Active timelines

Active Timeline View

Active Timeline can be found by selecting “details” for any VDB located on the VDB list page in DCT and selecting the “Active Timeline” tab. This view serves as an operations console for any user with the appropriate entitlements to see and act upon the identified VDB granted by the DCT access control system. 

This view shows a vertical timeline-based representation of all actionable points of interest (snapshots) for that VDB. The snapshot list is chronologically grouped over blocks of time to easily identify relevant snapshots to act upon. Once the right snapshot is found, users can access a contextualized action menu by selecting the corresponding ellipsis to the relevant snapshot.

Contextual snapshot menu: By selecting the ellipsis next to the VDB of interest, users can refresh to a snapshot or create a bookmark (a nameable and shareable snapshot reference.

Alternatively, users can perform common Continuous Data actions via the ellipsis in the top right of the Active Timeline screen. This menu will offer VDB-wide, generalized operations including:

• Refresh: This is a generalized operation to realign your VDB's timeline with another. More information can be found in the Refresh a VDB article.

• Start/Stop: A way to manage target host bandwidth.

• Enable/Disable: An administrative operation required for upgrades/migrations. 

• Create Bookmark: Create a special reference to a snapshot that has a custom name and retention period.

Additional notes

• Refresh using the DCT UI
  Data Control Tower has consolidated all contextualized time-based operations (e.g. refresh, rewind, rollback, restore, reset, etc.) across Continuous Data and Developer products into a general "Refresh". By clicking refresh, users will be prompted on what timeline they would like to align: Parent, Self, or Relative. From there, users will be taken to a wizard that will give relevant timeline options and points in time to perform the refresh.

• Start/Stop
  Starting and Stopping are geared toward bandwidth management in a target environment. Stopping a VDB will place it in stasis such that it can't be accessed, but also won't consume bandwidth. Starting it back up will re-enable it for regular activity.

• Enable/Disable
  Enabling and Disabling are geared toward administrative operations such as VDB migration or upgrade. Disabling a VDB removes all traces of it, including any configuration files, from the target environment to which it was provisioned. Re-enabling the VDB will restore those configuration files.

• Create Bookmark
  Bookmarks serve as a human-referenceable representation of time that can work for a single VDBs or VDB groups. Bookmarks also have the capability to be shared (Refresh to relative in the Refreshing a VDB article). From the top level menu, users will be able to name the reference and set a unique retention period.

  Bookmarks do not appear in the Active Timeline, to access existing bookmarks, users will have to navigate to the "Bookmarks" tab on the VDB detail view.