In Linux/Unix, we can run and schedule many tasks automatically using the cron command. You can execute both commands once or at a regular interval. ‘Cron’ is widely used for scheduling repetitive jobs at regular intervals (run using commands listed in a table called ‘crontab’) and the ‘at’ procedure is used to schedule a job once in a specific time period. Crontab maintains individual crontab files for all users. These automated jobs benefit many administrators who work with Linux servers.
Generally, the ‘crontab’ file is used for backups, updating systems, synchronizing servers, etc. The best thing about the cron is that you don’t need to understand it in detail, but rather, you only need to know how to use it as part of setting up cron jobs. Learn the best cron commands in Linux here.