Dynamics AX

AX 2012 - Diving into BI Analytics

2012-01-29T10:27:00.004-06:00

A major focus for my self, and my work is around driving value for customers, with their AX investments. It's so easy to get caught up in the implementation, and getting the transaction side of a project up and running, that too many times the full solution, and total value that AX as a whole can bring is not fully realized.

To often, the value of out-of-the-box offerings around Business Intelligence (BI), is apart of that overlooked area of AX. This is sometimes, a major part of why, during the sales cycle a company made the choice of going with AX over some other brand of ERP software. At least to a large degree, it is usually a major deciding factor. Why shouldn't it be, with all the wonderful BI concepts built into AX as a product, not just in the formed of typical reports either, but even with contextual BI elements and beyond.

With this in mind, I wanted continue my focus that I started last year, around the BI capabilities for AX 2012, and what it can bring, helping you complete your total solution, and driving further value from what you have already invested in. The next focus, in this BI journey for AX 2012, at least for me and this blog, is around AX 2012 Analytics.

We see the above image, comes from the following section on Microsoft TechNet, talking through the architecture that makes up Analytics side of AX 2012, out-of-the-box offering. Its important to understand the full picture, including how this architecture actually works. As you can see, like the other technologies, used in the Microsoft stack for AX, SQL Server Analysis Services is a key technology to enabling OLAP cubes in AX.

Taking this architecture forward, I think it's important to also see the great resources that Microsoft has given us in this release for AX 2012, around this topic, specifically for the developer in mind, and the development task that are needed to enable, customize and complete a customers BI story, from the Analytics point of view.

These resources I'm speaking to, start with Development Tasks for Analytics [AX 2012]. Going to that resource, you can see several walkthrough's from Creating Cubes within the AOT, to Creating and Displaying new KPI's.

Having this resource, as our starting point, I plan to take this focus on BI further, with using the Contoso database, and showing this offering that is a part of AX 2012, and how it can be used, by you or your customers, the right way - with the goal of driving value.

That's all for today, I hope that you have a great start to the week, and check back soon as a whole lot more to come! Till Next Time!

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Blog Spotlight: SumitsAXfactor dive into AX 2012 & The Financial Dimension Framework

2012-01-27T10:02:00.003-06:00

Well happy Friday to everyone! Followers of my blog know, that I love to point out other bloggers, and people out in the Dynamics Community that help drive and add value to Ecosystem as a whole. Today's post, I wanted to do just that, and highlight: Sumit Loya's - SumitsAXfactor Blog.

Recently, I wrote about Using Financial Dimensions when Creating Products. This topic was building upon creating products, and releasing products through the Document Services framework for AX 2012, specifically highlighting the use of the EcoResProductService.

In this post, I covered the use of InventItem_InventTable object, and it's ability to work with Aif class structures for creating Default Dimensions for released products.

Well Sumit Loya has taking the dive into working with the new Financial Dimensions Framework to a much needed, and really, missing level within the community. The topics that he covers, and concepts are timely, and needed, and are not covered really in any current released documentation.

Because of this fact, I've compiled the following list, that helps highlight the effort Sumit has put into covering these topics, that everyone will find very, very useful in your AX 2012 project work.:

By far, Sumit has really given us all some great post here, and has a great resource for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and the use of the Financial Dimensions Framework in AX 2012. I would like to thank him for taking the time and sharing with the community at large, his examples, and his how-to's. On projects that I've personally been on, these are most useful, and so again Thanks Sumit for your contributions, please keep it up!

Well that's all for this Friday, I hope you all have a blessed weekend, and a wonderful start to next week! Till Next Time!

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AX 2012 - Security Tools Review

2012-01-25T19:39:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone is doing well this week, and finding yourself in a very productive mood, diving deeper and deeper into your AX projects. I wanted to take the time, and highlight an Context Menu Add-in, for AX 2012, specifically the Security Tools that appear when highlighting certain objects in the AOT.

When talking about security in AX 2012, it's important to understand what securable objects within the application are related to what Duties, Roles and more.

To help us understand how the secureable objects in AX 2012, are related to specific privileges, through duties and roles, Microsoft comes with out-of-the-box offerings, that help us in this effort. This is what we see in the first image of this post, showing where, highlighting for example, the SalesTable table object, right clicking and then highlighting security tools, and finally clicking on the View related security roles. In doing this action, a similar screen as shown below is displayed.

There are many fields in this, for helping us understand how the specific element we have highlighted, related back up through the security model in AX 2012. As the following screen shot, further shows even more of the helpful information, for understanding the securable objects relations.

You can see, that like any other form in AX, that has a grid control, you can filter by grid, to get to needed specific information, like type of security, if it's related to form controls, etc. What's also great, and this is again throughout the AX application, the ability to take the data within the specific grid control, and easily export that to Excel, for further analysis and reporting.

Clicking on the export to excel, and we can see quickly and start working with the security related information for the element.

This then, helps in the design phases, as well as post development, within the operation of AX, to understand and glimpse into the current setup from the Role, down to the duty level of the security artifacts that exsit now as part of any AX 2012 instance. This again is powered, out-of-the-box, through the content menu. You can better understand what other functions exists as part of these Security Tools context menu in AX 2012, by going to the Menu's node, in the AOT tree. From there navigate to the SysContextMenu element, and expand the Security Tools node.

With this information, understanding what exist around security for specific elements of AX, be that out-of-the-box or custom, becomes a lot easier. This translate further, into helping make the term, powerfully simple, a true one. To add more value to this topic, if your interested in understanding more about how to work, and add your own scope to the context menu in AX, I recommend checking out the following resource page on MSDN: How to: Add Items to the AOT Add-Ins Menu [AX 2012]

Well, that's all for this post, check back soon as I have a lot more coming, including the continue dive into AX 2012, BI, Data Management, Services, Ecosystem and a whole lot more! Till next time!

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Spotlight: A look at the Dynamics Ecosystem with Dynamics Hires

2012-01-19T05:51:00.006-06:00

Starting this week, I will be working with a new sponsor of this blog, Dynamics Hires, with a focus on talking about the Dynamics Ecosystem. The idea, is to spur thought and talk around the state of the Dynamics Ecosystem, and gives some focus to current, hot and open positions that Dynamics Hires is trying to fill for it's clients.

To get this started off, I virtually sat down with Kimberly Jones, of Dynamics Hires to get her thoughts on the Ecosystem, some forward looking points, as well as asked her to share with us some current open positions that help show off the current state of the Ecosystem as a whole.

(1) Kim, the Dynamics Ecosystem seems red hot right now, with good resources hard to find. How does Dynamics Hires, help it's client, and prospects find the right match for them?

"We listen – both to what companies say they're looking for in their next hire, and what professionals say they're looking for, when they feel that they're ready to take the next step in their careers.

It's sometimes difficult for a professional to pinpoint what they feel they're lacking in their current role when they're put on the spot. Some things are endemic to the industry and may not be fixed by a company change: travel, long hours of a go-live, stress of an implementation not going well, whereas, other things business culture, compensation, career path, etc. So we ask other things, like where the best/most fulfilled consultant they know works?

We also pay attention to the organizations that people with particular skill-sets gravitate, read The Partner Channel, stay abreast of companies that are growing, watch the careers of people when they enter the Channel, etc. With companies, we ask about the characteristics of the best hire they made this/last year? What were the traits of the one you would consider the worse? Then move forward, accordingly."

(2) With the Dynamics Ecosystem being hot, and professionals with the right experience in such high demand, what do you feel are some critical points for employers to understand, to help them get at the right candidates for their needs?

"Finding good people in a niche field will always prove challenging. However, if there was one bit of advice I could give potential employers to consider when they're looking for good people, it would be to consider what it is about their company that will help them keep good people. Work/life balance is important and it matters.

Word of mouth will sell a job. How your company is viewed in the market place, matters. If potential employees see your company as a place that meets their needs, being it professional, having a career path, or more personal. Low travel, or client and employee commitment; allowing the consultant to see a project through the best professionals will want to work with you. Consider what makes your company different, and stress that. We work with a CRM company that boasts a 4 year period where no one has left their company. No one. People read that in our Hot Jobs, newsletter, and we had more talent applying than for any other position that month."

(3) Kim, what makes working in the Dynamics Ecosystem exicting for you, and what are a few "crystal ball" thoughts about the future, over the next 24-36 months?

"The Dynamics Ecosystem is constantly changing, full of diversity of background, personality, etc. So it's going to be exciting by default. But more than anything else, I think I enjoy the David and Goliath feel to it. With Dynamics changing and growing, willing itself into a place whereas it can stand toe-to-toe with the long established ERPs. That's an exciting thing to watch, and to be a part of, in any capacity.

As for my 24-36 month crystal ball...

I agree with you, the market's red-hot, not just in AX. MS CRM is doing well, SharePoint, though not officially a Dynamics product, is carving out it's own space. With SQL expanding, there has been an increased demand for professionals with strong SSAS, SSIS, and SSRS, skills. Dynamics NAV, Dynamics GP, and Dynamics SL all appear to be on the precipice of making some pretty exciting changes.

I think that if The Channel can keep up and build upon the momentum of AX and MS CRM, while NAV, SL, and GP continue to move forward, delivering quality solutions and crafting products that appeal specifically to the customers that they serve, and the markets that they're penetrating… When you look at all of that, and throw in The Cloud, then literally, it really does feel as though the sky is the limit."

(4) Finally, Kim, can you give me some examples of current open positions that your trying to fill for your clients?

Senior AX Developer/Technical Architect / Trainer - Planned and strategic growth has made it necessary for this unique Microsoft Gold Partner to add a Senior Level Developer/Technical Architect, to their team.

This organization provides the benchmark for DAX technical and functional architecture processes, as well as, unrivaled contributions in best practices, and leadership for their clients, Microsoft Customers, emerging ISVs, and their Partners.

Geat Salary, Great Company, Excellent Opportunity for a professional focused ready to take their career to the next level
AX Developer / Large International Customer - Large Microsoft Customer looking for Mid-Senior Level AX Developer/Applications Analyst

Solid, fiscally stable international Dynamics AX Customer is looking for 2 ambitious AX developers, ideally, with at least 2 years Dynamics AX development experience, but will accept 1 year, provided that professional has development experience in other key software languages, to become a part of this cutting edge organization.
AX Analyst T&L and Finance - Solid MS Dynamics Partner, that has exceeded profitability expectations for the last 3 years, is looking for solid AX professionals to grow with them. This organization is committed to growing organically, and motivated to speaking with professionals currently in the Channel, and those who are ready to move their careers in that direction.

This is a great opportunity for AX professional with previous customer experience that is looking for a path into consulting.

Well I would like to thank Kim, and Dynamics Hires, for taking the time to talk with me. We have a few of these post planned, over the next several weeks, as we cover the Dynamics Ecosystem together. That's all for now, but check back soon as more to come! Till Next Time!

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AX 2012 - Using Financial Dimensions when Creating Products

2012-01-18T19:11:00.009-06:00

I hope everyone is having a great week so far, and your knee deep into your Dynamics AX projects. I wanted to take a little time this morning, and post a bit about the use of Financial Dimensions when creating products in AX 2012.

I covered the creation of products, using the EcoResProductService, in the following post: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 - A Dive into Services, Consuming Document Services

What I did not cover in this post, is around the filling of the DefaultDimension field, from the InventTable object, during the Releasing of a Product to a legal entity, via the InventItemService. Since the time of that posting, I've had a chance to work with this further, and wanted to share, how you would go about, still using these document services, to assign the Default Dimension for a Released Product.

With the understanding we have from the previous post, we need to know understand our starting point for being able to set the Default Dimension value, for a released product. There is a set of classes, that are apart of the AIF class framework within AX 2012, that enable us to build up the default dimension for a specific released products. These are: AifDimensionAttributeValueSet & AifDimensionAttributeValue.

Also as part of this Dimension value set creation process, there is a need to work with the AfStronglyTypedDataContainerList, which is a container for the AifDimensionAttributeValue objects we build up for setting our product dimension values.

So since this is our starting point, we would need to define these, in the header section of whatever method or job is performing the action of releasing creating products. We would then, have something that looked like the following code.:


    // DefaultDimension variables:
    AifDimensionAttributeValueSet               DefaultDimSet;
    AifDimensionAttributeValue                  dimensionAttributeValue;
    AfStronglyTypedDataContainerList            dimensionAttributeValues;

With this, we know have the variables needed, in which we can use, along with the InventItemService for setting our Default Dimensions. Moving forward then, within this concept, and assuming you've already got the code from the previous post, lets work with these objects and see the process of creating our Default Dimensions.


        // Set DefaultDimension data
        dimensionAttributeValues = new  
       AfStronglyTypedDataContainerList(#AifDimensionAttributeValue);

        dimensionAttributeValue = dimensionAttributeValues.addNew();
        dimensionAttributeValue.parmName("Department");
        dimensionAttributeValue.parmValue("SomeValue");

        dimensionAttributeValue = dimensionAttributeValues.addNew();
        dimensionAttributeValue.parmName("Purpose");
        dimensionAttributeValue.parmValue("SomeValue");

        dimensionAttributeValue = dimensionAttributeValues.addNew();
        dimensionAttributeValue.parmName("CostCenter");
        dimensionAttributeValue.parmValue("SomeValue");
        
        invTbl.createDefaultDimension().parmValues(dimensionAttributeValues);

With the above code example, we can see that via the InvTable variable, which represents an InventItem_InventTable object, we can create our DefaultDimensions, as well as fill in the Financial dimension name as well as value. In doing this, we are now able to set default financial dimensions correctly, for products we are releasing to a specific legal entity.

To help with this topic further, Becky Newell, a super star support engineer for Microsoft, gave us an early Christmas Present this past Dec., in which she gives us code example of working with Financial dimensions, for Journal Entries. You can find that post, at the following: Creating General Journals in AX 2012 in X++.

Well thats all I have time for this post, I hope this helps you out, and futher shows the powerfully simple nature of AX 2012, and the ability to work with the infinitely possible financial dimensions that can exists. Till Next time!

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AX 2012 and the value of Microsoft's Visual Studio LightSwitch

2012-01-15T15:35:00.005-06:00

Recently, I posted an article on my column, for the Microsoft Dynamics Community site, in which I focused in on the Any Device ERP concept. The push towards this concept, enabling true mobile ERP, as I stated in the article, will actually help drive adoption of the Microsoft Windows 8 powered devices.

Also, including in this post, I highlighted and pointed to the use of Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch. I'm really stoked about this product, and the more and more I look at it, the more value I see it can bring to companies. The value, in which I'm referring to here is all about giving companies the ability to simply, and in a fast nature, create Line-Of-Business Applications quickly and easily. This means faster Time-to-Value for such solutions, that are needed by companies, which can extend from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

We see, with AX 2012, a push for it being the central hub of business logic, operations, data and delivery of business intelligence. With this, we also see the move for exposing data, API's and business logic internal and external of AX 2012, via Services. Because of this, companies can use LightSwitch, and it's ability to quickly and easily create apps that extend AX for a company, and help create a more total solution.

This is done, via AX services, be that Document Services, or Custom Services and Service Operations. Taking this design approach then, of exposing Data and Business logic from AX via services, these services then themselves can be consumed within a LightSwitch Application. A great resource for walking through this, by example can be seen at the following location: MSDN: LightSwitch - Consuming Web Services

From the post: "The aim of this document is to show developers how you can easily configure LightSwitch to consume Web Services. This walk-through assumes you have a background knowledge of creating basic applications with LightSwitch."

Having this example, we can now extend AX 2012, with LightSwitch for internally hosted Line-Of-Business (LOB) applications, on IIS, and even quickly scale and create applications that are deployed to Microsoft's Cloud Offering, Azure. In order to enable the scaling to the cloud, we do need to deploy the AX 2012 Services, via IIS, so that they can be consumed externally by the outside world. Doing this, means then, that quickly and easily we can create a Hybrid cloud story, for AX customers, and quickly bring the value to a customer that the cloud brings with scale, agility, and exposing AX business logic and data for consumption through such LightSwitch created apps.

For those customers, that have invested in AX, working with LightSwitch from Visual Studio 2010, will seem familiar, in how it's ability to work with Entity Data Framework, ease of creating and working with services, as well as the Tree Style design of forms, and buttons, that feels similar to AX and how it's forms and UI elements are designed.

So, if your a Microsoft Dynamics AX Customer, I highly recommend looking into either having your Partner, or your staff work with Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch, and how it can be used to extend your AX investment, quickly, efficiently and fast. That's always the goal, and keep in mind Simple is King of value, and let me tell you LightSwitch is one heck of a product that truly simplifies the creation of Line-Of-Business (LOB) applications. It's all about Time-to-Value, and that is why LightSwitch is a tool that should be considered, for completing your companies / customers total solution.

These applications, can then be made a part of the AX story, either hosted externally in the cloud, or internally. After creating and deploying a LightSwitch App, it can be incorporated directly into the user experience, via links hosted within Role Center Pages, to the LightSwitch App UI, or hosted within the AX 2012 Rich Client Forms and UI.

Bringing this full circle and to have a little forward looking exercise here, I personally believe LightSwitch, which currently delivers it's UI via SilverLight, will quickly be updated, once Windows 8 comes out. I believe, that Microsoft will enable you the ability to choose your target UI, be that SilverLight, or XAML+HTML5+JavaScript. The idea, is that LightSwitch will still create the UI for you, and enable fast and easy creation of Apps, that target even the Metro Style UI of Windows 8, and therefore having company specific Win8 Metro Style Apps, that work directly with & extend a companies AX 2012 ERP investment.

The following links, are useful resources that are used throughout this blog post. I would strongly encourage spending time researching and learning from these resources, and others to see how Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch can help you drive the most value out of your AX 2012 investment.:

Well that's all for now, I hope everyone has a great productive week. Check back soon as I have a lot of good post coming out, all around AX, the Ecosystem, Spotlights, Interviews and more! Till Next time!

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Community Article: Is Microsoft too Late to the Tablet & Mobile Game?

2012-01-11T19:39:00.005-06:00

I wanted to make sure, and highlight my recent article I wrote for the Official Dynamics Community. The post: Is Microsoft too Late to the Tablet & Mobile Game?

I don't want to give away my answer to the post's title, and put forth question. Instead, I will tell you, that the focus is around Mobile ERP, and the rise of "Any Device ERP".

Till Next Time!

