About this task
Replication of release definitions allows a user to centrally administer release definitions and their associated process rules. Then, users can automatically update other databases in the DCM cluster.
If a DCM cluster uses release values to configure shared data into projects, the release values of any transferred objects must be defined as release definitions in the destination database.
The replication of release definitions and information is controlled by these parameters and settings:
- Each release definition has a setting named Allow DCM Transfer. By default, this option is selected when a release for a new component is created, or is set to the previous release when a release based on a previous release is created. Clearing this option means that details of that release are always excluded from all DCM transfer packages.
- Each transfer set has a setting named Release Scope and a setting named Release Query. The release scope has three settings:
- Releases and Templates - Replicates the release definitions found by the release query and their associated process rules. This setting is the default when creating a transfer set.
- Releases - Replicates the release definitions found by the release query but not their associated process rules. If this scope is used, the release definition as replicated to another database might appear not to have any valid purposes, unless the process rules exist for that release in the remote database.
- None - No query for release definitions is performed. The only process rules that are replicated are process rules that are added explicitly to the transfer set or indirectly by adding a process definition to a transfer set.
- The release query defines a query expression that is used to automatically add matching release definitions as indirect query members of the transfer set. A blank string means query for all release definitions. This setting is the default when creating a transfer set.
- In each receiving database, the DCM setting Update Release Definitions controls what actions are taken, if any, to process release information in a transfer package that is being received. The settings and their corresponding actions are described in this table.
- Update release definitions
- Action
- none
- All release information in the DCM transfer package is ignored.
- active
- Release definitions in the package are used to create or update release definitions in the receiving database. However, a release definition is created only if it is an active release. New release definitions for inactive releases are not created. Existing release definitions that are inactive and have been received before continue to be updated.
This setting is the default setting.
- inactive
- Release definitions in the package are used to create or update release definitions in the receiving database. Release definitions for both active and inactive releases are created or updated.
When a DCM generate is performed, DCM includes only release definitions, process rules, or folder templates that have been modified or became members of the transfer set more recently than the last generate time for that transfer set and database. Hence, if you perform a DCM Generate since Never, and the transfer set release scope is set to Releases and Templates, and the release query is blank, all the release definitions and their associated process rules and user-defined folder templates are included in the DCM transfer package.
To check or manually change release definitions, use the Browse Releases dialog or the ccm release command.