Checklist for testing CDI (Central Discovery Index) in an Alma PSB (Premium Sandbox)
Question
Is there any checklist so we can test EasyActive CDI resources in our premium sandboxes? We are specifically looking at CDI for electronic resources activated in the Network Zone (NZ).
Answer
Here is a list compiled by Ex Libris Support, based on our experience:
- Customer Parameter, defining the CDI Customer
Possible values are:
-SOA (Summon Over Alma): Summon Over Alma.
-Easy Active: Anything they activate is for search. The expanded search is not configurable.
-Fully Flexible (gets to configure what shows up in their expanded search, and as such get additional options for CDI related menus/things in Alma)
- Publish electronic records to Central Discovery Index: The job is active in the Institution Zone, but does not need to be active in the Network Zone, please see configuration below. In PSB (Premium Sandbox) or SB (Standard Sandbox), Ex Libris Support can run the job for your tests.
- Configuration in the Institution Zone (IZ), when linked to a Network Zone (NZ)
- cdi_consortia_inheritance : Dictates whether the Institution Zone can inherit CDI files/records from the Network Zone, and should be set in the Institution Zone. Check to make sure that it is 'Y' or 'N' depending on whether the Institution Zone expects to inherit/get resources from the Network Zone. The customers can change this Customer Parameter as well. Found here: Configuration Menu > Resources > General > Other Settings. Documentation: "Collaborative Networks (with a Network Zone and Institution Zones)"
- retrieve_services_from_NZ: Dictates whether the IZ inherits services from the Network Zone. Found here: Configuration Menu > General > General Configuration > Other Settings. Documentation: "Configuring Other Settings (General")
- Check the Sandbox Environment provisioning of the CDI Key:
Find the key here: Configuration > Discovery > Other > Central Index and proxy set-up
- .PPRD = Pre Production. This is a Production Key.
- .PSTG - Pre Staging. This is used for Sandbox Environments.
Note: After refresh of PSB, if Sandbox uses a different key than in Production, the key needs to be copied again to PSB, for any further tests.
Documentation: "Registering Institutions for Central Discovery Index"
Essentially:
The process of managing CDI keys for a Premium Sandbox (PSB) involves generating a separate CDI key for the sandbox environment to ensure that production data is not inadvertently published in the sandbox, which could disrupt the production environment. Sandboxes and production environments require different CDI keys, with production keys typically ending in "PPRD" and sandbox keys in "PSTG" . Additionally, once a CDI key is obtained for the PSB, it should be stored outside of Alma because the sandbox refresh process will replace the sandbox key with the production one, necessitating a manual switch back to the correct key after each refresh.
Additional Information
Documentation links are given above.
- Article last edited: 22-JAN-2025