Understanding Synchronization in WP Umbrella

WP Umbrella is engineered to streamline the management of multiple WordPress websites from a unified dashboard. The synchronization process ensures that the dashboard accurately reflects the status of your websites, including updates. This synchronization occurs regularly to balance timely information updates without overloading your hosting provider's firewall.

In this article, we are breaking down our communication protocol and explain you how to force the re-sync of your projects.

How Synchronization Works

The synchronization between WP Umbrella and your WordPress sites can occur in two ways:

1. From Your Site to WP Umbrella: Your site sends data to WP Umbrella using WP Cron. This method avoids firewall blocks since the data is initiated from your end. However, its effectiveness is contingent on your site receiving traffic, as WP Cron relies on this to function.
2. From WP Umbrella to Your Site: WP Umbrella pings your site at set intervals to gather data. This method is generally more reliable but poses a risk of being blocked by hosting provider firewalls.

Initially, WP Umbrella relied on WP Cron for data communication. Over time, to ensure more consistent and reliable data synchronization, we shifted to directly fetching data from your sites. It is crucial to whitelist our IP addresses in your security settings to facilitate uninterrupted synchronization.

Synchronization Frequency

Forcing a Re-sync

If you require an immediate update outside the regular synchronization schedule, WP Umbrella offers several options:

• Bulk Re-sync: This option allows you to initiate a re-sync for all websites in your dashboard simultaneously. The duration of this process may vary depending on the number of sites. To ensure your dashboard reflects the latest data, refresh your browser page. On a Mac, this can be done by pressing Cmd + R . On Windows, use Ctrl + F5 . This action clears the cached data and reloads the page with the most current information.
• Project-Specific Re-sync: To update a single project, you can use the re-sync option available on the general dashboard or within the specific project settings. Alternatively, you can also visit the update page of your project. This is the only page where we communicate in real-time with your website.

Resolving Update Discrepancies Between WordPress Dashboard and WP Umbrella

Sometimes, you might feel that the number of update available in your WordPress backend and in WP Umbrella is slightly different. This can be caused by expired transients.

WordPress uses a system of 'transients' to store cached information, including available updates. Sometimes, these transients can expire or get stuck, leading to outdated information being displayed. When this happens, WordPress might not immediately recognize new updates until the transient data is refreshed, which typically occurs when you visit the updates page.

However, WP Umbrella might still show the older data since it relies on the last synchronized information. To resolve this, you can manually clear expired transients from your WordPress database using WP Umbrella. After clearing the transients, resynchronizing your project in WP Umbrella should display the accurate number of updates.