Creating sandboxes
Who can create a sandbox?
Currently, a Box enterprise admin or enterprise co-admin can create or delete a developer sandbox through the Admin Console.
What are developer sandboxes meant for?
Developer sandboxes are meant for development and application testing purposes only, and not for managing applications in production.
Check out our latest feature matrix to learn what features or limitations are applicable to sandboxes, or please contact your CSM for more information.
How is my sandbox environment different from a free developer account?
A free developer account is a free trial account plan that allows developers to get started with developer tools as part of their initial 30-day evaluation.
- When your development team is ready to build a more specific project on Box platform, a sandbox created by your enterprise admin or co-admin can provide a sanctioned development environment that reflects your existing plan and does not impact production data in your parent Box enterprise.
- By building in a sandbox instance, enterprise developers also receive the right support from user services on tickets associated with their plan. If you have premier support as part of the plan for your parent EID, this applies to your sandbox-related work as well.
- Sandboxes are also directly linked to the main parent enterprise, unlike developer accounts. In the future, this will provide more efficient paths to production.
Does my sandbox have the same enterprise ID (EID) as my parent enterprise?
No, each sandbox is a distinct Box enterprise and has a unique EID and primary administrator. Within the sandbox environment, the primary administrator is the developer associated with the sandbox Primary Admin Email.
How many users can the enterprise admin specify to provision during sandbox creation?
The enterprise admin or co-admin is able to specify only the sandbox's primary administrator. The sandbox's primary admin can create additional sandbox user accounts. The sandbox's primary admin can also use the Box Command Line Interface (CLI) to automate the bulk provisioning of users to the sandbox. Learn more about the Box Command Line Interface tools here.
What does the sandbox environment look like?
A sandbox appears like a normal Box enterprise with the default branding. A badge at the bottom left of the page indicates the environment is a sandbox.
How many sandboxes can I create?
Each customer can create up to ten sandboxes.
What if I already have existing sandbox environments?
For enterprises with existing sandboxes, admins can reach out to CSM's to have these sandboxes linked and made active in admin console, so admins can manage them.
How long are sandboxes active?
Currently there is no date limit on when sandboxes expire. The enterprise admin or co-admin can delete s andboxes if they choose to no longer use Box.
How does sandbox work with Single Sign-On (SSO)?
Because the way each customer sets up SSO is unique, depending on their provider and company structure, associating a sandbox with SSO requires specific manual configuration. To best configure sandboxes with a customer's specific SSO use case, a consultation with Box Consulting is recommended.
If the parent enterprise is set up as a Box Verified Environment (BVE), is that setting carried over to its sandboxes?
No, BVE is a specific setting turned on for an enterprise, and is not part of your specific Box plan. Settings are not automatically carried over to a sandbox account, so BVE status is not automatically transferred.
If the parent enterprise is set up with IP Allowlist, is that setting carried over to its sandboxes?
No, IP Allowlist is a specific setting capability turned on for an enterprise, and is not part of your specific Box plan. Settings are not automatically carried over to a sandbox account, so IP Allowlist configurations are not automatically transferred.
Sandbox management
Is the information or settings in my parent enterprise replicated in my sandbox?
- Sandboxes are linked to a paid production enterprise, and reflect the customer's paid plan. Each sandbox is a new, blank environment based on your existing Box plan.
- Please check out our latest feature matrix to learn what features or limitations are applicable to your plans today, or please contact your CSM for more information.
If I have add-on products, such as Relay, Shield, and Zones, does my sandbox include them?
- Currently this is not the case. A sandbox is simply a blank environment that reflects the customer's paid plan. As such, additional add-on products are not reflected in the sandbox environment.
- Check out our latest feature matrix to learn what features or limitations are applicable to plans today or please contact your CSM for more information.
Where do our old ‘sandboxes’ exist after I have access to the sandbox management page in the admin console?
If you have previously-existing sandboxes, with help from your CSM you can roll them into your sandbox management page via the EID of the environment. Please contact your CSM for more information.
Pricing and availability
Which customers get access to developer sandboxes?
Developer sandboxes are included as part of any Box business plan or above. At this time, there are no plans for a distinct SKU for sandboxes that customers can purchase separately.
Do API calls in developer sandboxes count toward my API allocations within my Box Platform SKU?
API calls made within a developer sandbox are no different from those made within a production enterprise EID. Today Box offers up to 100K API calls a month for the purpose of development and testing**. Beyond this amount, customers typically purchase platform resources as part of a custom development initiative with Box Platform.
**To monitor API consumption in your sandboxes, generate and export the Platform Activity report from the Reports tab of the enterprise admin console.
When managing developer sandboxes, each customer can independently provision up to ten sandboxes at any given time that reflect their existing plan. In addition, admins can request that previously-existing sandbox EIDs be rolled into their sandbox management page. Please contact your CSM for more information.
What, if any, feature restrictions and limits are applied to sandboxes?
A sandbox reflects the customer's paid plan. As such, any feature sets or limitations mimic those offered in the respective enterprise plan. These features and limits apply to all aspects of the Box environment including:
- Storage
- Bandwidth
- Network throughput
- API rate limits, upload limits, quotas
- Managed users
- Files, folders
- Service accounts or app users within an enterprise
Sandbox environments do not reflect additional add-on products. Check out our latest feature matrix to learn what features or limitations are applicable to enterprise plans today.
Are developer sandboxes available to developers with free accounts?
No, the Platform tab is completely hidden from these accounts. Only customers with business plans or above see the Platform tab at this time.
Is creation of sandbox users limited only to those who are in the parent enterprise?
- There is no specific limitation on who can be provisioned as the primary admin on the developer sandbox.
- Currently, the only requirement is unique email addresses that are different from the email addresses associated with their Box plan accounts.