Knowing what version of software is running is essential to maintaining and administrating a healthy Dynamics CRM system. In addition, knowing the update version build is important because when you have an issue, it may have been resolved in an update. The best practice when maintaining a system is to be aware of the updates and what they resolve. By searching the Microsoft Dynamics Support KB, you can find information on the updates and other articles about maintaining and managing you’re system.  

How to join Premier Support

How to access the KB  

The updates are also available for download at the Microsoft Support site.  The download also contains the details of the update.

To determine what version you are running, look under the menu item Help-About Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
This will open the below dialog window.

Compare the version number to the update Rollup build numbers.

You’ll notice mine is not in the list. Occasionally there can be different builds due to various reasons--my build is from the MSDN Trial version.

If you have installed the latest CRM Outlook client from the link below you will also have a different version number since this build has CRM Update Rollup 10 slipstreamed, plus a few additional updates included. 

The version number would be 4.0.7333.2747  

Outlook Client UR10 Slipstreamed 

You will also notice in the Help | About Microsoft CRM within the CRM Outlook client will show you both the CRM server build version as well as the CRM Outlook client build version.  These do not necessarily have to match as it is supported to run a client on a greater or lesser Update Rollup version.  However, it’s a best practice to keep the client build version at the same level as the CRM server build version.

-cheers

Jon White | CRM Premier Field Engineer | Microsoft Dynamics US

Tracing is a way to get detailed information about the inner workings of your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server and Outlook Client’s. Tracing is very simple to use and is the 2nd level of effort when hunting down issues. The first step is at the functional level. This includes application settings, workflows, and looking at scripts. A common area to look at first are your workflows which allow you  flexibility in your business process, but you could have some logic errors.

How to enable tracing in Microsoft Dynamics CRM http://support.microsoft.com/kb/907490
Once you’ve turned on Tracing, the application will produce a log file that you can then analyze or hand off to support.

So, what’s in a trace anyway ? It’s a text file with a history of actions by the program. Here’s an example partial trace-- you’ll notice it’s quite verbose and might seem daunting to look through.
The next step is using a tool to help analyze the trace.

# CRM Tracing Version 2.0
# LocalTime: 2010-09-02 08:17:05.4
# Categories: *:Verbose
# CallStackOn: Yes
# ComputerName: DEMOBOX
# CRMVersion: 4.0.7333.2862
# DeploymentType: OnPremise
# ScaleGroup:
# ServerRole: AppServer, AsyncService, DiscoveryService, WebService, ApiServer, HelpServer, DeploymentService

