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Using cron to Manage Periodic Jobs

Every Linux and Unix system includes a service called cron that enables users to automatically run specific commands or scripts periodically, according to user-defined timing options. This service offers a range of unique tasks—periodic backups, email status reports, home directory cleanups, and so forth.

There are two levels of cron process lists: the systemwide lists and the per-user lists. The systemwide cron process lists should be used only to manage system-oriented processes; for all personal jobs that need to be periodically run, the per-user cron lists should be used instead.

Adding Systemwide cron Processes

Systemwide cron processes are most often used for tasks such as periodic backups, log rotation, ...