Copying Productions between namespaces

You can copy and move a production between environments by exporting it from Production Settings > Actions > Export and then deploying it in the target namespace through Manage / Deployment Changes. This export/deploy approach is described as the way to move an entire production to another namespace or server. [1][2]

Your issue with deployment is likely tied to compilation. A production becomes valid through compilation, and Ens.Config.Production objects are created when the production class is compiled in the target namespace. The deployment process is described as including import and compile steps, and one source explicitly says these objects are created when you compile your Production. [2][3][4]

I did not find any source here describing a supported way to deploy a production while skipping compilation. In fact, the retrieved material indicates that import/deploy of productions involves compilation, and that compiling in the target namespace is part of making the production usable there. [2][3][4]

If your goal is to avoid production-site compilation entirely, one discussion mentions an alternative strategy of separating code and data and replacing the code database / cache.dat, but it also notes caveats and that this is not ideal for Ensemble/productions without stopping the production. [5]

For related namespace copying tasks, there is also mention that namespace mappings can be copied programmatically with Config.Namespaces methods such as CopyMaps, but that concerns mappings, not skipping production compilation during deployment. [6]

So, based on the available material, the supported answer is: use Export Production and Deployment Changes to move the production, but there is no information here showing a way to skip the compile phase during deployment. [1][2][4]

Sources: