# Sandboxes, data kits and deployment

*Data 360 Consultant Study Guide · Data 360 Setup and Administration · Last updated October 16, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/data-360-consultant/data-360-setup-and-administration/sandboxes-data-kits-and-deployment*

What a Data 360 sandbox copies (metadata, never data), how to enable it (including license match), what it costs, how to keep production activation targets safe, and how to deploy with DevOps data kits through change sets or the Salesforce CLI, including governance mergeback.

- Certification: Salesforce Data 360 Consultant
- Exam section: Data 360 Setup and Administration
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/data-360-consultant

**Official exam objective:**

> Manage the development lifecycle with available tooling.

## What the exam expects

- Explain what a Data 360 sandbox replicates (metadata only) and what must be activated, reauthorized or rebuilt, including unified profiles.
- Enable Data 360 in a new sandbox or, with license match, in a sandbox created before production was provisioned.
- Control sandbox credit consumption and keep sandbox activations from touching production destinations.
- Choose between a DevOps data kit and a standard data kit, and deploy with a change set or the Salesforce CLI, meeting the prerequisites.
- Plan governance mergeback of tags and policies.

Key terms: **Data 360 sandbox** is a copy of production Data 360 metadata with no data; **license match** gives a pre-existing sandbox production's Data 360 licenses without a refresh; **DevOps data kit** migrates metadata from a data space to the same data space in another org; **standard data kit** packages Data 360 solutions for distribution; **mergeback** moves validated governance metadata from a sandbox to a linked org.

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sandbox contents | Metadata only in every sandbox type; no data replicated | [Create a Data 360 Sandbox](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=data.c360_a_data_cloud_sandbox_create.htm&type=5) |
| License match | Licenses only; up to 24 hours to sync | [Create a Data 360 Sandbox](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=data.c360_a_data_cloud_sandbox_create.htm&type=5) |
| Unified profiles | Not copied; run identity resolution after ingestion | [Set Up Your Data 360 Sandbox](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/data-360-sandboxes/set-up-your-data-360-sandbox) |
| Sandbox templates | Can't be used for a Data 360 sandbox | [Considerations for Sandbox in Data 360](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_data_cloud_sandbox_consideration.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Sandbox credits | Consume the source production org's credits; discounted multipliers | [Billing Considerations for Data 360 Sandbox](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=data.c360_a_data_cloud_sandbox_billing_considerations.htm&type=5) |
| DevOps vs standard kit | DevOps: any space to the same space; standard: default space to any space | [Data Kits](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=data.c360_a_data_package_kits.htm&type=5) |
| Data space on deploy | Not created by the kit; create it with the same prefix first | [Deploy Data 360 Changes Across Orgs](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_data_cloud_sandbox_deploy.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Redeploying a kit | A second change set installs the kit; click Deploy Data Kit | [Deploy Data 360 Changes Across Orgs](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_data_cloud_sandbox_deploy.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Mergeback limits | No custom tags, no CLI, no deletions | [Data 360 Governance Mergeback with DevOps Data Kits](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mergeback_devops_datakits.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |

## Check yourself

- Why must identity resolution run in a new Data 360 sandbox?
- When is license match the right way to enable Data 360 in a sandbox?
- In which org is the deployment connection created for a sandbox-to-production change set?
- Why can't custom tags reach production through mergeback?

## Sources

- [Create a Data 360 Sandbox](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=data.c360_a_data_cloud_sandbox_create.htm&type=5)
- [Considerations for Sandbox in Data 360](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_data_cloud_sandbox_consideration.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Set Up Your Data 360 Sandbox](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/data-360-sandboxes/set-up-your-data-360-sandbox)
- [Billing Considerations for Data 360 Sandbox](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=data.c360_a_data_cloud_sandbox_billing_considerations.htm&type=5)
- [Deploy Data 360 Changes Across Orgs](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_data_cloud_sandbox_deploy.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Data Kits](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=data.c360_a_data_package_kits.htm&type=5)
- [Use CLI to Deploy Changes from a Sandbox to Data 360](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-dev/guide/dc-deploy_data_kit_using_cli.html)
- [Workflow for Data 360 Second-Generation Managed Packages](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-dev/guide/data-cloud-2gp-workflow.html)
- [Data 360 Governance Mergeback with DevOps Data Kits](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mergeback_devops_datakits.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Troubleshooting CRM Connections](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.c360_a_refresh_history.htm&language=en_US&type=5)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 9 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Data 360 Consultant pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams