Creating a Private Laboratory Step by Step
Creating a private laboratory produces a fresh, isolated copy of the current production Joomla files and database and protects it before any update testing begins.
Location: Joomla Administrator → Components → QC Update Laboratory → Laboratory.
Step-by-step procedure
- Open Components → QC Update Laboratory → Laboratory.
- When no active laboratory exists, locate Create Your Private Laboratory.
- Enter a clear Laboratory name and choose how long to keep access.
- Select Create Private Laboratory.
- Keep the administrator page open while the restartable file/database copy and isolation stages advance.
- When Active Laboratory appears, use the private frontend/administrator links and confirm the access gate works before testing an update.
What success looks like
The page changes to an Active Laboratory workspace with a private URL/access code, expiration information, open-laboratory links, update testing controls, and refresh/remove actions. The live site stays available throughout ordinary laboratory creation.
If creation does not complete
Do not call a partial copy ready. QCUL persists the run state and either offers continuation/cleanup or reports attention. Fix storage, filesystem/database privileges, rewrite/gate capability, or hosting resource limits before retrying.
Safety check before update testing
Before relying on Creating a Private Laboratory Step by Step, confirm the private copy still shows laboratory identity, its access gate works, and ordinary browsing stays inside the lab rather than silently using production. The cloned site contains production-derived data, so a laboratory that is not demonstrably isolated should be repaired or refreshed before any update rehearsal.
Community Discussion
Want to compare update-testing workflows, share practical tips, or discuss how you use this QCUL feature? Visit the QC Update Laboratory Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific issues, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.