Deploying Content and Configuration Updates

Overview

When you deploy a new release of your project to a production environment, you may need to update existing repository data. For example, if you add a new field called "Vendor" with a default value of "Hippo" to the "Product" content type, you must ensure that all existing "Product" documents include this default value.

This guide explains the key concepts and procedures for common content and configuration update scenarios.

Table of Contents

• Introduction to Release Management
• Content Update Use Cases
  • Update Document Templates
  • Update CMS Configuration
  • Update HST Configuration
  • Update Existing Content Items

Precautions

Do not update repository data directly in a production environment. During the update process, publication channels such as websites may become unavailable or unstable.

To minimize risk, follow this process:

1. Create a copy of your production database.
2. Set up a Bloomreach Experience Manager instance that uses the database copy as its storage.
3. Perform the required updates in this isolated CMS instance.
4. After completing and verifying the updates, switch your production CMS to use the updated database copy.

This approach ensures that your publication channels continue to operate against an unchanged database during the update. Do not modify or create content or configuration in the production environment until you switch to the updated database.

Test all updates thoroughly in Development, Test, and Acceptance environments before deploying to Production.

Updater Modules that ran automatically on startup in Hippo CMS versions 7.7 and earlier are no longer supported.

Starting with version 7.8, new tools are available to help manage content updates more effectively.