[2010-09-02 08:17:05.4] Process: w3wp |Organization:00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 |Thread:   18 |Category: Application |User: 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 |Level: Verbose | AppWebService.Dispose
at AppWebService.Dispose(Boolean disposing)
at MarshalByValueComponent.Dispose()
at ServerProtocol.DisposeServerInstance()
at WebServiceHandler.Invoke()
at WebServiceHandler.CoreProcessRequest()
at SyncSessionlessHandler.ProcessRequest(HttpContext context)
at CallHandlerExecutionStep.System.Web.HttpApplication.IExecutionStep.Execute()
at HttpApplication.ExecuteStep(IExecutionStep step, Boolean& completedSynchronously)
at ApplicationStepManager.ResumeSteps(Exception error)
at HttpApplication.System.Web.IHttpAsyncHandler.BeginProcessRequest(HttpContext context, AsyncCallback cb, Object extraData)
at HttpRuntime.ProcessRequestInternal(HttpWorkerRequest wr)
at HttpRuntime.ProcessRequestNoDemand(HttpWorkerRequest wr)
at ISAPIRuntime.ProcessRequest(IntPtr ecb, Int32 iWRType)
>AppWebService Destructed: Microsoft.Crm.Application.WebServices.LookupService
[2010-09-02 08:17:06.8] Process: w3wp |Organization:00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 |Thread:   18 |Category: Platform |User: 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 |Level: Verbose | SyncEventExecutionStep.System.Web.HttpApplication.IExecutionStep.Execute
at SyncEventExecutionStep.System.Web.HttpApplication.IExecutionStep.Execute()
at HttpApplication.ExecuteStep(IExecutionStep step, Boolean& completedSynchronously)
at ApplicationStepManager.ResumeSteps(Exception error)
at HttpApplication.System.Web.IHttpAsyncHandler.BeginProcessRequest(HttpContext context, AsyncCallback cb, Object extraData)
at HttpRuntime.ProcessRequestInternal(HttpWorkerRequest wr)
at HttpRuntime.ProcessRequestNoDemand(HttpWorkerRequest wr)
at ISAPIRuntime.ProcessRequest(IntPtr ecb, Int32 iWRType)
>MapOrgEngine: Retreived the OrgId[{CC06919E-44AD-DF11-A5D2-0050569E2DB6}] for URL[http://DemoCRM:5555/DEMO/sfa/accts/edit.aspx?id={144869C0-ECAE-DF11-B909-0050569E2DB6}].
[2010-09-02 08:17:06.8] Process: w3wp |Organization:00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 |Thread:   18 |Category: Platform |User: 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 |Level: Verbose | SyncEventExecutionStep.System.Web.HttpApplication.IExecutionStep.Execute
at SyncEventExecutionStep.System.Web.HttpApplication.IExecutionStep.Execute()
at HttpApplication.ExecuteStep(IExecutionStep step, Boolean& completedSynchronously)
at ApplicationStepManager.ResumeSteps(Exception error)
at HttpApplication.System.Web.IHttpAsyncHandler.BeginProcessRequest(HttpContext context, AsyncCallback cb, Object extraData)
at HttpRuntime.ProcessRequestInternal(HttpWorkerRequest wr)
at HttpRuntime.ProcessRequestNoDemand(HttpWorkerRequest wr)
at ISAPIRuntime.ProcessRequest(IntPtr ecb, Int32 iWRType)

Analyzing the trace is the key to solving your CRM hiccups. There are few different trace viewers available. Here’ is one from Codeplex - Trace Viewer.

Notice you can filter to see only the error messages.

Next, you can evaluate the error message and read the details

The details shows us that a stored procedure is missing. The next step is to determine what caused the issue and how to resolve it.

At this point, you should consider contacting support to assist you.

Knowing how to capture a trace and do some preliminary analysis can help you speed up the time to find resolutions. Including a trace file with you support incidents can also
improve the time to a resolution.

-cheers

Jon White | CRM Premier Field Engineer | Microsoft Dynamics US

               What on earth is a Benchmark? The purpose of this blog is to explain the conducting of a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Benchmark.   This entry will serve as a Benchmarking 101, and try to lay out the basics of what it all entails.  To try and illustrate it, I’ll use the example that was given to me by Grant Geiszler (PFE team).  He said that while it’s not a perfect example, it’s a bit like taking a car for a test drive.  A person gets to see what they might buy and how it handles in the environment.                                    

               A benchmark can be done in two different scenarios: first, they already have their own hardware and infrastructure, and we replicate that configuration in our labs.  The second scenario is if the customer does not have the hardware and infrastructure and want to know what system requirements they would need to optimize their environment.  Once the situation has been determined, we move on to test cases. 

               A test case simulates users by executing a series of real-world business transactions;  each transaction is composed of a set of discrete user interactions with the Microsoft CRM system.  When these test cases have all been created and the environment is in place, we can do a run in our lab using settings matched to the customer’s specific environment (expected number of users, transaction volume placed on the system, etc.). We’ll analyze what tweaks we can make to optimize the system and then repeat the tests.  This cycle repeats itself until we believe we have reached optimal performance.   

               When we share the results of the benchmark, we highlight the expected response times on multiple runs of the performance simulator as well as any recommended hardware configuration, and any optimization tips.  So this is the part where I can draw a line back to my example about Benchmarking being a bit like test driving a car--the customer gets to see what kind of results they can expect without having to actually buy the car. 

