Does the scenario of a three layer implementation of Rhythmyx (shared development server, test server , production) conform to the best practices? If yes, should the test/staging Rx server be a duplicate of production when it comes to the CMS content (not necessarily the applications ofcourse)? Again, if yes what is the best way to approach maintaining it? (e.g. running SSIS packages periodically)
Yes, it’s important to have a three layer system (unless you are the only developer).
The Test system should be a copy of production. You can take periodic “snapshots” of the production system and install them on test server. Usually, we recommend doing this just before you do a major deployment from development.
Dave