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FIM Reference: Which Run Profile Do I Run First?

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Overview

The purpose of this article is to provide guidance on which Run Profiles to run first, for those are very new to the FIM Synchronization Service Engine. It can be a little confusing at times, as to which Run Profile to run when you are first starting a new solution with the FIM Synchronization Service Engine. This article will cover information on Run Profiles.

Explanation of steps

Difference between Full and Delta

  • FULL: Processes every record.
  • DELTA: Incremental. It only processes changes.

The Three Steps

Here is a brief explanation of the three steps that you can utilize in a Run Profile. If you need a deeper explanation I would recommend reviewing the Understanding Run Profiles section of the Run Profiles Resource Wiki page.

  • Import: Reads data from the Connected Data Source to the Connector Space
  • Synchronization: Goes through a series of steps to determine if the data goes to the metaverse and target connector space, or remains in the source connector space
  • Export: Writes data to the Connected Data Source from the Connector Space

Run Cycles

Below you will find recommendations on executing your run cycles.

Initial Run Cycle

An initial run cycle happens whenever you have no data in the Connector Spaces and/or Metaverse. Executing the following steps will populate and begin your synchronization process.

  1. Full Import (Stage Only) on All Management Agents
  2. Full Synchronization on one of the Management Agents
  3. The next three steps should be done to the next Management Agent.
    1. Export
    2. Delta Import (Stage Only)
    3. Delta Synchronization

The Full Import (Stage Only) imports the schema that you have selected as well as the objects. The reason that you want to execute a Full Import (Stage Only) on all Management Agents first, is to ensure that the schema is available when you run a Synchronization. If you run a Full Import (Stage Only) and then a Full Synchronization, when the Target Connector Space is empty, you will receive a Synchronization Error known as MissingParentObjectException.

For the Full Synchronization, it does not matter which Management Agent you run the Full Synchronization on first, unless you have a business need.

Once you run the Full Synchronization on the first Management Agent, then go to the Target Management Agent (or the next Management Agent) and execute three steps. Export, Delta Import (Stage Only), and Delta Synchronization. Repeat the three steps on the next management agent. Once you have completed the three steps on all management agents, then you have successfully completed the Initial Run Cycle.

Normal Run Cycle

A normal run cycle is the normal cycle that you will in an on-going basis. Your next question will probably be "How often do I run the normal cycle?" The answer to this, is that it is a business decision. A good Rule of Thumb is not to run your synchronization cycles any less than 10 minutes. Here is a recommendation of how you may want to run your normal cycle.

  1. Export
  2. Delta Import (Stage Only)
  3. Delta Synchronization

You could configure the three steps into a single Run Profile. You want to run the Export first to clear out any Pending Exports that you may have currently.

Questions

  1. Will I ever have to run a Full Import (Stage Only) and/or Full Synchronization again after the initial run cycle?
    1. You have to run a Full Import (Stage Only) and/or Full Synchronization if you make any changes to the management agent.
    2. Outside of the rule above, you should not have to run a Full Import (Stage Only) and/or Full Synchronization. However, as a recommendation, you should consider putting together some sort of maintenance plan to run a Full Import (Stage Only) and Full Synchronization to do a refresh of the data.
  2. How can I automate the run profiles?
    1. I would recommend reviewing the Automation of Run Profiles section of the Run Profiles Resource Wiki.

See Also