Profile Scheduling & Automation

Once you've configured and tested your profiles, it's time to automate them. This guide covers scheduling profiles with cron jobs and using message queues for asynchronous processing.

Scheduling Methods

Mage2Plenty supports two scheduling methods:

1. Cron-based scheduling - Time-based execution (recommended for most use cases)
2. Event-based scheduling - Trigger on specific events (e.g., order placement)

Cron-Based Scheduling

Enable Cron Jobs

First, ensure Magento's cron is installed:

# Install cron
bin/magento cron:install

# Verify cron jobs
crontab -l | grep magento

Configure Profile Schedule

Each profile can be scheduled independently via the admin panel:

1. Navigate to SoftCommerce → Plenty Profiles
2. Select your profile
3. Go to Schedule tab
4. Configure schedule settings:
   • Enable Schedule: Yes
   • Frequency: Every 15 minutes, Hourly, Daily, Custom
   • Start Time: When to start execution
   • Priority: Execution priority (lower number = higher priority)

Schedule Configuration via CLI

# Set profile schedule
bin/magento config:set plenty_profile/schedule/<profile_id>/enabled 1
bin/magento config:set plenty_profile/schedule/<profile_id>/frequency "*/15 * * * *"
bin/magento cache:flush

Cron Frequency Examples

Frequency	Cron Expression	Description
Every 5 minutes	*/5 * * * *	High-frequency sync
Every 15 minutes	*/15 * * * *	Standard sync
Hourly	0 * * * *	Medium-frequency
Every 4 hours	0 */4 * * *	Low-frequency
Daily at 2 AM	0 2 * * *	Overnight batch
Twice daily	0 2,14 * * *	2 AM and 2 PM

Profile Execution Order

Configure the execution order when multiple profiles run simultaneously:

<!-- etc/crontab.xml -->
<group id="plenty_profiles">
    <job name="plenty_category_import" instance="..." schedule="*/30 * * * *">
        <config_path>plenty_profile/schedule/category_import/enabled</config_path>
    </job>
    <job name="plenty_item_import" instance="..." schedule="0 */2 * * *">
        <config_path>plenty_profile/schedule/item_import/enabled</config_path>
    </job>
    <job name="plenty_stock_import" instance="..." schedule="*/15 * * * *">
        <config_path>plenty_profile/schedule/stock_import/enabled</config_path>
    </job>
    <job name="plenty_order_export" instance="..." schedule="*/5 * * * *">
        <config_path>plenty_profile/schedule/order_export/enabled</config_path>
    </job>
</group>

Recommended Execution Order

1. Category Import (runs first, less frequent)
   ↓
2. Attribute/Property Sync (after categories)
   ↓
3. Product Import (after categories and attributes)
   ↓
4. Stock Import (frequent, after products)
   ↓
5. Order Export (most frequent, real-time)
   ↓
6. Order Import (status updates)

Event-Based Scheduling

Trigger profiles based on Magento events:

Order Export on Order Placement

<!-- etc/events.xml -->
<event name="sales_order_save_after">
    <observer name="plenty_order_export"
              instance="SoftCommerce\PlentyOrderProfile\Observer\ExportOrderObserver" />
</event>

Product Export on Product Save

<event name="catalog_product_save_after">
    <observer name="plenty_item_export"
              instance="SoftCommerce\PlentyItemProfile\Observer\ExportProductObserver" />
</event>

Configuration

Enable event-based export in profile settings:

1. Admin → Plenty Profiles → [Profile] → Configuration
2. Event Configuration → Enable Event-Based Export: Yes
3. Export Queue: Use queue for async processing (recommended)

Asynchronous Processing with Message Queues

For better performance, use RabbitMQ or MySQL queue for async processing:

Setup RabbitMQ (Recommended)

# Install RabbitMQ
sudo apt-get install rabbitmq-server

# Configure Magento to use RabbitMQ
bin/magento setup:config:set \
  --amqp-host=localhost \
  --amqp-port=5672 \
  --amqp-user=guest \
  --amqp-password=guest \
  --amqp-virtualhost=/

Start Queue Consumers

# Start all plenty consumers
bin/magento queue:consumers:start plentyItemExportConsumer &
bin/magento queue:consumers:start plentyOrderExportConsumer &
bin/magento queue:consumers:start plentyStockImportConsumer &

# Or use supervisor for production

Supervisor Configuration

Create /etc/supervisor/conf.d/magento-plenty-queues.conf:

[program:magento_plenty_order_export]
command=/usr/bin/php /var/www/magento/bin/magento queue:consumers:start plentyOrderExportConsumer --max-messages=1000
process_name=%(program_name)s_%(process_num)02d
numprocs=3
autostart=true
autorestart=true
user=www-data
redirect_stderr=true
stdout_logfile=/var/log/magento-plenty-order.log

[program:magento_plenty_item_export]
command=/usr/bin/php /var/www/magento/bin/magento queue:consumers:start plentyItemExportConsumer --max-messages=500
process_name=%(program_name)s_%(process_num)02d
numprocs=2
autostart=true
autorestart=true
user=www-data
redirect_stderr=true
stdout_logfile=/var/log/magento-plenty-item.log

[program:magento_plenty_stock_import]
command=/usr/bin/php /var/www/magento/bin/magento queue:consumers:start plentyStockImportConsumer --max-messages=2000
process_name=%(program_name)s_%(process_num)02d
numprocs=1
autostart=true
autorestart=true
user=www-data
redirect_stderr=true
stdout_logfile=/var/log/magento-plenty-stock.log

