What is the main difference between "staging" and "production" environments in DTS?

The main difference between staging and production environments in DTS lies in their intended purposes. Staging environments are specifically designed for testing and validation of new data, processes, or applications before they are deployed to the production environment. This means that in staging, developers and data integrators can catch and resolve any issues, conduct performance testing, and ensure that everything functions correctly under near-production conditions.

On the other hand, production environments are where live processing occurs. This is the environment that end-users interact with and where the final, validated versions of data and applications are executed. Any changes made in the production environment need to be rigorously controlled and monitored because they directly affect the users and business operations.

Therefore, the distinction is critical for ensuring data integrity and minimizing disruptions in the live environment, making the option that states staging is for testing and validation while production is for live processing the correct choice.