               Why would you want to do a benchmark?  It gives you the ability to see the future.  Now I’m half kidding, but it does allow customers to anticipate problems before they arise and then deal with those issues by optimizing for performance early on.  This gives the customer an infrastructure that is truly good to go.  This will translate directly into a significant decrease in risk of downtime or user frustration due to performance issues.  Less down time will drive down costly inefficiencies that decrease a business’ overall health and bottom line significantly. 

              Hopefully, this gave you a better understanding of just what exactly Benchmarking is.  It really is a great way for a customer to preview a purchase, anticipate future problems, and fix those problems before they happen so the company can ultimately run much more efficiently. 

              Over the coming weeks you will see content out here explaining how a benchmark works in detail, and some results from successful benchmarks we’ve conducted, as well as certain scenarios we’ve worked on and vendors we’ve worked with.  If you have questions along the way or if there’s some more information you’d like to see, feel free to drop in a comment.

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Performance Toolkit is a toolset used by the Microsoft development teams when testing performance on Dynamics CRM.  The toolkit is a free download available at http://crmperftookit.codeplex.com.  It contains various tools that allow you to extend Visual Studio testing capabilities to accommodate CRM specifically including:

1.       ImportCustomization Tool

2.       DbPopulator Tool

3.       CRM_Perf_Benchmark Tool

The tool provides 133 out of the box tests that can be run against the core Dynamics CRM functionality, such as saving an Account, opening an Opportunity, or sending an email.  For custom screens or custom entities, we can create test cases in Visual Studio which can be tested with the toolkit.  These test cases can test a “use case” or end user test scenario that is important to the functionality of the business.

One caveat about using the Performance toolkit is that it requires a dummy Windows account for each user put into the test load.  The following prerequisites are required in order to do the training and implementation of the toolkit:

1.       Visual Studio Team System 2005 or 2008

2.       Dummy windows users for the number of users you want to simulate load with the same prefix and password and numbered from 1 to N (number of users).  For example, TestUser1:Access12 and TestUser2:Access12, etc.

3.       Download the CRM Performance Toolkit from http://crmperftoolkit.codeplex.com

Great news!  Today we released the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 beta. The CRM Product Team just posted their blog entry that has all the great sales and marketing information.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/crm/archive/2010/09/09/microsoft-dynamics-crm-2011-global-beta-released.aspx

The Dynamics CRM Premier Field Engineering (PFE) team encourages everyone to go out and download the beta, review the documentation, install, test, and begin building on the next great version of CRM.

Important Note: DO NOT install this in production or go live on this beta version.

We recommend that you setup a new test environment and install CRM 2011 first, and then you can import your CRM 4.0 organization which will be automatically upgraded to CRM 2011.

So, in summary:

• 1. Install CRM 2011
• 2. Restore your production CRM 4.0 database to the CRM 2011 SQL instance
• 3. Open Deployment Manager and select Import Organization
• 4. Follow the steps to importupgrade your organization to CRM 2011

This will allow you to see and test CRM 2011 with your real production data instead of just creating test data and trying to see how things may look.  You can also do an in place upgrade if you have an existing test environment setup that meets the hardware and software requirements below.

You can download the CRM 2011 Beta and get more information here: http://offers.crmchoice.com/CRM2011Beta-Landing

Here is the direct link to the download also: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0c7dcc45-9d41-4e2e-8126-895517b4274c

If you have any issues or questions, you can contact your Dedicated CRM Premier Field Engineer andor you can review and post them here: http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/crm2011beta/threads

Here is a brief summary of the Software and Hardware requirements from the Implementation Guide.  You will notice that we are fully embracing the x64 technology and requiring that for all server components.

