Transporter  overview

This topic describes the Transporter section, its features, and what they are used for.

 

The Transporter section of the System Administration contains essential features within Board that facilitate the transfer of the structure (i.e. metadata) of one Data model to another, either on the same  Platform or on a different Platform. These features are typically used for the lifecycle management of a Board application. More specifically, they are used to migrate the structure of one or more Data models across different Platforms, such as deploying changes from a "development" environment to a "production" environment. 

 

You can find the following features in the Transporter section:

  • Data model snapshot. This feature allows you to create snapshots of a desired Data model, which capture the current state of the structure of that Data model

    The snapshot captures only the structure (i.e. metadata) of a Data model and not the actual data contained inside. For example, a snapshot includes Cube and Entity definitions but excludes the values contained in Cubes and members contained in Entities.

  • Transporter package. This feature allows you to compare two Data model snapshots, called source and target snapshots, and create a Transporter package that contains the selected changes between the two snapshots which can then be applied to the desired target Data model by executing that package

    When you execute a package, the changes are applied as if they were manually made by a user. This means that existing data in the target Data model may be lost in various cases, such as modifying the Structure of Cubes, adjusting the Time range, or changing the Max Item Number of an Entity etc.

  • CLI automation. This feature allows you to create an automated and scheduled Transporter package execution via Command Line Interface (CLI)

 

The typical process of transporting a Data model structure from a "development" environment to a "production" environment using the Transporter features explained above is usually the following:

  1. Create a Data model snapshot in the "Production" environment and give it a name, for example, "PRODUCTION-SNAPSHOT"

    It is highly recommended not to perform any modifications to the Data model in the Production environment after its snapshot has been created in order to avoid inconsistencies between the snapshot of the target Data model and the actual Data model in the Production environment.

  2. Download "PRODUCTION-SNAPSHOT" to your local machine
  3. Upload "PRODUCTION-SNAPSHOT" to the "Development" environment
  4. Create a Data model snapshot of the Data model in the "Development" environment and give it a name, for example, "DEVELOPMENT-SNAPSHOT"
  5. Create a Transporter package by using both the snapshots "PRODUCTION-SNAPSHOT" and "DEVELOPMENT-SNAPSHOT" located in the "Development" environment
  6. Download the Transporter package to your local machine
  7. Upload the Transporter package in the "Production" environment and execute it.

It is highly recommended to always have a "master" development snapshot during and after deployment that will be used as a single source of truth.

See the dedicated Data model snapshot and Transporter package pages for more detailed information about the process.