Dev version connects to the live site database despite settings.php I've made a dev copy of the site to perform some tests and bug fixes:


copied site files to the separate directory
copied database under the same user, so I'm able to see both DBs in the phpmyadmin
edited settings.php to point dev to the copied database
created new nginx conf to serve dev.mysite.com


BUT, the dev version is still communicates with the production DB somehow.

Server configuration:
Ubuntu, Varnish front, Nginx back, MariaDB, opcache

Site configuration: Drupal7, single-site setup

And of course, I've double checked settings.php

Christmas mystery?
You did not edit your sites.php file or name the new site directory in such a way that Drupal can discover it.