Dynamics Biz Apps Blog

Summary

Cookies are small files that remember settings or other information on websites and portals.
Websites from European companies are required to provide a mechanism for visitors to provide consent to use cookies.
Implementing Cookie Policy Acceptance in portals is easily achieved by adding a small piece of JavaScript to a portal web template.

More Information here

Sourced From Nick Doelman

Share on Facebook

1. Place this meta tag within the HTML of the email template bracketed by < > MORE INFO

meta name=”referrer” content=”never”

2. The email template requires both tags to be pasted somewhere within the template, generally the bottom. The first one will display the address of the business sending or in regards to the email. The second one is for the Subscription Center, also required. The Subscription Center Tag can be set as a hyperlink as the example below shows.

{{msdyncrm_contentsettings.msdyncrm_addressmain}}

{{msdyncrm_contentsettings.msdyncrm_subscriptioncenter}}

Subscription Center

Share on Facebook

Within the Dynamics 365 Unified Interface some buttons are missing on the menu including the Edit button on Views. To enable the edit buttons for views, including multiselect, follow the steps below.

There is a simple Setting that needs to be done to make the buttons visible in UCI. For that follow the below steps.

Navigate to Settings–>Administration–>General
Check the box Enable embedding of certain legacy dialogs in Unified Interface browser client as Yes.

Share on Facebook

Power Platform Wave Release 1 2021

Share on Facebook

How to change BPF stages using a workflow

Sourced From Vishal Grade

Share on Facebook

Formula reference for Power Apps

Example: Average – Calculates the average of a table expression or a set of arguments

A

Operators and Identifiers in Power Apps

Example: <= Price <= 100 Less than or equal to

Controls and properties in Power Apps

Example: Button – Interact with the app by clicking or tapping

A

Data types in canvas apps

Example: Color: Color.Red    ColorValue( “#102030″ )   RGBA( 255, 128, 0, 0.5 )

Share on Facebook

Timer Control

Description Use a timer control with forms where records need to meet a specific time-based milestone. A timer control shows people how much time is available to complete an action in the resolution of an active record or how much time has passed since the time to complete the action has passed.

Timer control Data Source properties use fields for the entity.

Failure Time Field Type uses a date-time field to set the time.

• The three condition fields use one of the Option Set, Two Options, Status, or Status Reason fields for the entity.

Calendar control

Description Use this control to configure forms so they show up as a calendar view in Dynamics 365 for phones and tablets. You can also use this control to replace dashboards, lists, or entity grids for phones and tablets.

Property	Description
Start Date	Define the start date and time of the item to visualize in the calendar view. The available values are any of the columns in this view of type date.
End Date	Define the end date and time of the item to visualize in the calendar view. The available values are any of the columns in this view of type date.
Duration	The duration in minutes. If you specify a value for End Date, Duration is ignored.
Description	This is the caption you want to see for calendar items.

The minimum duration shown in the calendar is 30 minutes. Items with a duration less than 30 minutes will still appear as 30 minutes long.

The calendar control supports all date behaviors (User Local, Date Only, and Time-Zone Independent).

Timeline control

Provide a timeline of recent, relevant news articles and Twitter tweets for an account.

