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Use Cloning to Replicate Data 360 Sandboxes
Clone an existing parent sandbox to reuse Data 360 metadata and configurations, create testing environments faster, and streamline complex DevOps workflows. When you clone a sandbox with Data 360 provisioned, you automatically carry over the same Data 360 metadata and configurations to the cloned sandbox. This process saves setup time and avoids manual configuration.
Required Editions
| Available in: All Editions supported by Data 360. See Data 360 edition availability. |
Quickly create identical environments for testing, QA, or user-acceptance testing without manually recreating configurations. For example, you can clone a development sandbox called Dev_Sbx_1 that contains configured workflows, integrations, custom settings, and metadata. The result is a new sandbox environment with the same setup and configurations, which you can use to test or validate immediately in a consistent environment.
When to Clone, Create, and Refresh a Sandbox
This table compares creating, cloning, and refreshing a sandbox. Use a new sandbox for development, testing, and training. Clone a sandbox to copy its data and metadata into another sandbox. Refresh an existing sandbox to update its contents.
| Feature | Create (New) | Clone (Copy) | Refresh (Update) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source Material | Production | Existing sandbox | Production |
| Data 360 metadata | Blank Data 360 instance | Copies of data streams, data model objects (DMOs), relationships, and identity resolutions | Current production setup that overwrites existing sandbox configurations |
| Data kits | Install manually from production that uses a package. | Inherit data kits from the source sandbox. | Resync data kits from production, but override local changes. |
| Data streams | Recreate data streams from scratch. | Copy definitions, but reauthorize connections. | Update definitions, but reauthenticate connections. |
| Production that uses data | Excluded | Metadata only | Metadata from production (replaces all sandbox data) |
| Primary use case | Test a new Data 360 implementation strategy. | Create a parallel development environment for multiple team members. | Sync the test environment with the latest production schema or rules. |
Best Practices for Cloning Data 360 Sandboxes
To use your cloned work immediately, follow these tips:
- Create a sandbox with your standard Data 360 architecture.
- When cloning, use names that reflect the lifecycle stage (for example,
D360_QA_Sprint22) to track which configuration version you cloned. - Keep your credentials ready to activate the data streams in the new clone. Cloning copies the mappings but excludes access credentials, such as Amazon S3 or Google passwords and keys.
Considerations When Cloning a Data 360 Sandbox
Provision Data 360 in a cloned sandbox from an active parent sandbox that has a valid Data 360 setup. The cloning process copies only metadata and bypasses data replication.
- Clone a Data 360 Sandbox
Create a Data 360 sandbox by cloning an existing configured sandbox to save time and maintain environment consistency. Cloning saves time by automatically copying data model objects, relationships, identity resolution rules, and data stream definitions from the source sandbox to the clone.
