Manage CRM Online Sandbox instances

Applies To: CRM Online

[This topic is pre-release documentation and is subject to change in future releases.]

A Sandbox instance is any non-production instance of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. Isolated from production, a Sandbox instance is the place to safely develop and test application changes.

Note

Customers with a combined total of 25 or more Professional or Enterprise licenses are provided with a free Sandbox instance. You can also purchase Sandbox instances. For more information, see Licensing plans for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

If you already have non-production instances, they will now be identified as the Sandbox instance type.

In This Topic

View your Sandbox instances

Reset a Sandbox instance

Administration mode

View your Sandbox instances

You manage your Sandbox instances from the CRM Online Administration Center.

  1. Browse to the Office 365 admin center and sign in using Office 365 Global administrator credentials.

  2. Click Admin > CRM.

  3. Choose the Instances tab.

On the Manage all CRM Online instances page, you’ll see a list of all your instances.

Reset a Sandbox instance

You can reset a Sandbox instance to delete and re-provision it. Consider a reset when you want to:

  • Create a new project

  • Free up storage space

  • Remove an instance containing Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data

Note

An example scenario

Thomas is looking at the storage consumed by the various Contoso instances and is getting concerned that they’ll run out of space in one of their production instances. He’d like to free up some space so he can give the production instance some additional storage. He’s also been notified that the Legal department has set a retention policy on the use of production data in the test environment.

After contacting Isaac, Thomas resets the Sales department’s complete Sandbox instance. The instance is re-provisioned to factory settings and ready for future use as a Sandbox instance for a future project.

To reset an instance

  1. Browse to the Office 365 admin center and sign in using Office 365 Global administrator credentials.

  2. Click Admin > CRM.

  3. Choose the Instances tab.

  4. On the Manage all CRM Online instances page, select a Sandbox instance and then choose Reset.

  5. On the reset instance page, adjust the instance settings as needed and then choose Next.

  6. Review the language, and currency settings, and then choose Reset.

    Warning

    The Sandbox instance will be deleted and reset to factory settings. You will not be able to recover any deleted data.

  7. Choose yes in the confirmation dialog box.

Administration mode

When you place a Sandbox instance in administration mode only users with CRM System Administrator or System Customizer security roles will be able to sign in to that instance. Administration mode is useful when you want to make operational changes and not have regular users affect your work, and not have your work affect regular users.

Note

On the admin settings page, you can set the following.

Setting Description

Enable administration mode

Select to enable administration mode for the selected Sandbox instance. Only System Administrators or System Customizers will be able to sign in to the selected Sandbox instance.

Disable background operations

Select to disable all asynchronous operations (see Asynchronous Service Architecture) such as workflows and synchronization with Microsoft Exchange. Emails will not be sent and server-side synchronization for appointments, contacts, and tasks are disabled.

Note

Administration mode must be enabled to disable background operations.

Custom message for end users

Enter a message that will be displayed to all users when they attempt to sign in.

Set administration mode

  1. Browse to the Office 365 admin center and sign in using Office 365 Global administrator credentials.

  2. Click Admin > CRM.

  3. Choose the Instances tab.

  4. On the Manage all CRM Online instances page, select a Sandbox instance and then choose Admin toggle to change to the desired state.

  5. Select Enable administration mode to enable it, and then choose Save.

See Also

Concepts

Copy an instance
Manage Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online instances

Other Resources

Introducing Sandbox Instances in CRM Online

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