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Updated: AX 2012 - Run Reports without hitting the Production DB

2012-01-08T16:29:00.005-06:00

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. I did want to post that I plated my recent post about how to setup a reporting database, that would enable the execution of AX 2012 reports, without hitting the production database. AX 2012 - Run Reports without hitting the Production DB

To sum up, here is the update:
" a reader of this post pointed out that this would not work for the setup using log shipping. Using log shipping is for HA, and he is 100% correct. The log shipped db will remain in standby mode and therefore the .net bc would fail in connecting to it. So instead of using log shipping replace that concept either with replication, or mirroring. The other points that people have brought up, including the same reader, is the cost for the license for the SQL server as well as the extra AOS needed. This is true, however if the desire is to offload the processing of reporting resources from the production, transactional db, then the cost of the extra license would have to be used in order to weight the value in which such a setup could bring. With this, still it is possible to have a reporting database that is different than the production transactional db."

It's still a valid possible solution, but with any such solution, of course there is a cost weight associated with it. Thanks to everyone who shared with me their thoughts on this. The concept was meant to be something that was refined and could give the community a possible solution for enabling such a need.

That's all for now, check back soon as more to come. Till next time!

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Microsoft Dynamics AX Benefits Estimator - Overview

2012-01-04T17:15:00.004-06:00

Well I hope everyone is doing well today, and your active, productive and driving the Dynamics world we all live and work in. One of the trending Dynamics topics on twitter from yesterday, was around a new online tool Microsoft has released, the Microsoft Dynamics AX Benefits Estimator.

When working with the Benefits Estimator, there are 6 choices, with a key focus around the out-of-the-box industry sector focuses Microsoft offers for AX 2012. We see this, in the second screen, shown below here.

In selecting an industry sector focus, say Manufacturing, we are able to expand different bars, that cover topics like Increased Productivity, and Reduced Administrative Overhead for example. In expanding a bar, say the Increased Productivity bar, we are able to set slider values, that lead us to a dollar value for estimated annual savings for using Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

This is all based on information that was gathered via Nucleus Research, per the quote about the tool itself:
"This tool is absed on direct analyst interviews and research on Microsoft Dynamics published by Nucleus Research."

All in all, I think this is a very creative way, for taking staticly collected research data, and giving anyone, possible customers, partners, research analyst, a great way to ineract with that data in a very Dynamic way, that is targeted around specific industry sectors, and based on variables that apply directly to the possible customer that is needing a top notch ERP platform. I think Microsoft has a great marketing hit with this tool, and one that offers some real world information that can help customers see the value AX 2012 can bring to them.

Well that's all for this post, but check back soon as a whole lot more to come, including a new spotlight series on the Dynamics Ecosystem with Kimberly Jones, from Dynamics Hires! Till next time!

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Code Upgrade Service for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

2012-01-02T15:08:00.002-06:00

Welcome to the year 2012 everyone! I hope that you all have a blessed and very successful year, and that 2012 is your best year yet! To kick off this year, I thought I would focus the first blog post, around InformationSource and specifically the Services section of InformationSource.

Within InformationSource, once you sign in either with your PartnerSource or CustomerSource enabled windows live id, there is a section called Services. Within this section there are several tools, all beta, that have been released in order to help you with your AX 2012 projects. Recently, I highlighted one of these, the IDMF, or Intelligent Data Management Framework for Dynamics AX 2012. Today, I wanted to switch focus now, and look into another tool, the Code Upgrade Service for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

Direct from InformationSource about the Code Upgrade Service:
"This service is designed to help Microsoft Dynamics AX developers upgrade their X++ code to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. the service analyzes X++ code patterns and automatically fixes some patterns, provides suggestions on how to fix other patterns, categorizes upgrade task, and enables developers to add their own patterns to be analyzed."

Further, the following is from the short screen cast on InformationSource, about the focus and intent of this new tool.

As you can tell, the idea behind this great new Service, is around helping companies with their upgrade projects, and specifically focused around the code investments / customizations that a specific company has made within their Dynamics AX instance. Now I must state again, all of these tools are currently in Beta, so use with caution, and understand this fact. To help better understand how to use this new tool, Microsoft has a home page on TechNet, specifically for the Code Upgrade Service.: Code Upgrade Tool User Guide [AX 2012]

There are several sections, to the current Beta release of the User guide, that cover:

Install the Code Upgrade Tool
Run the Code Upgrade Tool
Extend the Code Upgrade Tool
Uninstall the Code Upgrade Tool

In a nutshell, the code upgrade tool is an AX 2012 model file, called "Code Upgrade Tool Model.axmodel". There are also several Managed code assemblies that are delivered as part of this tool. Specifically these assemblies contain the out-of-the-box rules, listed in the following categories:

AddressBook - Rules that are related to adoption of the updated address book framework for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
FormLetter - Rules that are related to adoption of the updated form letter framework for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
IDGoAway - Rules that are related to adoption of the updated type IDs
Inventory - Rules that are related to adoption of the updated inventory refactoring in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
Number sequence framework - Rules that are related to adoption of the updated number sequence framework for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
XppCompiler - Rules that are related to adoption of compiler changes.

After installing, its highly recommended that you experiment with the tool, and see what kind of errors it can identify, as well as fix. It comes then, with two example classes:

PipelinableMutator, which contains errors that the tool can identify and fix.
PipelinableSweeper - which contains errors that the tool can identify, but can not automatically fix for you.

Once you get a feel for how to use the tool, and the value it can add to your upgrade process, keep in mind that from the ISV, VAR and Customer level, the tool is meant to be extended. Make sure that before you attempt to extend the tool, that you read carefully the section on extending the Code Upgrade Tool.

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully this is a great introduction for you, and you can start using this tool, to help with your projects today. Finally, stay tuned, as there is a lot of topics to cover about the Dynamics Ecosystem, Dynamics AX 2012, and a whole lot more. Till Next Time!

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AX 2012 - Run Reports without hitting the Production DB

2011-12-30T11:26:00.006-06:00

Update: a reader of this post pointed out that this would not work for the setup using log shipping. Using log shipping is for HA, and he is 100% correct. The log shipped db will remain in standby mode and therefore the .net bc would fail in connecting to it. So instead of using log shipping replace that concept either with replication, or mirroring. The other points that people have brought up, including the same reader, is the cost for the license for the SQL server as well as the extra AOS needed. This is true, however if the desire is to offload the processing of reporting resources from the production, transactional db, then the cost of the extra license would have to be used in order to weight the value in which such a setup could bring. With this, still it is possible to have a reporting database that is different than the production transactional db.

I hope everyone had blessed and wonderful holidays! I hope that you got plenty of time with family, friends and loved ones. I wanted to make sure and get one last post in, for the year 2011. Man, what a great year it has been, for the Dynamics Community and Ecosystem.

There are plenty of great wrap up post going on for 2011, as well as some predictive post as well. So, for my 800th post on this blog, and to close out 2011, I wanted to leave you all with a late Christmas gift, if you will. That is, as the title of this post suggest, a way to run AX 2012 Reports, without hitting the Production Database!

What we see in the above image, is the reporting architecture diagram from MSDN. This explains for us, the steps in which a typical, modeled driven solution report executes and fires from menu item execution, to rendering within the AX Rich client that is hosting the report viewer control.

Now lets take this understanding, along with how to setup multiple instances of SSRS on the same server role, and use this understanding to design a solution that will enable us to run all AX reporting from a Reporting Database. This includes both out-of-the-box and custom developed AX-SSRS Reports!.

Important: This approach has not been widely tested. This is not a solution from Microsoft, but something I've been thinking about how to achieve myself. Use this at your own risk, without any warranty or guarantee's.

So, in order to properly understand how we can do this, safely, and securely, and be able to maintain and support such a design, lets revisit a simple architecture that shows the server roles of how a standard AX-SSRS is setup. To help better understand this point, I've created the following diagram in Visio, that illustrates such a standard setup.

With the above, we see a simple architecture that shows off how SSRS and AX work together. It's via the application layer, and how the default .Net Business Connector configuration is used on the SSRS server role, to point SSRS to the right instance of AX.

The AX instance, has within it, the information that connects it to SSRS. This way when the menu item is fired, from the Rich Client, the AOS then uses the information contained within it's setup about Reporting Servers, to understand what SSRS instance to fire.

Since the default .Net Business Connector configuration for SSRS is pointing back to the same AX instance, when the SSRS instance is executing the reporting and firing the Data Extensions to get to the correct Query object and therefore data, then in this standard approach, we are hitting the production database for your instance of AX. Of course, this could be any instance, we are saying production because the goal is to offload the resource needs of processing reports, away from your production database.

Now that we have the established understanding of how AX and SSRS works, along with the understanding of how we can actually place a specific config file, that will point SSRS to a specific instance of our choice of AX, lets move forward with our new design.

To help understand this concept, I've created the following diagram in Visio. This illustrates our new, beta>, reporting architecture configuration for enabling the execution of reports, against a replicated reporting database instance of AX 2012.

What we see here, is our simple reporting setup, and we are taking the information we have from setting up multiple instances of SSRS on the same server role, and pointing SSRS, when processing it's data needs, to interact with a different AOS, that is pointing to a log shipping replicated database of AX 2012. So, with this we still have the ability for all the out-of-the-box reports to be fired, as well as executed in batch, server side, EP, etc. but the actual hit against the production database does not take place. Instead the data is accessed from the replicated, new reporting database.

The critical keys that enable this concept are, (1) having the production instance of your AOS and Reporting Server setup, pointing to your SSRS server role within AX. (2) Changing what AOS the SSRS server hits for processing data, by deploying a custom configuration file. (3) Log Shipping is enabled at on the AX Production database, so that the AX Reporting Database is kept up to date with live data.

Keep in mind, with this setup, that all users interact with your production AOS. They never interact with the reporting instance AOS.

Now there is still a concept we have not addressed, and one that is critical to the success of this design. That is code promotion, or change management. Why does this matter? Well simply put, it's because the model store that represents the application now lives as a part of the production database. This then gets replicated when any changes take place.

If we are following the guidelines given to us by Microsoft, for promotion of code to a production instance of AX, via Model Store Files, then we should be fine with this solution. The reason this is the case, is because in doing this, we perform a full compile and full CIL compile within the QA / Test environment. in doing this, and then correctly draining all users from production and shutting down all AOS(es), within our instance. We can then safely move the entire Model Store File, into our production database for AX. Further, we can do the same to our log shipping, reporting database of AX as well.

This means, that before we did this action, we would need to turn off log shipping, while we are importing the model store files into production, and also the reporting database, which is a replica of production. After this was completed, and before enabling users the right to get back connected to AX, enable log shipping again, and your solution is back on-line, with any new changes.

Further to this point, if as part of that new reports were brought in as part of the model store file move, you would deploy the reports from the AX production instance. You would not deploy them, via the reporting instance.

So, with the above information, we have a possible solution that could enable the use of Log Shipping, and some configuration tweaks, that would allow our Production Database to not be affected by Reporting resource needs. Instead the reports are executed against a replicated database. This, in theory then, would work for all reports, including batch scheduled, server side and EP. I do welcome any feedback on this concept from the community. If you feel I'm overlooking something, or have failed to bring to light some critical point, please share and I will update this post.

Well that's it for me for this year. Thanks everyone for reading my blog, and supporting me in this effort. The reason I write is because of you, so thanks and have a blessed and safe Happy New Year! May 2012 be the best year for each and every one of you! Till next year!

Important: This approach has not been widely tested. This is not a solution from Microsoft, but something I've been thinking about how to achieve myself. Use this at your own risk, without any warranty or guarantee's.

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Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T08:44:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to take the time, and wish Everyone a Merry Christmas! I will be back writing some next week, and so will wish you all a Happy New Year then.

May your Christmas be blessed, and Happy Holidays! Thank you for reading my blog, and always giving me challenges that make this social exploration of Dynamics knowledge so fun.

For an early Christmas present, if you will, the following is a blast from the past. First up we have: Twas the night before implementation

Finally, if you dare, When squirrels attack! - A True Christmas Tale

Merry Christmas!

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AX 2012 - Items & InventItemSetupSupplyType Table

2011-12-20T11:11:00.004-06:00

In past post, I've covered the usage of services for performing operations external to AX, as well as internal.

Some examples that have done recently, were focused around Creating Products in AX 2012, via the EcoResProductService.

As well as creating the new Trade Agreements, via PricePriceDiscJournalService.

The point that I've tried to get across in these examples, is to show how this can be done within AX 2012, as well as the same concepts and constructs can be used externally of AX 2012. This is the right move, specifically if your looking beyond AX 2012, and beyond AX7 even.

With this concept, you can also Release Products to a specific legal entity, which is covered pretty well, via a C# example, found at the following resource.: Product-item data management services.

So again, we see how both X++ and C# can use these constructs, Document Services, to create products, as well as release them to a specific legal entity. With this said, there is something missing, for this process.

Specifically, if we look to have our migrated products, that have been released, to show up on the Purchase Order Lines, Item Id field drop down. If we go to do this, and we created products, and released them for use within a specific legal entity, via the services described in the above references, then our items would not show up for use on Purchase Order lines. They can be entered, but do not show up.

The reason this is the case, is because in AX 2012, the Purchase Order Line, Item Id datasource field, has a new lookup() form it uses, called InventItemIdLookupPurchase. This form, has a datasource, that includes the new table: InventItemSetupSupplyType. [InventItemSetupSupplyType Table [AX 2012]]

This new table, contains sourcing information, related to the Item that is being released to a specific legal entity. When this release takes place, the AX Rich Client UI, will fire the EcoResProductReleaseManager object that has logic which creates a default entry into the InventItemSetupSupplyType table, with a Default Order Type of Purchase.

When creating products and releasing them through the services, specifically for the InventItemService, [InventItemService Class [AX 2012]], it makes use of the AxdItem Query object in AX 2012, in order to create records via.

Since this is the case, and we can see from above that the InventItemSetupSupplyType table does not exists as a datasource, then when creating records via this design concept, will not satisfy the requirement of adding entries into the new table, of InventItemSetupSupplyType.

Therefore, there is a small disconnect between the UI release process, and the document service approach for creating and releasing items. This is a simple fix however, either invoke similar code, found in the EcoResProductReleaseManager class for the createInventItemSetupSupplyType() method. Or the other option, could be to add the datasource, to the AxdItem query, for the InventItemSetupSupplyType table, and regenerate the InventItemService, document service, so it will reflect the new entity within it's WSDL.

Depending on the scope of what your doing, should guide you on which choice you make here. If it's throw away, migration code, the simple, fast option of just invoking the X++ code that lives within the EcoResproductReleaseManager class would be advised.

However, if your doing a longer, value add modification, or integration, then, looking to modifying the InventItemService, via the AxdQuery object should be considered.

Well I know that's a little deep dive, on something very specific, however such deep dives are warranted at times. I believe, it's important to understand this, from a process point of view, but also see the value in showing choice. The ability to solve a need, there is multiple ways. Depending on where the most value is, should guide your choice, for the design and the development of answering a specific scope need.

That's all for now, but check back soon as a whole lot more to come. Till next time!

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AX 2012 - AX-SSRS Report Design Concepts

2011-12-18T19:22:00.004-06:00

Recently I have been focusing on the BI and reporting aspects that come as part of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. There is a lot of great resources for this topic, and it's a topic that drives a lot of value, when speaking about AX 2012.

Since this is the case, I wanted to continue my focus on reporting, with this blog post, focused on the two categories, if you will, of types of AX-SSRS reports. These are Model Driven Solutions and Code Driven Solutions.

Model Driven Solution Diagram

First up, lets talk about the model driven solution, in terms of AX-SSRS reports. When speaking about the model driven approach to AX-SSRS report development, the focus is around the use of Query objects, from the AOT, to model your report with. The idea, with such reports, in that very little X++ code is needed to enable them.

This path, should be favored as much as possible, as it's the least amount of TCO in terms of report development. With this approach, and with report design in general, we have the report itself, and surrounding it is the design, data and control aspects of the report.

When talking in terms of the model driven approach, the design, as you can see from above is created within Visual Studio 2010. Further, the data aspect, is represented via a Query object, and a good example of the control for such a designed report is ranges.

Keep in mind, when thinking about such design patterns, that the Query object is meant to be a re-usable API in AX 2012. The same query object that powers a AX-SSRS report design, could also enable a PowerPivot report, or could be used to help define and deliver Contextual BI elements, say for an InfoPart.

Moveing forward with this thought process, lets look to the next category, for AX-SSRS report design. This is the Code Driven Solution.

Code Driven Solution Diagram

With this concept, we have our basic design elements, or constructs for reference. It's the design, data and control points. Looking at the above diagram and comparing the code driven solution vs. the model driven, we see that at the heart of the design, is still Visual Studio 2010.

Beyond that though, these are much different than the Model driven solution, and the use of queries. The idea for this concept, is when code is needed to create the data behind a report. When this is the case, the data, for the above is represented by RDP, or Report Data Provider. This is a new class type for AX 2012, that enables the ability to design more complex reports, when the need to "mash" data from different sources arises.

Moving along with this concept, we also see that for the control, we have a Data Contract. This too is new to AX 2012, and we have seen some of these, in my coverage of services in AX 2012..

The data contract, when used in a design pattern that is laid out in the above, is meant to act as a simple class, that ties extended data types, that represent the data contract properties, to the report design itself. Enabling, therefore, the correct formatting of data, based on underlying table and data type designs.

With these two concepts in mind, we can start to move forward with report design. A big focus, and understanding point needs to be seen here. That is, you don't see the mention of BIDS, or Business Intelligence Development Studio. That is the standard SSRS design piece. The reason this is the case, is that VS2010 and a special project type are used to enable the creation of AX-SSRS reports. BIDS is actually hosted within VS2010, at least the design space is, so once in the VS2010 project, it's very familiar process for those use to using BIDS. However BIDS, and standard SSRS reports are not meant to be used in delivery data, with AX 2012.

To help you further, with learning these concepts, there are a couple of resources I would like to point you to. First, the Microsoft Dynamics AX BI team blog: Dynamics BI Team Blog. This is a resource I have highlighted before, and one I want to make sure everyone is aware of and makes use of.

Also, the same team, behind that blog, creates YouTube videos, at the following YouTube channel: Dynamics AX BI YouTube Channel. Here again, we have another great resource, in which the main topics of this post are discussed more fully, and taking to a deeper level. Some really great video's out there, so I highly recommend reviewing them, as you can.

Finally, Microsoft recently published the Whats New: Reporting for Developers in AX 2012. This is a really great resource, espically for those that have done AX-SSRS report development in AX 2009. All the concepts contained within that page, need to be fully understood, so that you can take full advantage of all the great improvements Microsoft has given us with this release, around report development.

Well that's all for this post, check back soon though as there is a whole lot more to come.

Till next time!

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AX 2012 - Upgrade Questions Answered

2011-12-15T10:03:00.004-06:00

Recently, I took part in a community effort, in order to drive awareness, as well as social connections for the Dynamics Community. This experiment, was focused around the Microsoft Community Site, hosted a set of questions around AX 2012 Upgrades.

Several people took part in this, for submitting questions, and giving answers. The following link, will guide you to this first iteration of such an effort: Microsoft Dynamics Community: Dynamics AX 2012 Upgrade Questions……Answered!

An Example, from this post, can be seen here:
"Community Question #1

First of all I want to say I love the initiative! Great to see that Microsoft is working pro-active! My question is related to the licenses. There will be different type of roles which will play a part in the license value for a given customer. Image I have a lot of project manager which will be functional roles. Are there any limitations regarding availability of different legal entities? With other words, can a functional user use/see all the legal entities deployed in an AX2012 application?

What about custom security roles made by the partners? How will they fit into the license layout..."

And the answer I provided:
"First, lets address the fact that AX 2012 License model has changed a lot actually. It's for sure a much simpler approach, and closer to how Microsoft license it's other products for use. The best source, to help understand the new license model, in full can be found from the following PDF, white paper guide: Download Whitepaper

With this in mind, it's very clear that the mappings of named user types, to menu functions, and therefore roles will have to be updated. For example, currently, if you basically touch anything with a journal, for updating say, then your user will be marked as an Enterprise Named User License. This is not the vision Microsoft had for this, so there is a planned revisit to get the menu functions, and therefore ultimate mapping of users to Named User Types updated.

With that knowledge in hand, lets move to the more direct question, is the ability to cross legal entities for performing work. This is clearly stated as a goal, if a user is meant to cross legal entities they will be considered an Enterprise Named User. That make sense, in that, if your crossing legal entities, you are no longer a Functional or Task user, because you are truly doing functions at the enterprise level.

Finally, lets address your question around custom roles and security. In terms of reference to the Named User types, when custom menu functions, and business logic is created, either via an ISV, or the customer itself, the Microsoft Named User license count is not affected. If you look, for example, and create a custom menu item, which is how the Named User counts are tallied and linked, you will notice that None is set, instead of Functional, Task, Enterprise, etc. To the license point for ISV there is a different license model that ISV's can use, that for a customer will have to maintain that either through their VAR, or through a direct relationship with the ISV who is providing you service.

One note, I will make about this, is around AX in the cloud. When this is the approach, and the Partner Hosted model is in place, you pay by month, per user. The named user license still can come into play, however you only upcharge, if you will, when you add another user. So for example, if your implementing AX, via the cloud, and only need 5 users at first to get the implementation going, that's all you will be billed for, in the months those five users access your instance. When the next month rolls around, and say you add a cost accountant, for working in your AX implementation. Then this will add a sixth user license count and from that month forward is when you will pay the difference added to your bill for that use."

I would like to thank Andy, and the team at Microsoft for allowing me to take part in this effort. I look forward to such future engagements, as I believe this really helps connect the community. Using the power of social media, to get real world questions, answers and the sharing of knowledge.

If you have a burning question, feel free to leave me a comment on my blog, email me, and of course let Andy at the Microsoft Community Know. It could help shape the next topic, for when we do such an effort in the future.

That's all for now, but check back soon as more to come! Till Next time!

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Spotlight: Dive into IDMF for AX 2012

2011-12-14T14:54:00.003-06:00

From time to time I like to spotlight some great content that is being posted out there in the big wild social media landscape that is the Dynamics Ecosystem.

Today I thought I would spotlight, AXWonders.blogspot.com. This blog is ran by a fellow Sunriser, Eduardo Arias. He is a Senior Technical Architect like myself, and has a passion for AX. I recommend you bookmark, and subscribe to his blog feeds.

What I wanted to specifically spotlight was his recent dive in IDMF for AX 2012. I've talked a good bit about the value this has in the past, specifically around AX 2009 and the fact that this was being updated for AX 2012. Well last week the news came out that it has been release, which you can find more about this on InformationSource.

From the post: "There has been a lot of talk about the Intelligent Data Management Framework (IDMF) in AX 2012, and for a good reason! This is because the Intelligent Data Management Framework allows the system administrators optimize the performance of Microsoft Dynamics AX installations, which is something that we all should be concerned about when implementing AX 2012."

I wanted to make sure and tell Eduardo Arias thanks for sharing with the rest of us, and giving us some highlights from the recent release of IDMF for AX 2012! Keep it up!

That's all for now, but check back soon as more to come!

Till next time!

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AX 2012 - Hiding a form control without code

2011-12-13T14:52:00.005-06:00

With Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, the whole concept of Model more and code less is in full affect. The idea behind modeling, is that you cut down on the need to create custom code, to achieve needs. This is a great overall concept, and we are seeing this in Workflows, and well as Security.

So taking this to heart, and running with it, lets say you have a request to hide a form control, based on some context. Lets pick a functional one, in that we don't want users, who have read only access to a form, to see a specific form control.

In the past, real simple steps could be taking to do this, and a popular way of handling such a request, would be to (a) Make sure the control had AutoDeclaration set to yes, and (b) override the init() method of the form, and work with the forms .visible() property. This would be based on either, say the company, or a security key in the pre-AX 2012 days.

This however has changed with AX 2012, and we can achieve this need, without any code actually. How you may ask? Well check out the following Microsoft resource: Security Permissions Properties for a Form [AX 2012]

"To see a particular control on a form, the user must have a permission to the control that is at least as strong as the permission the control requires.
For example, suppose a control has its NeededPermission property set to Update. A user who has only Read permission does not see the control on the form. But the control is visible to another user who has Update or Delete permission to the control."

So lets explain this a little bit then, shall we? To start, we have a need Permissions node that lives under the form objects now.

With this, we see, as mentioned in the above resource, the Read, Update, Create and Delete Permission nodes. Each of this are in order of weakest to strongest security. In that, if a user has a privilege that enables them to have Read access to the form, and then control had the needed permission of Update, the user Would not see the control on the form. Since this is the desired scope, then we understand how we can relate privilege's to NeededPermission.

When looking under these nodes, you would not drag or drop controls under each. Nor do you create new elements, under the Controls node. If, we want to take a control, and have it's NeededPermission to be set as Update, then we must go to that Control, open the properties, and set the NeededPermission value as so.

On saving of this property change, we can now see that under the Update node of the Forms Permissions, contained within the Controls section, we see now our 'Control2' has appeared.

Now through proper security setup, when users only have Read level permissions to our form, they will not see the Control2, form control. So we have used security modeling aspects of AX 2012, and not code, to enable the visibility of a control on a form. Pretty powerful huh?

Well that's all for this post, I hope this helps someone out. Keep checking back as we continue to dive more and more into AX 2012.

Till next time!

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Understanding the Value of Social Media for the Dynamics Ecosystem

2011-12-13T08:05:00.004-06:00

I wanted to take the time today, and talk to you about the Value of Social Media for the Dynamics Ecosystem. This by far, is such a powerful force, in helping shape information, in enabling others to learn, and that truly makes the Ecosystem itself very Dynamic.

Social Media, by nature is about organic growth. The idea, is you share information, through blogs, tweets, and the like, to and ever changing, hopefully growing base of users.

When first starting out, it's typically a produce, with many consumers, and little actual interaction. However, as you grow in your social media aspects, that turns more and more into an interactive, collective experience.

To illustrate this point, take for example a topic in which Microsoft itself is talking about. They launch a blog entry, and then the Ecosystem can pick it up and run with it. I may take and create a few blog posts that dig deeper, or ask questions, with my own answers. In turn, other fellow bloggers, could link into my post, and the Microsoft one, and have their own knowledge added to the mix.

These are all shared, and continue to grow, as well as interaction with the reader base, as they leave comments, re-tweet, etc. It's very much then a Dynamic process that continues on, and on.

To this end, Microsoft Partners, Independent Consultants as well as Customers themselves, need to understand the power of social media. In understanding it, it can then become a powerful tool, to help brand yourself, or mined from a customers point of view to gain knowledge that applies to them.

At this point, I would like to share a recent eBook that two of my peers created. Mark Polino and Jon Rivers created an eBook together, that focuses on Social Media for Microsoft Dynamics Partners.

This is a very great book for any partner, or someone working for a partner, that wants to increase their understanding of how best to use social media tools for branding.

It's a nice little read, and has some real good resources, and real life information, from some lessons learned through these two Dynamics Social Media Pro's. I recommend checking it out for yourself, and seeing how it can help launch you, into a larger, ever Dynamic, ever growing Social Media landscape that exists within the Dynamics Ecosystem.

Many thanks to Mark and Jon! That's all for this post, however check back soon as a whole lot more to come.

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 - Using the PricePriceDiscJournalService

2011-12-11T11:09:00.007-06:00

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. I hope you have gotten some downtime, and are ready to kick off a new week! To help get things started right this week, I thought I would give some specific focus to one of the out-of-the-box services that comes as part of Dynamics AX 2012.

The service I'm talking about, is the PricePriceDiscJournalService

This service is what you should use, when needing to work with Trade Agreements, via code, inside or outside of AX 2012. As I've mentioned before, around the topics of Services, document services should be used internal and external of AX 2012, as much as possible. This services abstraction has benefits now, with AX 2012 and what comes with the AIF Document Framework. It also holds values, for the future, as Dynamics ERP scales to Azure with AX 7.0, and beyond.

With this in mind, we need to then start with how to use this service, from within AX itself, via X++ code. We have reviewed a similar topic before, in which I talked you through the consumption of the EcoResProductService.

Working with the PricePriceDiscJournalService is similar, in the type of objects you need to create, and make use of. All, relating and apart of the AIF Framework.

There is a functional setup part to this service, in which needs to be understood for proper execution. With AX 2012, Trade Agreements, for Sales Prices, Discounts, etc. must be first created as a Journal, and then posted. Since this is the functional workflow, and therefore functional requirement, AIF has to know which price journal name should be used, during the operations of the service.

This is enabled through the setup parameters, of the Procurement & Sourcing Module. You can navigate to this location, by going to Procurement & Sourcing > Setup > Procurement & Sourcing Parameters. In navigating to this location, there is an AIF smart tab, that appears on the left hand of the parameters form. Clicking on this, will take to you where you select which Journal Name to make use of.

The possible overlooked value in this setup, and use of a default journal for AIF price entries, is it can allow for a degree of separation. In that, the ability to have easily all the prices and discounts that are coming in through AIF, can be separated from other price journals.

Now having this set, we can now move forward with our use of the PricePriceDiscJournalService. In order to show this off, lets start with a simple job, in a new project. This job, will be what shows off our X++ example code.

Now that we have our job, lets take a look at the following code, and break it down for it's use.


static void idbExecutePricPriceDiscJourSvcJob(Args _args)
{
    // PricePrice Vars
    PricePriceDiscJournalService            PriceDiscSvc;
    PricePriceDiscJournal                   PriceDiscJour;
    PricePriceDiscJournal_PriceDiscAdmTrans PriceDiscJourAdmTrans;
    PricePriceDiscJournal_InventDim         PriceDiscJourDim;
    
    // keys return from create process
    AifEntityKeyList                        keys;
    
    // Instantiate the objects
    PriceDiscSvc = PricePriceDiscJournalService::construct();
    PriceDiscJour = new PricePriceDiscJournal();
    PriceDiscJourAdmTrans = PriceDiscJour.createPriceDiscAdmTrans().addNew();
    PriceDiscJourDim = PriceDiscJourAdmTrans.createInventDim().addNew();

    // Set PriceDiscJourDim
    PriceDiscJourDim.parminventDimId(InventDimCombination::
        findByDistinctProductVariant(
            EcoResProduct::findByDisplayProductNumber(
               "SomeProductVariant").RecId)
                    .InventDimId);

    // Set PriceDiscJourAdmTrans
    PriceDiscJourAdmTrans.parmInventDim().add(PriceDiscJourDim); 
    PriceDiscJourAdmTrans.parmItemRelation("SomeProduct");
    PriceDiscJourAdmTrans.parmItemCode(TableGroupAll::Table);
    PriceDiscJourAdmTrans.parmAmount(100.00);
    PriceDiscJourAdmTrans.parmFromDate(today());
    PriceDiscJourAdmTrans.parmAccountCode(TableGroupAll::All);
    PriceDiscJourAdmTrans.parmrelation(PriceType::PriceSales);
    PriceDiscJourAdmTrans.parmCurrency("USD");

    // Post PriceDiscJour
    keys = PriceDiscSvc.create(PriceDiscJour);
}

With the above code, we can see that we are now working with the PricePriceDiscJournalService, and using the AIF Entity objects, in order to create a Price Journal, that represents a ready to be reviewed, and posted Trade Agreement.

Just to break down, first we start off we Instantiate an instance of the needed objects. This includes the service, PriceDiscSvc. Also, the PriceDiscJour , PriceDiscJourAdmTrans & the PriceDiscJourDim. All of which are a part of the AIF Framework. The PriceDiscJour extends from AIFDocument, as the other two PriceDiscJourAdmTrans & PriceDiscJourDim extends from the AfStronglyTypedDataContainer class.

These are critical in filling out the information needed, for the PricePriceDiscJournalService to properly create a brand new Trade Agreement journal.

From here we can see that I fill the PriceDiscJourDim first, as it is then added tot he PriceDiscJourAdmTrans. This is then filled in the rest of the way, and in turn itself ias added to the PriceDiscJour object.

Finally the PriceDiscJour Object, is sent as the needed variable for calling the create() service operation of the PricePriceDiscJournalService, represented by the PriceDiscSvc variable within the example code.

With this, we can now create Price Journals, that can be reviewed and posted. These can be viewed from the Procurement & Sourcing Module > Journals > Price / Disc. Agreement Journals.

Well that's all for this post. I hope you have enjoyed it, and find it useful. Moving forward from here, if your importing data, and not needing a review the next step would be to post the journal, after the creation of it. That, is a nice little topic for a future post.

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Community Article: To my Brothers and Sisters in Arms

2011-12-08T10:54:00.002-06:00

I just posted my latest Dynamics Community article. In this months post, I thought that I would use my time to dedicate that post to my Brothers & Sisters in Arms.

I hope that you all enjoy it, and that you have a wonderful holiday Season!

Till next time... which is tomorrow, with a new great post, on continued dive into Dynamics AX 2012.

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 - Understanding the changes to Table Relations

2011-12-07T07:26:00.007-06:00

Well I hope everyone is having a fine week so far. Oh Wednesdays, the furthermost point between two weekends. It's a day of great productivity, as we push towards that glimpse, and hope for our Saturday and Sunday.

To help you out during the middle of this week, I thought it was time we spent a little focus around the changes in AX 2012 around extended data types, and specifically around understanding the way relations are made.

First off the bat, lets look to the Extended Data Types in the Database [AX 2012] In this article on MSDN, Microsoft points out some highlights about EDT's in AX 2012, specifically, highlighted is:

"Starting in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you can no longer define relations under an EDT element in the AOT. If your system has any EDT relations, you should migrate those relations to the appropriate table elements. For more information, see EDT Relation Migration Tool."

On this same page, before we move forward in looking at what this means, there is a link on How to: add Dimensions. Make sure to NOT follow that link. It has not been updated yet for AX 2012.

Now with that aside, lets look at what this means for AX 2012. Back in AX 2009, relations would exist, on the EDT, for example, linking a specific EDT, to a reference table, in which the EDT was the primary key.

Now in AX 2012, this has moved to the table relations level. So lets take the following for example. If I have a Table, and as part of it, I would like to have an EDT, that is controlled and is referenced to an underlying table itself. This EDT then, and the field that it represents would be a foreign key for this new table we are building.

To help set this straight, lets look at the following.:

With this, we have the relationship, that now lives at the Primary Table, that has a Foreign Key, represented by the EDT. The EDT, in turn is the Primary Key, for the underlying reference table.

Moving ahead, lets see this in action, with a simple example. To see this in action, we will need a project, an Extended Datatype, or EDT, as well as our reference and Primary table.

You will notice that I have already added the EDT, as the PrimaryField to the idbReference Table node. Also, I've created a Primary Index, and placed that field in the Primary Index, as set the index to not allow duplicates.

Now that we have this base, we must move to the EDT, and add the idbReference, as a table reference to the EDT. This does not set the relation, instead it is the primary reference for the EDT.

After this, we add the EDT, to the Primary table, which I've called ForeignKeyField, in order to help understand the point.

Now that we have this, we next have to create our relation, from the Primary table to the reference table. We do this, and on the properties of the relation, we set that it's an EDTRelation = Yes.

In doing this, we can now set the relation, via a Normal Relation Option, from our Primary Table, to our Reference Table field. In doing this, and because of the EDTRelation = Yes is true, we can now select what EDT should be used in this relation.

After this we end up, with our goal, of having correctly related reference data, from one table, as part of the record for another table.

Moving the relations to the table level makes correct sense. It's a change in how you've worked with AX in the past for this area, but it's a very good change. For example because of this table relations now support Dynamic Links, as well as unbound control lookups. Implementing the above, means also that when it comes time for form design, your reference field, from your Primary datasource, will enable correct lookup of data, from the reference table.

This is important to understand, for those people who are doing new custom development work, and also for those who are focused on upgrades. There is Whitepaper, for those looking to how best and tackle this for upgrades. You can find that white paper here: Migrating EDT Relations

Well I hope that on this fine Wednesday, you have a productive one, and hope that the above might come in handy, or better help your understanding of this topic, as it relates to new customization in AX 2012 as well as how this can impact and affect task when upgrading.

That's all for now, till next time!

Update: Fellow Blogging Peer Joris, over @ DAXMusings pointed a two other facts out, via twitter today for this post. First, "When you use an EDT with a reference table, it asks if you want to copy the relation onto the table where you're referencing" and Second, "[A]lso, the reference is important on EDT still for "view details" (goto main table) on dialogs." I would like to thank Joris for taking the time to add to this post, in a very positive way. These are good points that need to be understood, with the context of this post.

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

MSDW Decisions Fall 2011 - AX Day Live!

2011-12-05T07:48:00.003-06:00

Well welcome to Monday everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend, have some coffee, and are ready to tackle a new week. If your not aware of this already, there is a great virtual event taking place, live, right now, focused on Microsoft Dynamics AX. I'm speaking of course, about the MSDW Decisions Fall 2011 Event.

If you have not already signed up, please go do so now. It's free, and a great way to connect, and get that expo like feeling, with some great information, as well as sessions. Don't forget to attend my session today: Microsoft Dynamics AX in the Cloud: Today & Tomorrow. It's at 11:30 AM - 12:00. I will be on there live, as well as ready for any questions you might have afterwards.

There are a lot of other great sessions today, and plenty of people to meet with, with a nice list of ISV's, and other Microsoft partners that you can connect with while in the expo hall.

Final note, the official hashtag for this event is #MSDWDecisions so make sure and use that hashtag when tweet's are flying out in the wild!

That's all for now, check back soon as a whole lot more to come. So much to cover, and so little time. What an exciting time to be involved in the Dynamics Ecosystem.

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

MSDW Decisions Fall 2011 Next week!

2011-12-02T06:44:00.003-06:00

Well hello Friday! I hope everyone has had a great and productive week so far. I love Friday's, it the whole weekend feeling really. Getting time to focus with family. Though I admit, I do work most weekends, but that is the nature of this business we are in sometimes.

On this Friday, I wanted to remind everyone of the MSDW Decisions Fall 2011 is Next week! AX Day in next Monday. If you have not signed up, pleas do so now: Sign up now! It's a free event, that you can attend right from your computer. Go visit the booths, ask questions, connect in the lounge and of course come hear my session on AX in the Cloud: Today and Tomorrow

I will be live, online during this session, and ready to have a live chat Q&A right after. So please bring your thinking caps, and ask those burning questions you might have. There were be some many great session to attend, and so much knowledge to gain.

I look forward to virtually bumping into you then! Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 - Performance and IL - invokeStaticMethodIL

2011-11-30T11:49:00.004-06:00

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, a huge focus has been around the move for X++ code to be compiled to IL, as well as creating C# code to achieve development needs, when possible.

Recently, I started talking about Performance in AX 2012, and how this goes beyond the database layer. It's still true, that the majority of performance is around the SQL Server, and specifically the disk I/O Sub-system speed.

However, with that said, there are some great improvements throughout the layers that make up AX 2012. Something recent that I highlighted was around Scale out of SSRS as well as Services.

Keeping with this theme, and to highlight some other area's of performance improvements, lets move towards the code side of things. To help set the stage, lets reference a Microsoft resource: Compile into .NET Framework CIL [AX 2012].

"The Compile into .NET Framework CIL task converts your compiled application code into Common Intermediate Language (CIL) code that can be consumed by the Microsoft .NET Framework."

With this, there are certain area's of AX that always compile down to IL / MSIL / CIL. All of those are in reference to the .Net Framework execution. This means, that the same C# code that actually executes, is compiled down to IL. The same now, takes place for some area's of X++. There are huge benefits in code execution when this is the case, and why this is such an important topic to understand from a performance point of view.

Keeping this in mind, there are sometimes when X++ code does not execute as CIL. Wouldn't it be neat, if there was a way to execute code as IL, X++ code that's not compiled down to IL? There is a way!

Enter: SysDictClass::invokeStaticMethodIL() "Runs the specified method and makes sure that the method is executed under X++ IL."

Now there are some remarks, that need to be understood from the above reference.: "This method demands the XppILExecutePermission class and asserts both the RunAsPermission class and the ExecutePermission class. The invocation will transition to X++ IL by using the RunAs function if it is running as interpreted. If it is already running as X++ IL, the method is invoked directly.

As there may be some overhead, this method should only be used on computationally-extensive methods.

This method will not transition to IL if the current TTS level is larger than zero (unless forced) because the transaction scope does not flow across IL boundaries."

With this in hand now, we have a way to help possibly boost performance, and execute static methods, and therefore area's of code that could benefit from running in the IL, or chunks of Business Logic that can be statically invoked or kicked off. This is a nice little gem of knowledge to keep handy, when your facing down performance issues, and really need to squeeze all the resource juice you can out of a process.

Well that's all for now, but check back soon as a whole lot more to come. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 - Reporting on the brain!

2011-11-28T16:46:00.003-06:00

Well, reporting is a hot topic for sure with the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. This is something I've been covering some already, and Microsoft has a great post out today, on how to correctly Scale Out SSRS and AX 2012.

The link to the TechNet article on this topic can be found here.: How to: Configure a Report Server Scale-Out Deployment (Reporting Services Configuration)

What's another great article to point out, and this applies to scale of services in AX 2012, is the following: Configuring network load balancing for services [AX 2012]. This link then, helps not only enable scale of reporting, but also gives us firm 'Yes' services, and therefore integration points, can scale out via NLB as well.

Finally, the article that brought this together today, is from the following: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Reporting Services – Scale-out deployments

I recommend really review the above, and understanding the fact that, when it comes to certain roles in Dynamics AX, relating to performance and Scale, sometimes the role is meant to scale out, vs. scale up.

Also, here is a list of reporting blog post I have done recently:

As you can see, as the title of the post implies, reporting is for sure on the brain, for AX 2012. The idea, is to better understand the concepts, the model, the delivery options, as well now as the ability to scale out for reporting needs.

I actually, as stated earlier today, have a lot of great post that will be covering the BI story more generally, as well as specifics for AX 2012 that will build from these kinds of post. That's all for now though, check back soon!

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 - Report Programming Guide / MVC

2011-11-28T13:15:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone is doing well, and ready to get back into the swing of things. If your like me, you enjoyed the long weekend, but ready to get back to a normal schedule. This time of year is always busy, and we have so much to cover for the Dynamics Ecosystem, as well as specifics around Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

With that, I thought I would start off this week, with a focus around a tweet I saw on my way to the airport this Monday morning. I saw the following asked: "Is the new AX 2012 Reporting Development model based on MVC Design Pattern?" The short answer to this question, is Yes!.

For those that are familiar with the concepts behind MVC, or Model-View-Controller, then this is a great move in reporting. If your not that familiar with the MVC concepts, wikipedia.org has a great little stub home for this topic.: Wikipedia.org MVC Home.

"Model–view–controller (MVC) is a software architecture,[1] currently considered an architectural pattern used in software engineering. The pattern isolates "domain logic" (the application logic for the user) from the user interface (input and presentation), permitting independent development, testing and maintenance of each (separation of concerns).

Model View Controller (MVC) pattern creates applications that separate the different aspects of the application (input logic, business logic, and UI logic), while providing a loose coupling between these elements."

Now, lets get to the specifics for Dynamics AX 2012, around this concept and how this design pattern is applied for reporting. First off, the following will give you a high level understanding of how the MVC pattern maps to real concepts, and class frameworks in AX 2012, as well as a link to the recently released programming guide for AX 2012.: MSDN: Reporting Programming Guide [AX 2012].

Model: SrsReportDataContractUIBuilder
View: SrsReportDataContract
Controller: SrsReportRunController

Finally, you have the following which is a direct link to download the Report Programming Guide for AX 2012: [AX 2012] Report Programming Guide

I will be spending a lot of time around reporting, as well as the overall BI story for AX 2012. For now, this is a good start, and I thought a good way to start the week. Focused on the answer to a question, with some great resource information from Microsoft. Yes, the reporting programming modeling in AX 2012 is based around MVC.

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T15:49:00.003-06:00

I wanted to wish everyone a safe, and wonderful, Happy Thanksgiving! No matter if you participate in this holiday or not, I hope you are blessed and get some time with your family, friends and loved ones.

I know I'm thankful for having a Loving Creator, My Wife & Kids, My extended Family, Ability to Provide for my family, a wonderful work family, as well as each of you. Thank you for being readers of my blog. I hope that you always find it to be useful, and that you continue to write and challenge me on topics.

Thanks!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Microsoft Dynamics AX In the Cloud: Today & Tomorrow

2011-11-22T16:19:00.003-06:00

Well I hope everyone is enjoying the switch into the Holiday season. I know I'm excited to get some family time, and hope each of you will get that same time with your loved ones as well.

Today, I wanted to focus on Microsoft Dynamics AX in the Cloud: Today & Tomorrow.. This has been a topic I have focused a lot of time and effort on in the past few years, and something that really has come to a point of reality for Microsoft Dynamics AX. This is no longer just theory and what will be. This is something real, today, and something that you need to be thinking about.

With that, MSDynamicsWorld.com is hosting it's bi-annual virtual conferences, Decisions Fall 2011 in which I'm honored they have ask I speak at. For my part, and to the title of this post, I have recorded a session on Microsoft Dynamics AX in the Cloud: Today & Tomorrow. If you have not registed for this great, free! virtual conference, please visit the following site now, and make sure to attend the AX Day on Dec 5th.

You can connect with my session details at the following: MSDW: Microsoft Dynamics AX in the Cloud: Today & Tomorrow - By J. Brandon George. From the highlights:
"[Brandon George] will lead a session covering the concepts, technology, architecture and benefits of the partner-hosted Microsoft Dynamics AX cloud offering. He will also dive a little bit into the future with what AX v7.0, and what the cloud options will look like for future releases."

If you look at all the sessions for AX day, for this great event, the Cloud is a hot topic. There are two other sessions along with mine, that will focus on AX in the Cloud, as well as Microsoft Dynamics ERP and the cloud. I will recommend, that you attend as many sessions as possible. Also, I will be online during the session, and be apart of the live Chat Q&A. So please, join us, and bring your thinking caps, and ask those hard questions! Any and all are welcomed!

Alright, well that's it for right now. Check back soon, as I dive into the performance improvements for AX 2012, talk turkey around my continued focus on workflows and thier use for empowering business process modeling, and many other great topics.

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 - Install multiple instances of SSRS

2011-11-20T07:45:00.004-06:00

One area that might rise up during implementation needs, specifically for small and mid-sized deployments of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, is the ability to install multiple instances of SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) on a single server role. The goal, with this need, is to enable the two instance of SSRS, to reside on the same server role, yet, point to different instances of AX 2012.

This is critical for enabling multiple instances of AX 2012 to function, while not increasing the need for another actual server role, virtual or not. To enable this, Microsoft has refined the steps in order to achieve this, which I've done now several times actually. The home page on TechNet for achieving this task can be found here.: TechNet: Install multiple instances of Reporting Services on the same computer (for use with Microsoft Dynamics AX) [AX 2012]

The steps for achieving this second instance, after doing the initial SSRS deployment, can be found as follows:

With this in hand, and making sure you pay special attention to the order of these steps, and follow each step correctly, you should, with relative ease, be able to install multiple instances of SSRS on the same server role, pointing to different instances of AX 2012.

I will point out, that there is a chance you could run into a possible deployment security related issues, that I wrote about in the past: AX 2012 - SSRS Security deployment issue.

Hopefully this will help someone out, who is wanting to take advantage of having multiple SSRS instances on the same windows server role, pointing to different instance of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

That's all for now, but check back soon as I continue my dive into Workflows, Performance series post, design patterns, Dynamics Ecosystem coverage, as much, much more!

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 - CU2 has been released

2011-11-18T08:41:00.006-06:00

I wanted to update everyone that Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 - CU2 has been released. You can get to the download from the following location: Cumulative Update 2 for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

In this update several fixes are included, and the release schedule for AX 2012 is very impressive from Microsoft for updating issues. The new build number, after Cu2 is applied should be: 6.0.947.280.

There are a lot of fixes around workflow, financial dimensions, EP Time sheets, etc. etc. It's important that everyone update to this latest CU2, to help address any issues, and before contacting MS Support for new issues.

Keep in mind, that these Cumulative Updates, can be SlipStreamed for fast deployment. To find out exactly how to do this action, you can use the following post: AX 2012 - Slipstreaming a Cumulative update

That's all for now, check back soon as more to come! Till next time!

Update: Interesting fact here, if you have for example an AOS server that does not have the 32-bit client installed on it, you can not proceed with the CU2 update. So you must have the AX 2012 client installed before the axupdate.exe from CU2 will progress. Interesting point I thought everyone would like to know.

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 - Security Model Design Considerations

2011-11-16T06:39:00.008-06:00

While at AXUG Summit last week, it was clear that there are some misunderstanding surrounding the AX 2012 Security model, and it's impact on design, as well as what level of design the great new model impacts. In an article, posted by MSDW: Developers: Prepare for More Security Work When Upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 It is being portrayed, as if Developers and Technical Consultants will have some huge workload related to security and upgrades.

Before I continue, with at least how I think this should be understood and viewed, MSDynamicsWorld.com is a great resource, and does a great job at helping cover the Dynamics Ecosystem. Like all things however, healthy information, correction and debate is always needed.

With that said, I think the partner quoted, and the people leading the session on security that drove to this article being published do not fully understand the security model in AX 2012 and the vision for the design aspects, and what it brings. It's true there is a new security model, however it's a great step forward, and not some new burden, with no value gained.

I touched on some of this in a previous article, on the impact on design the new security model for AX 2012 will have. I tried to point out, that this is very much a Functional Design Consideration, and not some heavy extra burden on technical resources. What takes place now, is instead of security being an after thought, or something pushed to a later point in a project, it now has correct considerations through the functional design process.

The above is taking from the newly released Sure Step 2012, within the Design phase, part of the Design Activity Flow, 2.5.1 - "Create Gap Design in Functional Design Document". The owner of this process? The Application Consultant.

Now the Application Developer role, has their part to play in this, however, the design, implementation, and customer administration of security is a functional business process, not a technical one. There is technical needs to create new privileges, that tie into Security Entry points. Beyond that however, the Duties, Process Cycles, Roles, as well as assignment of Users to Roles is a business function.

The vision with the new security model, beyond the implementation or upgrade process, is meant even to be spread out among the business units, where those owners of the specific parts of the business actually control assignment of security for their respective area's.

Further more, to the upgrade, there is a new tool to help suggest upgrading groups from AX 2009, to AX 2012, which you can find on Microsoft's new InformationSource. This tool however, makes suggestions, and should not be the Application Developer Roles responsibility. This must reside on the shoulders of the Application Consultant, with the Developers help, and of course very much on the business unit owners for the customer. If correct design is not spent during the upgrade process, or implementation around this area, a great set of new functionality around security, and a better use and understanding of security for AX will be missed.

I will finish with this, we have a great new security model in AX 2012, that raises the bar, and the design concepts to the business level. This is the vision from Microsoft, to abstract out and raise out of the technical depths, so that businesses can be Dynamic and react fast based on demands. This is seen throughout design concepts from services, business workflow modeling, and more.

Hopefully with this understanding, and with the new Sure Step 2012 released, we can all be armed with the correct vision, approach, and design considerations to look at the new Security model in AX 2012 for what it is: Not a burden, but finally a correct level of consideration and design during upgrades or implementations.

That's all for now, but check back soon as a lot more to come. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Microsoft InformationSource - Powerful, Agile & Simple

2011-11-15T20:29:00.003-06:00

Well AXUG Summit 2011 has come and gone, and a lot of information and great sessions took place. It was a great showing really by both Customers, Partners as well as Microsoft presence. There are so many great topics to cover, and I will continue to dive into each of these, as we continue to help grow our Dynamics Ecosystem together.

I would like to thank everyone for the great support for the blog, and for those that came and meet with me during the sessions and Expo. With that, and to help kick off normal postings, I wanted to highlight a great new resource that Microsoft is creating. This is called InformationSource and you can log into InformationSource using your windows live id, that you use for PartnerSource or CustomerSource.

The direct link to InformationSource can be found here: InformationSource.Dynamics.com.

This is slated to become a great new source of information, focused on: "Resources for predictable implementations." And the site, is already true to it's statement. It's broken up into three major area's: Powerful, Agile & Simple.

The powerful section from this site, goes into several key area's, around scale, efficiency & productivity. All around delivering more value, faster.

Next we have agile focused resources, for time-to-value, reduced risk and a focus on higher ROI for your implementation.

Finally there is simple, with a focus on a single solution, seamless collaboration, and easier application life cycle management.

All of this expands on the offerings, already talked about for Sure Step, as well as RapidStart Services. The goal, again as stated by this new great resource, is to have repeatable, predictable implementations. This means there is a great focus around the Partner as well as the Customer of course. I highly recommend keeping up with this site, as it moves out of beta and into more main stream use, and updates.

I would also like to highlight Joris, over at DAXMusings.blogspot.com for his great recent news update for AX 2012. He actually talks about the new InformationSource site, including highlighting some of the great new beta tools, including that of IDMF for AX 2012!

It's hard not to be excited about Microsoft Dynamics AX, and with the release of AX 2012, and all that it brings. Microsoft, and the community as a whole is expanding rapidly, and growing leaps and bounds. It's a great time to be working in the Dynamics world, and if your a customer that has chosen the path of Dynamics AX 2012, and wonderful time to reap all the benefits this true world class ERP solution can offer you.

Look for more post, and deeper dives on all kinds of topics. There is really so much to cover and talk about. All focused, around driving value for you, and your part in the Dynamics Ecosystem.

That's all for right now, but check back soon as a whole lot more to come. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 Performance Improvements

2011-11-10T17:17:00.003-06:00

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 there have been so major strides that Microsoft has made in terms of performance. This is not just limited to the scope of, say, the Data layer. That is, this is just not limited to some of the great things Microsoft has done with taking further advantage of SQL Server 2008 / 2008 R2. No this goes well beyond the data layer, as Microsoft has really focused on how performance and scale are in improved at the Data layer, within code and services, as well at the Application layer itself, with items like improvements around MRP.

To help kick off this series of post, live from AXUG, I wanted to highlight a great video that dives into some of these improvements. This video has Microsoft's own Sri Srinivasan walking us through some of these great new concepts.:

I will be diving into these area's as a new series of post, and how these can be applied, used, affect and improve your AX 2012 investment.

That's all I have time for now, but check back soon as a whole lot more coverage to come, including some great post-AXUG Summit articles.

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Sure Step 2012 has officially Launched!

2011-11-08T09:59:00.003-06:00

Well folks, I'm live from #AXUG Summit 2011, getting ready for some great sessions, including the one' I will be leading this afternoon on SSRS and AX. There are some great events that are going to take place, including the Expo's, as well as the keynote speech that includes Microsoft's Kees Hertogh & Sri Srinivasan.

One thing I wanted to point out was the official release of Sure Step 2012. You can access this information via CustomerSource or PartnerSource from the following link: Sure Step 2012 Launch Page.

From the notes:
"Sure Step 2012 is now available with updated content and services, primarily focusing on the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 release. Updated content includes:

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Upgrade – tools and templates to support an Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 upgrade.