Property	Description
CC_Timeline_Title	Property to map for the title of each timeline item.
CC_Timeline_Title_Desc	Description for Title.
CC_Timeline_Label1	Field to be displayed below the title of timeline item.
CC_Timeline_Label1_Desc	Description for Label 1.
CC_Timeline_Label2	Field to be displayed after Label 1.
CC_Timeline_Label2_Desc	Description for Label 2.
CC_Timeline_Label3	Field to be displayed after Label 2.
CC_Timeline_Label3_Desc	Description for Label 3.
CC_Timeline_Label4	Field to be displayed after Label 3.
CC_Timeline_Label4_Desc	Description for Label 4.
CC_Timeline_Label5	Field to be displayed after Label 4.
CC_Timeline_Label5_Desc	Description for Label 5.
CC_Timeline_Timestamp	Field to use for sorting timeline in reverse chronological order.
CC_Timeline_Timestamp_Desc	Description for Timestamp.
CC_Timeline_Group	Field to map for grouping timeline.
CC_Timeline_Group_Desc	Description for Group field.
CC_Timeline_GroupOrder	Order of the group the item belongs to relative to other groups (assign values 1, 2, 3, and so on for groups to be displayed). The group will be displayed in ascending value of group values assigned.
CC_Timeline_GroupOrder_Desc	Description for Group Order field.
CC_Timeline_URL	URL field to map for displaying the URL of each timeline item.
CC_Timeline_URL_Desc	Description for URL field.
CC_Timeline_ThumbnailURL	Field to map for thumbnail of image/icon to display for each item.
CC_Timeline_ThumnailURL_Desc	Description for the ThumbnailURL field.
CC_Timeline_Filter	Field to map for timeline filter.
CC_Timeline_Filter_Desc	Description for Filter.
CC_Timeline_Footer	Web resource to display as the footer of the timeline.
CC_Timeline_Footer_Desc	Description for Footer field.

Linear slider

Description The linear slider control lets your users input numerical values by dragging a slider and provides an option for typing in the quantity. The slider provides whole number input and display only.

Field Type Use this control for any numerical or money field.

Property	Description
Max	Set the maximum value to display on the slider.
Min	Set the minimum value to display on the slider.
Value	The value to display on the slider.
Step	Set the amount to add or subtract from the current value when entering data with this control.

Option sets

Description The option set control presents a set of choices for your users to choose from when entering data.

Field Type Use this control for option sets with two or three choices only.

Property	Description
Field	Shows the field that the control is mapped to.

Flip switch

Description The flip switch is like an on/off switch, providing a choice between two values.

Field Type Two Options

Property	Description
Field	Shows the field that the control is mapped to.

Star rating

Description Use the star rating to provide a visual representation of a rating. The maximum number of stars you can set is five.

Field Type You can use this control for whole numbers only; it can’t accept decimal values.

Note Be sure to select the Hide on web option for this control.

Property	Description
Max	Select the maximum number of stars for the control from the dropdown list.

Radial knob

Description The radial knob provides a way for users to enter data by sliding the knob, and shows up on the screen as a circle. The radial knob control provides whole number input and display only. You can use touch to change the value, or you can use the keypad to focus on the number and edit it.

Field Type Use this control for any numerical or money fields.

Note This control isn’t supported on Android 4.2 and 4.3 devices. It impacts the scrolling experience on those versions.

Property	Description
Max	Set the maximum value to display on the gauge.
Min	Set the minimum value to display on the gauge.
Value	Get or set the value to display on the gauge.
Step	Set the amount to add or subtract from the current value when entering data with this control.

Website preview

Description Use the website preview control to map a URL field and show a preview of the website.

Field Type URL

Important By enabling this control, you consent to allow your users to share certain identifiable device information with an external system.

Property	Description
Field	Shows the field the control is mapped to.

Bullet graph

Description The bullet graph control displays a single key measure with a comparative measure and qualitative ranges to instantly signal whether the measure is good, bad, or in another state. Use this control in dashboards for any numerical or money field. For example, you can map the value to actual revenue and the target to estimated revenue to visualize actual versus estimated revenue.

Field Type Us this control with any numerical or money field

Property	Description
Max	Set the maximum value to display on the graph.
Min	Set the minimum value to display on the graph.
Good	Set a value that’s considered good for the measure (optional).
Bad	Set a value that’s considered bad for the measure (optional).
Value	Shows the field that the control is mapped to.
Target	Map this to the field you want to compare the value with. For example, if Value is mapped to Actual Revenue, you can map Target to Estimated Revenue, or you can provide a static value.

Pen Control

Description Use the pen control to capture written input such as signatures.

Field Type Text, multiline

Note The minimum recommended Maximum Length specified for the field this control maps to is 15000. Be sure to select the Hide on web option for this control.

Property	Description
PenMode	Specify PenMode!Draw, PenMode!Erase, or PenMode!Select to determine what happens when a user drags a pointing device in a pen control.

Auto-complete

Description The auto-complete control filters an item list as you type and lets you select a value from the drop-down list. For example, you can use this control to let users choose from a dropdown list of states or countries/regions.

