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11-03-2025 04:18 PM
Issue Description: I created a new Databricks Free Trial account ("For Work" plan with $400 credits) but I don't have access to All-Purpose Clusters or PySpark compute. My workspace only shows SQL-only features.
Current Setup:
- Account Email: ronel.ratache@gmail.com
- Workspace Name: ronel.ratache
- Trial Plan: For Work (Premium Trial)
- Cloud Provider: AWS
- Region: us-west-2
- Account Status: Active, successfully deployed
What I Can Access:
- SQL Warehouses
- Vector Search
- Apps
- Lakehouse Postgres
What I Cannot Access (Missing):
- All-Purpose Clusters
- PySpark Compute
- Structured Streaming
- Job Clusters
What I See in the UI:
Left Sidebar → Compute
Only shows:
- Job Runs
- Data Ingestion
NO option for:
- All-Purpose Clusters
- Compute Resources
- Spark Clusters
Why I Need This: I'm building a Databricks Lakehouse POC project for my data engineering portfolio that specifically requires:
1. PySpark Development - Write and test Spark code
2. Structured Streaming - Real-time data ingestion pipelines
3. Delta Lake Transactions - ACID compliance
4. Medallion Architecture - Bronze/Silver/Gold layers
Questions
1. Is this a provisioning delay?
2. Do I need to request manual enablement for All-Purpose Clusters?
3. Is there a different Free Trial tier that includes PySpark?
Thank you for your help!
@databricks-support or @community-engineers
- Labels:
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Delta Lake
-
Spark
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11-04-2025 08:33 AM
Greetings @pabloratache , quick clarification question: are you working on Databricks Free Edition or on a Databricks 14-day Free Trial? The two are quite different in terms of capabilities and workspace behavior. Please advise when you can. Cheers, Louis.
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11-04-2025 09:51 AM
Hi Louis,
Thank you for the quick response!
To clarify: I'm on a **Databricks 14-day Free Trial** (not Free Edition).
Signup path: https://www.databricks.com/try-databricks -> "For Work" plan
The issue is specifically that the Free Trial is provisioned with SQL-only access. I need All-Purpose Clusters enabled for PySpark development.
Is this a provisioning limitation, or can it be manually enabled for Free Trials?
Thank you!
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11-04-2025 10:02 AM
Ah, got it @pabloratache , I did some digging and here is what I found (learned a few things myself).
What’s happening with your Free Trial
- The 14‑day For Work trial provisions a serverless workspace by design, which exposes SQL Warehouses and serverless compute, not classic All‑Purpose clusters.
-
During the trial, serverless compute is available for notebooks, jobs, and Lakeflow Declarative Pipelines, with scaling capped to 50 DBUs/hr. One SQL warehouse per workspace is allowed (also capped), and GPUs are not available.
-
External network access is limited in trial workspaces, which can affect streaming sources/sinks; the recommended workaround is to upload data into the workspace for use in pipelines.
Answers to your questions
- 1) Is this a provisioning delay?
No — this is by design for the Free Trial serverless workspace, not a delay. -
2) Do I need manual enablement for All‑Purpose Clusters?
Manual enablement isn’t available on Free Trials. To use All‑Purpose clusters, you need to upgrade to a paid workspace (Standard/Premium); then you can create clusters (subject to your cloud account quotas). -
3) Is there a different Free Trial tier that includes PySpark?
The trial does include PySpark, but via serverless compute in notebooks (not classic clusters). In a notebook, click Connect (top right) and choose Serverless to run Python/PySpark code.
How to run PySpark now (without clusters)
- Create or open a notebook, click Connect (top‑right), choose Serverless, set the language to Python, and run your PySpark code there.
# Quick smoke test in a serverless notebook
from pyspark.sql import functions as F
df = spark.range(0, 10).withColumn("ts", F.current_timestamp())
df.write.format("delta").mode("overwrite").saveAsTable("demo.bronze_range")
display(spark.table("demo.bronze_range"))
- You can orchestrate pipelines with Lakeflow Jobs or Jobs on serverless compute during the trial; note the 50 DBUs/hr cap and external network limits.
Why your UI looks SQL‑only under Compute
- In serverless trial workspaces, you won’t see the classic “Clusters” page; compute for notebooks is requested inline via the Connect → Serverless flow rather than through the Clusters UI.
If you need classic All‑Purpose clusters now
- Upgrade to a paid plan and use a traditional workspace deployed in your AWS account; then create All‑Purpose clusters and run PySpark/Streaming as needed (you’ll pay cloud infra costs in addition to DBUs after trial).
FYI: Trial page contact
- For onboarding questions, you can email onboarding‑help@databricks.com from the trial page.
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11-04-2025 10:15 AM
Thank you for taking the time to investigate and explain this. Really appreciate it!
Best regards,
Pablo