Key Requirements for Cloning with AES

• Install all AES plugins across all instances involved in cloning.
• Set up data preservers on target non-production instances to maintain Automated Test Framework (ATF) and Instance Scan properties.
• Install the App Engine Management Center (AEMC) plugin on all instances if collecting development and deployment data.
• Create a cloning strategy to avoid overwriting important non-production data during production-to-development cloning.

Data Preservation and Clone Exclusions

Data preservation ensures critical tables retain their contents during cloning, especially those related to collaboration and pipeline management. Key preserved tables include:

• Collaboration Descriptor tables (e.g., sysappcollabdescriptor, sysappcollabpermissionm2m)
• Collaboration Users and Groups tables (e.g., sysappcollabuser, sysappcollabgroup)
• Pipeline Instance Request, Authorization Key, Deployment Request, and Deployment Environment Request tables

Clone exclusions prevent certain production data from overwriting development data, particularly collaboration tables, ensuring development environments remain stable.

If AES is the sole user of the Credentials table, create data preservers for relevant credential types to prevent overwriting during cloning.

User Role Reassignment and Post-Clone Cleanup

• Users in AES-related groups and those with the snappengstudio.user role in non-production instances must have their roles reassigned after cloning.
• A post-clone script automatically resynchronizes collaboration permissions for applications present in both environments, enabling developers to resume work immediately.
• If templates or applications were backed up and restored post-cloning, use the “Resync collaboration permissions” feature to reassign roles appropriately.
• Use the “Clean up records with empty references” action to remove unreferenced users or groups from collaboration tables after cloning and restoration.

Preserving App Templates

Custom AES templates, which are treated similarly to scoped applications, must be protected during cloning to avoid data loss. Protect templates by creating clone or data preservers on non-production instances following ServiceNow’s recommended process.

Additional Resources

ServiceNow provides extensive documentation and resources on cloning with AES, including knowledge articles on cloning basics, tips and tricks, FAQs, and a detailed whitepaper on data preservation. For more detailed guidance, customers can consult the App Engine Studio System Administrator Guide available on ServiceNow University.