---
title: Synchronous Jobs
slug: synchronous-jobs
createdAt: 2025-11-26T18:41:53.054Z
---

Synchronous jobs allow certain operations to complete immediately within the Activate Web Client, providing a responsive user experience for tasks that must return results straight away. Unlike asynchronous jobs, which are queued and executed by the Orchestrator in the background, synchronous jobs are submitted and processed in real time.

# Why Use Synchronous Jobs?

Synchronous execution is used when:

- The user must receive an immediate response 
- The task is lightweight and predictable 
- Delayed processing would negatively impact usability (e.g., form validation, quick entitlement lookups, “test connection”-type actions) 

Asynchronous jobs are preferred when:

- The task may take longer to complete 
- External systems may introduce delays 
- The workflow includes multiple steps or approval processes 
- Fault-tolerance and retry logic is required 

Synchronous jobs should be used sparingly and only when necessary to avoid unnecessary load on the Orchestrator.

# Orchestrator Ports Configuration

The Orchestrator must expose HTTP and HTTPS endpoints for synchronous jobs to work correctly.

Location in Activate Studio:
 **Resources → Configuration → OrchestratorPorts**

Example configuration:

:::BlockQuote
6030;6031:01c5fffd5e07ce2e3329ddd01179d5bb518A6718
:::

Where:

- **6030** – HTTP port the Orchestrator listens on 
- **6031** – HTTPS port 
- **01c5fffd…A6718** – Certificate thumbprint used for HTTPS 

The Orchestrator binds the HTTPS port to the server certificate matching the specified thumbprint.

![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/Lfto9rn2ELed8aLNOgwlJ/O8ipU-O0KLRKnQGCqy4Gc_image.png)

### Why This Matters

If these ports are not configured correctly:

- The Activate Web Client cannot communicate with the Orchestrator 
- Synchronous jobs will not run synchronously and be orphaned. 
- Users will experience delays on their jobs.
- Activate will fall back to asynchronous behaviour where possible 

Whenever a server certificate is renewed, the new thumbprint **must** be updated in the OrchestratorPorts configuration.

# Orchestrator Ports Configuration

Resources/Configuration/OrchestratorPorts

6030;6031:01c5fffd5e07ce2e3329ddd01179d5bb518A6718

The HTTP and HTTPS ports are ports that the Orchestrator listens on.  The HTTPS listn uses the server certificate specified by the thumbprint.  

If these aren't configured then the Activate Web client app will be able to communicate with the Orchestrator and the synchronous job won't submit and complete immediately.

# Orphan Jobs

Orphan jobs occur when a synchronous job begins execution but does not transition into a valid workflow state. In these cases the job remains stuck in **Running** with no workflow events attached.

## How Orphan Detection Works

- The Orchestrator checks for orphans **every 60 minutes** 
- Any job in **Running** with **no Workflow Events** is flagged 
- Flagged jobs are queued for reprocessing on the next Orchestrator worker loop 
- The next worker loop occurs within roughly **10 seconds**, depending on system load 

This ensures that jobs that fail during the synchronous submission phase do not remain stuck indefinitely.

# Summary of Key Behaviour

- Synchronous jobs provide instant feedback to the user 
- Correct OrchestratorPorts configuration is **mandatory** 
- Misconfigured ports = synchronous jobs cannot run 
- Orphan jobs are automatically detected and recovered 
- Certificate updates require updating the configured thumbprint

##