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Data engineering · August 2025

From Sync Bridge to Data Warehouse

How an internal sync bridge evolved into a proper data warehouse — the architecture shifts that scaled past ad-hoc ETL and made business data queryable.

15 min read

From Sync Bridge to Data Warehouse

Date: August 20, 2025

The Challenge

Inherited a PropertyWare-ServiceFusion integration system with fundamental limitations:

The system processed $400K+ monthly work orders but couldn't be trusted for accurate dispatching.

What I Built

Transformed a transient sync bridge into a persistent data warehouse while maintaining 100% uptime.

Architecture Evolution

Before

After

Key Improvements Delivered

Performance

Reliability Fixes

Data Architecture

-- Implemented Kimball dimensional model
fact_work_orders (with SCD Type 2 history)
fact_leases
dim_portfolio, dim_building, dim_unit, dim_tenant
mapping tables for cross-system reconciliation

Operational Control

Technical Implementation

Problem: Data Loss Between Syncs

Solution: Implemented persistent storage pattern with PostgreSQL, maintaining full historical tracking while preserving original sync logic.

Problem: PropertyWare Socket Hang-ups

Solution:

// Disabled keep-alive, added connection management
{
    keepAlive: false,
    headers: { 'Connection': 'close' },
    timeout: 90000
}

Result: Zero connection errors in production since implementation.

Problem: Unit/Building ID Corruption

Solution: SQL correction with validation logic

UPDATE fact_work_orders
SET unit_id = NULL
WHERE unit_id = building_id
AND building_id IN (multi_unit_buildings);

Result: Correct technician routing for all work orders.

Problem: No Duplicate Detection

Solution: Built deduplication service with multi-criteria matching

Architecture Decisions

Why PostgreSQL over DynamoDB: Need for complex queries, historical tracking, and dimensional modeling that NoSQL couldn't efficiently provide.

Why SNS fan-out over sequential: Reduced sync time by 70% through parallel processing while maintaining data consistency.

Why feature flags: Allow business users to control sync behavior without engineering intervention, critical for production incidents.

Current Production State

Version: Lambda v166, Layer v126 Status: Stable production since August 2025 Scale: Processing 1000+ work orders daily Uptime: 99.9% (excluding scheduled maintenance)

Technologies

Impact

Original System Credit

Original architecture by Walter Quesada (CTO, Talisman) - provided solid foundation that served production needs 2019-2024. My work built upon his codebase, preserving core business logic while addressing architectural limitations that emerged as business scaled.

Detailed Analysis

Document Date: August 20, 2025

Current Production State: NEW AWS Account (557477747490)

Document Purpose: Comprehensive comparison of architectures between old and current production systems

Executive Summary

This document provides a detailed architectural comparison between the original AWS implementation (Account: 183870809643) and the current production system (Account: 557477747490). The migration represents a fundamental shift from a transient data synchronization bridge to a persistent data warehouse architecture with enhanced reliability, monitoring, and control.

Key Transformation

1. Infrastructure Comparison

OLD AWS (Account: 183870809643) - DECOMMISSIONED

Component Specification Notes
AWS Account 183870809643 Original implementation
Layer Version GreenLightCore:44 Basic functionality
Layer Size ~45MB Included AWS SDK v2
Runtime nodejs18.x Older runtime
Database DynamoDB Temporary storage only
Data Persistence None Deleted after each sync
Deployment Method Manual No CI/CD pipeline
Monitoring Basic CloudWatch Limited visibility
Error Recovery Minimal Manual intervention required

NEW AWS (Account: 557477747490) - CURRENT PRODUCTION

Component Specification Notes
AWS Account 557477747490 Current production
Layer Version GreenLightCore:126 Enhanced with fixes
Layer Size 109MB Includes deduplication service
Lambda Version 166 (live alias) Latest with all fixes
Runtime nodejs20.x Latest LTS runtime
Database Supabase PostgreSQL Persistent storage
Data Persistence Full historical Kimball dimensional model
Deployment Method SAM CLI Infrastructure as code
Monitoring Enhanced CloudWatch + Supabase Full visibility
Error Recovery Automated Self-healing capabilities

