I have used the "at" command to run automated jobs with perl scripts for long times (years) in different environments.

I have *not* seen any problems with the "at" command itself, as long as it is used with the *originally installed NT scheduling service*, and *not* the Task Scheduler (which is the newer variant of the Scheduling Service, offers a GUI, and is installed by default by a variety of MS programs, not the least newer Internet Explorer versions and the BackOffice Suite).

There are *definitively many problems* with using the "at" command in conjunction with the Task Scheduler. Don't do that. Use either "at" and the default NT scheduler, or the Task Scheduler.

Reasons for using "at" are the usual reasons for using the command line (you can use automization for job setup, run automated deploy scripts, manipulate things easily from remote, etc.).

Reasons for using the Task Scheduler mainly boil down to having a GUI and having no installation problems, since nearly all new packages for MS Server will install the Task Scheduler.

Christian Lemburg
Brainbench MVP for Perl
http://www.brainbench.com