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Implementation tools and templates including Fit/Gap analysis worksheet, estimator tool, requirements questionnaire, security configuration requirements template, and other valuable templates."

There is also an update for CRM 2011 as well with this release. Prior to this launch, Sure Step was not actually aware of the new AX 2012 upgrade process, or a lot of the other new concepts for new implementations as well. Everyone should dive in and become very familiar with Sure Step 2012. I will try and point out, over the next several weeks, some key differences between it and the last release.

It's very important to note, that Sure Step is the method for implementing Microsoft Dynamics, however it gives a foundation in which projects are shaped from. Not all documents, for example apply the same, to every single project. Like the name implies, Dynamics so projects must be that implement Microsoft Dynamics.

Well that's all for right now, I hope to see some of you out here, and if not keep in mind you can always join AXUG, and look for information about next years Summit.

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Upgrading Reports for AX 2012 - Resources

2011-11-06T11:32:00.004-06:00

I wanted to take the time today, to point to two resources on Microsoft TechNet. This is related to upgrading reports from AX 2009, to AX 2012. The very first thing that must be clear, is that No Reports will be upgraded to the new SSRS Reporting Model for AX 2012.

With that said, MorphX reports as well as ReportLibraries can still live within AX 2012. There is actually a process in which you have to execute that will take the metadata for the AX 2009 ReportLibraries and update them, so they can live and execute within an AX 2012 instance. That resource can be found here.: Report Project Upgrade [AX 2012]

Further, there is a guide: Guidance when Upgrading Reports [AX 2012].
"Reports are not upgraded automatically during the upgrade process. Microsoft Dynamics AX provides hundreds of default, out-of-the-box reports that you can deploy and customize. To upgrade MorphX reports, we recommend that you customize a default report. The default reports run on SQL Server Reporting Services. Reporting Services is a server-based reporting platform that provides comprehensive reporting functionality for a variety of data sources.

When upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, existing Reporting Services reports and reports based on the MorphX reporting framework are copied to the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012system. However, they will not be upgraded."

The reporting model, metadata, as well as data structure changes, all within AX 2012 make it impossible really, and not a lot of value, for trying to upgrade, say an MorphX report, or even a ReportingLibrary to the new report model. This is an area of an Upgrade that will need attention for sure. Doing this, also means that you can take advantage of a lot of great new reporting tools, around Microsoft Excel PowerPivot as well as the new Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 - Excel Add-in.

I will be covering this topic, in the class I'm leading next Tues at AXUG summit. I'm doing my final preps for sessions now, and looking forward to seeing everyone out there. You can follow me, as I will also be covering the event live from my twitter account: twitter.com/DynamicsERP.

That's all for now. Look for some updates while at AXUG, as well as my tweets. Also regular postings will pick back up after AXUG Summit next week.

Till Next Time! Cool Beans? ;-)

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Spotlight: TotalDynamics Solutions (TDS)

2011-11-02T17:05:00.005-05:00

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 into full gear, one area of focus that is very important, when it comes to the total solution is around, what TotalDynamics Solutions, calls EBM®. This is Enterprise Business Management. This offering is split up, with the following major concepts:

This offering from TDS, mixed with the great flexibility and power of AX 2012, can help further extend and maximize your ROI from your Dynamics AX investment.

I had the chance to, virtually, sit down with Chris Rogers, and talk with him a bit about what value his company, TDS, brings to a Dynamics AX investment.

----

1. What value does TDS bring, with it's EBM® Tools and offerings?

A: Our business was created by former CEO’s, CFO’s and general managers, who had a common belief that Great Results Come From Disciplined Actions. Our Enterprise Business Management – EBMTM tools and approach capture that principle. Most software applications focus on creating efficiencies in terms of making it easier to perform specific job duties and tasks. Similar to what lead to the creation of ERP systems, we have taken a “business process first” approach to software development but focused it against the management of the organization versus transactional processing. When done properly, organizations achieve better visibility into their operating performance, they have accountabilities properly aligned within the organization and they improve their cross-functional coordination. Our experience has been when you combine the benefits of visibility, accountability and coordination a company can achieve competitive advantages in the market place and drive extraordinary financial results.

2. With your Planning and Forecasting offering, as part of your Finance Portal, for EBM®, can you give us some details about what makes this a great offering, and compare to other tools out in the market space? Also does this build on the AX 2012 out-of-the-box budgeting?

A: Other planning and forecasting systems usually serve a single purpose, which is to function as an aggregation tool for various data inputs needed to create the projected financial statements. As a result, these tools are generally geared only toward the Finance and Accounting functions in an organization. Since we take a “business process first” approach to our software, our web-based Planning and Forecasting tool was developed to really engage the rest of the organization in the planning/budgeting and forecasting process. This approach means that those closest to the activity do the planning and forecasting, so they become accountable for delivering the results. With other tools, Finance/Accounting typically has to perform all the inputs and too often become the only group accountable for delivering the results.

The reality is that there are multiple functions that should be accountable for the planning and forecasting processes. In other words, if Sales and Marketing are accountable for selling products/services, they should also be accountable for planning/forecasting sales volumes and/or sales dollars. And if procurement is responsible for purchasing the necessary components at the right price, then they should also be accountable to plan/forecast component prices. Therefore, we developed our web-based Planning & Forecasting tools in a way that makes it easy for users across the organization to input, track and manage their functional plans and forecasts.

For example, we have a Volume Planning Screen that allows sales volume and/or sales dollar forecasts to be built by customer by product line and/or by SKU…the way someone in Sales would typically think about their business. Having functional owners, like Sales, interact directly with the system accomplishes two important objectives:

1) It creates a layer of accountability for the Sales organization – they own the number;

2) It removes a large administrative burden from the Finance team freeing them up to do more analytical, value-added work in support of the planning and forecasting processes versus being just a data collection function.

Although AX 2012 has made good improvements in the usability of their budgeting applications, we do not believe that it has accomplished the objectives I just described.

3. For your Sales Order Entry, also part of your EBM® - Sales Portal offering, how exactly does it simplify the order entry process? What other functionality does this add that AX 2012 might be missing?

A: The web-based order entry functionality of our Sales Order Entry application is not overly enhanced when compared to AX 2012, but it is a nice improvement over other AX versions and it is very intuitive for the end-user. However, when coupled with our other web-based Sales Portal tools like Planning/Forecasting, Reporting, Order Management and Profitability, and Pricing/Trade Agreement Management, we think it creates a “one-stop shop” for field sales people. All combined, our Sales Portal’s one-stop shop approach, not only delivers more sales efficiency/effectiveness through easy to use web interfaces, it may also help lower total licensing costs.

4. Give us a few points about Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, that you and TDS are excited about.

A: First of all, we really like where Microsoft is heading with Dynamics AX. This new release of AX 2012 is going to allow them to compete at an entirely new level. We particularly like the improvements in the user interface, which we feel is important to getting faster adoption of the system. We also like the changes in price agreements, which have been simplified and are now more flexible than they ever have been.

----

I would like to take the time and thank Chris for sharing a little bit about what TDS can offer the Dynamics Ecosystem with it's Trademarked Enterprise Business Management offering. I would highly recommend giving them a look, to see how they might can help extend your AX investment: TotalDynamicsSolutions.com. We are very proud to have TDS as a sponsor of this blog, and believe they have a great product offering that can really help extend AX for customers.

That's all for now, till next time!

The following's is a short Bio about Chris Rogers:
Chris is President and co-founder of Total Dynamics Solutions. He is a results oriented executive with a background focused in Finance. The majority of his career has been leading varying Finance functions such as CFO for a $1 billion division for a Fortune 100 company, Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Planning & Analysis and ERP implementations.

Chris' passion is working with organizations to achieve new levels of success. In his career he has achieved turn around business results by designing and implementing technology solutions that enable strategic thinking, sustainable market driven growth and sound financial management & discipline

Chris began his career with Trans World Airlines starting in Audit and eventually leading their International Marketing and Strategic/Economic Planning group. From there he joined ConAgra Foods where he spent 15 years in various Finance positions supporting Operations, Sales, Marketing, Human Resources and IT. Chris has a B.S. in Finance from Northwest Missouri State University and an M.B.A. from Creighton University.

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AXUG Summit 2011 - Next Week

2011-11-01T16:24:00.003-05:00

I wanted to make sure and do one last highlight for the AXUG Summit that will be starting next week. There is going to be an amazing amount of great content, and ways to connect, learn, share and grow. This is a record year for Attendance with over 800+, and it's SOLD OUT!

This means, that there is no crashing the doors. If you did not get registered in time, you will not be let in to the events, sessions and expo. So please be very aware of this fact.

You can keep up with the summit, by following me on twitter: twitter.com/DynamicsERP. I will be streaming live while at the summit, except for the times I'm leading, or co-hosting a session.

I wrote last year, about the value of such conferences, and this year is even more the case with all the great coverage of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. If your new to the AX Community, a new partner or a new customer, you can sign up today for AXUG, and start enjoying all the great benefits. Go to the following to get that started: Join AXUG

There are some great reasons to join AXUG, including but not limited too:

10. The largest, independent group for users of Microsoft Dynamics AX
9. A source for unbiased, first hand, real-world knowledge
8. 300+ discounted or free events annually, including DayONE at Convergence
7. Peer to peer networking for sharing solutions and best practices
6. Regional Chapters & Meet-ups – facilitated in-person meetings in your area
5. AXUG Summit - A user conference just for Microsoft Dynamics AX users
4. Membership includes all Microsoft Dynamics AX users in your organization
3. An advocate for member needs and priorities, including direct feedback to Microsoft
2. AXUG Academy – extensive offering of free or low-priced, high-quality online courses & instructor led classes
1. 2-3 times ROI from your membership dues in savings of consulting expenses, discounts, lessons learned, etc.

I've said this before, and I will say it again it's one of the best investment for learning, sharing and growing ROI for a companies Dynamics AX investment. Therefore I highly recommend you becoming apart of this great community lead offering today! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone next week!

Well that's all for now, check back soon as a whole lot more to come!

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T07:01:00.003-05:00

Emoticon Pumpkin Art, designed and carved by me!

Well, Halloween is here, and we are smack in the middle of fall. I love fall, one of my favorite times of the year, other than the cold of course. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween this year. My treats, for everyone, is a recap post of the Freaky Tech Friday series I did to honor Halloween.

I hope you have enjoyed this series. It was my, at times, cheesy attempt to mix in some form of a tribute to this time of year, mixed with some decent content that hopefully was relevant and added value.

There is a lot to cover for the Dynamics world right now, very exciting times in deed. We have AXUG Summit next week, which I will be at myself, as well as coming up other great events. So look for continued coverage of the Dynamics Ecosystem, right here.

That's all for now, once again have a safe, happy and scary - Halloween!

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Freaky Tech Friday - The Killing Zone

2011-10-28T07:30:00.005-05:00

Well Ghosts and Ghouls, it seems you dare to return for the last and final Freaky Tech Friday post of this years haunting season. It came from Another Platform, didn't drive you away. Entering The Abyss of Integration didn't drive you mad, and your survived Attack of the Zombie Processes. Now let us enter, The Killing Zone.

This tale, is one of great suspense, and danger, focused around the fact that if the new design patterns, thought processes and concepts that come as part of AX 2012 are not fully understood and used, you will not make it out of the Killing Zone alive. You will end up dead! Or at least at a dead end with your Dynamics AX, and it's ROI. This is an easy place to survive if your new the the Dynamics AX world, however for those of us that have been working with the product since it earlier days, to quote "The Times, they are a changing".

To this point, they have changed, with so many different things to understand. One hot topic I keep talking about is around Workflows in AX 2012, and how it should be used to model business processes. There are several other area's however, from how you integrat with AX, making use of the SysOperations Framework, vs. RunBasebatch, and even planning for the new delcrative engine that empowers the new option for configuration needs that a customer might have for it's products.

I've not spent much time on this topic yet, however the new configurator within AX 2012 is based on Microsoft Solver Foundation technology, which is a declarative based decision engine, vs. the current Product Builder, rules based engine. Not to get to deep on this specific topic, as it well deserves many, many post.

Some Area's that need special attention, if you are to avoid having your final resting place be within the killing zone, are.:

XDS vs. RLS - Record Level Security still exists in AX 2012, and is meant to support upgrades. However any new scope, should not use RLS, but instead make use of the new Extensible Data Security Framework
RunBaseBatch & RunBaseReport - Again, here we have these in place and still used by out-of-the-box scope from Microsoft. With that, any new development should use the SysOperations Framework, or Business Operations Framework. It is true that this framework ends up, specifically for Batch using the underlying batch classes. However those are clearly marked as legacy code and will be ripped out in the next version as replaced. This is why it's important to use the new Design Concept and not get trapped into old habbits.
Avoid the .Net BC - This is important one to really understand and take advantage of. For any new scope the .Net BC Should not be used. Instead the focus should be around services development in AX 2012, for internal and external of AX consumption and usage.

There are a lot of other, specific's that can trap you into falling into the killing Zone, and killing your chances of maximizing your ROI, and getting some great new use cases that come as part of what is offered now in AX 2012.

There are cases, specifically related to upgrades from older to version of AX to AX 2012, that you have to use the older concepts. As the value is not there maybe to change a bunch of code, as part of the upgrade, just to use the new frameworks. However, before AX 7 takes shape for such cases, those area's will have to be addressed. Also, when upgrading is the focus, still keep in mind that anything new, or anything that must change, should change and use the new concepts, vs. the older ones.

Well Ghosts and Ghouls, take heed to these warnings, and avoid having the killing zone be your final resting place. That's all the haunting post for this season of terror, stay safe and if you dare return, we shall be waiting here, ready to scare you next year.

Tell next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 - Table Inheritance Exposed

2011-10-27T05:29:00.004-05:00

I'm been convering, as part of my post on this blog some of the great new features that come as part of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. One of those new topics, that really needs some deep understanding is around derived tables, also known as table inheritance.

This concept is very new to AX 2012, and some key master data elements, like the EcoResProduct data set, that represents the Product-Item Data in AX 2012 make use of this. Take away the complexity that can be read into this concept, in it's simpliest form derived tables are meant to represent master data, not transactional data. As well, this new concept is meant to address the need to shared and common fields among a dataset. The concept of when to use table inheritance, or derived table concepts, is throughly covered in the following MSDN article: When to Use Table Inheritance [AX 2012].

There are some very key concepts that are clearly laid out, for what table inheritance is meant to be used for, and what is' not designed to do. From the article: "When you consider the use of inheritance between two tables, one table is the proposed base table, and the other is the proposed derived table."

Another nice resource, which goes hand in hand with understanding derived tables, is how to work with data from X++ that is contained within those datasets that make use of Table Inheritance. That is the following walk through: Selecting Data from a Table Inheritance Hierarchy [AX 2012] "This topic explains how you can maximize the efficiency of your operations that read data from tables that are related through inheritance."

With these two resources, you can start to understand the concepts behind table inheritance in AX 2012. The final resource, which reference these two actually, is Walkthrough: Creating Base and Derived Tables [AX 2012] "In Microsoft Dynamics AX, a table can inherit from another table. The AOT node for each table has the Extends property which you can use to derive your table from a table that you specify. There are other table properties related to inheritance which must be assigned values in a specific sequence." With understanding the thought process of table inheritance, as well as how to work with such tables via X++, the walkthrough that was just referenced is key in one understanding of how to create base and derived tables that use the concepts of table inheritance.

Now, with all of this in hand, it's important to understand what this does to the actual query, that the AX kernel generates and executes against the SQL Server database. This places Joins that could impact performance, not help it. This is why it's very critical in understanding the purpose of based and derived tables, and that it's only meant for certain types of scenario's, which one of them is not transactional tables.

Hopefully with this better understanding of Table inheritance, concepts like I described in the following post, "Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 - MorphX Drag and Drop, but no fields", makes a lot more sense. You have to build up to concepts sometimes, in order to gain a true understanding of a given topic. Table Inheritance and it's use for creating Base and Derived tables is one of those topics in AX 2012.

Table Inheritance, when properly understood can be a new design tool that helps reduce the amount of duplicate fields, and data that span like datasets. This can be a great tool, however this one has a sharp double-edge to it, that can cause havoc is used in an improper manner. Well that's all for this post, check back soon as a whole lot more to come!

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AXUG Summit 2011 - Here we come Vegas!

2011-10-26T06:31:00.005-05:00

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, there is so much to take in, understand and learn. Because of this fact, more than ever, events like AXUG Summit 2011 are critical to connecting and learning about the new release. There is a lot of great sessions planned around summit this year. A host of partners, and a lot of Microsoft driven, as well as customer driven sessions will exists for your enjoyement and learning.

This years event has totally sold out, and we be a record year for attendance. This is the first time that this event has sold out, and this I believe speaks volumes to the interest level in Microsoft Dynamics AX, as well as the value people place on the AXUG Summit event.

I myself will be there with Sunrise Technologies. I will be leading and co-leading a few sessions, with the following list that is for sure sessions I will be apart of.:

Implementing Microsoft Dynamics AX - Solution Architecture
Sunrise Partner SHowcase - AX in the cloud: Today & Tomorrow
Services with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
AXUG Summit 2011 training class - Setup and Use of SSRS with AX

This is going to be a great event, with so much going on, it will be hard to attend everything for sure. I will also be covering the event on my blog, as well as my twitter account. Make sure to follow me so you can stay up to date with the latest AX and Dynamics ERP related news.

Follow me:

Hopefully I can see some of you there, make sure yo stop by the Sunrise booth, during the expo hours, and if I'm not there, tell Heather I sent you!

I'm really looking forward to this great event, and by far I believe it's the most important event of the year when it comes to conferences related to Microsoft Dynamics AX. This is where a lot of connections, knowledge, and bottom line value can be gained.

If you missed out, make sure to check out the early bird specials for next years summit. It's well worth the low cost, and the return on investment from doing so is just amazing. There is no other single event, that you can gain so much real world applicable knowledge, and why I suggest to every existing, or just newly signed AX customer become an active member of AXUG. As well, I also highly recommend each customer send someone, or a few someone's, to attend the Summit Conference every year.

Hope to see you in Las Vegas on the Nov 7th week! Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 - Excel Add-in Revisited

2011-10-25T06:46:00.004-05:00

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, came some great new ways of achieving business requirements, and user experiences. One of those is the Excel Add-in for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. I first wrote about this topic, back in June, in which you can find here: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in. This has been a hot post actually, with a lot of comments, and a lot of visits.

