Octopus doesn't just store information; it actively *does* things. Examples include deployments, checking that machines are online, automated database backups, and more. These "tasks" are queued and executed asynchronously, and their progress and logs can be monitored using the HTTP API. Some tasks are created automatically; for example, Octopus will automatically create a task to check the status of all machines every 5 minutes. Some tasks are created implicitly, such as when a deployment is created to execute the actual deployment. And some tasks can be created manually, such as backup tasks and sending test emails.