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The Validation Activity has a timeout of 13 hours, but i configured it to time out after 7 days in Blusehift Env.

Yang Bai 0 Reputation points Microsoft Employee
2026-04-14T08:24:18.4766667+00:00

The Validation Activity has a timeout of 13 hours, but i configured it to time out after 7 days in Blusehift Env..

this's my validation activity settings:

{     "dataset": {         "referenceName": "DependencyPath_EU",         "type": "DatasetReference",         "parameters": {             "directory": "/local/Aggregated/Datasets/Public/CopilotScore/EyesOffSlicer/Daily/Region=EUR/DatasetCategory=MSIT/2026/03/23/14",             "filename": "EyesOffSlicer_2026-03-23-14.txt"         }     },     "timeout": "7.00:00:00",     "sleep": 900 }

Azure Data Factory
Azure Data Factory

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  1. Amira Bedhiafi 41,386 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-04-14T08:53:24.9033333+00:00

    Hello Yang !

    Thank you for posting on MS Learn Q&A.

    What you set is valid syntax for a validation activity:

    "typeProperties": {

    in reality the timeout format is d.hh:mm:ss, and if you do not set it, the default is 12 hours.

    So if your run still stopped after about 13 hours, I think that the run did not actually execute with the 7 day timeout and instead used the default of about 12 hours with a bit of overhead before it finally marked the activity failed.

    I think you need to check any ActivityPolicy related to this activity and verify if timeout is either not set (so it defaults to 7 days) or set to "7.00:00:00" or longer.

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  2. Q&A Assist
    2026-04-14T08:24:31.7533333+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    In Azure Data Factory/Synapse, the timeout behavior of a Validation activity is governed by the same timeout semantics as other activities: a maximum run duration is enforced by the activity’s timeout setting or, if not set there, by the activity policy.

    From the context:

    • ValidationActivity timeout is defined as:
      • Type: string (or expression returning string)
      • Pattern: ((\d+).)?(\d\d):(60|([0-5][0-9])):(60|([0-5][0-9]))
      • Default: TimeSpan.FromDays(7) (7 days) when not specified.
    • ActivityPolicy.timeout has the same pattern and default of 7 days.
    • ValidationActivityTypeProperties constructor confirms the same default and pattern for timeout, and that sleep is a delay in seconds between validation attempts, defaulting to 10 seconds if not specified.

    Given the JSON snippet:

    {
  "dataset": {
    "referenceName": "DependencyPath_EU",
    "type": "DatasetReference",
    "parameters": {
      "directory": "/local/.../2026/03/23/14",
      "filename": "EyesOffSlicer_2026-03-23-14.txt"
    }
  },
  "timeout": "7.00:00:00",
  "sleep": 900
}

    this is a valid timeout value according to the documented pattern (7.00:00:00 = 7 days) and should allow the activity to run up to 7 days before timing out, assuming no other policy overrides it.

    If the activity is timing out around 13 hours despite "timeout": "7.00:00:00", the likely causes, based on the documented model, are:

    1. An overriding ActivityPolicy.timeout is applied at the activity or pipeline level with a shorter value than 7 days.
    2. The effective timeout is being set elsewhere in the pipeline definition or via SDK/ARM template, and the runtime is honoring that shorter timeout.

    To align behavior with the configuration:

    1. Ensure the Validation activity’s own timeout property is set to "7.00:00:00" in the deployed JSON (not just in a design-time environment).
    2. Check any ActivityPolicy associated with this activity or pipeline and confirm its timeout is either not set (so it defaults to 7 days) or explicitly set to "7.00:00:00" or longer.
    3. Confirm that no other orchestration or external timeout (for example, a parent activity or pipeline-level policy) is enforcing a shorter maximum duration.

    The sleep value of 900 (seconds) only controls the delay between validation attempts and does not shorten the maximum allowed run time; it is independent of the timeout limit.

    References:

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