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Bootstrapping a New Database

Introduction

This section describes the Archi Bootstrap functionality. It  describes how a bootstrap file should be prepared.

Creating a bootstrap file

The Archi Bootstrap file is created using the Packaging Tool. A good methodology would be to create the Archi Bootstrap file from a database prepared for evaluation releases. That way, it can be ensured that the Archi Bootstrap file will yield a database containing data that is almost exactly similar to that contained in the Evaluation database. The only difference should be the id's of the objects, since new id's will be assigned to the various objects when they are imported.

Historically, the Archi Bootstrap file has been prepared from non-evaluation databases. This section describes how to prepare a bootstrap file form a non-evaluation database by only selecting nodetype data belonging to the "Archi Internals" domain. These data represent the minimum dataset required for Archi to function properly.

It is entirely valid to add additional data from other domains to the bootstrap file, but the tradeoff between data richness and the time it takes to perform the bootstrap operation must be carefully considered.

Navigating to the packaging tool

The packaging tool can only be accessed from the Archi Main Menu. If it doesn't exist on the main menu, make sure you have access to the "Package Creation Tool" "AreaSecurity" instance. When you click on this link, Archi will display the packaging tool.

Selecting the domain

If you don't already have a package named "ArchiInternal", click on the "New" button in the left-hand pane, then type "ArchiInternal" in the "Package Name" input field, otherwise simply select "ArchiInternal" from the dropdown list.

Select the checkbox next to the domains you want to include in the package (In this case the checkbox next to the "Archi Internals" domain) and click on the "Set Domains" button.

Specifying Instance Inclusion Criteria at the NodeType level

Once you have clicked on the "Set Domains" button. Archi will compile a list of all the NodeTypes in the domain list you have selected. This list will now be presented in the center pane.

You must now specify the inclusion strategy for instances of each nodetype. There are several choices:

1.      "All" – This means that ALL instances for that nodetype will be exported to the XML file.

2.      "None" – This means that ONLY the default instance for that nodetype will be exported to the XML file.

3.      "Custom" – This means that you will be able to manually pick which instances should be written to the XML file in the next step of the process.

4.      "Exclude" – This means that the nodetype will be excluded from this file entirely.

If you are using an existing package, your previous selections will be retained on this screen, but for all new nodetypes (i.e. Nodetypes created since the last time this package was maintained) will have a default selection of "exclude".

The correct selection for a standard Archi Internals XML bootstrap file will be as follows:

As may be seen from this illustration, all nodetypes acting as infonodetypes will be in bold. Typically, the "None" option would be selected for infonodes, as they get created in any case when relationships between two instances are established during import. However, if there are specific data that need to be preserved in the info node instances (for example, custom access data), then the "All" option would be preferable, otherwise the data in the info nodes will revert to default data after import.

If this package is being created from an Evaluation database, virtually all selections should be "All", since the result of the bootstrap operation should be as close as possible to the source database.

Once you have completed your selection, click on the "Set Node Types" button.

Manually selecting instances for inclusion (Custom inclusion)

If any "Custom" selection were specified in the previous step, the instances for these nodetypes will now be listed in the right-hand panel.

The user should now manually select the instances to be included in the XML file. Please note that default instances are in bold and are pre-selected. It is advisable that at least the default instance be included in the XML file.

Upon completion of this selection, the "Save" button should be clicked. Archi will now store all the selection information in the package instance (i.e. instance of nodetype   "Archi Packages"), and a link will be displayed in the left-hand pane stating: "Click here to export SQL or XML".

Exporting the Bootstrap file

Once the user clicks on the "export SQL or XML" link, the "Package Export Tool" window will be displayed. The default file name should be changed from "ArchiInternal.sql" to "ArchiInternal.xml", and the "Export Type" radio button should be changed from "SQL" to "XML". Finally, the user should click on the "Perform Export" button.

Once the export operation is completed, an "Export Values" link will appear that can be used to navigate to and download the XML file.