Troubleshoot on-premises deployments

This Microsoft Learn article provides comprehensive troubleshooting guidance for on-premises deployments of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance + Operations. It covers essential areas for diagnosing and resolving deployment and operational issues, as well as monitoring best practices.

Key Troubleshooting Areas Covered

• Deployment Monitoring Overview

  • Strategies and tools for monitoring Dynamics 365 Finance + Operations on-premises deployments.
  • Using event logs, performance counters, and tracing to collect diagnostic data.

• Common Issues & Resolutions

  • Steps to diagnose common installation and configuration problems.
  • Best practices around batch jobs, services, and infrastructure components.

• Log and Trace Analysis

  • Instructions on enabling and interpreting diagnostic traces.
  • Working with Windows event logs and Dynamics 365 trace files.

• Performance Issues

  • Identifying bottlenecks at the database, server, or application layers.
  • Advice on tuning and scaling resources for optimal performance.

• Environment-specific Guidance

  • Troubleshooting in multi-tier architectures.
  • Handling issues in scale unit deployments.

• Service and Component Health

  • Monitoring and troubleshooting the health of critical services.
  • Handling service startup failures and connectivity problems.

Recommended Troubleshooting Approach

1. Gather Basic Information

   • Review system and application logs.
   • Verify service statuses and environment configurations.

2. Enable Diagnostic Tracing

   • Adjust tracing settings for more detailed logs.
   • Collect traces during issue reproduction.

3. Analyze Logs for Errors and Warnings

   • Identify recurring errors or exceptions.
   • Correlate logs with observed issues.

4. Check Deployment Infrastructure

   • Validate database connectivity and performance.
   • Confirm health and configuration of tiers and services.

5. Apply Known Fixes or Workarounds

   • Use Microsoft documentation and support articles.
   • Update components if necessary.

6. Escalate if Needed

   • When issues persist, collect diagnostic bundles for Microsoft support.

Monitoring and Diagnostics Tools Mentioned

• Windows Event Viewer
• Dynamics 365 Trace Files
• Performance Monitor (PerfMon)
• SQL Server Profiler
• Lifecycle Services (LCS) monitoring tools

The article serves as a central resource for IT professionals managing Dynamics 365 Finance + Operations on-premises, equipping them with essential techniques and tools to maintain system health and resolve common operational challenges.

Reference Link:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/deployment/troubleshoot-on-prem

Storage account security updates

This article outlines the latest security enhancements related to storage accounts used in Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations.

Summary

Microsoft has implemented updates to improve the security posture of storage accounts connected with Finance and Operations environments. These changes focus on restricting access to authorized services, enforcing best practices, and mitigating risks related to unauthorized data access or interception.

What's new

• Storage account firewall rules:
  Storage accounts now enforce firewall rules to restrict access to only trusted services and networks, reducing exposure.

• Private endpoint enforcement:
  Support for private endpoints is enhanced to enable secure, private connectivity from Finance and Operations applications to storage accounts, eliminating public internet exposure.

• Secure transfer requirement:
  Storage accounts require secure transfer (HTTPS) for all communication, improving data-in-transit protection.

• Role-based access control (RBAC):
  Enhanced integration with Azure RBAC enables finer grained permission assignments on storage accounts used by Finance and Operations.

• Data encryption improvements:
  Improvements in encryption at rest policies provide stronger protection of stored data.

Impact

• Organizations using Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations must ensure their storage accounts comply with these new security configurations.
• Some previous access paths may be blocked if they don't meet the new firewall or private endpoint requirements.
• Administrators need to review network and identity configurations linked to storage accounts to avoid service disruptions.
• These measures improve compliance with security standards and help safeguard sensitive financial and operational data.

Steps to enable

1. Review current storage account settings:

   • Check firewall rules and ensure only authorized IP ranges and services are permitted.
   • Verify whether secure transfer is enforced.

2. Configure private endpoints:

   • Set up private endpoints to enable internal network access to storage accounts.
   • Validate connectivity and access for Finance and Operations services via private links.

3. Implement RBAC permissions:

   • Assign appropriate roles to Finance and Operations service principals or managed identities.

4. Update client applications:

   • Ensure clients accessing storage accounts use HTTPS endpoints and conform to security requirements.

5. Monitor and audit:

   • Enable logging and monitoring on storage accounts to detect unauthorized access attempts.
   • Regularly audit permission assignments and network configurations.

Additional considerations

• Coordinate changes with your organization's network and security teams.
• Test configurations in non-production environments before production deployment.
• Keep documentation updated to reflect current security settings and policies.

For detailed guidance and code examples, refer to the official Microsoft documentation on storage account security best practices for Finance and Operations.

Original article: Finance and operations storage account security updates - Finance & Operations | Dynamics 365

Create a Retail Server extension API (Retail SDK version 10.0.11 and later)

This Microsoft Learn article details the process to create a new Retail Server API extension using the Dynamics 365 Commerce Retail SDK version 10.0.11 or newer.

