diff --git a/website/blog/2022-12-09-m365-sandbox-setup.md b/website/blog/2022-12-09-m365-sandbox-setup.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..f60081362 --- /dev/null +++ b/website/blog/2022-12-09-m365-sandbox-setup.md @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@ +--- +slug: m365-sandbox-setup +title: "Setting up your own Microsoft 365 sandbox" +authors: nica +tags: [corso, microsoft 365] +date: 2022-12-09 +image: ./images/ar_sandbox.jpg +--- + +When trying to set up a Microsoft 365 sandbox domain myself I found some of the documentation out of date, +so this is a quick guide to setting up a sandbox domain for Microsoft 365 development. + +## Why would you want to do this? + +I personally needed this for recording a screencast of the process to install Corso. +While recording myself going through permission settings in M365, +I didn’t want to unintentionally reveal PII for my team members or other sensitive data. + +Another reason to do this is if you’re looking to level up both your skills and +want to experiment with being the admin in your own space +rather than impacting other users on a production domain. It’s also a good step to experiment with [owning your own identity](https://corsobackup.io/blog/your-own-backups/). + +Finally, this might also be useful if you are developing an M365 app. This way, programmatic +updates to your domain can’t accidentally destroy anything important. + +## 1) Join the Microsoft 365 developer program + +To get access to the free hosting required for your sandbox domain, +you’ll need to [join the M365 Developer Program](https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/dev-program). +This process is quite straightforward and fairly foolproof. + +![Screen Shot 2022-11-30 at 3.20.45 PM.png](./images/12-09-2022-a.png) +> Note that when you go to set this up the first time, you may find that your Microsoft Account isn’t fully set up. +> For example on my account I didn’t have a full name set on my profile. You’ll be prompted to add this info if needed + +You’ll also be asked for the following info: + +- Contact Email +- Country/Region +- Company + +As far as I know, no answers to these questions will disqualify you, but let me know if any answers kick you out of the process! + +Notably, one piece of extant documentation implies you need a Visual Studio subscription to join the Developer Program, +but, currently, it looks like anyone with a Microsoft account, even just a personal account, can get access. + +## 2) Create an instant sandbox + +After joining the developer program and signing in to the developer dashboard, you’ll be prompted to set up a sandbox + +While you can configure a custom sandbox domain to control the exact components installed, +for the use cases mentioned above an instant sandbox will work just fine. + +The pre-made sandbox also comes pre-populated with data like user accounts. Of note, +you can decide during setup if you want to set all the passwords for these accounts to be the same as the admin. + +![Microsoft 365 sandbox domain user list](./images/12-09-2022-b.png) +*Your sandbox comes pre-populated with user accounts* + +## 3) Limitations of the sandbox + +Notably, by default, there won’t be the following data in your sandbox: + +- Emails +- Teams chat history +- Calendar events + +Your sandbox also includes a free Microsoft 365 E5 developer sandbox subscription with 25 user licenses, and that’s awesome, +but it doesn’t work like a production instance. + +Remember that you want to set up your sandbox when you’re ready to use it. +The data is persistent but it’s wiped after 90 days. + +Also, you can’t just do whatever you want with this instance, it’s for development and testing purposes only. +Commercial transactions, including purchasing paid services, are not supported. + +## 4) Next steps + +To learn more about populating your domain with dummy data, see +[developer sandbox demo data](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/developer-program/install-sample-packs) +to create users, email, calendar events, and other dummy data for testing. + +And if you want one more thing to try out with a sandbox domain, check out [Corso](http://corsobackup.io), +a free and open-source backup tool. The sandbox is a great place to try it out! diff --git a/website/blog/images/12-09-2022-a.png b/website/blog/images/12-09-2022-a.png new file mode 100644 index 000000000..945d2cc39 Binary files /dev/null and b/website/blog/images/12-09-2022-a.png differ diff --git a/website/blog/images/12-09-2022-b.png b/website/blog/images/12-09-2022-b.png new file mode 100644 index 000000000..c4295d45e Binary files /dev/null and b/website/blog/images/12-09-2022-b.png differ diff --git a/website/blog/images/ar_sandbox.jpg b/website/blog/images/ar_sandbox.jpg new file mode 100644 index 000000000..97855bb30 Binary files /dev/null and b/website/blog/images/ar_sandbox.jpg differ