Understanding virtual environment versions

Introduction

A virtual environment version is where you configure which process flow components (connector instances, caches, scripts, etc.) to replace when flows are run for this environment. During its lifecycle, a single virtual environment version can move through three statuses:

• Draft

• Deployed

• Inactive

The lifecycle of a virtual environment version

Each new draft version increments the version number. During its lifetime, this version moves through status changes, but the version number is retained. This cycle is illustrated below:

From here you can see:

• When a virtual environment is first created, a draft version is added automatically.

• When the draft version becomes deployed, a new draft version is generated from the previous one, automatically.

• When the latest draft is updated and deployed, the previously deployed version becomes inactive.

• A maximum of five versions can exist for a given virtual environment at any time. When this limit is reached, the oldest inactive version is overwritten with each subsequent version deployment.

What happens when my virtual environment version exceeds five versions?

As noted above, a given virtual environment can have a maximum of five versions at any time. When this limit is reached, the oldest inactive version is overwritten with each subsequent version deployment. The table below steps through a repeated lifecycle so you can see how this works:

Action	Draft version	Deployed version	Inactive version
Virtual environment created	#1	-	-
Draft version deployed	#2	#1	-
Current draft updated & deployed	#3	#2	#1
Current draft updated & deployed	#4	#3	#1 and #2
Current draft updated & deployed	#5	#4	#1 and #2 and #3
Current draft updated & deployed	#6	#5	#2 and #3 and #4
Current draft updated & deployed	#7	#6	#3 and #4 and #5

You can delete inactive or draft versions, if required.

Versioning rules for virtual environments

The table below provides more information for each virtual environment status.

Status	Set when...	Notes
Draft	A new virtual environment is added An existing draft version is deployed A deployed or inactive version is used to create a draft.	Only one draft version can exist for a given virtual environment. Only the draft version can be edited. To update the current deployed version or an inactive version, you should create a draft version from it first.
Deployed	The existing draft version is deployed. An inactive version is deployed.	Only one deployed version is ever associated with a given virtual environment. When a virtual environment is deployed: The deployed configuration is used when any associated flow versions run. This virtual environment becomes available for selection when deploying process flows. This virtual environment becomes available for selection when testing a process flow against a virtual environment, using the advanced run option. You can't edit a deployed version, however, you can create a new draft from it.
Inactive	An updated draft or currently inactive version is deployed	Each time a draft or (less commonly) inactive version is deployed, a new inactive version is created from the previously deployed version. If the maximum of five versions is reached for a virtual environment, the oldest inactive version is overwritten with each new deployment. You can't edit an inactive version, but you can create a draft version from it and go through the lifecycle again. You can also deploy an inactive version or delete it.