Bundles are snapshots of your application artifacts such as configurations and customizations at a certain point in time.

Bundles work on environments where the source and target are at the same level or the source is at a lower version and the target is at a higher version. For example, a bundle generated from a previous content version works on the latest content version. Ensure that your bundle size is less than 1 GB. If the bundle size exceeds 1GB, then consider splitting the bundle by selectively including necessary artifacts. Prior to deployment, the system validates the bundles to confirm whether the bundles contain all prerequisites. If there is a validation error, then you see the applicable bundle with "Validation Failed" status and you can't deploy it. You must fix the issue and try to deploy again.

You can bundle your application artifacts as:

• Data Config bundle: This includes pipeline parameters, activation metadata, data augmentations, and custom attribute mappings. You can install this bundle in an existing environment after a hard data reset. This is useful to leave content as-is and reset data pipeline. When you bundle data configurations, only the deployed data augmentations or configurations are included. Augmentations or configurations that aren't in deployed state in the source instance won't be included in a data configuration bundle.
• Semantic Model bundle: Depending on the semantic model extensions framework that you use, this bundle includes main sandbox or branch, tags, custom sandbox or branch, and all the security customizations. Use this bundle to import the semantic model extensions because it allows you to select which tag and version to publish and what to publish. When you use a semantic model bundle from one environment to another environment, the system merges the extensions and not replace them. For example, if you created an extension in the target environment, it will remain in the target if the bundle doesn't bring that in.
• Security bundle: This includes custom application roles and custom data security.
• Content bundle: This includes snapshots of Oracle Analytics Cloud folders, projects, workbooks, duty roles for content, report parameters, and configurable account analysis. The content bundle always merges the catalog content from source to target. While merging, if any conflicts are found, it replaces the content. It doesn't track the deleted content.
• Composite bundle: This includes one or more of the other bundles in any combination. When you gennerate a composite bundle, the system generates the composite bundle and the bundles inside it as a whole. When you import a composite bundle, all the individual bundles inside the composite are imported separately as well as together. You can deploy the composite bundle as a whole or deploy the individual bundles as applicable. For example, you can deploy the complete composite bundle in one environment and the individual bundles in different environments.
• Environment bundle: Environment bundle publishes the original semantic model without the customizations. This includes all artifacts of a specific environment to revert to a known state of system. For example, at the end of every week, the service administrator can create a bundle called DevEnv_YYMMDD to maintain a backup of the environment. You must first deploy the data configuration bundle or manually activate your data pipelines before deploying the environment bundle.