Developer learning paths

Readers: I am a proud employee of Microsoft, but do not speak for the company.

 

Microsoft’s corporate mission is “to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.” To that end, the company is looking to skill up everyone. I transferred early this year from consulting to learning, and as such you will see a shift in the focus of my blogs.

 

I want to point out that Microsoft Learn has posted free online trainings for Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations Developer. They are in four core learning paths: Introduction, Build, Connect, Extend.

 

Please enjoy!

 

Learning paths:

Introduction to developing with Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations

Building Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations

Connect to Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations

Extending Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations

 

 

Happy DAXing! (AX or not, I don’t think I can ever stop saying that)

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Microsoft Dynamics Technical Conference, 2016 / What Excites You?

My report from the technical conference.

 

For my very last blog on #AXTechConf #DynTech2016, let’s have a little fun. Microsoft posted a whiteboard asking us “What most excites you with the new Microsoft Dynamics AX?” I had time between the end of the conference and my flight home, so I checked out the board. It was a lot of fun! I saw some answers I expected, and some I didn’t. Some made me laugh, and some made me shake my head. Enjoy the variety of answers received!

 

No more EP

New Task Recorder and web interface

The UI. This doesn’t look or feel like an ERP and that’s FANTASTIC.

It looks so sexy.

New AX – Power BI logo?

Dynamics AX7 will be a great development environment for ISVs. With fewer cowboys!

Deploy Prod env in hours!!

Your passion… we are excited.

That MS listens to the customer – keep doing so

Personal workspaces!

The fact that Microsoft is willing and eager to listen to the customers. I was pleased to see they are implementing in standard some things we had to customize previously. Although I am pleased the option to customize will still be there… for the times we need mods sooner. 🙂

Paying for every bit transferred and every CPU cycle. [Who hasn’t left their Azure machine up inadvertently?]

We are making ERP ‘sexy’ 🙂

Moving from P-code to managed code!!

After 20 years working with Sage, it’s refreshing and exciting to see passion again. Masterpiece from Microsoft.

Emphasis on business process and task lists

Mobile POS

Cloud.

This, folks, has been your intrepid reporter, signing off from the technical conference… I will be taking a smidgen of time off from the blog but will be back!

 

Happy DAXing!

 

Microsoft Dynamics Technical Conference, 2016 / Day 3 Session 4

My report from the technical conference.

 

For the last session in the conference 😦 , I went to Code Migration to the Latest Release of Dynamics AX with Kiril Val, Senior Solution Architect.

 

This was kind of a gimme for me. I had already been to Kiril’s five day code upgrade workshop given for ISVs in October. (Secret: The Seattle area photos I’ve put in a few of these blogs are actually from then. I didn’t get time to tourist this time.) I wanted to see how it came together, perhaps contribute, and note differences between a CTP and the RTW.

 

I noted that the last part, “What I wish I knew” is crucially important. These contain real pain points that were hit along the way.

 

 

Session Objectives

1. Understand code migration approach for Dynamics AX and beyond
2. See a real solution being migrated
3. Discover how to prepare for Dynamics AX
4. Learn developer’s tips and tricks for the code upgrade

Out of scope: Data upgrade

Data upgrade we hope to have available with update 2 perhaps 6 months. Also perhaps data migration from 2009.

 

 

 

How did we get here?
– AX 2012 Migration

• Challenging
• Dynamics AX goals
  • Seamless, Easy, Predictable
• Existing Momentum
  • Code migration started with partners March 2015
  • Partner readiness well underway

“We are as close as it gets to a magic button”

 

 

Dynamics AX Code Migration

AX 2012 to current Dynamics AX

• All types convert as is, major exceptions:
  • Enterprise Portal is not supported in current Dynamics AX and needs to be rewritten
  • Custom client controls will not run in current AX
  • Document Services are not supported in current AX
  • Form parts are replaced by current AX form parts
  • Cues
  • Visual Studio Projects

 

 

