Acquia Cloud Pro key terms

A managed hosting service built on cloud infrastructure that runs Drupal and other PHP applications, providing separate environments, automated backups, Git-based deployments, and tooling for scaling and operations.

An isolated copy of an application stack with its own code branch, database, and file storage. Typical setups include development, staging, and production, each reachable at its own URL.

The Git repository holding an application's code on the platform. Each environment tracks a branch of this repository, and pushing to a branch triggers the deployment pipeline.

The automated sequence that runs when code is pushed: build steps such as Composer install, then deployment to the target environment, including database updates and cache rebuilds where configured.

The branching convention used to move code between environments, typically committing to a development branch, merging into staging for testing, then merging into the production branch to release.

A script or command that runs during deployment before the new code goes live, commonly used to install dependencies with Composer or compile front-end assets.

A command executed after new code is deployed to an environment, often used to run database updates, import configuration, or clear caches automatically.

An urgent code change made directly against the production branch to resolve a live issue, then merged back into other branches so environments stay consistent.

A point-in-time copy of an environment's database that can be restored or copied to another environment. Backups are taken automatically and can also be created on demand.

The operation of moving a database snapshot from one environment to another, typically refreshing development or staging with production data for realistic testing.

Transferring the contents of an environment's public files directory to another environment, so uploaded assets match the database being used.

The practice of storing site configuration in version-controlled files rather than only in the database, so settings can be exported, reviewed, and imported consistently across environments.

Writing the active configuration from a site's database into files in the codebase, which are then committed and deployed so other environments can receive them.

Applying configuration files from the codebase into a site's active configuration, replacing prior settings so an environment matches what is stored in version control.

The goal of keeping development, staging, and production aligned in code, configuration, and services, so behavior observed in testing reliably predicts production behavior.

A PHP file included by the application that reads environment variables and platform-provided credentials to configure database connections, caching, and other services per environment.

A named value supplied by the platform or set in a control panel that code reads at runtime, commonly used for API keys, service endpoints, and toggling environment-specific behavior.

The practice of keeping credentials such as API keys and passwords out of the codebase, storing them instead in environment variables or a dedicated secrets store and rotating them when needed.

An HTTP reverse proxy cache that sits in front of the web tier and serves cached anonymous page responses, reducing load on application servers and improving response times.

A content delivery network that caches static assets at edge locations close to users, reducing latency and offloading traffic from origin servers.

A label attached to cached content so that a related change can invalidate exactly the affected entries, allowing targeted clearing instead of wiping the entire cache.

The act of invalidating cached responses or rendered content so fresh output is generated, often performed after deployments or content changes and scoped to affected tags where possible.

A distributed in-memory key-value store the platform can provide so that cache bins normally kept in the database are held in memory, reducing database load and speeding page builds.

An in-memory data store usable for caching and, in some setups, for coordinating locks and queues. It offers persistence options that plain memory caches lack.

A dedicated search backend, such as Apache Solr, that indexes content and answers queries independently of the database, providing faceting and relevance-ranked results at scale.

The structured collection of content stored by a search backend, built from documents the application submits and used to answer queries quickly.

Rebuilding a search index from source content, required after schema changes, configuration changes, or when index contents drift from the underlying data.

A public-private key pair used to authenticate to environments for command-line access and Git operations, uploaded to the platform and managed per user account.

The permission model that assigns users to a team with a role such as administrator, developer, or viewer, governing what they can deploy, edit, or merely observe.

A chronological record of actions taken on the platform, such as deployments, permission changes, and configuration edits, used for accountability and compliance investigations.

A web application firewall that inspects incoming requests and blocks patterns associated with common attacks, adding a layer of protection in front of the application.

Platform and network-level measures that detect and absorb volumetric or application-layer traffic floods so legitimate requests continue to be served.

A cryptographic credential that enables encrypted HTTPS connections for an environment's domains, with renewal and validation handled through the platform or an external provider.

Collecting health and performance signals from environments and notifying responsible people when thresholds are breached, so problems are detected before users report them.

Centralized collection of web server, PHP, and application logs from environments so they can be searched and correlated during debugging rather than inspected one server at a time.

The coordinated process of detecting, triaging, mitigating, and reviewing an outage or security event, including communication, rollback decisions, and follow-up prevention work.

Reverting an environment to a prior code deployment or database state to restore service quickly after a faulty release, followed by a proper fix in the normal workflow.

The plan and practices for restoring service after a major failure, including backup retention, restore procedures, and defined recovery time and recovery point objectives.

A browser-based development workspace that connects to a cloud environment's codebase, letting developers edit and commit without a fully configured local stack.