Syncing services

The registry can keep a service's entry up to date with the service's own service info: it fetches it regularly, as the deployment sets, and updates the entry. Entries without sync can drift from what the service says about itself. Deployments that don't sync show none of this.

What the labels mean

Next to the Verified mark, in the list and in the details of a service, the registry's label says how the sync stands:

• no label: no sync, e.g. a manual entry, which may have drifted. If the state couldn't be read, the app says so instead;
• Synced: the last sync succeeded, and it was recent;
• Out of sync: the last sync failed, or none succeeded in time. The entry keeps its last values.

Verified and synced doesn't mean trusted. Verified says that an admin checked this entry once, and synced that the service recently described itself in a way the registry could read. Both are facts about the entry, not about the service: service info is self-declared, and a service can change at any time. Decide yourself whom you trust.

Synced only, above the list, shows only services in sync, and repeats that this doesn't mean trusted. To be on the safe side, use it together with Verified only.

The details of a service

Sync with service info, in a service's details, shows the times of the last success and the last attempt and, if the service is out of sync, why:

Message	What to do
The service info can't be fetched	Check that the service is up, and that its service info is public: no tokens are sent. The registry retries a few times before the label changes
The host resolves to an address that the registry may not fetch from	Ask the registry's operators, if the service is in a private network
The service info doesn't pass the checks of a registration	Correct the service info, e.g. an environment that the registry doesn't allow
The service info now describes another service	Something is seriously wrong: its id, or the group or artifact of its type, changed. If the new id is right, turn sync off and on again
A new service type version awaits approval	Wait for an admin to approve it (see Pending entries); the next sync applies it
A service type version isn't registered, and only admins may add it	Ask the admins to add it
The registrant has added as many unused service types as allowed	Remove types no service needs, or ask an admin
The registry hasn't synced this service in time	Nothing failed, but syncs may not be running: tell the registry's operators

These texts are fixed: the registry doesn't pass on network errors. Those with a role on the service also get a notification.

Turning sync on and off

Owners and maintainers of a service, and admins in admin mode, have these buttons in its details (except for the registry's own entry, see Listing the registry itself, which the registry never syncs):

• Turn sync on, after a confirmation: the registry fetches the service info from the service's URL followed by /service-info, and replaces the entry's values with it, overriding manual changes. If the fetch fails, or the service info doesn't fit the service, nothing changes and the app says so.
• Sync now: syncs at once, unless someone turned sync off since the page loaded: then it does nothing, and says so. A service info that can't be applied shows as Out of sync, with the reason. If the fetch fails, or the service info describes another service, nothing changes and the app says so; the regular syncs record these as reasons.
• Turn sync off: the entry keeps its values.

Only publicly available service info can be synced, as no tokens are sent. If service info was fetched too often, the app says how long to wait.

Changes while sync is on

You can edit a synced service, but the next sync overrides the fields it covers: name, type, description, organization, contact and documentation URLs, environment and version. Its ID, URL and roles stay. A sync also keeps the Verified mark.

The Service URL can't change while sync is on, not even for admins: the edit form says so if you change it, and the registry refuses it. To move a service, turn sync off first, or import and register it anew.