usr/bin/php /path/to/cron/order-sync.php

Alternative: systemd Timers​

Create Service File​

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/gsm-order-sync.service
[Unit]
Description=GSM Middleware Order Sync
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=oneshot
User=www-data
ExecStart=/usr/bin/php /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/gsm-middleware/cron/order-sync.php
StandardOutput=append:/var/log/gsm-middleware/order-sync.log
StandardError=append:/var/log/gsm-middleware/order-sync.log

Create Timer File​

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/gsm-order-sync.timer
[Unit]
Description=GSM Middleware Order Sync Timer
Requires=gsm-order-sync.service

[Timer]
OnCalendar=hourly
Persistent=true

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target

Enable Timer​

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable gsm-order-sync.timer
sudo systemctl start gsm-order-sync.timer

Per-Site Cron Jobs​

Run for Specific Site​

# Sync only site ID 5
SITE_ID=5 php cron/order-sync.php

Parallel Processing​

# Multiple sites simultaneously
*/15 * * * * SITE_ID=5 php cron/order-sync.php &
*/15 * * * * SITE_ID=10 php cron/order-sync.php &
*/15 * * * * SITE_ID=15 php cron/order-sync.php &

Next Steps​