Possible to restore DevBox resources?

Question

We have been using Microsoft DevBox for a developer who is leaving. In a miscommunication the resources in Azure were deleted early preventing the Dev from finishing their work. Is there a way to restore DevBox resources? We do not have a support plan and would like to know if it is even possible before paying for a support plan.

Answer 1

Hello @Earl Stenlund

Thanks for explaining the situation. We understand how the early deletion due to a miscommunication can impact ongoing work.

In terms of recovery, restoring a Microsoft Dev Box depends on whether a snapshot exists from before the deletion:

• If a manual snapshot was taken, the Dev Box can be restored from that.
• If no manual snapshot exists, Microsoft Dev Box also creates automatic snapshots:
  • Short snapshots every 12 hoursA
  Long snapshots every 7 days Snapshots are retained for 28 days on a rotating basis (10 short + 4 long, total 14)

If the Dev Box was deleted within the last 28 days, there’s a chance an automatic snapshot is still available. If the deletion occurred outside that window, the snapshots would no longer be recoverable.

If a snapshot is available, you can restore it by following steps mentioned here:

Signing in to the Developer Portal

Selecting the affected Dev Box and choosing Restore

Reviewing the restore impact (any changes made after the selected snapshot will be removed)

Selecting the appropriate snapshot (manual snapshots appear first, followed by automatic ones)

Confirming the restore and monitoring progress from the Dev Box tile

The restore process may take several hours, and you’ll receive an email notification once it’s completed.

In case if this also doesn't help, you can report your issue here as well for better support without a support plan: https://developercommunity.microsoft.com/devbox

References:

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-restore-from-snapshot#restore-your-dev-box-from-a-snapshot-1

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