It's rightfully so that it should be, being that it's new, and there is some confusion on how to do some of the more complex data sets, within AX, that go beyond just a simple table, which that first post covered for us. With that in mind, I thought I would help clear the air a little bit, in how the Excel Add-in is actually very flexible, and something to watch out for in December from Microsoft on this topic.

First, lets look at the starting point, in which we can start to work with more advanced data sets in AX. This concept, is enabled through the use of document services. This is the way, in which complex data sets in AX are exposed internally and externally of AX 2012. This is true, even for the Excel Add-in.

From the excel point of view, what we are talking about is the Add Data ribbon button, and when the drop down appears clicking on the Add Data, instead of Add Tables.

When clicking on this, for the first time, if you've not setup any Document Data Sources within AX 2012, your selection options will be blank. Now we have talked a little bit about this new concept of Document Data Sources, in the following post.: AX 2012, PowerPivot and a Dash of OData Feeds

In that above post, I covered with you how to enable Excel 2010 PowerPivot to work with OData Feeds from AX 2012. This was enabled through having Query Type of Document Data Sources enabled through the Organization Administration module, Setup, Document Management and finally Document Data Sources.

Here we can also add a document data source, of type service. These services must be document services and extend from the AIF Document Services types. These can not be custom services that do not extend as part of the AIF document services.

With that in mind, we can add a couple of document services, to our list, from within that form, as seen below.

Now that we have these services as document data sources within AX 2012, we can now go back to Excel 2010, within the Excel Add-in and click on our add data, and see our two new services we can make use of.

With this, now we can work with more complex data sets within AX 2012. This also means, that Office 2010, very much is a major part of the user experience in regard to AX 2012. This also means, that some very complex data set needs, can be accomplished through the use of Query Objects, and Document Services that wrap those query objects to expose them internally and externally of AX 2012.

With this said, there are some issues, and area's to watch out for. Basically, there are some super normalized data sets, like customers, vendors, etc. To help address those needs, Microsoft will be releasing in December a resource kit, that will contain artifacts that help enable the use of the Excel Add-in, for the master data, that has some super normalization aspects to it, that make it a little harder to work with from Excel. The basic concept will still be used that you see above here, that will be enabled with staging tables that the process will still use document services to enable.

I hope this helps further explain the value of the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in and how it can be used right now with even more complex data sets, than just simple tables. You enable this through the use of Document Services. Also, it's very important to understand that Microsoft will be releasing that resource kit to help out with some of the super normalized master data elements. Finally, you can create your own document services, that wrap your own custom data sets, or query objects, that in turn can be consumed and made use of in a bi-directional nature through Excel. This is a huge benefit to customers of AX 2012, and something that needs to be considered when thinking about designing and developing scope for customer.

That's all for now, check back soon as more to come. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Freaky Tech Friday - Attack of the Zombie Processes!

2011-10-21T06:23:00.007-05:00

Well, I see you have come back for yet another tale of spine tingling terror. So far we have faced and survived together, It Came from Another Platform as well as The Abyss Of Integration. Now we venture into the wastelands, that once were filled with productive people. Now Zombie Processes have invaded, and are draining value from your current ERP legacy system. What exactly is a Zombie Process you may ask, let me explain...

Zombie - "typically depicted as mindless, shambling, decaying corpses."

+

Process - "typically describes the action of taking something through an established and usually routine set of procedures."

=

Zombie Process - "A mindless, shambling, decaying set of actions continued to be executed based on estalbished and forgetton procedures, that are very much routine."

With this set, then how would one avoid the horde, of mass decaying processes? How can you fend off this attack? Enter Super AX 2012, to save the day! With it's aresnal of weapons, AX 2012 can help beat back the onslaught of decaying processes in your company, with it's ability to agile, Dynamic in nature, and flexible as your business needs it to be.

With all the marketing taking out, in the real world, you can overcome process that are rigid, or where other legacy ERP systems have solidified you, and your innovation, with electronic concrete. I've seen AX 2012, in the wild now, battling through old harden processes, and slamming through the painfully stiff concrete walls that existed because of a legacy systems limits.

If anything, I think the issue is understanding the best path to take for value gained, as there are a lot of ways to solve business requirements with what AX 2012 offers, that never really existed before.

This warning of Zombie Processes, is also for Partners. We have to think differently than ever before in how we approach issues, and solutions to those issues. There are a lot of new design patterns, and ways things should be done with new processes, code, approaches to business requirements in general.

Some really clear examples of how AX 2012 makes the threat of Zombie processes forming an unstoppable hoard, can be seen in recent post's that I've spent a lot of time. First the Modeling the world, concept that can be seen specifically in the desired vision to use Workflows in AX 2012 to enable business process modeling.

With this, business processes are much more flexible, as they were modeled using the .Net Workflow designer. In the past workflows were not as flexible, in terms of AX, until AX 2012. The benefit in this, is that you can code less and model more, for business processes, and in turn business process management can have real impact on the process within AX.

When the business needs flexibility to change, it's very possible, and doesn't cost, or shouldn't cost, an arm and a leg, or a few hundred brains, to change. This focus on modeling is really a key concept, one that truly makes AX 2012 a generational shift in ERP technology. I mean if a business can change it's workflow in it's ERP package, with little technical help, how fast a business can move is up to them. No limited by brain eating zombie processes!

To wrap up, the take away, is a focus on modeling with AX 2012. This includes business process modeling, as well as other key concepts like organizational, security, etc. Focus your functional and technical designs for these area's around the latest design patterns and key concepts. There are a lot of great new things in AX 2012, and modeling business processes with workflows is for sure one of those area's.

Well, looks like we will survive the Zombie Process Apocalypse, thanks to our super hero, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. A powerful weapon, in the rights hands of a trusted Partner. Scare you next week Ghosts and Ghouls, when we dare enter "The Killing Zone".

Update: I did want to tip my hat to the *nix crowd, in that these Zombie Processes have nothing in relation to the term used for Unix / Linux OS Zombie Processes. So there you go...

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Modeling Business Processes with AX 2012 and Workflow - Part III - Enabling Custom Workflows

2011-10-19T06:08:00.006-05:00

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, one of the more interesting improvements has been around Workflows, and their desired use for modeling business processes within AX 2012. This is why I started a series of post, that will cover workflows in AX 2012, and how the vision is truly to enable a model more and code less, for modeling business processes. I started off this series, with Modeling Business Processes with AX 2012 and Workflow. In that we reviewed the vision, in how workflows were going to remove the gap that exists between development and business process modeling.

From there, we took the workflow topic, and talked in the post about, Modeling Business Processes with AX 2012 and Workflow - Part II - What's new. In that post, we covered the what's new for AX 2012 workflows vs. AX 2009. We also covered that workflows can not be upgraded from AX 2009 to AX 2012 workflows. This is a truly different engine and, so it's really impossible to create a script that would enabling the upgrading of AX 2009 workflows to AX 2012. You would want to take advantage of the what's new in workflows for AX 2012 anyway, and so the value of offering an upgrade on that thought alone, makes such an upgrade have an even smaller chance of adding value.

Well we continue our dive into workflows, for AX 2012, with this post focusing on Enabling Custom Workflows in AX 2012. Like a lot of topics, with AX 2012, there are some really wonderful, existing resources out there, from Microsoft and from other places, that I will link to from this post, that help send what's required for custom workflows to exist. These resources, will enable use to create custom workflows and to enable workflows for modules, and forms that don't already have workflows enabled for use.

From there, I will circle back around about the vision, and desire for workflows to be used over development. So lets get started, by reviewing some existing resources online. First lets make a stop at Implementing workflow for Microsoft Dynamics AX [AX 2012]. This is a very important resource, and the very first book marked one that you add right now. This is a great resource, that will take you through the Creating workflow Types, Handling Workflow Events, Workflow Security and so on.

On this MSDN Resource page, you will also find some very useful and helpful walkthroughs.:

With these resources, you can easily start to take advantage of workflow development, and enabling workflows on existing items, as well as totally custom modules in AX 2012.

Some of the main take away's from this, is that now more than ever, it's easy to enable workflows, and so all business process design, should be considered with this fact in mind. Workflows in AX 2012 are flexible, not rigid. They are easy to design, and maintain, and decrease the technical scope it takes to meet a specific companies requirements. Think of workflows first in your designs, before you would think of specific development modifications only. That still might be needed, but it's a lot better move to have a workflow when possible than total custom code.

Well I hope this has you thinking of workflows, and it's impact and importance on design for AX 2012 projects. This is a great leap forward, and part of that bigger Modeling the world picture. That's all for now, but check back soon as a whole lot more to come! Till next time!

Also Don't forget this! Make sure to visit the following: Have Questions about Upgrading to Dynamics AX 2012? Get Your Answers Here! Make sure and submit those questions. Any and all levels, from planning, to PM, to Functional, Technical. The idea is to foster total community knowledge about this important topic.

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Upgrading to AX 2012 - What are the important questions you have?

2011-10-17T10:31:00.004-05:00

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 into full swing, the Official Microsoft Dynamics Community site, has started something new, in helping get the community questions that are important front and center, and answered by Partner experts.

The first round of focused questions starts today, and ends this Friday. So you have a week to get your questions in for this round. I've been asked to participate in this new offering from Microsoft, and I think it's a great way to get some Ecosystem / Community questions that mean the most to companies, answered.

This is a great way to interact with the Dynamics Community in a multidimensional manner. These type questions and answers will be facilitated by Microsoft, through the Community blog, and be answered by a panel of selected experts, to help foster knowledge, community awareness and growth.

So please use the following link: Have Questions about Upgrading to Dynamics AX 2012? Get Your Answers Here! Submit your questions between now and Friday on AX 2012 upgrading. Once all the answers are up, for each time we have one of these session, I will reference back the highlight post, as well as when the answers are up.

That's all for now, but I have a whole lot more to cover this week.

thanks,
Brandon

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Freaky Tech Friday - The Abyss Of Integration

2011-10-14T04:56:00.005-05:00

Last week, we dared to enter into Freaky Tech Friday - It came from another Platform. This hellish post, covered the dark path of how other-worldy platform technologies could be used in a solution-stien way of creating offering that only igor could love. As part of that walk on the wild side, in which we highlighted the use of the ghoulish way in which services could be hosted as part of AX 2012 on IIS, for consumption not just be internet external consumers, but also by other technologies that could not consume net.tcp based service binding.

I warned you all, that if you dared to come back, we would move forward in our dark quest of knowledge and enter in to the abyss of integration. This is a place, truly of no return. Well maybe there are some returns, specifically deep and dark returns on investment actually.

The abyss of integration is covered with a cesspool of options, in which one would not dare use for enabling connections with AX 2012. I say not dare use, in that well, you actually might find neat and should use, when the time is right and the integration needs call for it. For those that want to brave this dark path, I have three area's to highlight for you.

First lest talk about Asynchronous integration needs. This requirement can sometimes real it's ugly head, and how do you defeat such a monster? Well You can employee several tools, other than just holy water, including BizTalk and the use of Message Queuing with AX 2012.

First lets start with BizTalk, which in it's devilish acts, can help enable both Synchronous and Asynchronous in nature integration's. The best place to start for this area, is the blessings found in the following white paper: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 White Paper: Using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2010 to Exchange Documents with Microsoft Dynamics AX. Without this guide, you will become yet another lost soul, on the road to the center of the abyss, never to be seen or heard from again.

This white paper will cover topics that include Enterprise Application Integration, Business to Business Integration as well as Application to Application integration concepts. The target audience should not be faint of heart, and should have knowledge about developing and administrating BizTalk, from a past life.

Others have braved this part of the abyss before, so thankfully there is a way forward, even beyond the whitepaper itself. The following is a good little post about catching faults from AX WCF Services, that might can help you live through the night, and survive long enough to face more of the abyss of integration.: Catching Faults from Dynamics AX 2012 WCF services

Moving own, and if you're still part of the living, then we can dare to look into the sea of nothingness, which is flat in the middle of this abyss we now call home. I refer to Message Queuing with AX 2012. Another holy script exists for this part of the journey as well, which can be found at the following location. Deploy Message Queuing for AIF [AX 2012]

A passage from this light in a dark place of Queuing:
"The MSMQ adapter for Microsoft Message Queuing is included with Microsoft Dynamics AX.

To send documents by using Message Queuing, you must install it on a computer on the network and create at least one public queue.

To receive documents by using Message Queuing, you must install Message Queuing and create at least one queue on a computer that has Application Object Server (AOS) installed, and that has been configured to run Application Integration Framework (AIF) batch jobs."

Well Ghosts and Ghouls, that's all for this freak feast. I'm glad to see you've survived this brief tour of the abyss of integration. Scare you next week, when we review Attack of the Zombie Processes! Scare you next time.

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 Reports Executing on your iPad

2011-10-13T12:24:00.006-05:00

The release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 has brought a lot of great new possibilities to companies looking for the next generation ERP platform to empower their business. There is a lot of coverage for AX 2012, all over the web and blogsphere. More coverage than ever has existed for the Microsoft Dynamics product. I personally think this is a wonderful thing, because the more hands and more great minds that focus on AX, the better it becomes.

One of the neat things for this week, that a fellow peer Murray Fife, from Junction Solutions points out is how to execute and run your AX 2012 Reports right on your iPad! You can view his slideshare about this great find here.: Accessing Dynamics AX 2012 Reports On Your iPad

Murray actually posted this four months ago, and has a lot of other great AX 2012 related slideshares that I recommend you check out from the link above.

Basically the idea is that you use Sketch Reports app on your iPad and connect it to your reporting instance. Sketch Reports app is the older app now, and a updated new app from this same developer, which is recommend now over the Sketch app is Mobi Reports Pro. You can check out the app, from the app store page here.: Mobi Reports Pro Apple App Store Page.

From the App store page.:
"Mobi Reports Pro is an iPhone and iPad report viewer for Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services. It displays your reports from your reporting services folders and lets you navigate between them."

Many thanks for Murray for taking the time and sharing with the community, and I will be downloading the Mobi Reports Pro, myself, right after I get done writing this blog post.

That's all for now, check back soon as more to come. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 Issue: Cannot execute a data definition language command on Dimension set balance temporary data

2011-10-12T09:54:00.003-05:00

So, I ran into something new today with AX 2012. The following error message starting showing up, within an instance that has two AOS(es). It showed up anytime any process needed to post to the General Ledger area.

"Cannot execute a data definition language command on Dimension set balance temporary data (DimensionFocusBalanceTmp). Financial dimension set: 0, 0.
The SQL database has issued an error."

After this, there was a trail of SQL related errors that both AOS(es) trapped and bubbled up to the UI. This happened on both AOS(es) not just one. I tried, to run the following.: DimensionCache::clearAllScopes(); in a job. This had zero affect.

To get past this fast, a restart of both AOS instances was completed, that resulted in the resolution of this issue. I would like to hope that maybe there is a Cache call that could take place that would fix this issue, without having to restart the AOS. However, for now, if you see this, the fastest resolution is a restart of *ALL* AOS(es) within a given instance of AX.

If I get an update on this, for what fixes this, if a hotfix comes out, or if there is a piece of X++ cache clearing code that can be executed, I will make sure and update this post as such.

Hopefully this will help someone out.

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 Design Patterns: Instantiating Objects

2011-10-12T07:01:00.005-05:00

Recently I created a resource blog post, focused on AX 2012 - Design Patterns Overview. There are a lot of things we need to understand about design patterns with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. The return, and value in understanding these, is being able to have correct designs, when working with custom scope.

With that, lets take a little look at some of these. First up is: Instantiating Application Objects Design Pattern. What's interesting about this design pattern, is the very first thing you read from the post on MSDN.:

"You must use menu items to open application objects instead of opening them directly. Menu items can be seen as APIs to the application. They are an abstract layer (interface) between the user and the actual application object that implements the functionality. Changes to application objects are automatically reflected in the user interface when menu items are used."

Menu Items, have always been used actually, around objects like Forms, Reports, and Action classes. These action classes, usually were focused around RunBase and RunBaseBatch. That is being replaced with the SysOperations Framework however. Still, the SysOperations Framework, or Business Operation Framework, artifacts are surfaced to the user and controlled by this API of menu items.

Once more, we have some nice Community content on this specific design pattern, from Martin Dráb.:

Notice that FormFunctionButtonControl class has a menuFunction() method. It allows to easily access MenuFunction instance on forms.
For example, you can define custom parameters in menuitembutton's clicked() in this way:


Args args = new Args();

if (something)
    args.record(ds1);
else
    args.record(ds2);

this.menuFunction().run(args);

So the idea should be firm then, in that when possible Menu Items are what should be used to instantiate an object. Now there are other times, in which you need to instantiate and object that a menu item just does not fit the bill. In those times, you should use the ClassFacotry.

Doing this, will make sure any subclasses will fire correctly, and that the correct sequence of calling an object like a form, report or action style class is properly handled. There is a big note on this design pattern, that changes what has been used in the past for AX. That is: Never use the FormRun or ReportRun methods for directly instantiating an object.

A lot of developers, and customization's have been done in the manner in the past, and this is a big no no, now. Keep this in mind when doing actual development work. Of course, you still have custom class objects, and table objects within X++ code, that have a static create, or a new() call to work with them. However even with these concepts, if you can use the design pattern of making use of menu items for these scope and need as well, then you have a layer of abstraction that can be used to connect, and help drive parameter based callings of an object.

Well I hope this helps in our first dive into the design patterns in AX 2012. I think this is a very important one for developers to understand. The FormRun and ReportRun is something I've seen a lot, and in earlier versions of AX development I used myself.

That's all for now, check back soon as more to come. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 and the impact on Design with the new Security Model

2011-10-11T13:08:00.005-05:00

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, one of the great new things, at least by my own opinion, is the role based security model. To help understand the impact of what this brings with AX 2012, I think it's important to understand what existed before AX 2012.

With AX 2009 and even before that in 4.0, the security for AX was basically around security keys.

Security Keys in AX 2009

With this, there was then Security domains, in which could span all, or some companies within AX, and finally User groups, that tied permission, to security keys in AX.

User Groups in AX 2009

With this, we had a very granular approach to permissions for users, and honestly for a lot of implementation projects this was an after thoughts, or something that was done closer to go live. Before the security profiler tool, this was a huge pain at times.: Dynamics AX 2009 Security Profiler tool

Now we have a whole new approach to security, based on Roles. This is a huge improvement that brings a lot of new scope possibilities actually, like segregation of duty, rule based-date effective assignment of privileges, and so forth. Because of this fact, security has a larger impact on design time, for when implementing AX 2012 for a client.

