How to use existing Topology when re-importing (and upgrading) the CM database from 2013 to Web 8.5

Question

We have done an upgrade of development CM database (oracle) from Tridion 2013 SP1 (in a copy of the CM database) to SDL Web 8.5. Web 8.5 CME is installed and pointed to the upgraded CM database, Topology is set up and publishing is working fine.

Now we need to do one more re-import of the CM databse from Tridion 2013 to the new environment and do the upgrade (to make the content latest). We would like to reuse the already set up Topology Manager and CME installation.

Questions are:

1. Can we reuse the existing Topology setup after re importing and upgrading CM database (Web 8.5 CME will point to this upgraded database) and how?

2. Do we need to map the Business Process Types and Target Types to Publication again in Web 8.5 through the CME UI (we have done these mappings though the UI earlier)?

Answer 1

Once you re-import the database, all of the current content in the CM database will be gone, overridden by the new import. The Topology database will remain intact however, so:

Can we reuse the existing Topology setup after re importing and upgrading CM database (Web 8.5 CME will point to this upgraded database) and how?

Yes. As explained in the 1st paragraph, only the CM database will be changed, so you can easily reuse everything defined in the TM (CD Environments, Website, Webapp, Topology Types, etc.). This was one of the reasons for introducing the TM, to decouple the CM from CD environment specific data.

Do note that you will again have to remap the current published states (these are still kept in the CM database).

Do we need to map the Business Process Types and Target Types to Publication again in Web 8.5 through the CME UI (we have done these mappings though the UI earlier)?

The mappings will remain in the Topology database, but the BPT-s will have to be recreated.