 CRM Server(s):

• Windows Server 2008 x64 SP2 or higher
• Quad-core x64 architecture 2 GHz CPU or higher (recommended)
• 8 GB RAM or more (recommended)

 SQL Server:

• SQL Server 2008 x64 SP1 or later
• Quad-core x64 architecture 2 GHz CPU or higher (recommended)
• 16 GB RAM or more (recommended)

 SQL Server Reporting Services:

• SQL Server 2008 x64 SP1 or later

 SharePoint Document Management:

• Microsoft SharePoint 2010 (all editions), or
• Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007

Note:  SharePoint is not required to install CRM 2011

Note:  If you'd prefer to see the SharePoint documents show up in CRM in a streamlined grid view, you must use SharePoint 2010.  MOSS 2007 will surface your documents in an IFRAME.

CRM E-Mal Router and CRM Rule Deployment Wizard:

• Windows 7 32 and 64 bit editions
• Windows Server 2008 x64

CRM Outlook Client(s):

• Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit)
• Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit)
• Windows XP Professional SP2 or SP3
• Windows XP Professional x64 bit
• Windows XP Tablet PC Edition SP2 or SP3
• Microsoft Office 2003 w/ SP3 or later version
• Microsoft Office 2007
• Microsoft Office 2010
• Memory - 2 GB (minimum), 4 GB (recommended) or higher
• Processor - Multi-core 1.8 GHz (32 bit) or Multi-core x64 architecture 2 GHz (64 bit) or higher (recommended)
• Hard Disk - 2 GB of available hard disk space (recommended)

Note:  There will be a 64 bit version of the CRM Outlook client available in 2011

Note:  To install and run the 64 bit version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM for outlook, a 64 bit version of Office 2010 is required.

Note:   For CRM Outlook Clients with Offline Access, SQL Server 2008 Express Edition will be installed (if not already there).

CRM Web Client:

• IE7 or later
• IE8 or later

Enjoy the beta!

Thanks!

Shawn Dieken

I'm delighted to announce that the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 13 was released on Thursday Sept. 23,  2010! 

Greg Nichols from the Microsoft Premier Field Engineering team provided information and answered questions about the recent release of Update Rollup 13 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. 

Related links you should know about: 

• Update Rollup 13 Microsoft Download Center page
• Update Rollup 13 "master" Microsoft Knowledge Base article (KB 2267499)
  • This article also contains links to related Microsoft Knowledge Base articles
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Sustained Engineering team's blog posting

Build number:
4.0.7333.3018 

Packages are available for download via the Update Rollup 13 Microsoft Download Center page for these CRM components:

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Email Router
  • Note: The email router was recalled and re-released due to an issue with syncing of mobile devices.  The re-released Email Router packages have v2 in the name: for example, CRMv4.0-KB2267499-v2-amd64-Router-ENU.exe.  The new router package build number is 4.0.7333.3026.  Please discard any Update Rollup 13 Email Router packages that you might have downloaded before the re-release, i.e. any that do not have V2 in the title.
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Data Migration Manager
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Connector for Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)
  • Typically included in the Server product in the srsdataconnector folder
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Language Pack (aka Multilanguage User Interface, MUI)

 Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 13 Prerequisites:

• Update Rollup 7 is a prerequisite for Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Data Migration Manager
• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 11 (and beyond) Prerequisites:

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 11 added support for SQL Report Viewer 2008 SP1 and this has a prerequisite on .Net Framework 3.5 SP1, so this is also a requirement for installing UR11 and future Update Rollups on your CRM servers, routers, clients, etc.
• Update Rollup 11 also included changes that require Visual C++ 2008 + SP1, so this is also a requirement for installing Update Rollup 11 and future Update Rollups on your Microsoft Dynamics CRM servers, routers, clients, etc.
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x86)
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86)
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x64)
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x64)

Issues resolved via Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 13: 

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 13 is a cumulative Update Rollup that includes all the fixes for the issues that are documented in the "Master Knowledge Base Articles" for Update Rollups 1 through 12. Hyperlinks to these articles are included in the "Issues that are resolved in Update Rollup 13 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0" section of the Update Rollup 13 "master" Microsoft Knowledge Base article. 

