Creating Synchronization Patterns

A synchronization pattern is a collection of settings that describes details about a given synchronization. These include:

•	The mapping definition AccuSync will use when performing the synchronization. A synchronization pattern is associated with only one mapping definition.

•	The type of synchronization you want AccuSync to perform (two-way or one-way).

•	How often you want AccuSync to perform the synchronization.

You can define multiple synchronization patterns for a given AccuSync Configuration -- you might create one synchronization pattern for defects and another for tasks, for example.

Synchronization Types

A synchronization pattern can be defined with a one-way or two-way synchronization type. This section describes the differences between these synchronization types and considerations for their use.

One-way Synchronization

In a one-way synchronization you specify one system -- typically your ITS -- as the master. Changes made to issue records on the master system are reflected on the other system, but not vice versa, when the synchronization is run. For example, if you specify your ITS as the master system, data from the ITS issue records is written to the corresponding issue records in AccuWork. Changes made to issue records in AccuWork are not reflected in your ITS and, in fact, might be overwritten with changes made in the ITS the next time the records are synchronized. If you use AccuWork as the master, change package information, including affected files, version, and basis version information, is also written to your ITS during a one-way synchronization.

The behavior of a synchronization pattern defined with a one-way synchronization type is similar to that of AccuBridge. Typical uses of a one-way synchronization pattern include:

•	Overriding the two-way synchronization type specified for a synchronization pattern for individual field mappings for fields whose values you do not want updated.

•	Initial population of one issue tracking system with issue records from another.

Two-way Synchronization

The two-way synchronization type is completely bidirectional: changes made to issue records in one system are updated on the other when the synchronization is run. The most recent data at the time of the synchronization is used to update the record on the other system. Change package information is written from AccuWork to your ITS.

Note that any validation logic or constraints that have been defined for a field in one system should also be defined in the other. For example, if you have defined the Assigned To field in your AccuWork schema as a required field, you should ensure that your ITS schema enforces that rule for whatever field you mapped to Assigned To.

Synchronization patterns are defined with a two-way synchronization type by default.

Synchronization Type Can Be Overridden

The synchronization type specified in the synchronization pattern applies to all the field mappings defined for the mapping definition associated with the synchronization pattern. If you want, you can override the synchronization type for individual field mappings.

See Synchronization Types Inherited from Synchronization Pattern for more information.

Creating a Synchronization Pattern

To create a synchronization pattern:

1.	On the AccuSync Management Console main page, double-click the configuration for which you want to create a synchronization pattern.

Alternative: Select the AccuSync configuration and click the Edit Configuration button ().

The Configuration page appears.

2.	In the Sync Patterns table, click the Add new... button.

The New Sync Pattern dialog box appears.

3.	In the Sync pattern name field, enter a name for the synchronization pattern.

Tip: Consider using an intuitive name for the synchronization pattern. For example, if you are creating a synchronization pattern to synchronize defect issue types, you might name the synchronization pattern defects.

4.	In the Mapping Definition to use field, choose the name of the mapping definition you want to use with this synchronization pattern.

5.	In the Synchronization field, choose the:

•	Type -- The type of synchronization you want AccuSync to perform. By default, AccuSync performs a two-way synchronization. See Synchronization Types for more information.

•	Frequency -- How often (in minutes) you want AccuSync to perform the synchronization. A value of 1, for example, means AccuSync performs the synchronization every minute.

6.	Click the Save button.

The synchronization pattern appears in the Sync Pattern table on the Configuration page.

Running Synchronizations

See Running an AccuSync™ Configuration and Running a Synchronization Pattern to learn more about how to run synchronizations.