Overview

Retail Server API extensions allow developers to add new REST APIs to the Retail Server, enabling custom functionality tailored to business needs. This article explains how to create and register such an API by implementing an interface controller.

Steps to Create a Retail Server Extension API

1. Set up your development environment

   • Use Retail SDK 10.0.11 or later.
   • Have Visual Studio configured for Dynamics 365 Commerce development.

2. Create a new class library project

   • Target .NET Framework compatible with Retail Server (e.g., .NET Framework 4.7.2).
   • Reference necessary Retail SDK assemblies.

3. Implement the retail server iController interface

   • Create a class derived from IController or IControllerBase.
   • Define your API methods as public methods decorated with HTTP method attributes like [HttpGet], [HttpPost], etc.
   • Methods should return supported data types that serialize correctly (e.g., DTOs, primitives).

4. Define routing and controller behavior

   • Use attribute routing or conventions to specify your API endpoints.
   • Use dependency injection if needed to access Retail services or data.

5. Build and package your extension

   • Compile the project.
   • Create a NuGet package or directly deploy the DLL with required configuration files.

6. Deploy the extension to Retail Server

   • Copy the assembly to the Retail Server extensions folder.
   • Register the controller in the Retail Server configuration files (e.g., Web.config).
   • Restart Retail Server to load the new API.

7. Test your new API endpoint

   • Use a REST client or browser to verify the endpoint responds as expected.
   • Integrate with POS or other Commerce client applications as needed.

Additional Details

• The article includes code samples illustrating how to write the controller class and decorate methods with HTTP verbs.
• It explains how to handle dependencies and register the extension with the dependency injection container.
• Advice on error handling and response formatting is provided to align with Retail Server standards.
• Emphasizes following best practices for versioning and backward compatibility when extending APIs.

Reference:
Create a Retail Server extension API (Retail SDK version 10.0.11 and later) - Commerce | Dynamics 365

Credit limit holds FAQ

This article provides answers to frequently asked questions regarding credit checks, credit holds, and related warning and error messages encountered in Dynamics 365 Finance Credit management.

Key Topics Covered

1. Credit check and credit hold concepts

• Explains the purpose of credit checks within the credit management process.
• Describes how credit holds prevent the creation of sales orders or other transactions when a customer exceeds their credit limit or holds.

2. When and how credit holds are applied

• Credit holds are triggered based on rules defined in credit policies.
• Holds can block transactions such as sales order creation or invoicing for customers exceeding credit limits or with past due balances.

3. Types of credit holds

• Soft hold: Warning message, allows continuation.
• Hard hold: Blocks transaction processing.
• Payment hold and manual hold types.

4. Common warning and error messages

• Explanation of messages such as "Credit limit exceeded," or "Balance exceeds credit limit."
• Guidance on interpreting these and next action steps.

5. Resolving credit holds

• How to investigate customer credit balances, overdue payments, or open orders.
• Adjusting credit limits or manual release of holds.

6. Configuration tips

• Setting up credit management parameters to define hold behavior.
• Linking credit holds to workflows for approvals.

Summary Table of Common Questions

For comprehensive details and troubleshooting, refer to the full Microsoft Learn article.

Original Article Link

Extensible control programming reference

This reference guide provides detailed information on programming extensible controls in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations. It is designed for developers who want to customize or extend the user interface components using X++ code and control block diagrams.

Overview

• Extensible controls in Finance & Operations provide flexibility to customize forms and UI components.
• The guide covers:
  • Control types and their hierarchy
  • Methods and properties available for extensible controls
  • Programming examples in X++
  • Control block diagrams for visual understanding

Key Concepts

• Control Types: Various controls such as buttons, text boxes, grids, and containers can be extended and customized.
• Control Hierarchy: Controls are organized in a hierarchical structure, allowing nested customization.
• Events and Methods: Extensible controls expose events and methods to respond to user actions or system triggers.
• X++ Programming: Custom logic can be implemented using X++ within control event handlers or extensions.

Common Control Properties and Methods

Programming Extensible Controls in X++

Steps to customize a control

1. Identify the control you want to extend in the form design.
2. Create a class extending the base control class if needed.
3. Override or implement event handlers such as onClick, onValueChanged.
4. Use provided properties/methods to manipulate control visibility, enablement, or data binding.
5. Deploy and test the customization within the Finance & Operations client.

Example: Adding a button click event handler

public void clicked()
{
    super();
    info("Button clicked - custom logic executed.");
}

Control Block Diagrams

• Visual mappings of control relationships and their event flow.
• Useful for understanding nested controls and event propagation.

Additional Notes

• Custom controls should maintain performance and adhere to user experience guidelines.
• Always test control extensions in a development environment before deploying to production.
• Refer to the API documentation for complete lists of available properties and events.

Reference Links

• Extensible control programming reference - Finance & Operations | Dynamics 365
• Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations Developer Documentation

This summary encapsulates the key programming concepts and usage guidelines for extensible controls within Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations user interface development, enabling developers to create custom UI behavior and enhance application functionality effectively.