New fixes released via Update Rollup 13 include:

• You receive an error message when you set a value in the Duration field of a record in the Arabic version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0
• The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 client for Microsoft Office Outlook downloads notification events for all organizations instead of download notifications only for the configured organization, therefore, you experience high CPU usage and high memory usage
• When you try to reopen an Opportunity entity, you do not have the rights to complete the process unexpectedly. Additionally, the value in the ActualRevenue field and the value in the ActualCloseDate field are reset to a null value even though the opportunity is not reopened
• If you enable the Duplicate Detection feature for entities that you try to import to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you cannot use the Import Data feature to import the entities. This problem occurs if the entities contain lookup attributes
• The deletion service cannot delete records successfully because of the inefficient queries in the CleanupInactiveWorkflowAssemblies stored procedure
• When you run a duplicate detection job, the Potential duplicate records grid displays incorrect data
• Consider the following scenario:
  • You receive an e-mail message from a router that uses a POP3 e-mail account
  • The e-mail message contains an attachment that uses the UTF-8 encoding

In this scenario, the attachment shows invalid characters:

• When you import an organization to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, the Deployment Manager crashes. This problem occurs on computers that run the 64-bit version of Windows Server 2008 or that run the 64-bit version of Windows Server 2008 R2
• When you change the privileges on a security role, the date in the Last Modified On field is not updated
• You cannot run the Configuration Wizard in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM client for Microsoft Office Outlook with Offline Access if the user account contains an apostrophe (')
• When the Microsoft Dynamics CRM E-mail Router processes e-mail messages from the Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 mailboxes, the current end date is incorrect
• The Microsoft Dynamics CRM E-mail Router does not track the Out of Office (OOF) e-mail messages
• Emails receive a duplicate tracking token when you create the emails from a workflow
• Assume that you run the Beta version of Internet Explorer 9. When you try to create an account, you receive a script error
• Assume that you run the Beta version of Internet Explorer 9. When you run the Print Preview function, you cannot select the All records on all pages option in the Print List dialog box

Hotfixes and updates that you have to enable or configure manually

Update Rollup 13 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 contains the following hotfixes and updates that you must enable or configure manually. You can enable or configure these hotfixes and updates on the server that is running Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 by following the instructions in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles:

• 2403296  Time-out errors occur when Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 E-mail Router runs Microsoft SQL Server queries
• 2403311  The Appointment and Service Activity records are not displayed unexpectedly when you click Add Existing Activity from the activity list of a Sales Force Automation entity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

Internet Explorer 9 Compatibility

• The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Sustained Engineering team has been testing the Internet Explorer 9 Beta release, and possibly plan to release enhancements via the next several Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup releases to support Internet Explorer 9
• Update Rollup 13 resolves issues that Microsoft Dynamics CRM users may encounter with Internet Explorer 9:
  • Creating any row data (for example creating an account, creating a contact, etc.) throws a Jscript error
  • Some radio button selections (for example: Export to Excel -> Use this type of worksheet) do not allow selection of any of the non-default options

Mike Gast and I just finished a podcast on planning for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.  We discussed the new hardware and software requirements, as well as some of the new features coming in CRM 2011 and what you can do now to prepare for your CRM 2011 upgrade or installation.

Listen to the podcast here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pfedynamics/2010/10/04/planning-for-microsoft-dynamics-crm-2011

Stays tuned for future podcasts and let us know about any other areas you would like to have covered in our podcasts.

If you have any questions, drop us a comment or an email at pfedynamics@microsoft.com.  

Thanks!