Field Type This control maps to a Single Line of Text type field.

Property	Description
Field	Shows the field the control is mapped to.
Source	Set the source for the data (Grouped Options, Option Set, or View).
Option Set	Select the option set for this field.
View	Select the entity and view for this field.
Field	Select the field of the view’s primary entity to use as the data source.

Multimedia

Description You can embed videos to provide a richer customer experience for sales and field people on the go. Use this control to map to a URL field that contains the audio or video link to play in the control.

Field Type URL

Note This control is supported on Android versions 4.4 and later. YouTube videos aren’t currently supported on Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 tablets and phones. On Windows 10, only HTTPS videos (including YouTube) are supported.

Supported media types include:

• Streaming MP4 files
• YouTube videos
• Azure media
• Audio streams

Property	Description
Media	Enter the URL of the media to play in this control.

Number input

Description Use the number input control to help users enter data quickly. Users only have to tap the plus and minus buttons to change a numeric value in increments you set. Users can also type a number directly into the field. This field is only supported in edit mode.

Field Type Use this control for any numerical or money field.

Property	Description
Step	Set the amount to add or subtract from the current value when entering data with this control.
Field	Shows the field the control is mapped to.

Input Mask

Description With the input mask control, you set the formatting for a field like phone number or credit card to prevent entering invalid data. For example, if you want users to enter a United States phone number in the format +1-222-555-1011, use the input mask +1-000-000-0000.

Field Type Formatted fields.

Property	Description
Mask	Enter the mask to use for validating data as users enter it. You can use a combination of the following characters for the mask: 0 – Digit 9 – Digit or space # – Digit, sign, or space L – Letter I – Letter or space A – Alphanumeric A – Alphanumeric or space < – Converts characters that follow to lower case > – Converts characters that follow to upper case | – Disables case conversion \ – Escapes any character, turning it into a literal All others – Literals
Field	Shows the field the control is mapped to.

Linear Gauge

Description The linear gauge lets your users input numerical values by dragging a slider instead of typing in the exact quantity. The slider provides whole number input and display only.

Field Types Use this control for any numerical and money fields.

Property	Description
Max	Set the maximum value to display on the gauge.
Min	Set the minimum value to display on the gauge.
Value	Get or set the value to display on the gauge.
Step	Set the amount to add or subtract from the current value when entering data with this control.

Arc knob

Description The arc knob provides a way for users to enter data by sliding the knob, and shows up on the screen as an arc. The arc knob control provides whole number input and display only. You can use touch to change the value, you can also focus on the number and edit it using the keypad.

Field Types Use this control for any numerical and money fields.

Note This control isn’t supported on Android 4.2 and 4.3 devices. It impacts the scrolling experience on those versions.

Property	Description
Max	Set the maximum value to display on the gauge.
Min	Set the minimum value to display on the gauge.
Value	Get or set the value to display on the gauge.
Step	Set the amount to add or subtract from the current value when entering data with this control.

Canvas App

Custom Control Ref Chart

Share on Facebook

Online submission portals

Product	Portal	Requirements	Access ID and Contract ID	More information
Any on-premises product	https://aka.ms/OAS	MSA/AAD account	Required	See step-by-step guidance below.
Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online	https://portal.office.com	Office portal sign-in	Not required	MPN Partners see 4020188 Technical Support for Microsoft Partners
Microsoft Azure	https://portal.azure.com	Azure subscription sign-in	Required	MPN Partners see 4020188 Technical Support for Microsoft Partners
For Partners only Any product + Partner specific support options	http://aka.ms/ContactSupport	Microsoft Partner associated AAD sign-in required for MPN Program and Technical Presales and Deployment Services online submission. Any user can use Chat for MPN Program requests	Required for On-premises and Azure	Partners only

Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

Here are the steps to correct this issue.