Migration Process

Those steps are important

The manual part takes the most time

 

Q&A: Document services replaced with entities

2009 to AX7: Data migration is preferable to data upgrade

 

Demo

Export modelstore

Zip it

LCS > Create project > Project settings > Azure connectors

Connect lcs project to azure and vice versa using certificate

Connect Visual Studio Team Server account

VSTS > Profile > Security > Personal access tokens

Deploy environment, recommend Azure. Issues locally with multiple developers. D13 or D14 are good machines. Use V2 for dev machine. D4 for build machine

Code upgrade > create job. Estimate only does not check anything in to Visual Studio

You can’t upgrade only one project, one model – you must upgrade the entire modelstore

Build box will be connected to VSTS automatically

Build machine can be changed: continuous integration

Recommend upgrade from R3 CU10, but the tool will accept lower versions

VSTS > project > code

 

What’s really happening?

Model management is there

Auto-migration rules

How does auto migration work?

Best Practice Framework

What is auto-migrated?

• Renamed and deprecated APIs, metadata
• Apply form patterns
• Deprecated controls (e.g. Segmented Entry Control and Dimension Entry Control)

 

 

Manual Upgrade

Use LCS links within your project

• Unparseable files
• Conflicts
• Compile errors
• Package/Model split extensions, events and delegates
• Form patterns
• Modern reports and BI

Tip: Use LCS for whitepapers and patterns learning

 

 

Demo

Manage workspaces, get latest, 3 solutions. 1. unparseable, 2. code merge, 3. upgraded

Open code merge solution

Building from the solution won’t work the first time

Build from Dynamics AX one at a time bottom up

 

Am I done?
This is for solutions to be on the marketplace

How to make it a “Dynamics AX” Solution

• Build your workspaces
• Get 100% coverage of form patterns
• Build your entities
• Extend or create rich controls
• Extend base AX (where possible)
• Integrate rich BI scenarios
• Fix BP errors and TODOs
• Record your task guides

 

 

LCS Solution Overview

Dynamics AX to Dynamics AX upgrade

Goals

Automate build to build migration

Keep history (check-ins and work items)

Trunk/main is your primary development branch

 

 

Branch Management

1. Stop development on trunk\main
2. Run VSTS migration
3. Integrate from releases\version => trunk\main
4. Complete trunk\main upgrade
5. Done!

 

 

Preparing for the upgrade

I wish I knew this before I started my upgrade…

• Run Visual Studio as Administrator
• Embrace and love extensions and delegates
• Build packages from AX7 menu – not build solution
• Do not import Microsoft hotfixes to AX2012 as XPOs
• Check full error log if an error does not make sense (the full error log is in the model folders)
• Save $$$ by using Azure Automation Runbooks to shut down development environment overnight
• Remember to “Add Solution to Version control” to ensure your new elements are added to VSTS
• Check-in “Descriptor” file for your model to VSTS else your automated build will fail
• Do not customize Microsoft report designs, copy them instead. When Microsoft reports are updated they will be reimplemented, losing your changes
• If unsure how to upgrade a pattern, compare Microsoft code of AX2012 and the new Dynamics AX

 

There are deprecated APIs including filesystem ones

 

Happy DAXing!

 

Microsoft Dynamics Technical Conference, 2016 / Day 3 Session 3

My report from the technical conference.

 

For Day 3 session 3 I went to Better together: How Microsoft Dynamics AX leverages SQL Azure and the latest Microsoft data platform with Sunil Agarwal, Michael Gall, and Milinda Vitharana.

 

Lots of visuals today.

