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    DataWorks:Upgrade a workspace mode

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    DataWorks:Upgrade a workspace mode

    Last Updated:Mar 27, 2026

    In basic mode, every change you make in Data Development goes directly to production — there is no safety net. Upgrading to standard mode creates a separate development environment, so you can test and validate changes before they reach production data.

    Warning

    This upgrade is irreversible.

    Prerequisites

    Before you begin, ensure that:

    • Your account is an Alibaba Cloud account. Resource Access Management (RAM) users cannot perform this upgrade.

    • The new version of Data Development is not enabled for the workspace. The upgrade is blocked if it is.

    • You understand the structural differences between basic mode and standard mode. In basic mode, all development and production activity shares a single environment. In standard mode, changes you make in Data Development apply only to the development environment by default, and must go through a release process to reach production. See Differences between workspace modes.

    • You know how to create data sources and attach computing resources in Data Development. See Data Source Management and Prepare for data development: Attach a computing resource or cluster.

    How the upgrade works

    When you upgrade a workspace, DataWorks creates a development environment based on the existing production environment. The upgrade behavior depends on your data source type.

    Note

    This document covers the scenario where a basic mode workspace with a MaxCompute data source is upgraded to standard mode.

    MaxCompute data sources

    The upgrade behavior depends on whether a computing resource is attached to Data Development (DataStudio).

    • No computing resource attached: The platform copies the production data source to the development environment and sets Default Access Identity to Executor for the development data source. If the production data source's Default Access Identity was Task Owner, it is updated to Alibaba Cloud Account after the upgrade.

    • Computing resource attached: The platform copies the production data source to the development environment and appends _dev to the MaxCompute project name for the development data source. If the project name already ends in _dev, another _dev is appended. For example, test_dev becomes test_dev_dev.

    Other data sources

    The platform copies the production data source to the development environment. The development and production environments point to the same physical database.

    After the upgrade, the data source configuration changes as follows:

    Category Before the upgrade After the upgrade
    Data source One (production only) A development data source is added. Development and production data sources are isolated.

    After the upgrade:

    • The development data source is isolated from the production data source. Changes to the development data source configuration do not affect the production data source.

    • No development tables are created automatically in the MaxCompute development project. Create development tables as needed. See Create and use MaxCompute tables.

    Upgrade the workspace

    1. Go to the SettingCenter page: Log on to the DataWorks console. In the top navigation bar, select the target region. In the left-side navigation pane, choose More > Management Center. Select the target workspace from the drop-down list and click Go to Management Center.

    2. On the Workspace > Basic Configuration tab, click Upgrade To Standard Mode next to Mode.

      Note

      The Upgrade To Standard Mode button is unavailable if the new version of Data Development is enabled for the workspace.

    3. In the Upgrade To Standard Mode dialog box, select This Upgrade Is Irreversible. Confirm That You Want To Upgrade This Workspace. and click Start Upgrade.

    What happens during the upgrade

    After you click Start Upgrade, DataWorks performs the following steps automatically.

    1. Creates a MaxCompute development project named projectname_dev and a corresponding development data source.

    2. Adds all workspace members to the development project at the engine layer using the add user command.

    3. Revokes production project permissions from all workspace members except the project owner. RAM users can only operate in the _dev project after the upgrade.

    For details on access and permissions, see Data access and permissions in MaxCompute for workspaces in different modes.

    Example

    A company has a workspace named Workspace A in DataWorks. After an administrator clicks Upgrade To Standard Mode:

    • A development project named A_dev is created.

    • Members, roles, and resources from Workspace A are replicated in A_dev.

    • Member A1 (Developer role) and Member B1 (O&M role) are added to A_dev with their roles and permissions retained.

    • Project A becomes the production project. A1 and B1 lose their permissions on Project A — they no longer have SELECT or DROP permissions on production tables by default.

    • The default MaxCompute project in DataStudio is A_dev. To read production data in DataStudio, use the ProjectName.TableName format. To update production code, submit a node from A_dev to the scheduling system, then publish it through the approval process.

    Behavior changes after the upgrade

    The following table shows how a RAM user's operations change after upgrading a MaxCompute workspace from basic mode to standard mode, where the workspace has an attached computing resource.

    Scenario Basic mode Standard mode
    Operate on resources (table/resource/function) Direct operations succeed. All tasks run under the Alibaba Cloud account's permissions, so RAM users can directly access and modify production data. Development environment: direct operations succeed in DataStudio. Production environment: direct operations are blocked. Request production table permissions through Security Center.
    Environment access and accounts Production environment only. Both Data Development and Production Operation Center use the Alibaba Cloud account to access production resources. Data Development uses a RAM user or personal account and accesses development resources by default. Production Operation Center uses a specified account to access production resources.
    Access development resources projectname.tablename/resource/function projectname_dev.tablename/resource/function (DataStudio accesses development resources by default, so you can omit the project name in SQL.)
    Access production resources projectname.tablename/resource/function projectname.tablename/resource/function (Production Operation Center accesses production resources by default, so you can omit the project name in SQL.)
    Important

    After the upgrade, DataStudio queries development environment tables by default. To access production tables, request the required permissions first, then use the ProjectName.TableName format. If your code contains hard-coded credentials such as an AccessKey, permission errors may occur because the previous RAM user permissions on the production project are revoked.

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