The very first impact that this has, is around customization and gap scope that comes out of discovery phase of a project. Typically a project creates functional requirements documentation as well as functional design documentation. This is driven by functional consultants, and role based security should be looked at now from a functional level.

This is no longer mostly a technical issue, but a functional need. Understanding what you can do with the new Role based security, can impact a functional design, and possibly even the nature of a process.

Going back to our first impact then, and what focus needs to be around the functional requirements and design documentation. Sessions should exists at this level, that list at least what Roles, Process Cycles, Duties & Privileges might be affected, or even need to be created as part of the design process.

Further, if as part of the initial go live, segregation of duty will impact the customer that AX is being implemented for, then the new functionality that enables this needs to be looked at. This is where a company can setup, based on privileges, which are high, medium and low risk, when a user is granted such privileges.

This focus at the functional requirements and design level, will help when it comes to the actual technical design, setup, modeling and development efforts. Doing this, will enable the technical engineer or architect to correctly lay out a technical design that meets the requirements, that has security at the forefront of such designs.

This is very important, and this impacts reports, forms, services, tables, etc. etc. It is a good point to state, that security keys still exists in AX 2012, but only for backwards compatibility. These are no longer used to help define role based security instead: privileges roll up into duties. Duties then in turn roll up into process cycles. Finally process cycles role up into Roles.

Since this is the case, when someone is developing or modeling custom scope, and artifacts, the level in which security is implied lives within a new Security tree node, as part of the AOT.

This deserves further dives, specifically around code permissions, and other topics that need real attention, more than they have ever needed before. There is real value however, that comes from understanding the impact that the new Role based security has on AX. Having this understanding means, great ROI for customers, and that my friends is the bottom line we are all after.

Well that's all for now, check back soon as a whole lot more to come. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Sunrise Technologies achieves TEC Product Certification for their Apparel and Footwear Template for Microsoft Dynamics™ AX

2011-10-10T10:38:00.006-05:00

Well I have some really exciting news to talk about this morning. What may this be you ask? Well, the amazing Microsoft VAR I'm a part of, Sunrise Technologies, Inc. has just achieved TEC Product Certification for our Apparel and Footwear Template for Microsoft Dynamics AX.

You can read more about the press release here: Sunrise Technologies achieves TEC Product Certification for their Apparel and Footwear Template for Microsoft Dynamics™ AX

From the press release:
"Sunrise Technologies is pleased to announce that their Apparel and Footwear Template for Microsoft Dynamics AX has been certified by Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC). This TEC certification allows for online evaluation of fashion solutions in the enterprise resource management (ERP) Evaluation Center where users are able to compare and evaluate functionality based on TEC’s comprehensive model for fashion software. The Sunrise Technologies Apparel and Footwear template is the first fashion solution to be certified by TEC."

This is a great achievement and helps set us apart from any other solution, focused for Microsoft Dynamics, for the Apparel & Footwear verticals. I'm very proud to be apart of this wonderful VAR, and to find out more, please check us out: www.SunriseConsult.com. Also, if your interested in joining us, check out the following post, as we are hiring: Sunrise Technologies Wants You!

That's all for now, but check back soon as a whole lot more Dynamics Ecosystem coverage is on its way. Till Next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Freaky Tech Friday - It came from another Platform

2011-10-07T15:22:00.004-05:00

With it being October, one of my favorite times of the year, I thought it would be nice to have a fun, but informative series of post title: Freaky Tech Friday. This series of post, will be about Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, and how other technologies, from other platforms, other planets, and other dimensions can be used. Maybe not so much other planets or dimensions, but you get the idea.

With that, lets start this creepy stroll down the dark alley of interopability that exists with AX 2012. The once scary path, that was filled with gotcha gremlins, and barrier trolls, now has become not such a scray place. What I'm talking about here, is not the net.tcp consumption of Services hosted within the AOS itself, but extending this, so that other platforms can consume these services through hosting end points through IIS.

From the above system architecture we would be focusing our efforts on the hosted WCF services within IIS. These services are really pointers, to the same X++ based artifacts that live within an instance of AX. This is how advanced end points can be enabled, that, say would allow Java based software, python, Objective-C, and other possible technologies that come from other platforms could consume directly these services, or at least be enabled to do so.

To help us getting started down this dark path, of creating a solution-stien architecture, we need our first lesson to be focused on how to enable the hosting of Services within IIS for AX 2012. To start, we need to read and understand the following.: Install web services on IIS [AX 2012]

"Web services on IIS is an optional component. The Application Object Server (AOS) is the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service host for Microsoft Dynamics AX services. The AOS-hosted services are available to users and applications across the Intranet. To consume services over the Internet, you must host services on Internet Information Services (IIS). Skip this procedure if you do not need to expose the Microsoft Dynamics AX services over the Internet."

Now I want to be clear, that for non-Microsoft platform technologies, even within the intranet, consumption of the WCF services will need to most likely take place via hosting the services on IIS. This is related to the use of AOS hosted services being offered up via net.tcp bindings. Understanding this fact, will help you in enabling this other worldy technologies from another platform, communicate and work with AX 2012 services.

Following the above referenced TechNet article through, we can see how to setup our services, so they can be consumed by internet external consumers, as well as other technologies that need more enhanced integration port bindings.

Well I think thats enough to scare almost anyone, on this Freaky Tech Friday post. Tune in next week ghosts and ghouls, as we take this further, and go past the point of no return, into the abyss of integration! Scare you then!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Rest in Peace - Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T19:53:00.003-05:00

The world today lost a great man, and visionary. I would not be a true geek at heart, if I were to not pay my respects to Steve Job's passing with a simple blog post. His work has touched countless people, and truly has improved our lives with his passion.

I use several of his products everyday, and they help make my job, and life easier. He also believed in living life, and for all of that and for all that he did, he will be missed. A true loss in the world. Rest in peace Steve!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 - Design Patterns Overview

2011-10-05T06:15:00.003-05:00

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, there is a lot of wonderful new offerings that has come along with this release. One of the area's of major focus, that should be understood, by all technical personnel is around design patterns.

I wanted to take the time, to kick off this series of post, about design patterns, and review what resources we have from Microsoft, on these topics. Then I would like to dive into examples for each of the design patterns, talk pro's and con's, and finally value that each can add to a given implementation of AX.

Some design patterns will have deeper running affects, than others, however all are equally important to understand. To kick this off properly then, lets review the design patterns I will be covering in this series of post. First off, we have the official home on MSDN for AX 2012 Design Patterns: Microsoft Dynamics AX Design Patterns [AX 2012]

From there, we have the following list of design patterns, that need to be understood when considering techniques and approaches for technical solutions and designs.:

Instantiating Application Objects Design Pattern

Searching for Records Design Pattern

static find Method Design Pattern

static exist Method Design Pattern

Parameter System Design Pattern

Multiselection Design Pattern

Searching for Multiple Occurrences Design Pattern

Change Company Design Pattern

Partner Hooks Design Pattern

Pack-Unpack Design Pattern

Use the Type System Design Pattern

Storno Design Pattern

Persistent Data Storage Design Pattern

Data Validation Design Pattern

With the above list, I plan on diving into each of these design patterns, referencing back to this post and each of the official homes on MSDN for each topic. Some of these design patterns I have already touched on, like the un-pack and pack, etc.

I can't stress enough the importance of understanding each of these design patterns, and why I plan on spending weeks, covering these in several, several post. Some are easy and straight forward, therefore I will combine a few design patterns per post. What I hope to get to, as I mentioned above, is to talk about the design pattern, some real world example code in how it's applied, some pro's and con's and then value.

Just looking into some of these, you can see Microsoft is trying to implement software designs that have worked well in other places, as well as some of these patterns continue us down the path of abstraction away from being so close to the source, when we do modifications.

That's all for now, but check back soon as a whole lot more to come! Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Community Article: The value of a Partner

2011-10-03T05:41:00.002-05:00

With all the excitement around the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, I wanted to use my monthly column entry on the official Microsoft Dynamics Community site, to point out the value a partner brings to a AX ERP Implementation project.

The themes center around vertically specific domain knowledge, focused second party of driving the best value for the solution, and understanding the technology that enables such projects.

You can read the entry here.; The Value of a Partner

That's all for now, but check back soon as I have a whole lot more this week! Happy October! Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

EMEA Microsoft Dynamics AX Partner Training session on Telling the BDM & TDM Story

2011-09-29T14:17:00.003-05:00

I wanted to take the time and help out a fellow blogger Fee Nolan, promote a great possible partner focused training session on Telling the Business Decision Maker and Technical Decision Maker Story. This is a partner focused session, around helping tell the correct story for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

Fee posted about this great session that is set for October 11th, here: Dynamics AX 2012 Telling the BDM and TDM Story - Blogging Again !!

The agenda for the session is as follows.:
Morning
-Best Practice approach to running the AX 2012 Virtual Machine
-Presenting the AX 2012 Business Decision Maker Elevator Pitch
-Demonstrating the AX 2012 Business Decision Maker Product Overview

Afternoon
-Presenting the AX 2012
-Technical Decision Maker Elevator Pitch
-Demonstrating the AX 2012 Technical Decision Maker Product Overview
-Demonstration ‘Best Practice’ Tips, Tricks and Tools

If your in the EMEA area, and specifically near Microsoft Thames, then go over to the following link, here and register today. Fee states there was a lot of great feedback from the last session like this, and if your an Active Dynamics AX partner in the area, Someone from your company should attend!

That's all for now, for this quick update. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

SQL Server - The heart of performance for Dynamics AX

2011-09-29T07:04:00.003-05:00

With all the wonderful excitement surrounding the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, I thought it was time to take a step back and focus on something that can benefit those running on AX 2009, as well as AX 2012. What I'm talking about here is performance!

Before I get into some of the really good resources, to share with you on this topic, performance for SQL Server comes down to three area's: 1. Having enough RAM, 2. Right amount of Cores and 3. A great disk I/O Sub-system.

The last one, 3. A great disk I/O Sub-system, is usually always the issue when it comes to performance related problems in an AX solution. I can't stress this enough! Therefore, we have some good resources now, published by Microsoft, that everyone using AX, no matter what version, needs to understand. Make sure to work with your partner to get the following information, applied correctly to your instance of AX.

First off, we have the newly updated checklist / whitepaper for things to make sure you have set on your SQL Server. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 White Paper: Planning Database Configuration

Now don't be fooled you AX 2012-ers, this is also for you. The title has not been updated, but the content still applies. There is some great points in here, around RADI 1+0 over RAID 5, splitting your TempDB into as many physical files as you have Cores, etc. Read it, understand it, and make sure for your instance this is applied.

Next up, we have two trace flags. The first I covered last year, but still needs focus for this area. That is: Important SQL Server Change! - Parameter Sniffing and Query Plan Caching

Based on research by the Microsoft perf team, some great benefits have come from applying the above trace flag to a SQL Server. Next, we have a new trace flag, that works in conjunction with the TempDB split advice. This next trace flag, will make sure that all TempDB files grow at the same time, and with the same size increase. This too, has been proven, when you have your TempDB split out, to increase performance. Consider Enabling Trace Flag 1117 on Dynamics AX SQL Server

With this arming you as weapons, you can slay the nasty performance dragons, with ease! Of course, there is still nothing that can be done for bad Query design, or coding that forces huge resultsets, or many trips to the database. That must be addressed, and using the Trace Parser in AX 2012 is just a wonderful thing. Microsoft did a great job of making that tool, very useful, and very, very easy to use.

That's all for now, but check back soon as more to come. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Spotlight: Dynamics AX 2012 Testing Best Practices Now Available

2011-09-28T07:59:00.004-05:00

Just this week, I wrote about AX 2012 & TFS 2010, along with other Version Control Options. As part of that post, I promised to update you when new white papers and information came out about this topic. Well, what timing, as late yesterday, Microsoft has released a new white paper on Dynamics AX 2012 Testing Best Practices Now Available

From the post:
"Look to the white paper for things like:
•Practices to drive quality early in the development cycle.
•Recommendations for test and ALM tooling.
•Help in deciding about test automation.
•Examples of best practices that we used in developing Dynamics AX 2012."

There's hints of sure step being the guide, which actually has not been updated 100% for AX 2012, however is in the full process of being so. It's still, at a good level, very useful and the method for implementing Dynamics AX projects.

I recommend making sure to download the whitepaper, and reviewing the spotlighted blog for more information. It's a wonderful time, to be working with Microsoft Dynamics AX!

That's all for now, but check back soon as more tome come. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Do Not use the .Net Business Connector with AX 2012

2011-09-27T20:18:00.004-05:00

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, a lot a great things have come about. One area that I have spent some time on now, is around integration. In the past, when integrating outside line of business (LOB) applications or custom software, the options for enabling this were either the use of AIF Document Services or the .Net Business Connector.

There is good reason not to use the .Net Business Connector, as I point out in the following post: Net Business Connector Not Recommend for AX 2012

A reader today, stated that they have read on the web, and with my blog post, to not use the .Net Business Connector with AX 2012 integration's, but they were not really clear why. I thought this would make for a good post, as to clear the air of sorts on this topic, and explain why.

First you see from the above AX 2012 system architecture image, that the .Net BC is actually used in a few places to enable different parts of the solution. With that said, and beyond this fact, the only reason the .Net BC exists in AX 2012, is to truly support backwards compatibility. Understand this, future versions of AX, beyond AX 2012 will not have the .Net BC as an option. This has been made very clear in the official Microsoft Documentation released on the subject.

This means, that anyone upgrading from previous versions, will still have their integration's developed using the .Net BC, will still work. However, planning should be made to make the switch to make use of services.

The desire behind this move, is to take away proprietary technology that the .Net BC represents, and the RPC protocol it implements, and use more true .Net technologies, like WCF. This move, not only takes a step towards true .Net native code execution, but also replaces the very chatty protocol of RPC, with the less chatty and more well formed protocol of WCF.

So the reasons, for not using .Net Business Connector in AX 2012 are.:

1. Microsoft will not support it beyond AX 2012
2. It using the RPC protocol for communication which is very chatty compared to WCF, and does not enable the vision of cloud computing Microsoft has for AX in version 7.0 and beyond

I started, on this list, to add more, but honestly the first reason in the list is point enough. Microsoft will not support the .Net BC after AX 2012. Since that is the case, any development done with it, or any integration that is not upgraded and changed to make use of WCF and Services in AX 2012 is a waste of time and money.

I hope that through the many efforts of those in the community, including myself, to point to the desired method of services with: Custom services and document services, that it's clear why the .Net BC should not be used. Upgrades are supported to AX 2012 that make use of this technology, however it's important to understand that such integration's have to be changed over for any version of AX beyond AX 2012.

With this, I believe we can move forward and all understand that any integration efforts between AX 2012 and the outside world, should reside around services. This is, as I've pointed out before, a true statement even within AX 2012. Services help abstract some of the complexities of AX 2012, and help empower the marketing term powerfully simple.

That's all for now, but check back soon as I continue with my dive into workflows, and many other great topics. Till next time!

Update: A fellow peer of mine pointed out that this post sounded a little harsh. That is never my intention at all, and I hope this is taking as a warning. The idea is to save you time, money and effort and help deliver a clear message that WCF and services are the way for extending and integrating with AX 2012.

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 & TFS 2010, along with other Version Control Options

2011-09-26T15:53:00.006-05:00

One of the area's that companies look at when talking about Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, revolves around the software development lifecycle. (SDLC). As part of this conversation, and decent amount of focus is around version control. This is a key critical part, to any true SDLC process, and that's a true statement for Microsoft Dynamics AX.

With the release of AX 2012, there are several options, which are covered in the following article on MSDN: MSDN: Version Control System [AX 2012]

With this, we see that four options exists for us: MorphX VCS, Visual Source Safe (phasing out though), Team Foundation and finally third party VCS systems. It's worth noting that Microsoft recommends either TFS or MorphX VCS.

Like all things, I want to caution in this area about getting over focused on the SDLC used for managing, say, pure .Net development efforts, or others that might be employed at a company today. AX 2012 are business projects, not pure technical development. This means, that as my broken record self continues to state, Value should drive decisions for AX 2012, not technology.

With that stated, lets look at the point, process and value that using version control affords us in a given implementation project. Like all topics relating to AX 2012 implementation projects, the size of the company, and therefore total scope and size of the implementation typically help dictate choice. Does it make sense for a two developer, smaller mid-sized company to invest in TFS? I would think not, therefore, the preferred option, based on Microsoft recommendation is MorphX VCS.

With this option, a shared development environment, that a majority of Dynamics AX projects use, is the need. Here, developers connect their clients into a shared environment and MorphX allows for checking out, checking in, and history for artifacts that are developed, touched, etc. from within AX 2012. This can leave gaps, however for certain Visual Studio project types, that might complete the entire solution for a customer, that can't be added to the AOT.

A Typical environment, for such a use of MorphX version control, then would look like the following.:

That's a very straight forward total AX solution for a given company, and one that most small to mid-sized companies would find gives them a lot of value, and ability to have version control, without a lot of overhead.

With that said, it's not really a suitable solution for a larger mid-sized, and of course moving into the enterprise space. Here there needs to be an enterprise class collaboration solution that enables version control, among other possible benefits. Enter, Microsoft's main focus for this area, and solution addressing such needs, Team Foundation, or TFS 2010.

With this option a lot of new possibilities exists, specifically around AX 2012 and TFS. This includes the ability to offering branching now, which did not exists as an option for AX 2009. Also, the ability, in a limited fashion, to make use of work items and tie those to the check in process for artifacts. Let me say, there has been some great improvements for TFS and AX 2012, in terms of setup, administration and reduction of headaches that come with both those topics.

In the past, with AX 2009 and TFS, someone once told me.: "If you want someone to really hate their job, make them setup AX 2009 and TFS." Now, that's a little over the top, but there are some issues that are caused, specifically around the need for an Object ID management server. That however, no longer exists in AX 2012 and TFS integration. The ability, to quickly setup TFS integration with AX 2012 has improved a lot, and that alone will add value to any AX 2012 project that needs this requirement.

In order to properly use AX 2012 and TFS, this changes the dynamics of the development environment. What now needs to exists, is that every Developer needs their own development workstation. This needs to have all aspects of AX 2012, SQL Server, SSRS, SSAS, EP, AX Client, VS2010, etc. etc. In doing this, then each developer instance connects with a TFS repository, for checking in and checking out project artifacts. What the use of TFS also brings to the table, as a pro, is the fact that outside project artifacts that don't belong, or can't be placed within the AOT of AX, can use the same VCS as the AX projects and artifacts uses.

