Enhance Export Configuration

[tmoney2007]

There should be a relatively simple option in ADMS to truncate data from the vault, or to backup just the configuration.

Doing an implementation at a publicly traded company means going to a multi-stage process (dev, test, UAT, Prod) with multiple vault environments to verify the configuration before go-live.  It would be very convenient to be able to either remove all of the files from the vault to provide a clean starting point for a new environment.

Alternately, the option to backup JUST the configuration would be a huge help as well.

[ihayesjr]

Have you tried using the Import and Export Vault Configurations to help with this?

[tmoney2007]

I need to look back at my notes, but there are some things that didn't copy over when we did the export/import.

[tmoney2007]

One of the things that would be helpful would be an option to eliminate disabled objects (users, groups, properties, etc).

Also, the export configuration didn't pick up the autocad block mapping list in ADMS, so all of the mappings that had been done were broken when we imported the the configuration.

All of the lifecycle transition permissions were lost in that process too, but I can't say for sure that it was the process that was wrong.  We went through some unsupported steps to get rid of extraneous groups and users after we did the import.

[tmoney2007]

We also figured out that file category assignment rules don't make it over when you export and then import the configuration.

[ihayesjr]

Thanks for the information.  I have changed the title to the idea as we would look to enhance the export configuration feature instead of changing the way a backup works.

[tmoney2007]

We did some more work with this feature today.  I still think that the option to truncate all of the files out of a vault or to backup without files would be very useful.

The issue with mappings came down to this: there are ADMS level settings that have an impact on the effectiveness of configurations in the Vault.  The most annoying that I found was the relationship between "Index Block Attributes" in the ADMS console and attribute mappings. 

First, there is no way to import the list of blocks to index, so if you have to migrate from one server to another, you have to manually input all of those block names, of which there can be many. 

Secondly, I can't think of a good reason that you couldn't use a spreadsheet (or CSV) to load attribute mappings.  The only information that is required is the Block Name, Attribute Name, and UDP property name and it would be much easier to set them up that way when you have many blocks to map.  Inventor properties could be done the same way. 

Finally, if you restore a configuration onto a server that doesn't have the Index Blocks list populated with the same values as the previous system, all the mappings are broken and as far as I can tell, unrecoverable.  If you restore a configuration that calls for a block to be indexed, the restore process should add that block name to the list of blocks to be indexed.

Dealing with migrating between staging environments is kind of a pain right now.  Documenting configuration is something that I'm not looking forward to either (configuration reports would be extremely nice.)

[tmoney2007]

For some reason, the option to have the item control the security on related files does not migrate with the configuration.

I would assume that this is a defect.

[Senthil_Kumar]

Thanks for sharing your Idea. We use this forum to guide product development and help users in the best way we can, based on voting. We occasionally merge Ideas or archive old ones to keep the forum working properly - it ensures there is room for people to review new Ideas and that the most relevant and meaningful ones can gain votes. We’re archiving this Idea because it's been on the board for well over 2 years and hasn't received many votes from the community. If you want to raise it again and try to gain more support, you're welcome to do so. We’ve found that pictures and mock-ups can help get concepts across and win more votes from other users. If you have questions or see a connection between this Idea and others, let us know - Vault Product Team.