# Random Job Delay – Protected Item Schedule This feature will delay the start of each job by a random number of minutes between 0 and the configured number. If your Protected Item is scheduled to start at 9:00, and you set a 30 minute Random Delay, this would mean that the jobs would randomly start somewhere between 9:00 and 9.30. The start time is chosen on a per-job basis, so different delays between 0 and the maximum configured number will apply to each job. If you have several backups starting at the same time, this means that instead of all jobs starting within seconds of each other, the load will be distributed approximately evenly over the configured number of minutes, which will reduce the peak CPU / Network. If you have a site with 100 backups starting at 9:00 and use a 30 minute random job delay, this would result in the 100 jobs being relatively evenly spread over the 30 minutes between 9:00 and 9:30. Typically the 100 jobs would start all at once. A random job delay on all jobs starting at 9:00, for e.g., will help spread the load out over time; you could additionally change the start times of some of these jobs to help as well {% embed url="" %} *** [eazyBackup](https://eazybackup.com) --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.eazybackup.com/documentation/random-job-delay-protected-item-schedule.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.