Hi all,

I am trying to setup a daily task in my .NET (1.1) application. The
application is a project management tool, and the daily task I am
trying to set up will check for overdue project deadlines, and send
out email reminders.

I have setup all the logic that checks deadlines & sends the emails,
and that works great. However, automating it has been a problem.

I have tried an approach using timers, and that works great for the
most part, but when the application is recycled/restarted every so
often on the server, it does not automatically
"start" (Application_Start) again until someone hits the site, and the
emails stop going out until that happens. I have read this is normal,
and it makes sense, resource-wise. However, the application is only
used by about 20 people in a closed Intranet environment, and I guess
sometimes no one hits the site for several days, causing the emails to
get sent out days late.

I have heard some references to using cache objects, but I don't know
much about how to do this. I haven't delved into because I would
assume the approach would fall under the same limitations as the above
(the application as to be "on" for it to work). Is this right?

And most unfortunately, I am not allowed to set up Windows Scheduled
Tasks OR Windows Services on the server. :(

If it were a public site, I would probably just set up a Scheduled
Task on one of my own machines to trigger it, but the site only
accessible from within their own network.

And I don't really want to ask my client (the manager of the group
that uses it) to setup a Scheduled Task on her own machine because it
would be unreliable (say if she goes on vacation or leaves the
company).

I (and the client) have pretty much given up on it, and she
understands much of it is due to the server limitations her IT dept.
is imposing. However, I thought I'd throw this out here to see if
there are any alternate suggestions before we ditch the effort.

Thanks so much,

Alyssa