Before working with tutorials, identify two data sources that you can use for practice. These data sources should not be live or mission-critical, and they should be similar in schema and data.
A schema archive contains a snapshot of the schema of a registered data source. You compare schema archives against other data sources and archives to identify possible inconsistencies.
A schema archive is generated from a single data source at a specific point in time. Like a configuration archive, a schema archive has versioning functionality and can be periodically updated with the current values of the data source. Older versions are retained and can be recalled as needed.
You create a schema archive using the Schema Archive Job editor. Once created and saved, it is listed in the Data Source Explorer.
To define a schema archive
- Right-click on a data source in Data Source Explorer and select Archive > Schema Archive Job. Select a project, if prompted.
- In the Archive Job editor, enter the name of the archive in the Name field.
- In the Refinements tab, narrow the job down by selecting owners, object types, and specific objects to include.
- Click the Run Job icon.
- In the New Unsaved Version tab, the results appear. Review the job results.
- Click File > Save. The Unsaved Version tab changes to Version 1, and Version 1 appears in the Datasource Explorer tab under the datasource you chose.
You can create more versions by clicking the Run Job icon again.
You can subsequently drag and drop the new archive version from Data Source Explorer to the Source or Target boxes in the Schema Comparison Job editor. You can now run a job using the archive just as you would use a data source.