Choosing Between Multiple Sites and Separate Deployments in Bold BI
Most organizations maintain multiple application environments such as Testing, UAT, and Production to support their software development and release process. While these environments often use the same application and dashboard definitions, each environment typically connects to a different database, API endpoint, or backend service. In addition, some customers may require their own dedicated infrastructure, where applications and analytics platforms are hosted separately for security, compliance, or contractual reasons.
A common question for administrators is whether Bold BI needs to be installed separately in every environment or whether a single Bold BI deployment can serve multiple environments while connecting to different data sources. The answer depends on the level of isolation, security, and infrastructure separation required.
For environments that can share the same Bold BI infrastructure, a single Bold BI deployment with multiple sites is often sufficient and easier to manage. Each site can represent an environment such as Testing, UAT, or Production, while connecting to its respective database or endpoint. However, when complete isolation is required, such as a customer-hosted deployment or a dedicated server mandated by security policies, separate Bold BI deployments are the recommended approach.
This article explains both deployment strategies, when to use each one, and how to promote dashboards between environments while maintaining environment-specific data connections and access controls.
Using Multiple Sites in a Single Bold BI Deployment
Bold BI supports multiple sites within a single deployment. Each site has its own database and manages its dashboards and resources separately from other sites, so dashboards, data sources, and users in one site are isolated from another.
A separate site can be created for each application environment, for example:
- Testing
- UAT
- Production
Each site can then be configured with the data source connection appropriate for its environment. For example:
- Testing site → Testing database
- UAT site → UAT database
- Production site → Production database
To set this up:
- From the Site Management page, click Create Site and create a site for each environment (Testing, UAT, Production).
- In each site, add a data source that points to that environment’s database, using the same data source name across sites where possible — this keeps dashboards portable when they’re published between sites.
- Build and validate your dashboards in the Testing site against the Testing data source.
For more information, refer to Multi-Tenancy in Bold BI.
Using Separate Bold BI Deployments
A separate Bold BI deployment should be used when an environment requires complete infrastructure isolation — for example, a dedicated, customer-hosted server required for security or compliance reasons.
In this approach, each environment has its own Bold BI deployment with its own database, resources, and data source connections, completely independent of the other environments.
Choose this approach when:
- An environment must run on infrastructure that isn’t shared with any other environment (e.g., a customer-hosted or air-gapped server).
- Regulatory or contractual requirements demand full separation of one environment’s data and access from another.
For environments that can share the same Bold BI infrastructure, multiple sites (above) are typically sufficient and easier to maintain.
Managing Users, Groups, and Permissions
When using multiple sites, users and groups can be given access only to the sites and resources relevant to their role. Bold BI provides resource-level permissions — Read, Write, and Delete — for dashboards, data sources, and other resources, so access can be scoped per environment.
- Users can be added to Groups, and permissions can be assigned at the group level to manage access for multiple users at once.
- A user can also be invited into a site from another site (using the same email address); once invited, that user can access resources in both sites after being granted the required Read/Write/Delete permissions.
This allows, for example, developers to have Write access in the Testing site while only having Read access in Production, with a smaller group of release approvers holding Write access in UAT and Production.
For more information, refer to Managing Permissions in Bold BI and Managing Groups in Bold BI.
Publishing Dashboards Between Environments
Bold BI’s Publish feature lets you move a validated dashboard (and its associated data source) from one site to another, which is a natural fit for promoting a dashboard from Testing → UAT → Production after each stage is validated.
The publish dialog behaves slightly differently depending on the site:
- From the master site (the first site created in your Bold BI deployment), you’re offered a choice between Internal Site (other sites on the same Bold BI server) and External Site (sites on a different Bold BI server).
- From a non-master site, the external-site publish dialog is shown directly, and it’s also used to reach other internal sites.
To publish a dashboard from Testing to UAT, for example:
- In the Testing site, open the dashboard’s action menu and select Publish.
- Choose Internal Site, then select UAT as the destination.
- Confirm the category and naming options, then submit.
- Repeat the same steps from UAT to Production once the dashboard is validated in UAT.
Use External Site publishing only if you need to move a dashboard to a site hosted on a different Bold BI server — for example, publishing from your main deployment to a customer’s dedicated, separately hosted Bold BI instance.
For detailed configuration steps, refer to Publish Dashboards in Bold BI.
Common Deployment Patterns
Pattern 1: Standard Enterprise Deployment
The most common deployment model for organizations managing multiple application environments within the same infrastructure.
- One Bold BI deployment
- Separate sites for Testing, UAT, and Production
- Each site connects to its corresponding database or endpoint
- Dashboards are promoted between environments using the Publish feature
- Centralized administration, upgrades, and maintenance
Best for: Organizations that need environment separation but can share the same Bold BI infrastructure.
Pattern 2: Hybrid Deployment
A combination of shared and dedicated deployments that balances operational efficiency with customer isolation requirements.
- One shared Bold BI deployment for internal environments such as Testing, UAT, and Production
- Separate Bold BI deployments for customers requiring dedicated hosting
- Internal teams manage dashboards through the shared deployment
- Dedicated customers maintain complete infrastructure isolation
Best for: SaaS providers and software vendors supporting both shared-hosting and dedicated-hosting customers.
Pattern 3: Dedicated Customer Deployment
Each customer receives their own independent Bold BI environment.
- A separate Bold BI deployment per customer
- Customer-specific databases, dashboards, and resources
- Independent administration and upgrade schedules
- Complete separation from other customer environments
Best for: Customers with strict security, compliance, contractual, or data residency requirements.
Recommendation
For most organizations, Pattern 1 (Standard Enterprise Deployment) is the recommended approach. If environments primarily differ by their databases, endpoints, users, or permissions, multiple sites within a single Bold BI deployment typically provide the simplest and most cost-effective solution.
Consider Pattern 2 (Hybrid Deployment) or Pattern 3 (Dedicated Customer Deployment) when customer requirements, security policies, compliance obligations, or infrastructure ownership require complete isolation from the shared Bold BI deployment.
Conclusion
Selecting the right Bold BI deployment strategy depends on the level of isolation required between environments. For most organizations, multiple sites within a single deployment provide a centralized and cost-effective way to manage Testing, UAT, and Production environments.
When dedicated infrastructure is required, separate Bold BI deployments offer complete separation of resources and access. With support for environment-specific data connections, granular permissions, and dashboard publishing, Bold BI enables organizations to implement a reliable analytics lifecycle from development through production while meeting both operational and security requirements.
Additional References
