Synchronization Behaviors
An Activation fetches all the new and changed data from your data warehouse. How that data is loaded to the Target object is decided by the synchronization (sync) behavior you specify. The sync behavior depends upon the Target and is independent of the Warehouse from which the data is being synchronized.
You can select the sync behavior in the Field Mapping page, which is the last step of creating your Activation. Only the behaviors applicable to a particular Target object are enabled and available for selection. Read the respective Target documentation’s Data Replication section to know the supported behaviors for it.
The following table lists the sync behaviors that Activate supports:
| Synchronization Behavior | Description |
|---|---|
| Insert New and Update Existing Records (Upsert) | New records are added and existing records are identified based on the selected unique or matching identifier and updated. |
| Update Existing Records (Update) | Existing records are identified based on the selected unique or matching identifier and are updated. |
| Add New Records (Insert) | The new records are added; however, no existing records are updated. |
Read through the following sections to understand these behaviors in more detail.
Insert New and Update Existing Records
In this synchronization behavior, new records received from the data warehouse are inserted at the end, and any existing records that have changed are updated.
For example,
Update Existing Records
In this synchronization behavior, the updated records from the data warehouse are synchronized with the Target. Any new records found in the data warehouse are not added to the Target and are marked as Failed.
For example,
Add New Records
In this synchronization behavior, new records from the data warehouse are inserted and synchronized with the Target. Selecting this option does not synchronize the existing records that are updated in the data warehouse and are marked as Failed.
For example,
Limitations
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Activate does not allow you to change the synchronization mode or behavior once an Activation is created.
Examples:
- Suppose you create an Activation in the Insert mode to synchronize data from your Warehouse with the Salesforce Contact object; the object’s Email field is the unique identifier. Now, suppose your business requirement changes, and you need to update the Contact object based on ID. In that case, you need to change the synchronization mode to update existing records. To achieve this, you must pause the existing Activation, and create a new Activation but in the Update mode.
- Suppose you create an Activation in the Upsert mode to synchronize data from your Warehouse with the Salesforce Contact object; the object’s ID field is the unique identifier. Now, suppose the number of records in the Contact object exceeds the allowed limit of records. In that case, you may want to change the synchronization mode to only update existing records. To achieve this, you must pause the existing Activation, and create a new Activation with the same unique identifier but in the Update mode.