Z Boot Process

[Scott Braden]

My organization is interested in zBooting one of our sub-production instances and then performing a clone from our Production instance. We’ve come across differing information about this process and are hoping someone can help clarify the correct approach.

Specifically, we’ve been told that after zBooting—and before cloning—we need to manually reinstall all plugins that are active in PROD, and then proceed with the clone. However, we’ve also read that it’s possible to zBoot and immediately clone from PROD, with all active plugins in PROD being carried over and activated in the sub-production instance as part of the clone.

We’re looking for guidance on which approach is correct and any best practices we should follow.

Thanks, 

[Kieran Anson]

Hi,

Just checking that you're aware a zboot isn't required to perform a clone. You'd only zboot if you have issues with the instance and you don't want to preserve the preserved tables as part of a clone. 

On your question, you don't need to install the plugins. The clone will do this for you. You'll just have a longer clone window 

[Scott Braden]

I’m aware that a zboot isn’t required when performing a clone.

That said, we’ve been encountering a range of unusual issues that appear to be isolated to just one of our sub-production environments. For example, we’ve seen plugins fail to install, integrations that are configured identically across instances not functioning in one subprod environment, and Service Graph connectors returning different errors when attempting to connect—despite working as expected in other environments.

We've engaged with support a few times and each time they were able to get things working for us but often now when we are working on things we have this lingering question of "is the issue I'm encountering a config problem on my end or is it an environment issue". 

We are hoping that Zbooting and then cloning will resolve the issue. 

[User279787]

The zBoot must be used only if you need reset the instance to default. I did it recently to remove all customization and test an specific behavior with sso logout on EC.

It would also be necessary to ensure that no customizations in the target instance are retained before cloning.

Regarding plugins, yes, my recommendation is to install all necessary plugins before cloning. I've had a problem with the cloning request due to missing tables.