 

Agenda

• Topology in the cloud or on premise using SQL Server 2016
• Dynamic scaling of server in the cloud
• Multiple read-only databases to distribute the load
• One database for OLTP and Analytics workloads
• In-memory OLTP for highly performant operations
• Dynamics AX Entity store and scenarios
• Cortana Analytics suite integration

You can dial up or down the database to meet the load demand

No more cubes. Analytics are served by the real time database

Topology in cloud or on-premise

 

Dynamics AX platform

We’ll be talking about the data layer in the photo

 

SQL Server in Dynamics AX topologies

Back end is not SQL Server; it’s SQL Azure

Features released to the cloud before they are released to the box. Then customers test them then we send a high quality product to the box

 

Dynamic Scaling

 

SQL Database service tiers

Premium = Enterprise

 

Predictable performance

Microsoft scales up and down as needed; it is invisible to the user

 

Elastic database pools

Multiple read-only databases

 

Dynamics AX data

Primary to secondary in seconds

Secondary to entity store in minutes

Read only secondary (ROS) DB

• Available in production environments
  • One or more ROS DBs provisioned based on volume and load
• Selected workloads routed by AOS to ROS
  • Workload patterns determine whether they can be run on ROS. Developer doesn’t choose
• Some (limited) configuration options
  • Ex: Tile cache can be optimized by administrator where required
• Exact copy, seconds late…
  • Data in primary DB is reflected in secondary within seconds

 

 

Multiple Read-only Secondary Databases

Real-time operational

 

 

Minimizing data latency for analytics

Add challenge: Delivering Performant Analytics

 

Real-time analytics

NCCI is very efficient

 

Real-time analytics: Minimizing columnstore overhead

Demo: How AX leverages SQL Operational analytics

Index type can be index or columnstore

 

Future: Secure data on the move and at rest

 

Always encrypted

“like” is not available because similar strings encrypt differently

Temporal option available so you can restore from 5 or from 20 minutes ago

Future: in-memory OLTP

 

 

Hardware trends

In-memory OLTP – architectural pillars

Transform high level operations to C programs

30x performance improvement

SQL In-memory engine

How AX7 uses in-memory OLTP

In 2016 we allow 2TB for in memory

In the future: Dynamics AX entity store

• Mark the table as Storage Mode = InMemory
• Set Durability:
  • SchemaAndData: Data can be recreated after crash (from transaction log)
  • Schema: Data is lost after crash
• System administrator has to accept the setup

 

 

Dynamics AX data

Entity store – key scenarios

• High volume, near real-time Power BI reporting
  • De-normalized schema, CCI to enable faster query responses, incremental update from AX, direct Query Power BI models
• Intelligent business processes with Cortana Analytics suite
  • Stage data for Azure Data Factory pipelines, Consume in Azure Machine Learning
• IoT, external data integration
  • Staging in Azure Data Lake and Azure Data warehouse

 

 

Entity store – key tenants

• Designed for analytical scenarios
• Azure DB entity store included in AX license
• AX manages deployment and refresh
• Optionally, customer can stage data in Azure DB, DL and DW for read-write scenarios
• Coming soon to AX2012 R3

 

 

There will be an entity store for AX 2012

Future: Cortana Analytics Suite Integration

 

From data to decisions and actions

Cortana Analytics Suite

From data to decisions and actions

Updated

Example: Integrating AX Retail with Azure ML Recommender

AX + CAS go-to market approaches

CAS = Cortana Analytics Services

 

Summary

 

Happy DAXing!

 

Microsoft Dynamics Technical Conference, 2016 / Day 3 Session 2

My report from the technical conference.

 

And many, many thanks to those who retweet these blogs! It’s much appreciated. I am now pushing to complete this… look for this to be wrapped up by Monday morning.

 

I went to Mining the metadata and authoring X++ best practice rules in Microsoft Dynamics AX with Peter Villadsen, program manager.

 

It was full (of course) but I refused to miss another Villadsen breakout session, so sat on the floor. I started a trend and had lots of company.

 

Session Objectives and Takeaways

• Session Objective(s)
  • Learn about the role of metadata in Dynamics AX7 and how to leverage its value
  • Understand the extensibility story for the new X++ compiler
  • Understand how to write add ins into Visual Studio to provide new functionality
• The metadata is more pervasive and more useful than ever
• The AX development environment can be extended
• It is possible to extend the compiler easily

 

Dynamics AX Metadata

• The Dynamics AX environment is based on metadata
• Metadata is now stored in XML files in the file system, not in a database.
• Everything is open; there are no “blobs”.
• The XML files are the unit of Source Control.
• The metadata access does not depend on server

 

 

XML Metadata files

Showed them on the file system

Application explorer is a read-only view

Metadata access

Consuming metadata

• There are several ways of consuming metadata in Dynamics AX7:
  • Using raw System XML APIs
  • Using the dict* classes from X++
  • Using the automation API from Visual Studio add-ins
  • Using managed APIs: (compile time, general)
  • Using the OData service

 

Consuming metadata as XML

• You saw the XML metadata stored in files by package, model, and kind
• It is easy to do sweeps of these files using XML APIs in either X++ or C#.
• Pros:
  • XML can be accessed on any device, everywhere
  • Easy to search using LINQ or XPATH
• Cons:
  • It is not type safe
  • It is slightly clunky

 

 

Demo

 

 

Application note: large scale query map of metadata files. Used an open source edition, ran even faster

 

Using the dict* classes

• The dict* classes from AX6 were re-implemented on top of the new metadata API
• They support existing code, but new metadata is now leveraged through these APIs
• The TreeNode API is available too for some cases (except for writing)
• Pros:
  • Compatibility
  • Easily used from X++
• Cons:
  • A little kludgy
  • Inelegant but they do work

 

 

Consuming metadata through dict* classes

Demo

Legacy code will probably work

 

Accessing Data Entity metadata through ODATA

• It is possible to access Data entity metadata through services
• We can open this service up for other metadata artifacts as well, as needed
• Currently only open to entities. In the future will be tables

 

 

Using the managed metadata classes

• The managed metadata API are used throughout the platform
• They are classes that expose all the metadata in a type-safe, DOM-like way
• Pros:
  • The metadata can be consumed using state-of-the-art C# constructs
• Cons
  • There is a certain learning curve to negotiate
  • There are several different APIs, for different scenarios

 

 

Managed metadata access

• Metadata is accessed through a metadata provider
• There are three distinct kinds of managed metadata access:
  • From Visual Studio Extensions
  • From compiler scenarios
  • General metadata access APIs
• Traverse with LINQ or using custom code
• Stay tuned for examples…

 

 

Checkpoint

• You understand the concept of metadata and how it relates to Dynamics AX
• You have seen several ways to query the metadata
• Let’s do something useful with this knowledge!

 

 

Extending the Visual Studio experience through add-ins

Demo

Visual Studio

File > New > Project

DAX: BP tools, dev tools add-in

You get a template, just complete the TODOs

System.console.writeline(“stuff”)

iForm, iTable are the VS views

 

Metadata access

• You have the choice between two different metadata providers:
  • One is for accessing the MD as it is loaded in VS (using classes in the Microsoft.Dynamics.Framework.Tools.MetaModel.Automation namespace)
  • Example: ITable
  • The other is the global metadata store (using classes in the Microsoft.Dynamics.AX.Metadata.MetaModel namespace)
  • Example: AxTable

 

 

Compiler Extensibility

 

Simple parsing and analysis demo

Compile xpp – collect error messages

Create metadata provider

Get tabl emetadata

Compile class declaratino

Dump diagnostic messages

Run pipeline

Dump messages

“Macros are evil”

API is not elegant

 

Checkpoint

• You have seen how the metadata can be queried
• You now understand the concepts of Abstract Syntax Trees and how they relate to X++ source code.
• Let’s put this to good use!

 

 

 

Extending the compiler with BP rules demo

Visual Studio > File > New project > Use BP add in

Creates a template

There are white papers on writing BP checks

When you need to debug BP

Attach to XPPc agent

Check the wiki

 

Using the cross reference

• The cross reference database (DYNAMICSXREFDB) lives in the SQL database on your development box
• The format has been significantly simplified: it is mainly two tables
  • Names
  • References
• The cross reference powers the VS experience

 

 

Building the xref is relatively expensive but not absolutely expensive (4 minutes)

 

Q&A

 

 

Happy DAXing!

