Version management

Artifact version management

NSP supports version control for artifacts. Artifact versions are managed by the target deployer responsible for the artifact type.

For example, the unique identifier for a workflow is the workflow name. If multiple versions of the same workflow are available, such as 1.1.0 and 2.2.0, the deployer only installs the latest version, version 2.2.0.

In Network Intents, the unique identifier is intent type and major version, therefore if the artifact bundle contains version 1.1.0 and version 2.2.0 of the same intent type, the deployer installs both.

The version control policy of the target deployer also determines how new versions are handled when an existing version of an artifact is present. In many cases, the status of the lower version artifact is updated to Obsolete. The status of the higher version artifact is Installed.

Version management best practices

When you install an artifact using Artifacts, the artifacts in the bundle are installed in the targets according to the version control policy of the target. This means that new artifacts may supersede existing artifacts in use, regardless of how the existing artifact was installed.

If you are installing a bundle that may contain new versions of artifacts you are using, such as an NSP service pack, the following steps are recommended:

• Check the list of artifacts in the bundle.

  You can do this by opening the zip file in a zip file utility, or checking documentation that accompanies the bundle.

• For each affected function, verify whether backups are needed.

  For example, if the bundle includes new service intent types, export intents for the intent types you are currently using in Service Management.