Understanding Setting Up Environments

You can create a new environment either by adding a new environment or by copying an existing environment. The custom environments functionality in Installation Planner and Environment Director applications simplify this process.

Because the Object Configuration Manager (OCM) mappings are an important element of the environment, determining these mappings is the first step in deciding whether to create a new environment or copy an existing environment.

When you copy an environment, the OCM mappings for that environment are copied along with the environment. It is sensible to create a new environment by copying an existing environment when the OCM mappings for the environment you want to create closely match the mappings of an existing environment. For example, if a development environment and a test environment contain similar mappings, it might be easier to copy an environment and change the mappings that are different.

You should add a new environment rather than copying an existing environment when you do not want to use another environment's object mappings.

Note: Remember that when you add an environment without copying an existing one, you must create the OCM mappings manually. For this reason, it is typically easier to create a new environment by copying an existing one and adjusting the OCM mappings instead of creating all of them manually.