Constraints

By default, this instance is the one registered to the same Jazz® Team Server as the domain-specific application.

Example

In this high-level example, GCM1 is the home Global Configuration Management server, and RM1 is an instance of the DOORS® application. As shown in the example with the check mark, RM1 can contribute its local configurations to only one Global Configuration Management instance, GCM1. Typically, RM1 and GCM1 would be registered to the same Jazz Team Server. RM1 can't contribute its local configurations to both GCM1 and GCM2, as shown in the example with the X.

Important: If you don’t enforce this constraint, unexpected results can occur. To enforce this constraint, you must set up project area associations so that configurations from any of the project areas in one application are provided only to the projects areas of one Global Configuration Management instance, typically the home Global Configuration Management server. For details, see step 2 in the Steps topic.

You can create the associations on either the Global Configuration Management project area administration page or the other application's project area administration page, but ensure that you understand the difference between the Uses - Configurations and Provides - Configurations associations so that you choose the correct one. The Global Configuration Management project area uses configurations that other applications provide.

Example

Continuing with the preceding example, the Engineering Requirements Management DOORS Next instance RM1 has two project areas:

• RMA, which contains a local configuration named RM_A
• RMB, which contains a local configuration named RM_B.

The home Global Configuration Management server has two project areas, named GCA and GCB. For each Global Configuration Management project area on the Global Configuration Management home server, you must add a Uses - Configurations association (represented by the arrow between servers) for each project area that has configurations that this Global Configuration Management project area uses. Conversely, you could go to the RM1 server (and all the other applications) and, for each project area, and add a Provides - Configurations association to the project areas on the home Global Configuration Management server.

To add more than one external contribution from a Global Configuration Management instance, configuration leads can group configurations in that instance, and then add the group configuration to the hierarchy on the home server.

Conventions in the following image:

• Green boxes represent global configurations on the home Global Configuration Management server.
• Yellow boxes represent external contributions from another Global Configuration Management instance.

On the home Global Configuration Management server, you can add only one global contribution from any Global Configuration Management instance. Suppose a configuration lead needs to add GC B1 and GC B2 to the GC A1 configuration. Because you can add only one contribution from another Global Configuration Management instance, the configuration lead must create a group configuration (GC B3) that contains the GC B1 and GC B2 configurations, and then add GC B3 to GC A1 on the home server.

You can't add multiple contributions from the same instance to a configuration on the home server, as shown in the second and third examples.

The Global Configuration Management application prevents you from creating the second and third examples in the following image:

• In the second example, GC B1 can't be a direct contribution to GC A1 and have a direct external contribution (GC C1).
• In the third example:
  • GC B1 can't contribute to GC A1 and have an external contribution (GC B2)
  • GC B2 can't contribute to GC B1 directly, GC A1 indirectly, and have an external contribution (GC C1).