1	Open the Main Custom form.	Go to Settings > Customization > Customize the System > Entities > Account > Form > Select the Entity Main form. The following screen appears:
2	Add the Insights 4.0 connector	Select the Section and click the Insert tab. On the Insert tab, click the Web Resource icon.
3	Add the Web Resource properties	On the Web Resources page, enter the following properties: Search and select the iv_/webpages/summary_mashup.htm web resource. Enter the Field Name and Label Properties field values as WebResource_Insights and Insights. Enter the Web Resource Custom Parameter(data) property values as “solutionVersion=4.1&crm_version=v123” (THIS IS AN OLD VERSION, IF YOU HAVE FILLED THIS FIELD, KEEP IT, DO NOT EDIT IT). Select the Pass record object-type code and unique identifier as parameters and Enable for Tablet check boxes.
4	Add the Formatting tab properties	Select the Formatting tab and change the following values: Select the One-Column check box. Enter the value Number of Rows as 20. Select the Automatically expand to use available space check box. Deselect the Display Border check box. Click OK.
5	Create the Insights Navigation Link page	Double-click on the Common tile to make it editable. On the Custom Form page, select Insights in the left pane and click the Navigation Link icon as illustrated below: Note: If the Insights link does not exist under the Common tile, create a new Navigation Link.
6	Add Navigation Link properties	On the Navigation Link dialog box, enter the following information: Name as Insights. Icon as iv_/images/insights_32px.png Search and select the Web Resource URL as iv_/webpages/detail_mashup.htm. Click OK.
7	Go to the Form Properties page	Select the Insights tab and click the Form Properties icon to bring up the Form Properties page.
8	Modify the custom form properties	On the Form Properties page, select the Parameters tab and enter the following information: Click the + Add icon. Enter the Name as iv_onLoadAction. Enter the Type as SafeString. Click OK.
9	Save and Publish	Click Save, then click Publish. Note: Repeat steps 1-9 for Account, Contact, Opportunity, and Lead Microsoft Dynamic CRM entities.

Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

This apply’s to Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement as of version 9

More Information

Service scheduling in Dynamics 365 for Customer Service is deprecated
The Unified Resource Scheduling solution is included with Dynamics 365 for Field Service. With this solution, you can automatically set up the system to schedule multiple booking requirements on a recurring basis. This minimizes overall travel time and maximizes efficient use of all resources. It takes many constraints into account, such as resource availability, skills required, working hours, duration, and time windows to optimize the schedule.

The existing service scheduling functionality using the Service activity is deprecated and will be removed in a future major release. Service scheduling features will be included in the Unified Resource Scheduling solution. This solution integrates seamlessly with Dynamics 365, and will work with Dynamics 365 for Customer Service. The Unified Resource Scheduling solution will provide feature parity with the existing service scheduling feature.

Existing service scheduling users will be provided advance notice for a timebound migration to the new service-scheduling capabilities.

More information: Help & Training: Use Resource Scheduling Optimization to schedule multiple booking requirements on a recurring basis

Dialogs are deprecated
You can use a Dialog process to create an interactive step-by-step data entry form that requires user input to start and run to completion. When you start the dialog process, a wizard-like interface is presented; users make selections or enter data as they progress through each page of the wizard.

Dialogs are deprecated and are replaced by mobile task flows (available as of the December 2016 update), and business process flows. Both task flows and business process flows will continue to evolve to make the transition easier.

Usage of Parature knowledgebase as the Dynamics 365 knowledge management solution is deprecated
Usage of Parature from Microsoft knowledgebase as the Dynamics 365 knowledge management solution is deprecated. This feature is replaced by Knowledge Management features in Dynamics 365.

The Knowledge Solution setting in the Knowledge Base Management Settings dialog box, which provides a connection between Dynamics 365 and Parature from Microsoft, will be removed in a future major release of Dynamics 365.

Project Service Finder app is deprecated
The Project Service Finder App, available for use with Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation, is deprecated. The legacy application will be supported for associated legacy Project Service Automation releases in accordance with Microsoft’s Modern Lifecycle Policy. The functionality available through this app will be available in a future release of Dynamics 365 in the Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation application.

Contracts, Contract Line Items, and Contract Templates entities are deprecated
The Contracts, Contract Line Items, and Contract Templates entities are deprecated and will be removed in a future major release of Dynamics 365. This functionality has been replaced by entitlements in Dynamics 365 for Customer Service.