2. Core Architecture Evolution

OLD Architecture - Transient Sync Bridge

┌─────────────┐      ┌─────────────┐      ┌─────────────┐
│PropertyWare │      │  DynamoDB   │      │ServiceFusion│
│    (SOAP)   │─────▶│ (Temporary) │─────▶│   (REST)    │
└─────────────┘      └─────────────┘      └─────────────┘
                            │
                     [Data deleted after sync]

Characteristics:

NEW Architecture - Persistent Data Warehouse

┌─────────────┐      ┌─────────────┐      ┌─────────────┐
│PropertyWare │      │  Supabase   │      │ServiceFusion│
│    (SOAP)   │─────▶│ PostgreSQL  │◀────▶│   (REST)    │
└─────────────┘      └─────────────┘      └─────────────┘
        │                    │                    │
        └────────────────────┼────────────────────┘
                             │
                    ┌─────────────────┐
                    │ Kimball Model   │
                    │ • Fact Tables    │
                    │ • Dimensions     │
                    │ • History        │
                    └─────────────────┘

Characteristics:

3. Lambda Functions Comparison

Function Architecture Evolution

Function OLD AWS NEW AWS Key Changes
WebTrigger Basic orchestration Enhanced with safety checks Added DynamoDB bypass, sync state validation
WorkOrders Simple sync Complex with deduplication Added unit routing, status validation, PW verification
Leases Basic extraction Full dimensional processing Added tenant tracking, unit relationships
Tenants Customer sync only Comprehensive mapping Added parent-child relationships, address normalization

Code Structure Changes

OLD Implementation (index.js)

// Simple require from layerconst { common, data, services } = require("greenlight");const { fynops, propertyware: pw, servicefusion: sf } = services;// Direct sync without conditionsif (workOrder) {
    await sf.createJob(workOrder);}

NEW Implementation (index.js:1850-1870)

// Enhanced with feature flags and validationconst { common, data, services } = require("greenlight");const { propertyware: pw, servicefusion: sf, supabase, deduplication } = services;// Conditional sync with multiple checksconst STATUS_OPEN = [
  "unscheduled", "scheduled", "scheduled outside sf",  "dispatched", "delayed", "on the way", "on site",  "started", "paused", "resumed", "partially completed",  "open", "wo received", "awaiting parts"];if (process.env.ENABLE_SERVICE_FUSION === 'true' &&
    !process.env.DRY_RUN === 'true' &&    STATUS_OPEN.includes(workOrder.status.toLowerCase())) {
    // Check for duplicates first    const isDuplicate = await deduplication.checkDuplicate(workOrder);    if (!isDuplicate) {
        await sf.createJob(workOrder);    }
}

4. Workflow Orchestration Evolution

OLD Workflow - Sequential Processing

Schedule → WebTrigger → WorkOrders → Complete
                      ↓
                   DynamoDB
                   (Temporary)

NEW Workflow - SNS-Driven Chain

Trigger Sources:
├── EventBridge (Schedule)
├── HTTP API (Manual)
└── Lambda Console (Debug)
           ↓
      WebTrigger
           ↓
    SNS Topic Publishing
           ↓
    Parallel Execution:
    ├── workorders.getPWPortfolios
    ├── workorders.getPWWorkOrders
    ├── workorders.getSFCustomers
    ├── workorders.getSFJobs
    ├── leases.getPWBuildings
    ├── leases.getPWLeases
    ├── workorders.pushWorkOrdersToSF
    ├── workorders.pushPortfoliosToSF
    ├── leases.pushLeaseTenantsToSF
    └── workorders.pushJobUpdatesToPW

Key Improvements:

5. Database Architecture Evolution

OLD: DynamoDB Temporary Storage

// Transient tables (deleted after sync)- SyncState (single record)
- TempWorkOrders
- TempCustomers
- TempJobs

Limitations:

