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Time Machine

The Time Machine (Main Menu / ) allows you to view past versions of the data in your Txture instance.

Introduction​

Txture stores all data in a versioned database. This enables you to jump back to any previous point in time and discover the state of your Repository at that moment. Additionally, Txture's versioning capabilities enable you to analyse changes in your data over time.

You can access the Time Machine by clicking the Time Machine and Scenarios button in the main menu:

Then click on Open Time Machine to display recent changes to your assets:

The Time Machine report displays a bar chart with the number of commits per day over the last month. Click on any day to display the commits of the day or use the month and year selectors to change the time span displayed. After selecting a date, a list of commits on this day is displayed. Each commit can be expanded to display the changes in more detail. In the example shown above, two assets were changed (BRM and Surgo QM) with some properties altered respectively. A click on Jump to change will result in the entire UI jumping back in time. This is indicated by a highlighted Time Machine and Scenario button in the main menu:

Keep in mind that the whole application is now at this point in time. Reports will display data from the given point in time and also the structure will be at this state. This setting will only affect your own session: other users can be at different points in time and will not notice that you are currently exploring a past state. Any scheduled tasks will run normally (and add a new commit to the Time Machine).

Clicking on the Time Machine and Scenario button instantly brings you back to the newest Commit. Keep in mind that you will not be notified of new updates happening (by other users or automated tasks) while you are looking at a past state.

Warning:

We strongly recommend not to change any elements in the Admin area while the Time Machine is enabled. Doing so may lead to inconsistencies in the latest revision of the data.

Scenarios​

In addition to stepping back in time, the versioned database in Txture also allows for carrying different branches called scenarios. This allows to simulate changes to data and to compare to the current data. The actual data is always called the AS-IS scenario and is selected by default:

One particular scenario is the Target Architecture Landscape Scenario. It is always present when using the Transformation Cockpit and serves the purpose of representing the target architecture as it is being planned. This means that all selected or, if none are selected, best-matching proposals will be created as asset in this scenario. Consequently, there might be additional assets when comparing to AS-IS (if they are created in target architecture proposals) or there may be some of them missing. You can switch to this scenario to do reporting on the to-be landscape. Please note that as long as this scenario is selected, the Transformation Cockpit cannot be used.

To start a new scenario, click on Add scenario in the time machine scenario listing of scenarios. The new scenario will be a copy of the selected scenario and therefore dependent on the original scenario. If the origin scenario is deleted, all sub-scenarios will be deleted as well (the AS-IS scenario can not be deleted).

Info:

Note that there is currently no way back from a scenario: once branched away from the AS-IS there is no option to migrate the changes back.

Some report types, such as the dependency report, allow for scenario comparison. The following example has a VM running on Host in the AS-IS scenario and running on Host 2 in the currently selected scenario:

The comparison report automatically marked the changes in red and green, respectively.

Restore Assets using the Time Machine​

You can use the Time Machine to restore assets that have been deleted before. Moreover, you can reset an asset to a prior state. In order to do so, jump to a prior change like it has been explained in the introduction. Now select the asset from the repository you want to restore and click on the button Restore to open the restore preview. The left column shows you the current state of the chosen asset. On the right side, you get a preview of what happens to this asset if you finally restore this asset. Click on the Restore Changes button if you really want to restore the shown asset state. Now jump back to the AS-IS scenario and find your restored asset in the repository.

FAQ​

No, when the Time Machine is enabled, you can only report past data or restore an asset, but you will not be able to modify it. Permitting this operation would cause numerous inconsistencies.

Which elements are affected when going back in time?​

All Assets and Links in the Repository as well as the Structure will show the past state of the data. Administrative elements, such as User Accounts, Roles and Permissions, will not be affected.