Reload supervisor:

sudo supervisorctl reread
sudo supervisorctl update
sudo supervisorctl start all

Monitoring Scheduled Profiles

Check Cron Execution

# View cron schedule
bin/magento cron:install --list

# Check last cron run
bin/magento cron:run --bootstrap=standaloneProcessStarted=1

# View cron log
tail -f var/log/cron.log

Monitor Profile Execution

# View profile history
bin/magento plenty:profile:history --profile=<profile_id> --limit=10

# Check for failed executions
bin/magento plenty:profile:history --status=error

# View last execution time
mysql> SELECT profile_id, status, created_at, finished_at
       FROM softcommerce_profile_history
       ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 10;

Queue Monitoring

# List all consumers
bin/magento queue:consumers:list

# Check queue status
mysql> SELECT * FROM queue_message WHERE status='in_progress';

# View consumer logs
tail -f var/log/system.log | grep Consumer

Performance Optimization

Batch Size Configuration

Adjust batch sizes based on your server resources:

// In profile configuration
'collection_size' => 100,  // Items per batch
'page_size' => 50,         // API request page size

Recommendations:

Profile Type	Batch Size	Frequency
Order Export	50-100	Every 5-15 min
Product Import	100-500	Every 1-4 hours
Stock Import	500-1000	Every 15-30 min
Category Import	50-100	Daily

Parallel Processing

Run multiple consumers for high-volume profiles:

# Start 3 order export consumers
for i in {1..3}; do
    bin/magento queue:consumers:start plentyOrderExportConsumer &
done

# Or use supervisor numprocs setting

Off-Peak Scheduling

Schedule resource-intensive operations during off-peak hours:

# Large catalog sync at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /usr/bin/php /var/www/magento/bin/magento plenty:item:import --profile=1

# Price updates at 3 AM
0 3 * * * /usr/bin/php /var/www/magento/bin/magento plenty:item:update-prices

# Stock sync every 15 minutes during business hours only
*/15 8-18 * * * /usr/bin/php /var/www/magento/bin/magento plenty:stock:import

Error Handling and Alerts

Email Notifications

Configure email alerts for profile failures:

# Enable profile notifications
bin/magento config:set plenty_profile/notification/enabled 1
bin/magento config:set plenty_profile/notification/recipient admin@example.com
bin/magento config:set plenty_profile/notification/send_on_error 1

Slack/Discord Webhooks

Set up webhook notifications:

// app/code/Custom/PlentyNotify/Observer/ProfileErrorObserver.php
public function execute(Observer $observer)
{
    $profile = $observer->getProfile();
    $error = $observer->getError();

    // Send to Slack
    $webhook = 'https://hooks.slack.com/services/YOUR/WEBHOOK/URL';
    $message = sprintf(
        'Profile %s failed: %s',
        $profile->getName(),
        $error->getMessage()
    );

    $this->httpClient->post($webhook, [
        'json' => ['text' => $message]
    ]);
}

Automatic Retry Logic

Profiles automatically retry on transient failures:

// Configure retry attempts
'retry_attempts' => 3,
'retry_delay' => 60, // seconds between retries

Advanced Scheduling

Conditional Execution

Execute profiles based on conditions:

#!/bin/bash
# /usr/local/bin/plenty-smart-sync.sh

# Only run if orders pending export
ORDER_COUNT=$(mysql -e "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM sales_order WHERE status='processing'" -sN)

if [ $ORDER_COUNT -gt 0 ]; then
    php /var/www/magento/bin/magento plenty:order:export --status=processing
fi

Chained Profile Execution

Execute profiles in sequence:

#!/bin/bash
# Complete sync workflow

echo "Starting full synchronization..."

# 1. Categories first
php bin/magento plenty:category:import && \

# 2. Then attributes
php bin/magento plenty:attribute:import && \

# 3. Then products
php bin/magento plenty:item:import && \

# 4. Finally stock
php bin/magento plenty:stock:import

echo "Synchronization complete!"

Troubleshooting Scheduled Profiles

Profile Not Running

Check:

1. Cron is installed and running: crontab -l
2. Profile schedule is enabled
3. Cron log for errors: tail -f var/log/cron.log

# Manually trigger cron
bin/magento cron:run

# Check for stuck cron jobs
mysql> SELECT * FROM cron_schedule WHERE status='running';

Profile Runs But No Data Syncs

Check:

1. Profile configuration is complete
2. API connection is working: bin/magento plenty:client:test
3. Profile logs: tail -f var/log/plenty_<profile>.log

Queue Messages Stuck

# Check queue status
bin/magento queue:consumers:list

# Restart consumers
sudo supervisorctl restart all

# Clear stuck messages
mysql> UPDATE queue_message SET status='new' WHERE status='in_progress' AND updated_at < DATE_SUB(NOW(), INTERVAL 1 HOUR);

Best Practices

1. Start Conservative: Begin with longer intervals, optimize later
2. Monitor Performance: Watch server resources during peak times
3. Use Queues: Always use async processing for event-based exports
4. Separate Concerns: Different frequencies for different profiles
5. Log Rotation: Set up log rotation to prevent disk space issues
6. Backup Schedule: Keep configuration backed up
7. Test Changes: Test schedule changes in staging first
8. Document Custom Schedules: Maintain documentation of custom cron jobs

Related Documentation

• Profile Creation - Create and configure profiles
• Profile Monitoring - Monitor profile execution
• Troubleshooting - Common profile issues

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Next Steps: After setting up scheduling, monitor your profiles for 24-48 hours to ensure they're running correctly and adjust frequencies as needed.