NEW: Supabase PostgreSQL with Kimball Model

-- Dimensional Model (Persistent)-- Fact Tablesfact_work_orders
fact_work_orders_original
fact_leases
fact_jobs
fact_transactions
-- Dimension Tablesdim_portfolio
dim_building
dim_unit
dim_tenant
dim_vendor
dim_status
dim_date
-- Mapping Tablescustomer_mappings
sf_customer_cache
unit_mappings
-- Audit Tablessync_history
error_logs
duplicate_detection_log

Advantages:

6. Configuration & Feature Management

OLD: Hard-Coded Configuration

// No configuration managementconst SYNC_ENABLED = true;  // Always onconst SF_ENABLED = true;    // No controlconst DEBUG = false;        // No visibility

NEW: Environment-Based Feature Flags

// Current Production Configuration (as of Aug 20, 2025){
  "DRY_RUN": "false",                    // Production mode active  "ENABLE_SERVICE_FUSION": "true",       // SF sync enabled  "SAFE_MODE": "true",                   // Extra validation active  "FEATURE_FLAG_PW_WO_VERIFY_STRICT": "false",  // Flexible validation  "FEATURE_PW_OPEN_STATUSES": "open,partially completed,awaiting parts,...",  "SNSTOPIC": "arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:557477747490:GreenLightSNSTopic",  "SUPABASE_URL": "https://gvdslkuqiezmkombppqe.supabase.co"}

Control Capabilities:

7. Error Handling & Recovery

OLD: Basic Error Logging

try {
    // Sync operation} catch (error) {
    console.error(error);    throw error;  // Fail entire sync}

NEW: Comprehensive Error Management

try {
    // Sync operation with validation} catch (error) {
    // Categorized error handling    if (error.code === 'ECONNRESET') {
        // PropertyWare connection fix        await pw.reconnect({ keepAlive: false });        // Retry with exponential backoff    } else if (error.status === 422) {
        // ServiceFusion validation error        await handleValidationError(error);        // Log to error_logs table    } else if (error.message.includes('duplicate')) {
        // Duplicate detection        await deduplication.handleDuplicate(entity);        // Skip and continue    }
    // Store error for analysis    await supabase.from('error_logs').insert({
        timestamp: new Date(),        function: context.functionName,        error: error.message,        stack: error.stack,        recovery_action: recoveryAction
    });}

8. Critical Production Fixes Applied

PropertyWare Connection Issues (Fixed in v112)

Problem: Socket hang up errors during API calls

Solution:

// Disabled keep-alive, added connection close header{
    keepAlive: false,    headers: { 'Connection': 'close' },    timeout: 90000}

Result: Zero connection errors in production

Unit ID Data Corruption (Fixed in v158)

Problem: 40 work orders had unit_id = building_id

Solution: SQL correction and validation logic

UPDATE fact_work_orders
SET unit_id = NULL
WHERE unit_id = building_id
AND building_id IN (multi_unit_buildings);

Result: Correct unit routing for all work orders

Status Mapping Issues (Fixed in v161)

Problem: STATUS_OPEN array was commented out

Solution: Restored proper status categorization

const STATUS_OPEN = [
  "unscheduled", "scheduled", "scheduled outside sf",  "dispatched", "delayed", "on the way", "on site",  "started", "paused", "resumed", "partially completed",  "open", "wo received", "awaiting parts"];

Result: Accurate open/closed status determination

Warm Container Deployment Trap (Documented)

Problem: Lambda used cached old code after deployment

Solution: Force cold start with version publishing

# Required after every deployment./restore-env-and-publish.sh

Result: Guaranteed fresh code execution

9. Performance Metrics Comparison

OLD AWS Performance

Metric Value Notes
Sync Duration ? Sequential processing
Memory Usage 512MB limit Frequent OOM errors
Error Rate 15-20% Connection issues
Data Loss Common No persistence
Recovery Time Hours Manual intervention

NEW AWS Performance (Current Production)

