Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Instance Adapter – Part 3 – Connector Configuration

Colin Maitland, 24 March 2013

In this blog I will describe how to configure the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Instance Adapter for integrating two Microsoft Dynamics CRM organisations. 

Part 1 – Configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM User Accounts

Ensure that you have the following user account in each of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM organisations to be integrated. 

•  A dedicated Connector for Microsoft Dynamics user. 

For demonstration purposes I have created two Microsoft Dynamics CRM organisations; Acme New Zealand and Acme New Zealand – CHC. I have added a Connector for Microsoft Dynamics user named Integration to each of these organisations.

 

  

Note: The Integration user should be assigned Security Role(s) that provide the relevant access levels and Read, Create, Update, Assign, Append and/or Append To privileges for the entities to be integrated. These users should not be assigned the System Administrator security role. 

Part 2 – Apply Blank Adapter Settings

Apply blank settings to the adapters installed by default by the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics, as follows: 

1.  Open the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics. The Adapters Settings screen will be displayed. If required, click Adapter Settings to open the Adapter Settings screen.

 

 

2.  Click Apply on the Adaptor Settings screen. This will apply blank settings for the adapters listed, including the Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 adapters. None of these adapters will be used for the integration.

 

 

3.  Click Close to close the Adapter Settings screen.

 

4.  If required, click Cancel to close the New Integration screen.

 
 

5.  Close the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics.

 
  

Part 3 – Install Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Instance Adapter

By default the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics AX installs the adaptors shown in the following screenshot. However, none of these will be used for the integration. Instead the Dynamic CRM 2011 Source and Dynamic CRM 2011 Destination adapters provided in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Instance Adapter zip file will be used.

 

Install the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Instance Adapter as follows: 

1.  Locate and extract the contents of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Instance Adapter zip file to the C:\Programs Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics\Microsoft Dynamics Adapter folder.

 
 

 

2.  Browse to the C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics\Microsoft Dynamics Adapter\Adapters\Microsoft.Dynamics.Integration.Adapters.DynamicCrm folder.

3.  Right-click on the Microsoft.Dynamics.Integration.Adapters.DynamicCrm.dll file and select Properties.

 

4.  Select the Security tab. If options to block or unblock the dll are displayed, verify that the Unblocked option is selected.

 

Part 4 – Configure the Source and Destination Adapter Settings

Configure the adapters’ settings as follows: 

1.  Open the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics.

 

2.  The Adapter Settings screen will be displayed. You will notice that there are two new adapters; Dynamic CRM 2011 Adapter Source and Dynamic CRM 2011 Adapter Destination.

 
 

3.  Select the Dynamic CRM 2011 Adapter Source, enter the integration user User Name, Password and the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Discovery Server URL for the source Microsoft Dynamics CRM organisation and click Test Settings.

 

 

 

 

 

4.  Select the Dynamic CRM 2011 Adapter Destination, enter the integration user User Name, Password and the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Discovery Server URL for the destination Microsoft Dynamics CRM organisation and click Test Settings.

 

 

 

 

 

5.  Click Apply.

 

 

 

Part 5 – Configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM

It is important to complete the following steps using the Dynamic CRM Adapter Source and Dynamic CRM Adapter Destination adapters only. 

Do not complete these steps using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 adapters. Doing so will invoke a process that updates the schema, security roles and customisations in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM organisation to make it ready for an integration with the selected ERP product. Refer to screenshots below.

 

I.e. Schema changes made by the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Adapter configuration….

 

I.e. Microsoft Dynamics AX solution components installed/updated by the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Adapter configuration…

 

Complete the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Instance Adapter Configuration as follows: 

1.  Select the Dynamic CRM 2011 Adapter Source and click Configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

2.  Click Configure.

 

3.  Select the entities you would like to make available for the integration and click Next.

 
 

4.  Click Configure.

 

 

5.  Click Finish.

 
  

The configuration creates entity specific configuration files for the source organisation in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics\Microsoft Dynamics Adapter\Adapters\Microsoft.Dynamics.Integration.Adapters.DynamicCrm\ObjectConfig\DynamicCrmAdapterSource\<organisationname> folder.

 

6.  Select the Dynamic CRM 2011 Adapter Destination and complete the same configuration steps.

 

The configuration creates entity specific configuration files for the destination organisation in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics\Microsoft Dynamics Adapter\Adapters\Microsoft.Dynamics.Integration.Adapters.DynamicCrm\ObjectConfig\DynamicCrmAdapterDestination\<organisationname> folder. 

7.  Click Close to close the Adapter Settings screen.

 
 

In my next blog I will describe how to configure and run a simple integration.