title: Ruby on Rails: Accessing production database data for testing
body: <p>With Ruby on Rails, is there a way for me to dump my production database into a form that the test part of Rails can access?</p>
  
  <p>I'm thinking either a way to turn the production database into fixtures, or else a way to migrate data from the production database into the test database that will not get routinely cleared out by Rails.</p>
  
  <p>I'd like to use this data for a variety of tests, but foremost in my mind is using real data with the performance tests, so that I can get a realistic understanding of load times.</p>