Understanding the Active Locks Count

Active Locks counts enabled Joomla Scheduled Tasks whose lock timestamp is newer than the Scheduler timeout threshold, indicating current/recent execution.

How QCTNH defines active

QCTNH reads Joomla Scheduler’s configured timeout (minimum 60 seconds, default 300) and computes a threshold of now minus that many seconds. An enabled task with a non-NULL locked time newer than the threshold counts as an active/hard lock.

Scope difference

The hard-lock query counts enabled scheduler tasks generally, while the soft/stale-lock query is scoped to eligible web-runnable tasks. This makes Working useful even if the currently executing Joomla task is not one QCTNH would itself wake through WebCron.

Interpretation

One active lock is often normal. Repeatedly high counts or a lock that never ages out deserves task-specific investigation.

Correlate with Recent Activity

When Understanding the Active Locks Count looks wrong, match it with Recent Activity and the owning task’s logs at the same time. QCTNH stores event timestamps in UTC and renders them once into Joomla’s configured site timezone, making it easier to compare registration, WebCron completion, pause/resume, and origin events with Joomla/PHP logs.

That timeline is often enough to distinguish “service never reached the site” from “Joomla ran something and the task itself failed.”

Community Discussion

Want to compare scheduler workflows, share practical tips, or discuss how you use this QCTNH feature? Visit the QC Task Nudge & Health Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific issues, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.