Custom cloud sandboxes in the Hands-on playground allow you to customize practice environments for your learners so they can experiment in a setting that more closely resembles their real-world setup.
About custom cloud sandboxes
Like our standard cloud sandboxes, custom cloud sandboxes allow your team to get valuable hands-on practice in an open setting without incurring accidental or unnecessary maintenance costs with your cloud vendor. They also have the added benefits of:
- Auto-deployed cloud resources designed to simulate business production and development environments.
- Testing out new resources in your current setup without disrupting production.
- The ability to assign custom cloud sandboxes to specific learners and teams within your organization.
To set up a custom cloud sandbox, you create a template, then we configure the sandbox for you.
Accessing custom cloud sandboxes
Admins and team managers/coordinators on the following plan types have the ability to create custom cloud sandbox templates for their learners:
- Skills Everything
- Skills Cloud + Security
- ACG Business Plus
- ACG Business Basic with the custom cloud sandboxes add-on
A plan can create up to three templates. If you’re interested in purchasing additional custom cloud templates for your plan, get in touch with your Account Executive or Customer Success Manager.
Setting up a custom cloud sandbox
Templates for custom cloud sandboxes follow the cloud native template formats for the following cloud providers:
- CloudFormation for AWS
- ARM for Azure
- Terraform for GCP
-
Deployment Manager for GCP
Note: We're constantly reviewing and expanding our custom cloud sandbox services. If you want to use a service that’s not currently offered, you're welcome to submit specific requests (opens Google form in new tab).
Creating a custom cloud sandbox
- Click Sandboxes from the leader navigation menu.
- Click + New Custom Sandbox.
- Fill in your sandbox details, including a template.
Tip: Consult our Custom cloud sandbox feature documentation (opens in new tab) for helpful resources, starter templates, and step-by-step instructions for creating a cloud template.
- In the Access section, specify who you want to have access to the sandbox: your entire organization, or specific teams and/or users.
- Click Save to return to your draft later, or click Submit.
- From your Business Dashboard (opens in new tab), click Sandboxes in the top navigation.
- If this is your first time using the feature, click Get started.
- Click + New custom sandbox.
- Fill in your new sandbox details, including a template.
Tip: Consult our Custom cloud sandbox feature documentation (opens in new tab) for helpful resources, starter templates, and step-by-step instructions for creating a cloud template.
- In the Access section, specify who you want to have access to the sandbox: your entire organization, or specific teams and/or users.
- Click Save to return to your draft later, or click Submit.
Your template appears in your list of sandboxes with its details and current status. In this list, you can click the Actions menu to duplicate, delete, edit the title and description, or edit who on your plan can access the sandbox.
Next steps
After you submit your template, our team reviews it to ensure there are no issues before they begin building your custom cloud sandbox. Please allow 5–7 business days to hear back from the team via email. If there are errors in your template, we’ll ask you to make changes and resubmit.
Once your template is approved and your sandbox is set up, its status shows as Active. The sandbox will appear in the Hands-on playground for any learners assigned to it. For details, see Custom cloud sandboxes for learners.