Creating and Restoring Versions of Artifacts

Before making changes to data sources, schemas, unstructured pipelines, models, graphmarts, etc., users can take a snapshot of the current version of that artifact. When a backup is created, Anzo automatically creates a backup version of each entity that is related to that artifact. For example, backing up a graphmart backs up the same version of any related models, datasets, and dashboards. In addition, Anzo backs up the metadata graphs for all of the entities. Metadata graphs store information about the artifacts such as the creator and creation date and the permissions configuration. Changed artifacts can be reverted at any time to any of the saved versions. If an artifact is restored to a previous version, Anzo automatically saves a version of the current state of the artifact and its related entities and metadata. Follow the appropriate instructions to create or restore a backup version of an artifact.

Create a Backup Version

Follow the instructions below to save a snapshot of an artifact.

  1. In the Anzo application, navigate to the artifact that you want to back up, and then click the Versions tab. For example, the image below shows the Versions tab for a graphmart. In this example, the graphmart does not have any backup versions:

    For data models, add the model that you want to back up to the Working Set and then open it in the Model editor. Then click the Versions tab.

  2. Click the Create button. Anzo displays the Create New Version screen.

  3. In the Name for New Version field, type a name for the backup version. Then type details about the version in the optional Comment for New Version field.
  4. Click Save. Anzo takes a snapshot of the artifact as well as its related entities and adds the version to the list on the left side of the screen. Depending on the size and number of related entities, the backup operation can take a few minutes to complete. For example:

  5. If necessary, select the new version in the list to view details on the right side of the screen. The screen displays details such as the version creator and created date and lists each of the related entities that were also backed up. In the list of related entities, the Actions column displays a compare icon next to each entity that has changed since the previous version.

    In the image below, the compare icon in the Graphmart row indicates that this version of the graphmart includes changes that were not in the previous version:

    Clicking the icon in the Actions column opens the Compare Versions dialog box, which shows a side-by-side comparison of the TriG files for the two versions:

Users can now make changes to the current version of the backed up artifacts, and the new changes can be reverted to a backup version at any time.

Restore a Backup Version

Follow the instructions below to restore an artifact and its related entities to a previous backup version.

  1. In the Anzo application, go to Versions tab for the artifact that you want to restore.

    For data models, add the model that you want to restore to the Working Set and then open it in the Model editor. Then click the Versions tab.

  2. On the Versions screen, select the backup version that you want to restore. For example:

  3. Click the Restore button to restore the artifact to the version that you selected. Since Anzo automatically creates a snapshot of the current version before you restore an artifact, Anzo displays the Restore Version dialog box so that you can specify a label for the new version.

  4. In the Restore Version dialog box, type a name for the version in the Name for New Version field. You can also add an optional comment in the Comment for New Version field.
  5. Specify whether you want to revert to the backed up version's metadata graphs for this artifact and its related entities:
    • If you want the restored version to use the metadata, such as permission configuration and last created date, that was saved at the time of the backup, select the Restore metadata graphs checkbox. Anzo will revert the metadata to the saved version.
    • If changes were made to the metadata for the current version of the artifact and you want to preserve those changes, such as if the permissions were modified to further restrict or allow access, leave the Restore metadata graphs checkbox blank. Anzo will preserve the current metadata graphs instead of reverting the metadata to the saved version.
  6. Specify whether you would like Anzo to create a backup version of the current version of the artifact before restoring it:
    • If you want Anzo to make a backup copy of the current version before restoring it, leave the Create version of current state before restoring checkbox selected.
    • If you want do not want Anzo to create a backup copy of the current version before restoring it, clear the Create version of current state before restoring checkbox.
  7. Click Save. Anzo saves the current version and restores the current files to the backup version. The new version is added to the list of available backups.