Syncing a live stream to your test organisation
Copy a live stream, with its source, destination and transformation, into your test organisation so you can test changes without touching live data.
When to use this
Use this guide when you want to test something on a stream that is already running in your live organisation, without touching live data. Sync to TEST copies the stream, with its source, destination and transformation, into your test organisation. The copy arrives switched off, and nothing changes in live.
A sync runs in two stages. First the Control Panel builds a plan showing what it will create in test and what it needs from you. Nothing is copied until you review the plan and apply it.
Before you start
You need a test organisation linked to your live one. You can switch between them with the LIVE and TEST toggle at the top of the Control Panel.
Keys (the saved credentials a stream uses to connect to a system) are never copied. Each key the stream uses needs a counterpart in test. If one is missing, the plan tells you, and you can create it partway through.
Steps
Plan the sync
In your live organisation, go to Streams and open the stream you want to copy.
Click the … menu at the top right of the stream page and choose Sync to TEST.
Read the summary in the window and click Plan sync. Nothing changes yet.
The sync page opens with the plan. To come back to it later, go to Streams > Live/Test Syncs.
Review the plan
Check the Status. Waiting on you means there are blockers or decisions to resolve before you can apply.
Read the Plan table. Each row is something the stream depends on, with what it uses in live, what it will use in test, and a status:
Will create: copied into test as new, usually the transformation.
To decide: you need to choose what to use in test, usually a key or the queue.
Blocker: there is nothing suitable in test yet, usually a missing key.
Create any missing key in test
If a key shows Blocker, switch to TEST and go to Keys. Opening it in a new browser tab keeps the sync page open.
Click Create Key, enter a Title, choose the same System as the live key, add the test credentials with Add Row, and click Create Key.
Back on the sync page, click Plan again. The blocker becomes To decide, with your new key proposed.
Make the decisions
Click Choose keys, queues and changes.
For each key, check or pick the test key it should use. Keys going into a test organisation are always confirmed by hand.
Under Queue for the new stream, pick the queue it will run on in test.
Click Save and plan again. The status changes to Ready to apply and every row shows Linked, Confirmed or Will create.
Apply the plan
Optional: scroll to Side by Side to compare every field between live and test. Use Differences only to hide fields that match.
Click Apply plan, read the confirmation and click Apply.
What you should see
A confirmation such as Sync applied: 4 created, 0 updated, 7 pairs recorded. The new stream is inactive. The sync's status changes to Applied.
Switch to TEST and go to Streams. The copied stream is in the list, with its own source, destination and transformation, and it is not active. Its Last synced with live column shows when the sync was applied.
Before you switch the copy on, work through the Follow-Ups section of the sync page. Stream, source and destination settings are copied exactly as they are in live, and the Follow-Ups list the ones to check, such as store URLs, file paths and filters, so the test stream does not point at a live system.
If it did not work
Apply plan is greyed out. There is still a blocker or decision outstanding. Check the status line above the plan, resolve each row marked Blocker or To decide, then click Plan again.
A key or queue you created in test does not appear. The plan only sees what existed when it was made. Click Plan again to pick it up.
The plan is refused when you apply it. Something it depends on changed after the plan was made. Click Plan again, review the new plan and apply it.
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