Introduction to Snap Packs

An overview of Snap Pack versions

Key concepts

  • Environment — a secure tenant provisioned by SnapLogic, previously called an Org. This page uses environment and Environment admin throughout.
  • IIP — the SnapLogic Intelligent Integration Platform, which includes Admin Manager, Designer, Monitor, and Project Manager.
  • JCC node — a Java Component Container, the Snaplex service that handles pipeline execution. One Snaplex can run one or more JCC nodes.
  • Class FQID — the Snap class's fully qualified ID, shown on the Info tab of the Snap Settings dialog. The Snap Pack version is appended to it; see Verify the version in use.
  • Version format — a Snap Pack version combines a release identifier and a build number, for example main22678 or 444patches34956.

The left pane of Designer organizes Snaps by function as shown in the following screenshot. The Admin Manager organizes Snaps by the Snap Pack name in alphabetical order. Documentation organizes the Snap Packs by category.


Designer left pane showing Snaps organized by function: Flow, Format, Parse, Read, Transform, Write

In Admin Manager, Environment admins can view available Snap Packs and control the versions available for Snaplexes to use when executing pipelines. Snap Packs belong to one of the following types:

  • Public — Available in all environments.
  • Premium — Available by subscription; contact your SnapLogic Customer Success Manager (CSM) to subscribe. If the Try out the Snaps Trial feature feature is enabled in your environment, Premium Snap Packs appear in Designer and you can click TRIAL to request a free trial.
  • Custom — Your organization or a third party builds and uploads them through Project Manager to a project, project space, or environment. For version precedence rules, see Custom Snap Pack precedence.

Each Snap Pack has multiple versions. When executing pipelines, Snaplexes use a default Snap Pack version. Three controls in Admin Manager determine which default versions are available:

  • The Distribution setting determines the set of available versions; it groups Snap Pack versions into New and Old based on the Snaplex version. Snaplexes on the current version use New; Snaplexes on an older version use Old. The Distribution applies differently depending on whether a pipeline is run in Designer or from a Task — refer to Distribution below.
  • The Usage setting picks the default Snap Pack version in the new and old distributions, Stable (updated quarterly and only patched for critical fixes between quarterly releases, recommended for production) or Latest (all production-approved versions, recommended for development).
  • An individual Snap Pack version — if an Environment admin selects a version for an individual Snap Pack, that takes precedence over the Usage setting.

Usage setting

The Usage setting control on the Admin Manager Snap Packs page determines which version Snaplexes use by default. The Version column marks the Stable or Latest version with (default) for each Snap Pack.

Distribution

The Distribution control on the Admin Manager Snap Packs page filters the versions that appear in the Snap Pack Version column between New and Old — it's a view setting and doesn't change any configuration.

Each distribution has a version marked as (default). If an Environment admin changes the version in the Version column, that change applies only to the selected distribution.

Which distribution a Snaplex actually uses depends on where the pipeline runs:

  • In production (when executing a pipeline from a Task), each Snaplex automatically uses versions from the distribution matching its own version.
  • During development in Designer, all Snaplexes in the environment share a single distribution. If every Snaplex is on the current version, they use New versions. If even one Snaplex is on an older version, every Snaplex — even ones on the current version — uses Old versions until every Snaplex is upgraded. If you switch a Snaplex back to a previous version after the upgrade, Designer reverts to Old versions again.

Snaplex and Snap Pack upgrades occur automatically four weeks and two days after a quarterly release.

Important: Upgrade all Snaplex instances in an environment to a new platform version at the same time. If Snaplex instances are upgraded at different times, the Snap Pack version shown in the Snap Catalog can differ from the version that actually runs during pipeline execution.
Note: Older Snap Pack versions run on the current Snaplex version, but newer Snap Pack versions don't run on an older Snaplex version.

Verify the version in use

Distribution, Usage setting, and version overrides determine which version an available Snap Pack uses when a pipeline runs. To confirm the version in use:

  1. In Designer, drag the Snap onto the canvas and click it to open the Snap Settings dialog.
  2. Click the Info tab and check the Class fully qualified ID (FQID). The Snap Pack version is appended to the identifier.