 

Microsoft Dynamics Technical Conference, 2016 / Day 3 Session 1

My report from the technical conference.

 

For the first session of the last day, I went to Ask the Experts: Developer and customization experience with Peter Villadsen, Robert Badawy,and  Joris de Gruyter. Quite the lineup!

 

 

Being an Ask the Experts, it had no set structure other than a Question & Answer format. Here are my scribbled notes on them. Note that it seemed everyone was sick & there was a lot of coughing during the questions and answers.

 

1. Replicated DB’s: adding indexes, etc.
2. Upgrade: prepare your code in 2012, split it in AX 7. Wiki has hints on code upgrade
3. One solution with two projects: cut and paste across projects
4. No need for remote based app / remote desktop
5. Security and data
6. DB replicas are read only, near real time. Can we query this? Not sure
7. SSRS still used, pretty unchanged. We don’t yet support extensions on reports
8. Jobs – now class – static void main(Args) and set as startup. Alternatively for data update you can create a data project. Use the data management framework
9. Alternative to SSIS: Whole new world of BI. Use Wiki > Analytics
10. PowerBI?
11. Move elements to different model? Yes. In projects via cut and paste. Alternatively just move the files. While you’re doing that, consider creating extensions.
12. Wiki > Developer > Code migration > Prepare to migrate 
13. Something how long it takes to run. Load balancing, zero downtime, deployment – automated on our end but manual work on Microsoft’s end. They are improving.
14. Printers – still support ZPL / zebra. Install an app locally that has access to printers
15. Extensions – there is a metadata API. It’s all file based.
16. How to develop. We do not recommend or support development in a shared AOS. Multiple developers can be on the same box. You can also duplicate the modelstore: Copy the packages folder in C:\ or J:\
17. XLNT framework? Use Raw API and somewhat raw API
18. Deploying deltas. If you overlay, it contains models underneath it
19. Unit tests. You can write unit tests. Remember that testing is very data bound. Microsoft test code is large
20. Multiple developers on the same box. Production database copied to development box – talks are ongoing
21. How browser connects to server. Use SysOperation framework. Use cancel button
22. Models, XML files are design time concept. Labels have no IDs now. You should name your labels
23. Explanation of packages and extensions. In the file system you see packages when you create an extension. You create a new package.
24. Copy of production database that’s not being refreshed for sandbox – the features exist, are currently being worked on.
25. Code refactoring. There are not very good tools. Macros cause issues.

 

 

Here I need to give a shout out to the guy with the great shoes! Keep on stylin’!

Happy DAXing!

 

 

Microsoft Dynamics Technical Conference, 2016 / Day 2 Session 5

My report from the technical conference.

 

This was the session where I mentioned ahead of time that I had a heart-rending decision to make. Fortunately, it was made for me.

 

I went to The new X++ compiler and the Microsoft Dynamics AX development platform with Peter Villadsen and Robert Badawy but it was completely full.

 

So I then went to Deep dive into Microsoft Dynamics AX packages and extensions with Joris de Gruyter. That had also been threatening to fill up, but they moved him to a bigger room.

 

 

Choice made, by default. I mean, everyone needs and wants this session! Go look it up!

