Expiration Dates for Dataverse for Teams & Trial Environments

Making Sense of Microsoft Dataverse Expiry Dates and Automation with Power Automate

In a recent blog post by Timo Pertilä of Forward Forever, he clarifies the expiry terms of Microsoft Dataverse for Teams and Trial environments, which carry inbuilt expiration dates. Teams environments become disabled after 90 days of inactivity and, if untouched for an additional 30 days, they are deleted. However, they can be retrieved seven days post deletion. Trial environments exhibit a more direct approach: they're removed 30 days post-creation.

Keeping up with a growing number of seldom-used environments can be challenging. Pertilä addresses this issue by listing corresponding expiration dates and providing a managed solution file. By doing so, users have a clear view of which environment is due for deactivation or deletion.

Power Platform environments can be tapped into the details using Power Platform for Admins connector's List Environment as Admin action. The scheduledLifecycleOperations property provides information regarding when a Microsoft Dataverse for Teams or Trial environment is to be disabled or purged.

The blog post guide walks through a created flow that compiles the details of these environments in an HTML table. While Pertilä used email to notify users about these details, other listing options such as SharePoint or Excel are also viable.

Interpreting the Flow and the Process

The flow used to state the expiration of environments opts for a recurrence trigger due to its role as a background flow. After capturing required properties, the JSON is parsed followed by a filter array to single out items where scheduledLifecycleOperations isn't null.

Then, the process loops through the filtered array. The flow discerns between DV4T or Trial environment by checking the length of the properties. Pertilä illustrates how the flow retrieves different values for DV4T or Trial environments based on the condition. The property is an array of objects that change according to the environment type. The DV4T array contains values for Disable and Delete, while the Trial array only includes a Delete value.

The blog post continues by delving into the technicalities of creating such a flow. It discusses the application of JSON Schema for the flow's Parse JSON action and gives an insight into various code expressions used throughout to make the flow faster and more efficient. The process ends with an HTML table complete with the details and expiration notices of the Dataverse environments.

The Broader Picture

Microsoft Dataverse and its environments aim to simplify data management for businesses. An automated expiration date system serves to prevent cluttering of unused environments, ensuring smoother operation. The Power Platforms for Admins connector and Power Automate come into play to handle massive environment listings and automate the process of keeping track of expiration dates. The integration of these technologies forms a streamlined framework for Microsoft's data ecosystem.

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Learn about When are my Dataverse for Teams and Trial environments expiring?

Understanding Expiry of Microsoft Dataverse for Teams and Trial Environments

Dealing with the Microsoft Dataverse for Teams (DV4T) and Trial environments, there is a component you should be aware of - their expiry dates. These environments behave differently from the regular ones as they are bound to become inactive after a certain period.

A DV4T environment is naturally coded to spiral into inactivity after 90 days if there's no administrative interaction. If left disabled for an extra 30 days, it is deleted and remains recoverable for only 7 days. Trial environments possess a different trajectory - they are deleted 30 days after creation.

Power Automate: A Tool for Monitory Environment Expiry Dates

Now that you understand this, it's important to ensure these environments are well maintained to avoid potential losses of data. Fortunately, Power Automate comes in handy for this task. By utilizing the Power Platform for Admins connector’s List Environments as Admin action, you can continuously track and retain your DV4T and Trial environments effectively.

A property named 'scheduledLifecycleOperations' offers the expected disable and delete dates for each of your environments. This unburdens you from constantly being on the lookout for expiry dates, especially as your data environments increase.

Customizing Power Automate for Efficient Tracking

You can streamline Power Automate to cater to your tracking needs by editing the flow. The edited flow can add all your DV4T and Trial environments to an HTML table, which can then be emailed to you. You are also at liberty to list them in the Dataverse, in a SharePoint list, or in Excel.

You may also consider creating a custom app as an extension to your Center of Excellence Starter Kit. This app allows you to pin it to the CoE's CoE Admin Command Center app, giving you effortless access whenever in need.

The Flow that Tracks Expiring Environments

The flow designed to track expiring environments uses a recurrence trigger to run based on your preferences. This could even be done at night when the data environment usage is minimal.

How the Flow Works

First, the flow prepares a schemata to search for the 'scheduledLifecycleOperations' property, which contains your environment's expiry data. After this, the information requested is scanned, cross-referenced, and filtered to display only the relevant details.

By the end of the process, the flow has an HTML table with data on all the DV4T and Trial environments. If you like, it can be programmed to email it to you for in-depth examination later.

Concluding

In conclusion, Microsoft Power Automate provides an efficient, time-saving way to keep tabs on the expiry dates of your DV4T and Trial environments.

This phenomenal tool keeps you updated with the status of your data environments and allows you to avoid potential data losses by notifying you of approaching expiry dates.

More links on about When are my Dataverse for Teams and Trial environments expiring?

When are my Dataverse for Teams and Trial environments ...

Mar 8, 2023 — A Dataverse for Teams environment will be disabled after 90 days of inactivity. If an admin takes no action, and the environment is left ...

About trial environments: standard and subscription-based

May 18, 2023 — A trial (subscription-based) environment lasts as long as the subscription is active. To check its expiration date, perform the following steps.

Get inactive dataverse for teams environments with...

Here's the blog post: When are my Dataverse for Teams and Trial environments expiring? Sample solution is also available on GitHub.

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