What Exactly does an Incremental Copy do compared to a Full Copy (4304611)

What Exactly does an Incremental Copy do compared to a Full Copy

How does content get migrated when performing an Incremental Copy?
Is there anything that will not get copied when choosing Incremental vs. Full Copy?
What you should and should not do prior to an incremental copy?

What is the difference between Incremental and Full Copy?

An incremental copy does not overwrite any object that already exists on the target site. On the contrary, a full copy overwrites objects by first deleting the target object, and then recreating it. The main use of the incremental copy is to sync the data between the old and new sites prior to the cut-over when the new site goes live.

It is important to note that when running an incremental copy on any list (Announcements, Custom List, Tasks, etc.), the list must have been previously copied with the following option enabled:
List items are identified by the item ID and must match between source and target list for the incremental copy to be successful.  Not doing so will result in duplicate items in the target list after migration.  This does not apply to Document Libraries, as they are mapped by the file name and folder path.

How do I configure an incremental job?

In the job configuration, select the Incremental Copy radio button under the Migration Mode tab.
What does not get copied when running an incremental migration?

• Workflows
• Web Parts can be copied with incremental copy, but they are overwritten on target, not updated

A more granular way to set up an incremental job is to configure a "Custom Copy".  Using the custom copy, a mixture of full/incremental options can be chosen, or only specific content can be updated leaving other content untouched.

How to I configure a custom copy?

1. In the job configuration, select the Custom Copy radio button under the Migration Mode tab.
2. Select the corresponding Preserve [Object] option (e.g. Preserve Sites, Preserve Lists).
3. Choose the individual content to be updated by selecting the Update [Object] button (e.g. Update Sites, Update Lists) or by clicking the ellipsis ("...") button.

• On the source environment:
  1. List and Libraries column structure should not be modified.
  2. Content Type should not be modified or updated.
  3. Document version needs to be published / approved as a full version.
  4. Deletions will not be replicated.
  5. Do not perform any Sites, List/Libraries property changes - they will not be replicated
  6. Workflows will not be updated or changes copied.
  7. Customizations - none should be applied.
• On the target environment:
  1. If an item was modified in both locations (source and target) at the time the incremental copy has run, the item with the most current date/time will be the available item
     1. An item with a higher version number will be considered more current, regardless of the date
  2. Content Types should not be modified.
  3. Workflows should not be started on items that have or will have changed in the source.
  4. List and Libraries column structure should not be modified.
  5. Web Parts should not be modified, added or removed.
  6. Navigation elements or site structure should not be modified.
  7. Customizations - none should be applied.
  8. Permissions should not be modified on any content which may be updated.
  9. SharePoint Groups should not be modified – settings or membership