Standard SLAs in Dynamics 365 for Customer Service are deprecated
Standard service level agreements (SLA Type field is set to Standard) are deprecated and will be removed in a future major release of Dynamics 365. Standard SLAs are replaced by enhanced SLAs. More information: TechNet: Enhanced service level agreements

Relationship Roles are deprecated
Relationship Roles (Settings>Business Management>Relationship Roles) are deprecated and will be removed in a future major release of Dynamics 365. This feature is replaced by Connection Roles. More information: Help and Training: Create connections to view relationships between records.

Mail Merge is deprecated
In Dynamics CRM 2016 (version 8.0), we introduced server-side document generation using Word and Excel templates. You can use these templates to provide standardized documents or customized data analysis for your organization.

Mail merge from previous versions is deprecated. This includes the mail-merge Word add-in as well as mail-merge templates (Settings>Templates>Mail Merge Templates).

More information: Help & Training: Create Word and Excel templates from Dynamics 365 data

Announcements are deprecated
Announcements (Settings>Administration>Announcements) are deprecated and will be removed in a future major release of Dynamics 365.

Ready-to-use business processes available through Add Ready to Use Business Processes setting are deprecated
Ready-to-use business processes available through the Add Ready-to-Use Business Processes setting (Settings>Data Management>Add Ready-to-Use Business Processes) are deprecated and will be removed in a future major release of Dynamics 365. You can find ready-to-use business processes on Microsoft AppSource.

Some client APIs are deprecated
The following client APIs are deprecated in the current release to reorganize the Xrm client API object model to better align with the need of using the same client scripts without having to change them based on the context or the client (web client or the new Unified Interface) where they run. You should plan to use the new client APIs mentioned in the Replacement Client API column instead of the deprecated ones. The deprecated client APIs will continue to be available and supported until they are officially removed from a future major release of Dynamics 365.

For information about the new client APIs, see Client scripting in Customer Engagement using JavaScript

EntityMetadata.IsInteractionCentricEnabled property is deprecated
All entities supported in the Unified Interface are now enabled for the interactive experience in the new Customer Service Hub app. This implies that the EntityMetadata.IsInteractionCentricEnabled property, which indicates whether an entity can be enabled for interactive experience, is no longer relevant. The corresponding setting for this property in the Customization tool, Enable for interactive experience, is removed in the current release, and the EntityMetadata.IsInteractionCentricEnabled property will be removed from the future version of Dynamics 365 SDK for Customer Engagement.

Silverlight (XAP) web resource is deprecated
The Silverlight (XAP) web resource is deprecated on the web client, and is not supported on the new Unified Interface introduced in the Dynamics 365 (online), version 9.0. Instead of Silverlight web resources, you must use custom controls created using the HTML web resources with HTML5 to create UI components to visualize and interact with data.

Share on Facebook

If you’ve moved to Dynamics CRM/365 Online then the likelihood is that you’ve come up against the limitation of not being able to query the SQL database directly to perform more complex reporting or for custom integrations. Many on premises deployments rely on querying the backend databases and in the past this has been a blocker to moving to the cloud – or at least it has meant a complex and costly integration to copy the data from Dynamics 365 to a on prem SQL database.
The introduction of the Data Export Service is a real game changer with the possibility to replicate your data from Dynamics CRM/365 online to an Azure SQL database in your own Azure Subscription. Once you have your data in a SQL Database you can then using PowerBI, integrate with other systems and create a data warehouse. I’ve found that the speed of the replication is impressive, being minutes/seconds and not hours.

