Manage On-Demand Sandboxes with Control Center
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Create an on-demand sandbox and configure its resource profile.
- Set a time to live (TTL) and use the operations scheduler to manage credit consumption.
- Monitor sandbox usage statistics.
- Perform instance operations including Start, Stop, Restart, Reset, and Delete.
Get Started with On-Demand Sandboxes in Control Center
Control Center is your command station for monitoring and managing your Commerce for B2C instances. While it handles Production (PIG) and standard Sandbox (SIG) instances, it’s helpful for managing an on-demand sandbox (ODS). An ODS is an isolated environment where you can build features or run automated tests without interfering with other team members or production data.
Create an On-Demand Sandbox
Before you can create a sandbox, make sure that you have the correct permissions. To create an ODS with control center requires the Sandbox_API_User role in Account Manager with a tenant filter formatted as <realm-id>_sbx for example, for realm "abcd", the filter is "abcd_sbx".
Create a new ODS instance:
- Log in to Control Center.
- Select the realm where you want to add the sandbox.
- Click Create on-demand sandbox.
- Complete the ODS Provisioning Request form with these details:
- Time To Live (TTL): Set the number of hours that you want the sandbox to exist. Options include 0 (infinite time), 24 hours, or 48 hours.
- Auto Schedule: Optionally set to true to activate automatic start and stop actions.
- Resource Allocation: Select a profile based on your performance needs. Options are medium (default), large, or xlarge. A more powerful profile like xlarge consumes more credits.
- Click Create sandbox.
The UI instance status cycles through New, Creating, Starting, and finally, System Up and Running.
Check the Status of a Sandbox
Confirm that an environment is fully operational before you deploy code or run test suites to prevent wasted effort on a system undergoing maintenance or creation. Control Center shows the status of all instances in your organization.
- Go to the Instances section.
- Search for the specific instance name in the search field.
- Observe the status indicator:
- New: The ODS is new.
- Creating: The system is provisioning the ODS.
- System up and running: The instance is ready for use.
- Restarting/Stopping: The instance is transitioning between states.
- Upgrading: Agentforce Commerce is performing maintenance on the ODS.
Manage Credits with the Operations Scheduler
Credits are a valuable resource. To prevent wasting them on idle sandboxes, you can use the operations scheduler to start and stop instances automatically. The operations scheduler helps you make sure sandboxes only run during active development hours.
The operations scheduler provides a UI-based tool to automate starts and stops.
To create a schedule:
- Go to your Realm and select On-Demand Sandboxes.
- Click Create operations scheduler.
- Select the type of scheduler (Start Scheduler or Stop Scheduler) from the dropdown.
- Select the specific days and the time for the action to occur.
- Click Create.
- Activate: Locate the instances that you want to apply this schedule to and switch the schedule switch to On.
Tip: If your business needs change, you can also edit or delete these schedulers later.
Monitor Usage Statistics
To track how many credits your sandboxes consume, go to Control Center.
- Select the realm containing your ODS instances.
- Select a specific ODS instance.
- Click the Statistics subtab.
Here, you can view the minutes up and minutes down parameters to monitor your usage and to evaluate your credit consumption.
Instance Operations: Start, Stop, Restart, and Reset
After your sandbox is running, you can manage its state directly from the Control Center dashboard. You can perform these actions on any instance.
- Start: Start an ODS that is listed as administratively down or system down.
- Stop: Stop an ODS to save credits.
- Restart: Reboot a running ODS.
- Reset: Return the OCD to a clean state.
Follow these steps to manage your sandbox.
- Go to the instance, and click Start, Stop, Restart, or Reset.
- Confirm the action. Control Center sends an email and a new temporary password to you.
- Wait for the system to complete the start routine, log in with the temporary password, and then change it.
Delete an On-Demand Sandbox
When you no longer need a sandbox, you can delete it to stop all credit consumption.
- Select the realm and locate the ODS instance.
- Click the trashcan (delete icon).
- Click Yes, Delete to confirm.
This action is irreversible and deletes all instance data immediately.
What’s Next?
In this unit, you explored how to use the intuitive Control Center UI to create, manage, and delete an ODS. Next, learn about on-demand sandbox cloning.