Metric Value Notes
Sync Duration 10 minutes Parallel processing
Memory Usage 216MB / 1024MB Ample headroom
Error Rate <1% Self-healing
Data Loss None Full persistence
Recovery Time Automatic Self-recovery

10. Monitoring & Observability

OLD: Basic CloudWatch

NEW: Comprehensive Monitoring

CloudWatch Metrics:

Supabase Monitoring:

Operational Dashboards:

11. Security Enhancements

OLD: Basic Security

// Credentials in environment variablesprocess.env.PW_USERNAMEprocess.env.PW_PASSWORDprocess.env.SF_CLIENT_IDprocess.env.SF_CLIENT_SECRET

NEW: Enhanced Security Model

// Parameter Store with encryptionaws ssm get-parameter --name greenlightsync.PWKEYS --with-decryption
aws ssm get-parameter --name greenlightsync.SFKEYS --with-decryption
aws ssm get-parameter --name greenlightsync.SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE --with-decryption
// IAM role-based access// VPC endpoints for private communication// Secrets rotation capability

12. Deployment & Operations

OLD: Manual Deployment Process

  1. ZIP Lambda function code
  2. Upload via AWS Console
  3. Manual environment variable updates
  4. No rollback capability
  5. No version control

NEW: Infrastructure as Code (SAM)

# template.ymlResources:  WorkOrdersFunction:    Type: AWS::Serverless::Function    Properties:      Runtime: nodejs20.x      Timeout: 600      MemorySize: 1024      Layers:        - !Ref GreenLightLayer      Environment:        Variables:          DRY_RUN: false          ENABLE_SERVICE_FUSION: true

Deployment Process:

sam build
sam deploy --guided./restore-env-and-publish.sh  # Force cold start

13. Migration Timeline & Milestones

Phase 1: Initial Migration (May 2025)

Phase 2: Enhancement (June-July 2025)

Phase 3: Production Readiness (August 2025)

Current State (August 20, 2025)

14. Key Architectural Improvements

1. Data Persistence

2. Sync Control

3. Error Recovery

4. Duplicate Prevention

5. Status Management

6. Connection Reliability

7. Data Model

8. Monitoring

9. Deployment

10. Scalability

15. Recommendations & Future Enhancements

Immediate Recommendations

  1. Enable EventBridge Schedule
    • Currently DISABLED
    • Ready for: cron(*/30 12-23 ? * 2-6 *)
    • Provides automatic sync every 30 minutes
  2. Complete Customer Mappings
    • Current coverage: ~78%
    • Target: >95% coverage
    • Priority: Unmapped buildings causing sync failures
  3. Optimize Layer Size
    • Current: 109MB (includes unnecessary dependencies)
    • Target: <50MB (remove AWS SDK, optimize packages)
    • Benefit: Faster cold starts

Future Enhancements

  1. Real-time Sync via Webhooks
    • Implement PropertyWare webhooks when available
    • Reduce sync latency from 30 minutes to real-time
  2. Advanced Analytics
    • Implement business intelligence dashboards
    • Predictive maintenance analytics
    • Work order trend analysis
  3. Multi-Region Deployment
    • Disaster recovery capability
    • Geographic distribution for performance
  4. API Gateway Integration
    • RESTful API for external integrations
    • GraphQL endpoint for flexible queries
  5. Machine Learning Integration
    • Automatic categorization
    • Anomaly detection
    • Predictive routing

Conclusion

The migration from OLD AWS to NEW AWS represents a complete architectural transformation from a simple synchronization bridge to a comprehensive data warehouse solution. The current production system (v166 with layer v126) incorporates numerous fixes, enhancements, and architectural improvements that provide:

The system is currently in stable production with ServiceFusion enabled, processing work orders successfully with all critical fixes applied through August 20, 2025.

Document Generated: August 20, 2025

Based on Production State: Lambda v166, Layer v126

Account: 557477747490 (NEW AWS)

More about me

My aim is to live a balanced and meaningful life, where all areas of my life are in harmony. By living this way, I can be the best version of myself and make a positive difference in the world. About me →

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