Recommendations on installing big or complex content packages in AEM 6.5.16

[patricks1438961]

We do content down-syncs via content packages, which we create in package manager and also install on the target via package manager.
We are facing 2 types of challenges:

1. Some packages are very big, e.g. more than 7000 dam assets from one folder (sorry, no sub-structure available), resulting in package size of 4 GB.
   The filtering in the package creation does not allow for regex (e.g. all assets whose name begins with 1*, etc.)
2. Other packages are not big in MB, but complex in structure in that they contain very many nodes (page trees with 500 pages, each page with many components).

Upon installation on the target system this can take ages to install or even crash the target system.

I am aware of these solutions:

1. https://helpx.adobe.com/experience-manager/kb/HowToInstallPackagesUsingRepositoryInstall.html
   But this is only possible where one has access to the quickstart folder and can freely restart the server.
2. Query Packager by ACS AEM Commons
   https://adobe-consulting-services.github.io/acs-aem-commons/features/packagers/query-packager/index....
   Is this still supported? I had problems getting it to run even locally

Do you have any other recommendations?

[Sudheer_Sundalam]

@patricks1438961 ,

If your servers are on AEM Cloud Manager or AEM as Cloud Service, you can use Content Copy Tool to sync content between instances. More information here:

AEM Cloud Manager: https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/experience-manager-cloud-manager/content/using/content-copy....

AEM as Cloud Service: https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/experience-manager-cloud-service/content/implementing/develo...

[arunpatidar]

HI @patricks1438961 
I would do it in small packages says 1GB each.

Make sure you disabled the dam asset update launcher before installing the packages

once packages are installed enable the dam asset update launcher

Run the Bulk workflow from ACS Common to for DAM asset update workflow 

[patricks1438961]

Hi Arunpatidar,
Thanks for this very useful hint about the workflow launchers.
I have added this in our project documentation about best practices.

The note about having only packages of max. 1GB is well known. However, with the source dam assets being located all in one folder (over 7200 of them), there is no way of selecting only a smaller portion of them with the filters available in the package manager.
If the source is e.g. a page tree, this is not a problem, because it will have lots of internal structure, which allows for setting precise filters by path.

[Manu_Mathew_]

@patricks1438961 You could probably consider these too- 

https://github.com/TWCable/grabbit

https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/experience-manager-65/assets/administer/assets-migration-gui...

[patricks1438961]

Hi Mathew,

Thanks very much for your hints.
We will definitely check out Grabbit.

Do you know whether Grabbit is still supported?
The last version is from dates back to Mid 2018 and on its support page it only goes as far as AEM 6.3.

[patricks1438961]

Thank you very much for all for your replies and suggestions. They are all very useful.
In our project we will go forward with a hybrid approach:

• Using Grabbit for syncs between heterogenous environments, i.e. environments hosted by Cloud Manager and others that are not.
• Using Content Copy Tool for syncs between environments hosted by Cloud Manager.

The other recommendations have been added to our best practice notes.