 

 

 

Customizations = overlayering

Extensions

Some customers have reimplemented

 

Agenda

• Model Store > Packages > Layers > Models
• Customizations vs Extensions
• Extension Scenarios
• Upgrading to Extensions
• Tips and Tricks
• Extensions into the Future

 

 

 

Model Store > Packages > Layers > Models

• Layers and models are a design-time concept only; they mean nothing at runtime
• A package is one independent, individual set of layers and models; we are now compiling directly to dll’s
• A package is a set of folders, consisting of XML files representing the objects; XMLs sit in a folder according to the package and model they’re in

• A package as a whole translates 1:1 with a unit of compilation, i.e. an assembly (DLL)
• Packages can have references to other packages, just like .NET assemblies can reference each other. But they cannot be circular
• One or more packages combine into a deployable package, i.e. a unit of deployment

 

 

Demo: Packages, files and folders

“Model view” breaks it out by model

J:\AOSService\PackagesLocalDirectory\<Package>\<Model>

Descriptor folder is like the model manifest

 

Customizations vs Extensions

• Customizing (“over-layering”)
  • Granularity of over-layering is down to the property level. So different customizations can change different properties on the same control. You’ll never want to over-layer a menu.
  • “Delta” files store changes only, with their original value
• Models technically also “over-layer” each other
  • No more “traditional” model conflicts, only over-layering
  • Model conflicts don’t require changing the model’s contents
  • Over-layering granularity avoids most conflicts

 

Demo: Customizing, overlayering concepts, delta files

Project can only be in one model

Right click on the object and select customize or create extension

The XML stores both “original” and “yours” – if an ISV sends a hotfix, you now have a three way compare

Search bar: CF: = conflicts. Right click and resolve code conflicts

If you customize thru overlayering, upgrades will be far easier

 

Customizations vs extensions

• Extensions are the new customizations (however going to pure extensions is near impossible)
• Extension enablers
  • Events, metadata extension features, extension methods
• Extension packages
  • Benefits on a code base short and long term
  • Package split impact on customizations
• Change your extension suffix

 

Q: Can you turn an extension off? A: No
Demo: Extensions, capabilities

Everything extends platform, then foundation, then application suite

We use a lot of attributes

Name is: form.extension

Can rename to form.NewExtension

You can open an element in a specific project, package, etc. and that affects what you see.

Hierarchy of models? Last one installed wins

 

Extension Scenarios

• Adding table fields, UI changes
  • Table extensions, form extensions, data entity extensions
• Pre / post and other event handlers
  • Table event handlers, UI event handlers, traditional pre/post and [hookable]
• Customization / extension hybrids
  • Customize based on extension artifacts, delegates
• Plugins
  • Make your code extensible
• “Package split” effects
  • Customize multiple packages
• If a method is private, you can’t do event handlers on it unless you make it hookable.
• Plugins are like the extension framework in 2012

 

 

Upgrading to Extensions

• New artifacts vs customized artifacts
  • Moving new artifacts has consequences
• Refactor vs upgrade
• Current limitations
  • Queries (you can’t really extend a query), over-layering extensions
• Security
  • Roles, duties – not privileges (you can’t extend privileges)

 

 

Tips and tricks

• Metadata search
• Go to form BaseForm
• Quick way to move a control on a form is cut and paste
• Tags
• Visual Studio has bookmarks
• Projects are not in your AOT; they’re just files in your file system
• Reports don’t allow extensions
• Element IDs are unnecessary now

 

Shout out to Yagesh! And sorry if I spelled your name wrong. Thanks for saying hi.

 

Happy DAXing!

 

Photo: Olympic Sculpture Park. Credit: me.

Microsoft Dynamics Technical Conference, 2016 / Day 2 Session 4

My report from the technical conference.

 

Sorry to say that the fourth session on the second day was a letdown.

 

I attempted to get into The X++ language with Peter Villadsen but it was full – completely, overflowingly, full. They need to get him into bigger rooms. I gather it is currently available at mbspartner.microsoft.com/AX/Topic/48  but I don’t have Dynamics Learning Portal so I’m out of luck for now.

