Dynamics Biz Apps Blog

Recently we discovered that we could not log into the Plugin Registration tool. It would display the follow error message:

unable to retrieve the organization from the discovery service

Followed by this long detailed error message.

Unhandled Exception: System.InvalidOperationException: Metadata contains a reference that cannot be resolved: ‘https://crmnaorg54346.crm.dynamics.com/XRMServices/2011/Discovery.svc?wsdl’.
at System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient.MetadataRetriever.Retrieve(TimeoutHelper timeoutHelper)
at System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient.ResolveNext(ResolveCallState resolveCallState)
at System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient.GetMetadata(MetadataRetriever retriever)
at System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient.GetMetadata(Uri address, MetadataExchangeClientMode mode)
at Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Client.ServiceMetadataUtility.RetrieveServiceEndpoints(Type contractType, Uri serviceUri)
at Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Client.ServiceConfiguration`1..ctor(Uri serviceUri)
at Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Client.ServiceConfigurationFactory.CreateConfiguration[TService](Uri serviceUri)
at Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Client.ServiceProxy`1..ctor(Uri uri, Uri homeRealmUri, ClientCredentials clientCredentials, ClientCredentials deviceCredentials)
at Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Client.DiscoveryServiceProxy..ctor(Uri uri, Uri homeRealmUri, ClientCredentials clientCredentials, ClientCredentials deviceCredentials)
at PluginRegistrationTool.CrmConnection.get_DiscoveryService()
at PluginRegistrationTool.CrmConnection.RetrieveOrganizations()
at PluginRegistrationTool.ConnectionsForm.OpenConnection(CrmConnection con)
Inner Exception: System.Net.WebException: Unable to connect to the remote server
at System.Net.HttpWebRequest.GetResponse()
at System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient.MetadataLocationRetriever.DownloadMetadata(TimeoutHelper timeoutHelper)
at System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient.MetadataRetriever.Retrieve(TimeoutHelper timeoutHelper)
Inner Exception: System.Net.Sockets.SocketException: A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because connected host has failed to respond 72.215.225.9:443
at System.Net.Sockets.Socket.DoConnect(EndPoint endPointSnapshot, SocketAddress socketAddress)
at System.Net.ServicePoint.ConnectSocketInternal(Boolean connectFailure, Socket s4, Socket s6, Socket& socket, IPAddress& address, ConnectSocketState state, IAsyncResult asyncResult, Int32 timeout, Exception& exception)

To solve this we had to delete two files.

1. Under Users\username\LiveDeviceID delete the LiveDevice.xml file.
2. Within the Plugin Registration Folder delete the Connections.config file.
3. I have run into cases where you did not have to reboot and cases where you did have to reboot as well, no set pattern.

After these two files were removed (they regenerate), were we able to access the Discovery Service via the Plugin Registration tool.

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With the release of 2011 the list.aspx Metadata Browser has gone away. However, in viewing the new internal Metadata Browser it appears to have more than made up for it’s loss.

The new Metadata Browser has been released with the lastest SDK and is now  internal to 2011. To view the browser you need to import the solution from the SDK file. The browser installation files are located in SDK\Tools\Metadatabrowser and is imported to 2011 as a Solution.

Once the Solution has been added and published the Metadata Browser can be accessed via Settings within the Customizations section. The initial view is basic but allow for filtering from some list selections on the Entity and a search filter on the Properties.

However, the real information becomes available by right clicking the Entity Schema Name and choosing View Details. You can also choose Edit which will take you to the Entity within Customizations. The Copy function only copies the text value of the name.

Once the Entity Metadata View is open you have access to a lot more details within the Entity. You even have the ability to expand properties to gain more information. On the left is a navagation bar that gives you all the information the previous Metadata Browser provided before as well as a new Privileges view.

Option Sets
Option Sets can be expanded significantly showing all relevant details.

Attribues
The Attributes view provides a list of all the fields as well as a Property window on the right. Within this view you can expand some properties to gain more information.

Privileges
The new Privileges view will provide an excellent location for troubleshooting security and Role permission issues.

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I am seeing more and more clients with Rollups installed but not having done the manual changes following the installation. Customer Effective has a great article on this and I believe is worth publishing here.

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You are probably aware that approximately every 8 weeks Microsoft releases an Update Rollup, a cumulative set of updates and fixes.

When deploying an Update Rollup, it’s important to realize that update rollups include two categories of updates:

1. Bug fixes—these are fixes to issues where CRM is not working as designed, and they are applied automatically when you install the update rollup.

2. Design changes—these are updates where CRM is working by design, but Microsoft has made a change in the way CRM works. For example, there were recently some updates that changed how CRM handles housekeeping of completed system jobs. Design changes require a manual change on the CRM server, typically a registry change, to enable the update, since Microsoft doesn’t want to change the system design for users who expect it to work the way it was originally designed.

The changes that require a registry change to enable are included in knowledge base article for the update rollup under the section “Hotfixes and updates that you have to enable or configure manually.”

This is why it’s important to read the knowledge base articles associated with CRM update rollups before you roll them out. Read through the changes included. I only make the changes that require registry changes if the fix addresses an issue that I’m seeing in my environment. Making changes that fix issues that you are not experiencing can have unintended side effects. It’s ok to pick and choose which ones you enable.

This is also why, if you read a blog or hear somebody from Microsoft say “Rollup X fixes that problem,” don’t automatically assume that the problem is fixed because you have installed the update. Read the small print—there may be additional steps required to enable the change.

Sourced From: Customer Effective

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Did the administrator approve the email address? As that is new in CRM 2011, where the system administrator will have to go to the user records that are set to use the Email Router and click on “Approve Email” in the CRM Ribbon. If the user Outgoing profile is set to Router, and they have a valid Primary Email address, the user still will not show up in the Email Router until the administrator selects Approve E-mail on the user record.

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For the second year in a row a Hitachi Consulting customer has taken the top CRM prize at Convergence. Last year it was Panduit and this year Magma Design Automation.

Magma was a great project to work on and I am happy that all the hard work paid off.

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