There are a number of perquisites to enabling this which you can read about in msdn: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt744592.aspx
Azure Active Directory linked to Office 365
Azure SQL Database and user with correct permissions
Azure KeyVault created (using PowerShell script provided)
Dynamics CRM Online 8.1 or later
Data Export Service solution installed from App Source
Change tracking enabled for custom entities you want to sync
You must be a System Administrator to create the export profiles
The PowerShell script requires that you install the Azure cmdlets – see

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/powershell/azureps-cmdlets-docs/

Here is a video that demonstrates this new service and how to set it up

Sourced From: Scott Durow (MVP)

Additional Information:
• Data Export Step by Step Manual Way: https://nishantrana.me/2017/03/19/configuring-data-export-service-in-microsoft-dynamics-365/
• Data Export Service – How to: https://crmchartguy.wordpress.com/2017/01/11/setup-the-data-export-service-with-a-power-bi-solution-template/
• Data Export Service Technet: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt744592.aspx#SetupAzureKV

Share on Facebook

How to show SharePoint document list on main CRM form

Sourced From: Salim Adamon – Dynamics CRM Blog

Share on Facebook

Editable Grids Setup

Sourced From: Lystavlen

Share on Facebook

CRM won’t allow you to send to a dynamic marketing list over 50,000 records. If you are CRM on prem, you can change this default number (called aggregate query limit). If you are CRM online you will need to break the sends down to lists of 50K or less.

To increase the limit, you’ll need to modify:
Database: MSCRM_CONFIG
Table: Deployment Properties
Column: AggregateQueryRecordLimit

To query the current value:

USE MSCRM_CONFIG
GO

SELECT ColumnName
, IntColumn
FROM DeploymentProperties
WHERE ColumnName = “AggregateQueryRecordLimit”

To modify the value:

UPDATE DeploymentProperties
SET IntColumn = 250000 (suggested setting)
WHERE ColumnName = “AggregateQueryRecordLimit”

Share on Facebook

If you receive the following error below then your Azure user does not have Administrator permissions. Azure has been changing permissions, formally every users basically had admin rights however that is not the case any longer. If you are unable to add a Namespace then most likely your Azure user does not have permissions. The user will now need Administrator privileges to add a Namespace. If you have a specific Azure user that you are using for the Namespace and Queues then you will need to login to Azure with an Administrator, browse to the Service Bus area, go to Settings and then add the specific user to the Admins. Once complete you will be able to add the Namespace

Share on Facebook

To resolve this error the Azure Powershell instance must be October, if they have the December version it will fail. You can see the version by going to Programs and Features. They will need to uninstall the December version and install the October version, an installation overwrite will not work.

Share on Facebook

During installation of the ClickDimensions solution, four security roles are created in CRM. These roles are specific to ClickDimensions and have very different purposes. The following list describes each ClickDimensions security role and its intended purpose.

ClickDimensions Core
This role should be assigned to all users (even if not using ClickDimensions). It contains the minimum set of privileges that are required by the ClickDimensions plugins and will prevent failures in creating leads/contacts and opportunities

ClickDimensions User
This security role should be assigned to users (none administrators) who view data generated by ClickDimensions. Most of the privileges are set to the Read level so the users can view the tracking data. This role also allows the user the ability to send emails.

ClickDimensions Service
This role should be assigned to the ClickDimensions service user in case the System Administrator role cannot be assigned. For more information on the required privileges for this particular user please go to the Security Requirements.

ClickDimensions Lock Email Blocks
This role should be assigned to users who need to be able to lock and unlock blocks in the Drag and Drop email editor. When a block is locked anyone without this role will not be able to edit the content of the block. More here.

Share on Facebook

New documentation for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1

Share on Facebook

SELECT [ColumnName],[BitColumn]
FROM [MSCRM_CONFIG].[dbo].[DeploymentProperties]
WHERE ColumnName=’DisableSSLCheckForEncryption’

UPDATE [MSCRM_CONFIG].[dbo].[DeploymentProperties]
SET [BitColumn]=1
WHERE ColumnName=’DisableSSLCheckForEncryption’

Share on Facebook

MSCRM 2013 White Papers & Technical Documentation

Sourced From: Shawn Dieken

Share on Facebook

Posted from Shan McArthur’s Blog

The Windows Azure fabric controller will service your Azure virtual machines from time to time. This blog article will outline the impact this will have on your virtual machines and what you have to do to ensure that your virtual machines remain healthy in the Azure data centers.

There are many events that can occur in the Azure data centers that will result in a ’service operation’ being performed on your virtual machine. These could be related to actual hardware failures, or could be as simple as Microsoft performing data center maintenance or upgrading the host machines that are running your virtual machines. It is important to understand the impact of what these types of service operations will have on your virtual machine so that you can configure the virtual machines properly to survive these service operations.