 

So then I went to a lab on Applying form patterns with Jason Green. It had a lot of potential, but too many wrinkles to work out. I ended up leaving. But here was the overview of the lab:

 

Lab: take a 2012 form and apply a pattern

Lab overview –

• Apply the details master form pattern

• In Solution Explorer, open a form
• Right click, set as startup object
• Press Ctrl-F5 to build/run
• Open the Patterns Information Panel by clicking the Patterns tab in the form designer
• Right click Design, point to Apply pattern, then select the pattern (details master)
• Add missing groups and controls
• When done, press Ctrl-F5 to build/run

• Utilize documentation to learn about patterns

• Help is at the AX Help Wiki at http://ax.help.dynamics.com; search for “details master” and open the “Details Master – Form Pattern” article

• Apply subpatterns to form controls
  • In VS, in the form designer, right click the form, select Addins, and select Form statistics
  • You will see coverage – look for Pattern=Unspecified to be zero
  • Use the VS form search to find all instances of “unspecified” in the form
  • Subpatterns are part of the Selecting a Form Pattern wiki page
  • Right click Comments, select Apply pattern, and select your pattern
  • Repeat until there are no more unspecified
  • Press Ctrl-F5 to run
• Use patterns-related Visual Studio add-ins

• In VS, click Dynamics AX, Addins, Run form patterns report
• You’ll get a notification of where the csv went; open it in Excel
• Filter it to your model and/or form

 

 

Shout-out tonight to Bobby Small – thanks for reading my blog and taking the time to say hello!  Bobby is @daxioms on twitter and daxioms.blogspot.com.

 

 

Happy DAXing!

 

Photo: Washington Park Arboretum Credit: me

Microsoft Dynamics Technical Conference, 2016 / Day 2 Session 3

 

My report from the technical conference.

 

Our third session on the second day, Wednesday February 24, 2016, was a breakout session, called  Microsoft Dynamics AX implementation methodology, with Clay Wesener and Paul Wu, of the SA group.

 

I hope you can make sufficient sense of my scribbled notes. This was definitely a lot to take in but of course very important. We really need to be comfortable with this. You may have noticed, I’m trying not to infringe on Microsoft’s slide decks, but I think they’re necessary for clarity in this case.

 

Implementation methodology

There is now a customer LCS project

This is about the tools

 

Implementation using CRP

• Smaller iterative approach
• Easier to spin up
• Also see implementation lifecycle workshop

LCS based tooling

Discover-define-develop-operate

Business process management is much improved – it can support off-AX things

VSTS – business processes, traceability requirements, change requests, deliverables (FDD/TDD), builds, dev work, bugs, test cases, support tickets

LCS – BPM, usage profiles, upgrade assessments, subscription estimate, deployable packages, user task guides, process data packages, configuration manager, cloud powered support, issue search, monitoring and diagnostics

If you get nothing else from this post, then “get” this chart:

Demo: Deploying an environment (Paul Wu)

Demo: BPM and task guides (Clay)

LCS > Business process libraries

You can edit a recording

You get an APQC library with AX

 

 

Usage profiles and subscription estimator

LCS > Subscription estimator

 

Can monitor a VM, but can’t dynamically adjust it

 

BPM, process data packages (associates DP with a process in your BPM library), configuration Manager

BPM library

You actually load the data into AX from LCS

LCS > Data management

LCS > asset library: you can put in data packages

 

DIXF – configuration manager – process data package

 

We can specify dependencies (sequences). They advise, not enforce.

 

 

TR code gets checked into VSTS

 

Support and operations demo (Clay)

 

 

Happy DAXing!

 

Microsoft Dynamics Technical Conference, 2016 / Day 2 Session 2

My report from the technical conference.

 

Our second session on the second day, Wednesday February 24, 2016, was a breakout session, called Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012: Performance tools overview and best practices, with Tom Treen, Senior Support Engineer.

 

Yes, I went back to 2012, because who couldn’t use performance tips?

 

Tom has a few favorite tools, which you will see mentioned here. He also provided several links for downloads and more information, do make sure to check them out!

