Chapter 2 • Synchronizing at a Glance

➤Links list. Contains a list of the synchronization links available on the Synchronizer server. Located on the left of the Synchronizer client window.

➤Link Details pane. Contains information about your synchronization links. Located on the upper right of the Synchronizer client window.

➤Execution pane. Contains information about link task execution. Located on the bottom right of the Synchronizer client window.

Synchronization Links

You create synchronization links between two endpoints. An endpoint is an application containing data that is synchronized by the Synchronizer. The first endpoint is always an instance of Quality Center, while the second endpoint is another application such as Rational ClearQuest or Rational RequisitePro.

A synchronization link or link defines which entities are included in the synchronization, and how the synchronization is performed. For example, you can define whether the Synchronizer synchronizes only new records that were added since the last synchronization, or also synchronizes existing records that were updated. You also define which fields and field values in one endpoint are mapped to corresponding fields and field values in the other endpoint.

For a mapping between fields or field values, the source endpoint refers to the endpoint from which data is synchronized. Data in the source endpoint for the mapping remains unchanged. The destination endpoint refers to the endpoint to which data is synchronized. Data in the destination endpoint is updated according to the data in the source endpoint and the mapping’s settings.

Each link contains information to determine which data to synchronize and how to perform the synchronization. For more details on the information contained in links, see “Time Stamp, Identity Mappings, and Record Versions” on page 36 and “Cycle Redundancy Checks” on page 36.

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