In this type of scenario, the following is typical of what you might see.:

With this specific setup, you will notice I've added a Release Manager role to the workflow. This is actually very critical to understand, and a point that should not be taking lightly. By no means should you ever try to automate the deployment of AX artifacts throughout the different environments of AX. There needs to be some human workflow, in the promotion from TFS into the rest of the environments, down through production. This is a very critical point, and this will save you time, and effort, on something that quite frankly for ERP projects, automated builds add very little value. Post go live scenarios might one day, possibly, make sense, but this is still hard to really justify. making sure this effort takes place, will ensure that the correct artifacts, and merging of objects takes place and issues can be addressed, instead of forced down the line.

With this information, we can see that there is great possible value add to AX 2012 projects, through the use of MorphX VCS or integrating AX 2012 with TFS 2010. Keep in mind, simple is king of value, and use that as a guide when planning for anything in AX, including this topic. With that, there are some great resources on the web, from fellow bloggers, and MSDN, relating to this topic. I will share them below here.:

Microsoft is also expected to release a new whitepaper, very soon, on this topic of AX 2012 and TFS 2010. Once it's out, I will make sure and link to it, and give my thoughts. I hope you have found this entry useful!

That's all for now, till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

IL Compile and some things to understand for AX 2012

2011-09-22T06:03:00.004-05:00

One thing I wanted to make sure and point out, with all this talk about Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, Services, and Complex Data Contract concepts, is around the need for proper IL generation of Xpp / X++ code artifacts.

The image above is not technically correct for AX 2012, but it's a quick snag image, to capture the point of this post, in that there are some steps you have to take, in order for AX 2012 to make sure it can properly execute your service code.

I mentioned the use of SysOperations Framework, as well as Reliable Asynchronous execution mode for operating on more complex data contract concepts in the previous post. With that focus, and around the focus of any services that you deploy, AX must have in it's "Server/[AX AOS Service Name]/bin/XppIL" the correct and most recently compiled Xpp into IL code artifacts.

If, for example, you start running into strange issues, when using the SysOpeartions Framework, for Reliable Asynchronous execution, were messages appear in the batch job history for said job executions ending in error, make sure to follow these steps, so that you can be sure your instances XppIL is correctly up-to-date.
1. Click on the Incremental IL Compile button, within a Developer workspace
2. Restart your AOS

Doing this, ensures that the specific changes you might have made within an instance of AX and Xpp has correctly refreshed the XppIL artifacts for the given instance of AX, for the specific AOS(es).

I wanted to make sure and point this out for this morning as I'm sure quite a few of you might run into such issues. Doing this, will save you some unneeded research time, because most likely your issue is with a not so up to date XppIL Artifacts for a specific AOS.

That's all for now, but check back soon as a whole lot more to come! Till Next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Continued look at AX 2012 and more Complex Concepts for Data Contract Usage

2011-09-21T19:41:00.002-05:00

I started a new, mini-series, if you will, on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and a deeper dive into more complex concepts for Data Contract usage this week. I state this as a mini-series, as it's not the typical series of post in which I finished up for services earlier this month, and like I currently have on-going for workflows in AX 2012, because of the limited scope I want to keep for this focus.

There is a lot more actually that could be covered, but I want to preface the complex concepts with the fact that the nature and design of Data Contracts for AX 2012 is not actually to be to complex. For complex data needs, document services and their use are intended for addressing such needs. However, the level in which we are talking about, I personally believe, is well within the vision in which Microsoft has for AX 2012 and custom data contracts.

With the above stated, I did want to continue tonight, with a focus on this topic. We covered in the first post, of this mini-series, about how a specific Data Contract, could have a list of related child data contracts as part of it's make up. That post talked about the enabling meta-data attribute tags that are used, to tell AX enough about a list, so that is could be consumed and used as a strongly type collection.

To take this further, lets assume that you want to make use of the SysOperations Framework, in order to enable Reliable Asynchronous processing of said data contracts. This is a valid need, that could enable safe threaded execution against such contracts, that would bring value by decreasing the time needed to process a lot of these contracts.

The idea's and concepts of the SysOperations framework actually are the evolution of the RunBase framework, and technically still use some of the underlying technology that enabled the RunBase and RunBaseBatch concepts in earlier versions of AX. It's clear, however, that any new development needs to follow the design patterns of the SysOperations framework, and nothing new in AX 2012 should be developed, with direct reference to any RunBase anything.

With this said, if we took the artifacts from my previous post, in this mini-series, and tried to submit a parent contract, that had a list of child contracts as part of it's make up, the SysOperations for Reliable Asynchronous operations would fail. This would be seen in the Batch Job History form, under the Administration module in AX 2012. Why would this fail, you may ask?

The reason this would fail, is the simple fact around AX 2012 need for such operations, that involve collections within data contracts to adhere to the pack / unpack design pattern. You can get a glimpse about this topic, from the following MSDN Article: MSDN: Pack / Unpack Design Patterns.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we will dive deeper into this topic, including making use of the SysPackable interface for AX 2012. Well this is exactly what is needed to enable such complex data contract concepts to exists and execute in AX. We have to make use of the SysPackable Interface.

To help show this off, lets look at a class declaration that implements the SysPackable Interface.


[DataContractAttribute]
class idbChildDC implements SysPackable
{
     str _someValue;
    
    #DEFINE.CurrentVersion(1)
    #LOCALMACRO.CurrentList
        _someValue
    #ENDMACRO    
}

We can see, from the above class declaration, that our focus for enabling the collection to get processed correctly and make use of the stated SysPackable interface, is around the child data contract. Why is this? Because, this is what is contained within the list. Since this is the case, we have to make the specific objects within the list, idbChildDC in our case, packable.

We have done the first part in this requirement, which is implement the SysPackable interface. However in doing this, we have three other methods we must supply, that fully enable the SysOperations Framework to execute on our custom child data contract, in a Reliable Asynchronous fashion. Those three needed methods are.: pack, unpack and a public static create metthod. Lets take a look at the makup of each.

First we have the Pack method.:

container pack()
{

     return  [#CurrentVersion,#CurrentList];

}

The above, we see a simple, and straight forward pack method. This is nothing special and the standard pack method that you would apply, based on implementing the SysPackable interface. Next we have the unpack method.:

public boolean unpack(container _packedClass)
{

    int version = conPeek(_packedClass,1);

    switch (version)
    {
        case #CurrentVersion:
            [version,#CurrentList] = _packedClass;
            break;
        default:
            return false;
    }
    return true;

}

Here, once again, we see a very generic and common unpack method. Nothing special, but must exists in order to enable such desired processing, as Reliable Asynchronous. Moving forward, the final required method that enables a collection of custom data contracts to be properly processed is the public static create method.:

public static Create(container _child)
{

    idbChildDC child = new idbChildDC();
    ;

    child.unpack(_child);
    return child;

}

Now that we have applied the SysPackable interface, as well as the above needed methods, when a list of idbChildDC data contract objects is processed as part of the SysOperations Framework, with the execution mode set to Reliable Asynchronous, proper processing will take place.

The reason this is the case, is that doing the above such actions allows the collection of idbChildDC objects to be serialized and deserialized so that the state data that represents the list of objects can be reinitialized, and business logic performed on.

With this post, and the first post, combined, so really neat, and possible great business value aspects, can be driven from the use of these more complex data contract concepts.

That's all for now on this topic, but check back soon as a whole lot more to come. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Spotlight: AX Retail POS Development & AX 2012 Dive into .Net Assembly Deployment

2011-09-21T08:15:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone is doing well this fine Wed morning! It's middle of the week, and there is some great things to learn about today. I wanted to direct your attention this morning to some recent great articles, about Microsoft Dynamics AX, posted by some fellow peers of mine. First, there is a new article covering AX Retial POS Development and configuration.

In this article Rahul does a great job in covering a topic, that really has not gotten a lot of technical attention within the Dynamics Community. Since AX for Retail is in full swing with many customers now using it, this is a great time to start covering real world examples of this great offering from Microsoft. There are some Prerequisite knowledge requirements for getting the most out of Rahul's article, that includes knowledge of C#, SQL Queries and X++.

Moving on, another recent article by my fellow peer and Dynamics Community Thought Leader, Joris, over at Dynamics Ax Musings, has posted a must read for anyone doing any developent work in AX 2012, and wanted to have a really good understanding of how .Net assemblies are deployed with an AX 2012 instance. His recent article, AX 2012 .NET Assembly Deployment is spot on and a needed resource.

Joris takes us through the correct understanding of where assemblies are deployed for the client and server, helping us realize the need for bin deployments, or manual GAC needs are a thing of the past. Joris takes up through the workings of the server side as well, with pointing us to the correct locations for the bin/XppIL location and VSAssemblies.

These are both great articles, and I recommend you read and bookmark both. That's guys for taking the time, and helping shape and grow our Dynamics Community. Well that's all for this morning, hope you have a great productive day, and check back soon as you know... a whole lot more to come. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 and a look at some more complex Datacontract concepts and usage

2011-09-20T17:03:00.003-05:00

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, one topic that I have been covering a good bit is around Services. There is good reason, and why a lot of other Dynamics Community bloggers and thought leaders have spent a lot of time talking about this topic. That reason, is the design importance that exists around services, and it's usage for an AX implementation. This is the new reality, and part of what makes AX 2012 Powerfully Simple.

As stated before, services are meant to be used internally and externally, with an AX 2012 solution. They enable some really great possibilities, and it's easier than ever to create, modify, and administer services than ever before.

One of the topics, I wanted to spend a little time on this evening, is around some more complex concepts for Data contracts, and the intended use within AX 2012.

There are a couple of points to cover here, and the first one is the proper code syntax for enabling a data contract, to have a property that is a list of child data contracts.

So to get to the meat of this area, the idea here is that you have a data contract. Within this data contract, you want to have a few properties that make up the contract, as well as a collection of other data contracts, that represent some business value, directly associated and therefore related to the parent data contract. I've mentioned before, in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 - A Dive into Services, Custom Services (Part II) post, about the use of Attributes to define data contracts with.

To enable this more complex need, Attributes in AX 2012 are very much a need in this case. To help set the stage for this review, we need a project, and two X++ classes.

You see in the above image, a project and two classes. A Parent and Child Data Contract X++ class. This is stated, visibly through the names of this classes, however, lets take a look at the make up of said classes.

First we need a parent class, this is the starting data contract, and so the following is the makeup of the parent data contract. I would like to point out that the following is not an image, but text, with some nice CSS that color and font the X++ to look like you see in the MorphX IDE.

So first we have the parent Class Declaration.:


[DataContractAttribute]
class idbParentDC
{
    List _children;
    str _someField;    
}

After that we have two other methods we need to look at. This is a simple DataAttribute method, and then the more complex method that enables the storage of a collection, in our case a list, of Child data contracts.


[DataMemberAttribute("SomeField")]
public str parmSomeField(str s=_someField)
{

     _someField = s;
    return _someField;

}

So the above uses a simple DataMemberAttribute tag, that sets the property name of this given data contract, for the parmSomeField, equal to "SomeField". This is a very simple datatype of str, and therefore not much is needed in order to describe this method to AX so the proper WSDL is created.

Enter the more complex need, of working with collections. Since Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is not a strongly typed language, however it interacts with XML and WCF Services that demand collections be strongly typed a bridge or ability to create strongly typed collections must exist. What to do?

Here we continue the use of Attribute meta tags that are new to AX 2012, that define to the AX what the collection type is for coming into the class, and represented in being sent back for consumption back to the consuming entity of the given data contract.

So we have the following.:


[DataMemberAttribute("Children"),
 AifCollectionTypeAttribute("l",Types::Class, classStr(idbChildDC)),
 AifCollectionTypeAttribute("return",Types::Class, classStr(idbChildDC))]
public List parmChildren(List l =_Children)
{
      _Children = l;
      return _Children;  
}

With the above we see the use of the AifCollectionTypeAttribute. This is being used to define the collection type, of list, containing a collection of idbChildDC objects. Also, since this method returns a collection, a List of object, the AifCollectionTypeAttribute, in turn is also used to describe the list of objects returned.

If you want to use such a concept, the above is a must. AX 2012 does not offer any flexibility in this regard, and if you don't correctly supply these AifCollectionTypeAttribute tags, the client will shut down on you.

Well that's all for now for this topic. With the above, you should be able to easily work with more complex concepts for Data Contracts in AX 2012. I will continue this mini-series of post, if you will, with taking the above and running it through the SysOperations Framework, and working with the SysPackable interface in AX 2012. That's all for now, till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 Reporting Architecture Model Review

2011-09-20T07:16:00.003-05:00

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, so many great improvements have taking. One of these area's that has improved greatly is the reporting model used.

In AX 2009, there were two reporting model options really, the X++ reports, and SSRS reports. The option for SSRS reports however had some limits. For example, sub-reports would not work correctly. Also, the ability to use Query objects as the default datasource was limited by the fact of now being able to do outer joins easily with the Query object designer for MorphX.

This is changed however, AX 2012 has a single reporting model, which it uses SSRS for all reports. Now, let me state it is true the older X++ MorphX reporting model is still technically in AX 2012. It's Only there however for backwards compatibility, and is not meant for supporting new development efforts.

Looking at what we have now, there is a very nice, and straight forward MSDN article, that walks through the reporting Architecture from Menu Item, to Report Viewer rendering of the report data. MSDN: Reporting architecture [AX 2012]

We can see that, in the reporting model for AX 2012, SSRS is at the core of reporting. Also, with the improvements that exists with AX 2012, for example adding the keyword having and it's use within Query objects, as well as the ability to have left and right outer joins, easily setup as part of Query objects, the hurdles that existed for SSRS and AX 2009 are all but gone.

This also means, that those who chose to use a hybrid approach for report design in AX 2009 and SSRS, where as the report design included going straight to the Database, creating a new for duplicate security models, no longer is a need. You should never, ever, ever, ever, ever --- ever go directly to the Databases for anything in AX 2012. (hope that's clear!)

If you did go directly to the database, then my recent article on the use of XDS would break as it would not be applied. In AX 2012, if a user does not have access to a field that is part of a report, and the report is rendered correctly through AX+SSRS, then the data for that field will not appear in the rendered report.

I think this is a huge improvement, and there are some really great MSDN articles as well as video's that cover all kinds of reporting examples with the new Reporting model concepts. This area is for sure right on the marketing tag line of Powerfully Simple, as this is a vast improved area over previous versions of AX.

Well that's all for now, check back soon as we continue to dive into AX 2012, get into more Workflows, Security Model, Neat X++ things, as well as launching a new series this October of post, "Freaky Tech Friday's". Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

A Friday Tech Focus on Win8 and Metro

2011-09-16T11:43:00.005-05:00

This week, the BUILD conference, Windows 8 was a huge focus. There is all kinds of new things that have come out about Windows 8, including the fact that for Windows 8 Apps to be placed in the Microsoft Store, and to run on ARM based slates / tables, then these apps must be developed with Metro.

This is a focus on the new WinRT, or Windows Run Time. This also means Visual Studio 2011 will be used as it is the IDE for developing Metro apps that target correctly the WinRT for the ARM and x86 chipsets.

To this end, I've created a new LinkedIn group: Metro Developers Group on LinkedIn. I've also registered the new site: MetroDeveloper.net. If your interested in seeing this group grow, become an early member today and start to foster good conversations, topics, and sharing of knowledge.

I write about this, here on IDB, Dynamics AX blog, because this will impact the future UX, and UI for how AX, or better Dynamics ERP. I see this being a big impact for Microsoft Dynamics AX v7.0 that is in development now.

That's all for now, but it's time to get metro focused, for prepping and getting ready for the future with Microsoft Windows 8.

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AX 2012 and the use of the new Extensible Data Security Framework

2011-09-15T17:43:00.003-05:00

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, we have a new framework in which we can make use of that will allow us to secure data across shared tables. In past versions of Dynamics AX, this was handled with record level security. With AX 2012, record level security still exists actually, but only to support backwards compatibility for upgrades to the latest version.

To help jump start the understanding, and how to develop extensible data security policies using this new framework, Microsoft has released a white paper that talks through the concepts, the ideas and examples for using this new framework to address the needs of such shared table data security requirements.

A direct link to that white paper can be found here.: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 White Paper: Developing Extensible Data Security Policies

From the paper:
"The extensible data security framework is a new feature in Microsoft Dynamics® AX 2012 that enables developers and administrators to secure data in shared tables such that users have access to only the part of the table that is allowed by the enforced policy. This feature can be used in conjunction with role-based security (also supported in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012) to provide more comprehensive security than was possible in the past.

Extensible data security is an evolution of the record-level security (RLS) that was available in earlier versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Extensible data security policies, when deployed, are enforced, regardless of whether data is being accessed through the Microsoft Dynamics AX rich client forms, Enterprise Portal webpages, SSRS reports, or .NET Services."

As you can see this is the evolution of the record level security, and offers a lot more than was possible in the past. Looking at this a little bit, we see that the framework is made up of some basic parts.: Constrained Tables, Primary Tables, Policy Queries and finally policy Context.

The basic concept for using the framework is modeling query on the given target, or primary table. Then creating a policy than is constrained against other tables or view objects, and finally setting the context in which the policy is applied.

What's important to note, is right in the very start of this white paper, performance concerns are listed. Rightfully so, as this will add clauses to the WHERE or ON section of a given query against a SQL table. What's also important to understand, that unlike record level security, which does this within the AOS, this is actually targeted at the SQL Server execution level. A great improvement, but anytime the SQL query, or fetching or resultsets is added to on the where, the possibility of affecting performance, purely from the index usage and joins caused, can have wide ranging impacts.

To this end, as part of this white paper there is a section entitled: "Developing efficient extensible data security policies". This section is a must in understanding BP when creating such scope, and how best to avoid performance impacts. The key points to take away from that section, minus the entire amount of information is very important contained within it, is: Use Indexes correctly, and be aware that with the some of the super normalized datasets in AX 2012, complex joins can occur that can have a negative impact on performance.

With all of this pointed out, and stated, Extensible Data Security (XDS) in AX 2012 is very powerful, and like all things, when proper design and planning are in place, this can be a powerful tool, mixed with the new Role Based security that can empower the requirement needs for enabled secured access to shared tables among users.

That's all for now, check back soon as more to come. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"