 

Agenda

• Performance monitoring tools
• Setup and configure
• Performance configuration best practices

 

Performance monitoring tools

• Dynamics Performance Analyzer
• Microsoft Dynamics AX Trace Parser
• Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) tool
• SQL performance dashboard reports

 

 

Microsoft Dynamics Performance Analyzer

V2 just came out, it’s still in Beta

We are catching data more frequently

Uses:

• Database performance tuning
• Microsoft Dynamics AX setup & best practices checks

Features:

• Database setup and settings
• SQL query details and analysis
• Missing indexes
• Table setup and caching
• Number sequence analysis
• Hidden index scans

 

Microsoft Dynamics AX trace parser

Uses:

• Microsoft Dynamics AX client and AOS trace file analysis

Features:

• Drill down view of captured sessions
• Captured SQL statements
• X++ methods
• Comparison between traces
• Sub-trace creation

 

Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) tool

Uses:

• Windows performance monitor automated analysis

Features:

• Template generation for system, SQL, Microsoft Dynamics AX Counters, plus more
• HTML report produced form analysis
• Ability to queue up analysis for multiple files
• Multi-threaded

 

SQL performance dashboard reports

Went a long time without getting updated

Uses:

• View live and historic data SQL Data

Features:

• SQL server management studio report
• Simple setup
• SQL query history
• IO statistics
• Wait stats

 

Demo: Setup and Configure

Dynamics Perf is a download

Now installation solution and analysis data solution

Open the installation solution

Take a look at their views in SSMS and at SQL Server agent jobs

Check the RunAs for permissions

There is an xpo you should load and incremental CIL and run – set up as a recurring batch job

Open analyze data solution / project

Max degrees of parallelism should be 1, unless you’ve got 16 cores, then 2-3

Check max server memory – sometimes you need to adjust it down

Distribute the load

Trace [illegible]

Suggested indexes: don’t necessarily create all that are identified there

AX server configuration > performance > 128

Number sequence form – cache allocation

 

PAL tool

Threshold file

AX tracing cockpit

Services – start trace, do stuff in ax, stop trace

 

Trace Parser

 

SQL performance dashboard

Free download

IO statistics is a great report

 

Performance configuration best practices

General SQL settings:

• SQL Trace flags – normally recommend 1117, 1118, 1224, 2371 and 4199
• Review max server memory
• Ensure that max degrees of parallelism is set to 1. For higher (16+ CPU servers), try increasing this to 2 or 3
• Within local security policies, set the “Lock pages in memory” and “perform volume maintenance task” has been assigned to the SQL server service account
• Check for maintenance plans for index rebuilds and statistics updates
• Index fill factor

TempDB:

• Recommend that you have one data file for each CPU core, up to between 8 to 12 files

 

Database settings for the Microsoft Dynamics AX DB

• Check the SQL collation matches the TempDB collation
• Check if read committed snapshot on
• Check auto update stats, auto create stats are on
• Make sure that auto shrink and auto update stats async are off

Microsoft Dynamics AX settings:

• Ensure that AOS debugging is disabled
• Review number sequences – where possible do not use continuous sequences, and use fetch ahead for the most used non-continuous
• Review the entire table cache settings and set the AOS server cache to 128KB
• Parameter sniffing fix
• Review database logging and alerts
• Disable fact boxes

 

Download Links

Dynamics Performance Analyzer https://dynamicsperf.codeplex.com/

Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) Tool https://pal.codeplex.com/

SQL Performance Dashboard Reports https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29063

 

Info Links

Dynamics Performance Analyzer

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/axinthefield/archive/2015/12/30/dynamicsperf-2-0-deployment-guide.aspx

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/axinthefield/2015/12/30/dynamicsperf-2-0-installation-for-dynamics-ax/

 

Microsoft Dynamics AX parameter sniffing fix

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/axinthefield/2014/01/09/sql-server-parameter-sniffing-with-dynamics-ax-just-plain-evil-redux-5-19-2014/

 

Link Microsoft Dynamics AX users to SQL SPID

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh699644.aspx

 

 

Happy DAXing!

Seattle cityscape, from Denny Park