Title: How to Back Up a ServiceNow PDI and Restore It When the Instance Goes Offline?

BURLED
Tera Contributor

8 hours ago

Title: How to Back Up a ServiceNow PDI and Restore It When the Instance Goes Offline?

Hi Everyone,

I have a question regarding backing up a ServiceNow Personal Developer Instance (PDI).

While practising ServiceNow, I create different configurations, such as Business Rules, Client Scripts, UI Policies, Catalog Items, Flow Designer flows, and other customizations.

I would like to know how to take a proper backup of my PDI so that I don't lose my work if my instance goes offline, gets reclaimed, or becomes unavailable for any reason.

I have a few questions:

  1. What is the recommended process for taking a complete backup of a ServiceNow PDI?

  2. Which methods can we use to back up our configurations, customizations, and development work?

  3. Can we use Update Sets to back up our configurations? If so, how can we export and save them locally?

  4. If my PDI becomes unavailable or goes offline, can I restore my previous configurations and customizations into a new PDI?

  5. Are there any other recommended backup methods apart from Update Sets?

I would appreciate it if experienced ServiceNow developers could explain the backup and restoration process step by step.

I want to follow a proper backup practice to ensure that I don't lose my learning progress and development work.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions!

 

Best regards,

Damodar.

0 Helpfuls
  • 187 Views
1 REPLY 1

Tarun Rekandar
Mega Guru

2 hours ago

Hi @BURLED,

 

Since a PDI can go offline or get reclaimed, it is always better to maintain regular backups of your development work through using Update Sets.

Update Sets: Use Update Sets to capture configuration changes such as Business Rules, Client Scripts, UI Policies, Catalog Items, and other supported customizations. Once the changes are completed, mark the Update Set as Complete and export it as an XML file. Store these files locally.

 

Back up your PDI using Update Sets:

  1. Navigate to System Update Sets → Local Update Sets, click New, provide a name for your Update Set, and click Submit and Make Current.1.png
  2. Once your development is complete, open the Update Set, change its State to Complete, and click Update.TarunRekandar_0-1793922872768.png
  3. Open the completed Update Set, click Export to XML, and save the XML file on your local system or Google Drive.1.png

Restoring into a new PDI:

  1. Log in to your new PDI and navigate to System Update Sets → Retrieved Update Sets.
  2. Click Import Update Set from XML, upload your previously exported XML file, and open the imported Update Set.1.pngTarunRekandar_1-1793923872010.png
  3. Click Preview Update Set to check for errors or conflicts. Resolve any issues and then click Commit Update Set to apply the changes to your new PDI.

1.png

1.png

 

Accept the solution if it assisted you with your question & Mark this response as Helpful.

 

Regards,
Tarun

0 Helpfuls