6\VWHP $GPLQLVWUDWLRQ 0DGH (DV\

Chapter 23: Special MaintenanceProduction Refresh StrategiesBecause data in the target system is being replaced, refreshing a system is an inherentlydangerous.Production refresh is where the other systems are refreshed with data from the productionsystem.After the copy, actual production data exists in the test system. This data poses datasecurity issues which must be addressed by the various data owners. It is more critical ifthe HR system is installed, because personnel records are sensitive. Financial, sales, andother data may also be company sensitive.Refreshing a system from the production system helps: Get production data into the test environment. Sync the configuration in the test and development systems with the production system.Over time, the configuration of the various systems could drift apart and not match theproduction system. Prepare for an upgrade.You want the test system to mirror the production system, so that the upgrade in the testsystem mirrors everything you will encounter into in the production system.In the recent past, the standard procedure was to create your own test data. One majorreason was that disk storage space was expensive. Here are some are reasons for not torefresh the system: Data storage is expensive Even with cheaper disks, the volume of data more than makes up any savings.With several copies of the entire production database, the total of all the databasescould approach a hundred gigabytes for a small company to a terabyte (or more) fora large company. Data security Data from the production system is “real.”Even if it is old, it could be confidential and sensitive. The development and testsystems are, then, subject to the same high level of security as the production system. Created test data is “fake” and everyone knows that.There is much less issue with data confidentiality or sensitivity.23–56Release 4.6A/B