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Automated Cleanup for Inactive Dataverse for Teams Environments
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Microsoft Dataverse
Oct 19, 2022 9:11 PM

Automated Cleanup for Inactive Dataverse for Teams Environments

by HubSite 365 about Michel Mendes [MVP]

Microsoft MVP | Senior Consultant at Avanade | Microsoft 365 | Power Platform | SharePoint

Citizen DeveloperMicrosoft DataversePower AutomateM365 Release

Ensure productivity with Microsofts cleanup mechanism, designed to remove inactive Dataverse for Teams environments automatically.

New Cleanup Mechanism for the Microsoft Dataverse

The blog post by Michel Mendes focuses on a newly incorporated cleanup mechanism in Power Platform that automatically discards inactive Teams environments within the tenant. After 90 days of dormancy, the said environment will be disabled. If it remains inactive for another 30 days, the environment will be deleted. However, administrators have a 7-day grace period to recover the deleted environments.

The cleanup procedure doesn't impact other Teams assets like channels, SharePoint sites, Teams-connected sites, etc., and only applies to Teams integrations in the databank system. The process is fully automated, meaning no manual action is required. Once an environment in the databank system for Teams is disabled, it loses most of its functionality. Apps won't launch, chatbots can't allow interactions, and flows will be suspended.

Specific to the automated cleanup of production and sandbox environments, the article provides a link to more details on automatic environment cleanup. The schedule of notifications and actions for inactive Teams environments within the databank system is laid out in a table. The actions range from issuing warnings to disabling and finally deleting the environment, whilst regularly updating the state of the environment on the Environments list page and the Environment page.

User activities, maker activities, and admin activities in the databank system for Teams are precisely defined. These activities are mostly comprised of operations to create, read, update, and delete on the environment. Automated behaviours are also considered activity. For instance, if a cloud flow runs daily in an environment where there isn't any user, maker, or admin activity, then that environment is still deemed active.

By default, admins have a month to reactivate a disabled Teams environment. Should it remain disabled after this period, it's then automatically deleted. However, they still have a week to recover any deleted environment. The article then provides detailed instructions on how to trigger activity for a dormant Teams environment, reactivate a disabled one, or recover a deleted one.

The Microsoft Dataverse and Importance

The utility of Microsoft Dataverse extends far beyond offering a cloud solution for data storage. It is an integral part of the Microsoft Power Platform that enables users to develop, analyze, act and automate data. In particular for Teams, the databank system offers a secure location to store and manage team data for business processes. It goes without saying, automation of cleanup for inactive environments not only further refines data management but also adds convenience for admins.

Read the full article New cleanup mechanism will automatically remove inactive Dataverse for Teams environments

Microsoft Dataverse - Automated Cleanup for Inactive Dataverse for Teams Environments

Learn about New cleanup mechanism will automatically remove inactive Dataverse for Teams environments

The Power Platform from Microsoft now offers an automated cleanup feature known as the Microsoft Dataverse for Teams environments. This innovative mechanism eradicates any inactive Dataverse for Teams environments on your tenant. These environments get deactivated initially following 90 consecutive days of inactivity. Suppose administrators take no actions within the next 30 days of the environment being paralyzed; it then gets entirely eradicated.

Administrators have a grace period of 7 days to revive these deleted environments. The disabling or deletion of such environments does not impact other Microsoft Teams assets, such as SharePoint sites, Teams, channels, Teams-connected sites, and others. It solely applies to Dataverse for Teams integrations.

Once a Dataverse for Teams environment gets deactivated, it prevents any significant use of that environment and its resources. Therefore, apps cannot be launched, flows are impeded, chatbots are stalled, etc. For further data on automatic cleanup, refer to the Automatic environment cleanup.

  • State of Dataverse for Teams (83 days, 87 days, 90 days, 113 days, 117 days, 120 days after no user activity) - Actions by the Power Platform including sending warning, environment disablement, environment deletion, and updates on the Environment list page or the Environment page.
  • Notification recipients - Environment's system administrators, user who created the environment and tenant admin (if environment admins are no longer part of the tenant).

Various user, maker, and admin activities across Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents, and the Microsoft Dataverse for Teams are considered in calculating a singular measure of inactivity for each corresponding environment. While most operations are included as activities, several read operations, such as visiting the home page, solution explorer, etc., are not treated as activities.

  • User activity - App launches, flow execution, interaction with Power Virtual Agents bot
  • Maker activity - Creating, updating, deletion of an app, flow, Power Virtual Agents bot, custom connector
  • Admin activity - Executing environment operations such as copy, delete, back up, recover, reset

Automated actions like scheduled flow runs also fall under the category of activity. Suppose there is an absence of user, maker, or admin activity in an environment. In that case, it is deemed active if a cloud flow within the environment executes every day.

  • Trigger activity - Log in to the Power Platform admin center, choose 'Environments', select the inactive Dataverse for Teams environment, and choose 'Trigger environment activity'.
  • Re-enable a disable environment - Log in to the Power Platform admin center, choose 'Environments', select the inactive Dataverse for Teams environment, and choose 'Re-enable environment'.
  • Recover a deleted environment - Log in to the Power Platform admin center, choose 'Environments', select 'Recover deleted environments', select an environment for recovery, and choose 'Recover'.

For a broader understanding, refer to the sections on Recover environment, Automatic Environments cleanup within Microsoft's documentation, and Microsoft's integrated environments for Teams operations for more insights on the product.

More links on about New cleanup mechanism will automatically remove inactive Dataverse for Teams environments

Automatic deletion of inactive Microsoft Dataverse for ...
May 30, 2023 — Power Platform provides a cleanup mechanism that automatically removes Dataverse for Teams environments from your tenant that are left ...
Automatic environment cleanup - Power Platform
Jun 2, 2023 — A cleanup mechanism in Power Platform automatically removes environments that aren't being used. After 90 days of inactivity, an environment is ...
Announcement of automatic deletion of inactive Microsoft ...
MC415083 – The Microsoft Power Platform is introducing a cleanup mechanism that will automatically remove inactive Teams environments from your tenant.

Keywords

Dataverse for Teams, Cleanup Mechanism, Inactive Dataverse Removal, Automatic Dataverse Cleanup, Microsoft Dataverse, Teams Environments, Data Management, Activity Automation, Cleanup Automation, Dataverse Maintenance