What changes and what does not change? The hard drive that is used to host your virtual machine is store in Azure blob storage and will not be affected during a service operation. Stated another way – you won’t lose your virtual machine. The same can be said for all of the data drives that are attached to your virtual machine. The only exception to this is the temporary drive that is mounted as the D: drive when you create the virtual machine. Data on this drive is only persisted on the host machine and is not migrated to new hardware when the machine is moved to another host. A service operation will result in your virtual machine having a brand spanking-new D: drive with no files or custom security applied to it. As such, do not put anything that you want persisted on this drive, and make sure that if you are using this drive for temporary storage, that your application can automatically recreate the folders when it is rebooted and started.

Windows Azure will also not change the IP address of your server when it is associated to a virtual network. Read this carefully. It has to be associated to a virtual network AND the only guarantee is that the IP address will not change. That said, the MAC address of the virtual network card may change and that will have some important consequences on your virtual machine configuration.

It is probably best to give a quick description of how IP addresses and network cards work in an Azure environment. You start out by defining a virtual network in Azure, then you provision services inside that virtual network. Windows Azure will then give out appropriate IP addresses and DNS server settings from your virtual network definition when it dishes out a DHCP address. If you are hosting an Active Directory domain in Azure (with domain controllers), it is important that you set the dns server settings properly in your virtual network configuration. I would like to point out that it is an unsupported configuration to set your IP addresses manually in your virtual machine without using DHCP. The problem is that if you do this, the IP address will be associated to that specific network card, but when an Azure service operation occurs, your virtual machine will loose that network card and get another one. Windows Server will do its thing and automatically pick up the new network card and will automatically use DHCP for the IP address and DNS address and you will lose your network configuration that you made on your old network card. This has specific implications for Active Directory domains. If the IP address of your machine changes because DHCP is giving you a different IP address than you manually set on the machine, domain members may not locate the domain controller and the network may start to fail. If this is a domain controller and its DNS server is set to the Azure external dns servers or another server other than itself, the domain controller itself will have problems using the ntds portions of DNS and within a few days the netlogon service will fail and no authentication to the domain will be possible until you reboot the server and rectify the problem. The bottom line is that a service operation in Azure will give your virtual machine a new network card, so you should only use the DHCP provided IP address and dns settings to ensure that your machine will be healthy after a service operation.

Some network administrators will want to ensure that their domain controllers use their own dns server on the local machine, and they do this by specifying 127.0.0.1. This configuration is not mandatory, but if you want to do this, the only way to do this in a supported manner is to set up your virtual machine using PowerShell and specifying the dns server IP in the creation script. This will ensure that the Azure DHCP server will serve the appropriate dns setting to that local virtual machine.

So how do you recognize if you have a problem? The easiest thing to do is to log into all of the virtual machines in your network and ensure that you have the network configuration set to using DHCP for the IP address and the dns server address. If you find that you have a machine that normally works and then starts to fail when nobody has made a change to it, check the event logs for network events and the last reboot. If your failure follows an unscheduled restart, you could be seeing the impact of a service operations – just go and double check that the dns server and IP address are set appropriately using IPCONFIG /ALL.

If you notice that your dns servers are set to an external IP address, this is an indication that your dns servers are not set in your virtual network, or that you may not even have a virtual network. If this is the case, make the change and reboot all servers, ensuring that they pick up their dns server settings.

If you are not using a virtual network and you are using a domain controller, you will experience problems. You may use this type of configuration in a temporary dev or demo environment. If you want to use this configuration, your only other choice is to add a loopback adapter to the virtual machine and configure the IP address on that NIC to use its own IP address. I have used this configuration in the past, but with the latest version of the Azure portal, it is so easy to manage virtual networks that I highly recommend just setting up a virtual network, even for these temporary environments.

Share on Facebook

CRM 2013: Understanding Portable Business Logic

Share on Facebook

Working with Dynamics CRM 2013 Composite Fields/Fly-out Menu

Share on Facebook