This topic describes major version upgrades and Sandbox previews for Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud CRM.
Major version upgrade
Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud CRM receives three major version upgrades each year: Spring, Summer, and Winter. This schedule aligns with the release of Salesforce versions outside China.
To confirm the current major version of your tenant org, see CRM - Instance major version.
Sandbox preview
The Sandbox preview is part of the major version upgrade procedure. It lets you preview and test the features and attributes of the next major version on your Sandbox tenant org. You can also test your tenant org's configuration. This helps you prepare for the major version upgrade of your production tenant org.
Sandbox preview and non-preview instances
During the Sandbox preview period, Sandbox instances are divided into preview instances and non-preview instances.
Sandbox tenant orgs that run on Sandbox preview instances are upgraded to the next major version when the Sandbox preview starts.
Sandbox tenant orgs that run on Sandbox non-preview instances remain on the current major version when the Sandbox preview starts. They are upgraded to the next major version along with the production tenant orgs on production instances during the final release.
For more information about Sandbox instances, see CRM - Instance.
Major version upgrade and Sandbox preview - Procedure and milestones
The procedure and milestones for a major version upgrade and Sandbox preview are as follows:
Order | Milestone | Description |
1 | Announcement date |
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2 | Cutoff date |
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3 | Preview start |
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4 | Final release |
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Actions you need to take
After the upgrade announcement is published, you must decide whether to participate in the Sandbox preview to prepare for the upcoming major version upgrade.
Confirm your Sandbox tenant org information
On your production tenant org, click Settings. In the Quick Find box, enter Sandbox and select it. In the list of Sandbox tenant orgs, view and confirm the instance type in the Release Type column to determine if it runs on a Sandbox preview instance.
Understand the cutoff date
The cutoff date is the deadline for a Sandbox tenant org to participate in the Sandbox preview. After the cutoff date, all Sandbox refresh requests are redirected to Sandbox non-preview instances. This means that any Sandbox tenant org not running on a Sandbox preview instance cannot participate in the Sandbox preview.
Decide whether to participate in the Sandbox preview
Use the following flowchart to determine if your Sandbox tenant org will participate in the Sandbox preview and take the corresponding action.
Processing Sandbox refresh requests takes time. During the Sandbox preview period, a high volume of refresh requests are submitted. The product backend queues and processes these requests based on the tenant org size and submission time. Any Sandbox refresh request that is not completed by 00:00 (UTC+8) on the cutoff date is reset. The request is then processed as a refresh to a non-preview instance, and the org will not participate in the Sandbox preview. If you decide that a Sandbox refresh is needed, submit the request as soon as possible to ensure it is completed before the cutoff.
Sandbox preview FAQ
For more information, see CRM - Sandbox preview FAQ.