How should stage and prod environments differ?

Question

Project management

Hello!
I understand the difference between dev, test, prod environments and what they are for, but I don’t understand very well how the stage circuit should be arranged. I know that it should be an exact copy of the prod environment and this is the last step to test the project. But, for example, should the stage circuit be connected to combat bases so that the test is based on real data?

Answer 1

Under no circumstances should tests be run on real data! If something goes wrong, you mess up your work data.
It is better to copy the working database (if the size allows it), replace all addresses and phone numbers with fake ones, so that in which case nothing will be sent to the user. And use it for tests.
In general, the stage differs from production:
- enabled debug mode and profiler
- logging level
- most of all, the cache is also disabled - asset files are not
minified to simplify debugging
- a different database
production to be on different machines. Tests create a fairly large load, which is completely unnecessary for production.
We also use SSD instead of HDD on the stage. For normal operation of the application, a regular disk is enough, but on stage builds are assembled several times faster thanks to ssd.

Answer 2

Usually test and prod should not differ in hardware/software, except for power.
In a rich firm, hardware / software are generally identical. If a perfect match is not required, fewer propellers can be used in the test, since a combat base is not needed.
The task is to completely copy the prod environment on the test, and in case of problems, be able to reproduce it on it.
Dev should be more or less the same, mostly software versions, but it depends on what's going on there.
Again, it depends a lot on the task. If this is a live server, for example, it would be nice to test how the new BIOS firmware / controller raid works before repeating it on the live one.
If this is only a small site, then it will be enough to reproduce the version of the OS and software. In general, depending on what is spinning.