The system shutdown timeout property in the server configuration object sets the time that the workflow agent attempts to shut down work items gracefully after receiving a shutdown command. This feature is only applicable for repositories that use multiple Content Servers.
If the shutdown timeout period is exceeded (or is set to zero), the workflow agent shuts down immediately. When the workflow agent does not shut down gracefully, automated tasks in certain states can be corrupted. If tasks are corrupted, restarting the Content Server does not result in resumption of the managed workflows. The server log file indicates when a graceful shutdown did not occur. Use the RECOVER_AUTO_TASKS administration method to recover the automated tasks.
In some cases, restarting the Content Server after an ungraceful shutdown can result in automated tasks executing again.
If the timeout period is a negative value, Content Server waits for the workflow agent threads to complete the automatic tasks held by workflow agent workers before shutting down gracefully.
The default system shutdown timeout setting is 120 seconds. For more information about the server configuration properties, refer to Modifying general server configuration information.