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Import Process

      +

      Sync Gateway replication keeps distributed database changes in sync
      This content explaina how Sync Gateway synchronizes document changes made through Couchbase SDKs and N1QL queries.

      Related Sync topics: Configuration Properties | Admin REST API

      Introduction

      The import process is a key part of mobile convergence. It is the means by which Sync Gateway becomes aware of non-Sync Gateway data changes and obtains the mobile metadata it requires to replicate changes.

      shared bucket access

      Any non-Sync Gateway change is eligible for import. The document is first run through the Sync Function to compute read security and routing, with the following differences:

      • The import is processed with an admin user context in the Sync Function, similar to writes made through the Sync Gateway Admin API. This means that requireAccess, requireUser and requireRole calls in the Sync Function are treated as no-ops.

      • During import, oldDoc is nil when the Sync Function is executed.

      You can specify a filter function using the import_filter property, which will only import specific documents.

      Use the Import+ log key to troubleshoot import processing issues in the logs.

      Configuration

      Note that import_docs only takes effect if the enabled_shared_bucket_access is set to true.

      ENTERPRISE EDITION

      The import_docs parameter defaults to true, implying that, by default, all nodes in a cluster participate in import processing. To exclude a node, set "import_docs": false.

      COMMUNITY EDITION

      The import_docs parameter defaults to false and must be explicitly set to true.

      The following table describes the key behavior differences between Community Edition and Enterprise Edition when import_docs is enabled, disabled or not set at all.

      enabled_shared_bucket_access import_docs Behavior (EE) Behavior (CE)

      true

      not set

      Assumes import: true by default

      Assumes import: false by default

      true

      false

      Node omitted from import processing (supported for workload isolation)

      Node omitted from import processing

      true

      true

      Node participates in import processing, and is assigned import partitions.

      Node performs import processing for all server mutations.

      false

      not set

      import docs is false by default

      import docs is false by default

      false

      true

      import docs property ignored, warning logged

      import docs property ignored, warning logged

      false

      false

      Import docs is false

      Import docs is false

      High Availability

      In Enterprise Edition, import processing work is sharded across all Sync Gateway nodes with import enabled. This implies that if one of the nodes fail, the failed shard is automatically picked up by the remaining nodes in the cluster. This way, you get High Availability of import processing.

      In Community Edition, there is no sharding of import across the nodes participating in the import processing. Each import node processes all server mutations.

      Workload Isolation

      As described in the table above, if import_docs is set to false, the node will not be participating in the import process. This configuration is specifically recommended for workload isolation: to isolate import nodes from the client-facing nodes. Workload isolation may be preferable in deployments with high write throughput.

      The following diagram shows an example architecture of two Sync Gateway nodes handling the incoming client connections (import_docs: false) and two nodes sharing the import processing (import_docs: true).

      workload isolation

      Reference

      The reference to the configuration properties can be found below.

      Related Content

      API Topics
      Reference
      Community