Instance blueprints - sharing instances between partners and customers

Reusing work is a very easy way to save time, which is why we’ve added blueprints to TimeXtender. Blueprints - you could also call them templates - are sanitized versions of instances that can be shared between a TimeXtender partner and their customers.

Once the feature has been enabled by the partner, and the customers have opted in, they essentially have a shared folder for blueprints. By adding new instances based on blueprints, work done for Customer A can be copied over to Customer B removing the need to start from scratch every time.

Enabling blueprints

To use blueprints, a partner must first enable the feature. The partner’s customers will then in turn be able to enable it to participate. In both cases, the steps are the same.

To enable the blueprint functionality

• Sign-in as a user with the Data Estate Admin permission, go to Admin > Basic info and then click the toggle under Blueprints

  

  

As a customer, you can disable the blueprints feature and you’ll no longer be able to share blueprints or add new instances based on blueprints, but no data will be deleted. If you’re a partner, disabling the blueprints feature will delete all blueprints and disable blueprint functionality for the partner and the customers, but will not affect existing instances created from blueprints.

To disable the blueprint feature, follow the steps below

1. Sign-in as a user with the Data Estate Admin permission, go to Admin > Basic info and then click the toggle under Blueprints.
2. In the Deactive blueprints modal, click Deactivate.

   

Sharing an instance as a blueprint

When the feature had been enabled, partners and customers can share blueprints with each other. To share an instance as a blueprint, follow the steps below.

1. Navigate to an existing instance (Ingest/Prepare/Deliver), and click Share blueprint.

   

2. In the Share blueprint modal, fill out the Blueprint name and (optionally) the Blueprint description fields.

   

3. (Optional) Type a Comment for the log
4. Click Share. A message will confirm that the blueprint is being generated.

   

Adding an instance based on a blueprint

When a blueprint has been shared, the partner and other participating customers can add new instances based on it.

To add an instance based on a blueprint, follow the steps below.

1. Navigate to Data estate > Instances and click Add Ingest/Prepare/Deliver instance.
2. On the Add Ingest/Prepare/Deliver instance page, click the blueprint you want to use in the Blueprint list. If you’re adding a Deliver instance, you’ll also have to map the Prepare instances.

   

3. Fill in the required fields, then click Save.
4. Depending on the instance type, some follow-up work is required to integrate the instance with your existing instance. See the ‘Integrating an instance based on a blueprint’ section below.

Managing blueprints (partners only)

As a user in the partner organization, you can see a list of the blueprints shared by you and your customers, edit the name and description of individual blueprints as well as deleting them.

To view a list of blueprints

• Go to Data estate > Blueprints

To edit a blueprint, follow the steps below.

1. Go to Data estate > Blueprints
2. Select the checkbox next to the name of the blueprint you want to edit, then click Edit.

   

3. In the Edit blueprint modal, make the required changes to the Blueprint name and Blueprint description fields.
4. (Optional) Type a Comment for the log
5. Click Update

To delete a blueprint, follow the steps below.

1. Go to Data estate > Blueprints
2. Select the checkboxes next to the names of the blueprints you want to delete, then click Delete.

   

3. In the Delete blueprint modal, type a Comment for the log (optional).
4. Click Delete.

Integrating an instance based on a blueprint

When you have added a new instance based on a blueprint, some follow-up work is required to integrate it with your existing data sources and instances. As mentioned, it is recommended that you add instances that are part of the same data flow in the order Ingest, Prepare, and Deliver. That makes the required remappings detailed in this section a lot easier. 

Remapping invalid data sources in TDI

If you have created an Ingest instance based on a blueprint that had mapped data source connections - which ought to be the case - data sources will be ‘invalid’ when you open TimeXtender Data Integration.

Step 1: Update the Data Source in the Portal

1. Open the TimeXtender Portal and go to Data estate > Instances.
2. Find and select the ingest instance based on the blueprint.
3. Scroll to Mapped data source connections list

   

4. Add a new data source that matches the invalid data source.

   

Step 2: Remap in TDI

Follow the steps below for each invalid data source.

1. Open TimeXtender Data Integration, or click Refresh if you have the application open.
2. Right-click on the invalid data source and click Edit Data Source.

   

3. In the Edit Data Source window, click Change.
4. Choose the newly added data source connection and click OK.

   

5. Click OK again to confirm.
6. Click Refresh to update the UI

Remapping Prepare tables in TDI

For a Prepare instance based on a blueprint, you will have to remap tables to the Ingest instance data sources as they will no longer be mapped.

Step 1: Ensure Ingest data sources are valid
The Ingest instance based on a blueprint must be set up with the data source connections being valid (see previous section). The data sources have to match up with the Prepare instance tables.

Step 2: Add the Prepare instance based on a blueprint
Follow the steps in the ‘Adding an instance based on a blueprint’ section above and add the Prepare instance.

Step 3: Remap tables in TDI when the new instance has been created

1. Double-click the Prepare instance in TDI and click Yes to synchronize the tables with a new Ingest instance when prompted.

   

    

2. For each unmapped table, click Remap Table...

   

    

3. Search for the table, select it, and click on OK to remap the table

   

    

4. Ensure all tables/rows have a green checkmark, which means that everything has been remapped correctly, then click OK.

   

    

5. Create the Prepare instance storage to complete setting up the instance. Right-click the Prepare instance, click Edit Instance, and then click Create storage.

Remapping Deliver instances based on a blueprint

As mentioned above, there is an extra option when you add Deliver instance based on a blueprint. Namely, you have to map the Prepare instance(s) that the Deliver instance should get data from. In addition to that you should synchronize the Deliver instance with the Prepare instance(s) in TDI 

To synchronize the Deliver instance, follow the steps below.

1. Open TimeXtender Data Integration, right-click the Deliver Instance in the Solution Explorer, and click Synchronize with Remapping.

   

    

2. When the Deliver instance has been synchronized with the Prepare instance(s), verify that everything looks OK, then click OK.

   

    

Database sanitization after blueprint creation

While instances are purely metadata, some data is still sensitive and/or unnecessary dead weight in a blueprint. For this reason, the blueprint is created as a sanitized copy of the instance you’re sharing as a blueprint.

After creating a database from a blueprint, certain sensitive or environment-specific information is automatically sanitized to maintain security and prevent unintentional data leaks. This process is handled by the stored procedure [ENV].[SanitizeData], which ensures that credentials, emails, logs, and other potentially sensitive data are either anonymized or removed. Additionally, the procedures [ENV].[CleanUpVersions] and [ENV].[CleanLogs] are executed to remove source instance versions and clean up logs, further maintaining database integrity and security.