---
title: Preserving data from target instances during clones
description: You can use data preservers to protect data on the target instance from being overwritten. If you have custom applications, you must also manually preserve unpublished application content.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/platform-administration/data-preservation.html
release: australia
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 2
breadcrumb: [Manage, Instance Clone, Configure core features, Administer the ServiceNow AI Platform]
---

# Preserving data from target instances during clones

You can use data preservers to protect data on the target instance from being overwritten. If you have custom applications, you must also manually preserve unpublished application content.

## Data preservers

Sometimes, it is necessary to preserve some data on an instance targeted for cloning. For example, if the target is a MID Server, you must not overwrite the MID Server \[ecc\_agent\] table. Preserved data is reapplied to the target instance after exclusions are completed.

**Warning:** You must define data preservers on the source instance. Defining them on the target instance does not preserve the data.

Data preservers typically preserve system settings and themes, such as:

-   Instance-specific authentication settings
-   Bookmark \[sys\_ui\_bookmark\]
-   Recent Selection \[sys\_ui\_recent\_selection\]
-   User Preference \[sys\_user\_preference\]

**Note:** A clone does not support preserving data from a database view.

Preserving a parent table also preserves all of its child tables. For clones between MariaDB instances, child tables aren't automatically preserved and must be manually added to the preserver list.

Don't use data preservers to transfer large sets of data, such as user groups. If you must preserve table data, such as users, groups, and roles, consider exporting the records to a file and importing them after cloning.

## Data preservers for Multi-SSO

The system automatically creates the necessary data preservers for cloning when you activate Multiple Provider Single Sign-On integration.

<table><thead><tr><th>

Name

</th><th>

Table

</th><th>

Conditions

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Certificate

</td><td>

X.509 Certificates \[sys\_certificate\]

</td><td>

None

</td></tr><tr><td>

Core Instance Properties

</td><td>

System Property \[sys\_properties\]

</td><td>

-   \[OR\] \[Name\] \[is one of\] \[glide.authenticate.external, glide.authenticate.external.logout\_redirect\]
-   \[OR\] \[Name\] \[starts with\] \[com.snc.integration.saml\_esig\]
-   \[OR\] \[Name\] \[is one of\] \[glide.smtp.port, glide.smtp.auth, glide.smtp.encryption\]
-   \[OR\] \[Name\] \[starts with\] \[glide.authenticate.multisso\]
-   \[OR\] \[Name\] \[is\] \[glide.authenticate.sso.redirect.idp\]

 **Note:** The properties **glide.smtp.port**, **glide.smtp.auth**, and **glide.smtp.encryption** are deprecated.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Digest Properties

</td><td>

Digest Properties \[digest\_properties\]

</td><td>

None

</td></tr><tr><td>

Identity Providers

</td><td>

Identity Providers \[sso\_properties\]

</td><td>

None

</td></tr><tr><td>

SAML2 Update1 Properties

</td><td>

SAML2 Update1 Properties \[saml2\_update1\_properties\]

</td><td>

None

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>**Note:** Although you can modify these data preservers, it is good practice not to. The Digest Properties \[digest\_properties\], Identity Providers \[sso\_properties\], and SAML2 Update1 Properties \[saml2\_update1\_properties\] tables are required for multiple source, single sign-on \(SSO\) to function properly. If multiple source, single sign-on is disabled on the target instance, you can safely remove all three data preservers. Remove them at the same time, as the system terminates the clone with an error message when you attempt to clone with one or two of these tables being preserved.

## Preservation of unpublished applications

You can't use data preservers to save unpublished applications. Instead, application developers must choose how they want to preserve unpublished applications.

The cloning process does not preserve version differences for applications in development. Instead, the system clone only copies the application version installed on the source instance onto the target instance. If the target instance had a development version of the same application, the application is editable after the clone, but maintains the version installed on the source instance. If the application was missing from the source instance, the cloning process deletes the application from the target instance.