How do I allow my Windows web hosting clients to create scheduled tasks?

[link470]

Post copied from my post at TechRepublic

 

Hey everyone,

 

Interesting question here. I run a small network for web hosting. I have ISA at the perimeter, and a web server, mail server, and database server inside the network. My question is about the web server, Windows Server 2008 running IIS 7.

 

I have a few clients/friends who would like the ability to schedule scripts to run for websites they're working on. This is very easy to do if the client uses a UNIX based web server with an SSH connection and creates a cron job using crontab, but how do I do this with someone only having FTP access to their web root on the server?

 

Yes, I can schedule the task for them using Scheduled Tasks. But there has to be a better way. I don't have time at the moment to rebuild my network and use UNIX/Linux hosts, and as much as I wouldn't mind creating tasks for my users/friends, they'd love the ability to schedule a "cron job" themselves on my web server.

 

I tried Googling but all I could find were articles repeatedly saying "oh that's easy you just have to use Scheduled Tasks!". That's great, for me. But my users only have FTP access, not administrative RDP access to the box.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Edited June 4, 2010 by link470

[SYNACK]

Not sure if this will still work with later versions of IIS but this may allow for a way to do it through ASP

WMI Tasks: Scheduled Tasks (Windows)

 

it runs through WMI so it should work fine, there are some older ways to do it that may work to 15 Seconds : Programming the Task Scheduler

 

This may let you create a portal page for people to create their own tak or they can customize it to add their own tasks then run it by visiting the script page.

[CSNM-Carl]

Any decent hosting control panel system (Helm, DotNetPanel, Plesk) will provide your clients with the facility to set-up scheduled tasks.

[SYNACK]

The other option is to setup the telnet server feature and give them a logon that way, this will give them a command prompt under their logon credentials from which they could use the AT command to setup any required tasks.

 

Telnet runs over an unencrypted plain text though so it is not overly secure but there again neither is FTP. So long as the accounts are propperly locked down it should be another possible solution simmialr to what they may be used to under a *nix system without a hosting control pannel.

[link470]

Great! Thanks guys, I'll look into these solution possibilities and report back if I have any issues.