Chapter 4 • Working with Quality Center Synchronizer

Resetting a Link

Each synchronization link in the Synchronizer has an associated time stamp, and each record mapping within a link has a version. The time stamp represents the time the link was last handled by the Synchronizer. The version enables the Synchronizer to identify the records that can be synchronized.

When the Synchronizer runs a synchronization task for a link, it updates the time stamp for the link at the start of the task’s execution. In addition, when the Synchronizer handles the successful synchronization of a paired record mapping, it adds a record containing the versions of each pair of synchronized records to the database.

The Synchronizer uses the time stamp and versions when it determines which records to synchronize. In some circumstances, you may want to override the automatic time stamp and the record version history:

➤Time stamp. You can override the automatic time stamp and reset the time stamp to a time prior to the last synchronization. This is useful if there were issues with the latest synchronization of some records, and you want to revert to an earlier version of these records so that you can run a synchronization task again.

➤Synchronization history. You can perform a complete reset to clear both the time stamp and the version history for the mapped records. This is useful when a field mapping changes, and you want to synchronize the mapped entities as if you created a new link.

Consider carefully the consequences before deciding to reset the time stamp for a link, and which option to use when resetting it.

Tip: You can sometimes achieve the same outcome as resetting the link’s time stamp by running a full synchronization task. For more information on full synchronization tasks, see “Full Synchronizations” on page 42.

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