In this section, we will start by taking a look at sandboxes.
There are two sandbox types that can be used for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central—an online or on-premise sandbox that be managed locally or through Microsoft Azure. There are differences between the two types of sandbox and how they can be used, detailed in the following table.
The following table shows capability comparison:
SaaS sandbox | Local sandbox (container or Azure VM) |
Managed by Microsoft | Managed by a partner |
Uses VS Code only | Uses VS Code, C/AL, and SQL Server |
The production and sandbox is in the same environment | Located in Docker container environments |
Cost—subscription required | Costs—Charged on Azure; free on local |
No database access (backups and load balancing is managed by Microsoft) | Full database access |
Debugging | Debugging |
Visual Studio Code and "In-client" Designer | Visual Studio Code, "In-client" Designer, C/SIDE, and SSMS |