Shawn Dieken

Our CRM product includes advanced find functionality that allows users to create complex queries in order to return specific datasets.  Once a set of data is isolated, the user can do many different CRM actions.  Several common examples are listed below:

• Work with the precise set of data in a variety of ways (ex. edit, bulk email, etc.)
• Export the data to Excel to do further analysis. If the data is exported in a "dynamic" fashion, users can refresh the data within Excel. Many users also use the export to Excel feature in order to create a template to use when importing data in the future.
• Create a saved view. A saved view allows you to see your queries criteria in a personal view to use in the future. If others would find it useful, then it's very easy to share with other users.

When building advanced find queries, you can work with attributes directly on the entity that you are working with, as well as attributes from, related entities.  These related entities are most commonly linked through the regarding attribute that is displayed on forms.  For example, it's very easy to create an advanced find query on the contact entity that has tasks that contain "Potential Prospect" in the subject line.  As long as the tasks contain the subject and an account in the regarding attribute, the following query would work well:

Image #1

Image #2

I've recently had a request from a customer to assist them in creating an advanced find query that was a bit trickier to construct. 

Issue -

A marketing list consisting of contacts was created and used on a campaign.  CRM letters were created through the campaign as campaign activities.  By accident, the marketing list was deleted.  They later found that they needed the marketing list for future use.  Their hope was to use an advanced find on the contact entity based off letters regarding the campaign activity.  The data looked like this:

Image #3

Image #4

It seemed that this would be an easy query to accomplish.  They assumed that since the letters in question were showing under the related contact's activities, the advanced find listed below would work:

Image #5

The above query actually won't work as the contact isn't technically related to the letter through the regarding attribute.  Microsoft CRM applies special functionality to activities.  If there are CRM records listed as parties (To, Cc, Bcc, Sender, Recipient, etc.) to the activity, the activity will still show up in the related entities activities section.  If you take a look at the letter shown in Image #4, you'll see that it is listed in the activity view of the contact in Image #3.  This is because Jon Doe is listed as the Recipient on the letter.

Resolution -

In order to create an advanced find that returns contacts that are related to activities that are related to a specific campaign activity (wow...that was a mouthful), you must use the Activity Parties (Party) related entity when building the query.  This is necessary because the contact is related to the letter through the activity party, rather than through the regarding attribute.  The screenshots below show the final results:

Image #6

Image #7

Image #8

- Jon Strand

There are a huge number of new features that are scheduled to be made available in CRM 2011.  You'll find auditing functionality that will allow you to more easily track what changes have been made to records in CRM, all the way to a rich SharePoint document management integration within CRM.

In this blog, I'm going to take a few minutes to cover some of the new end user focused improvements that should be available to you when CRM 2011 is officially released.  Many of the key investments made in CRM 2011 were around making life easier for our users.....less clicks, more appealing forms & views, and other brand new features that users have been clamoring for.  There is certainly more 2011 functionality that end users will enjoy that I haven't specifically listed here.  Please take some time to review this information and then install the CRM 2011 beta that is available now.  You can find the beta at:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=0c7dcc45-9d41-4e2e-8126-895517b4274c  

User Interface Features - Navigation

• Recently Visited
  • Have you ever gone through the day and had a hard time remembering what exactly you worked on within CRM? There is now a drop-down located in the Navigation pane that contains a list of recently viewed records and views for each user (up to the maximum number of recently viewed items). To prevent items from falling off of the list, items can be pinned to ensure that they stay in the recently visited section. The CRM Outlook client has similar functionality that allows you to see recently viewed results.

• Default Views
  • You can now make any view (system or personal) your default view. Previously, all users had the same default view that was determined by your CRM administrator. If you'd like to create personal view that shows you the exact data that you want to see, using advanced find, you can now set this as your default view so that you see the same data every time you access that entity. As in CRM 4.0, you'll still be able to share your personal views out with other CRM users.

•  Shortcut Menu for View and Records
  • Most CRM entities (Accounts, Contacts, etc.) provide you with multiple views to choose from. You can use the default view, or select another view from the view list. It's also now possible to select a view to open directly instead of having to click on the entity first. The shortcut menu lists all System views and personal views for the user. It also lists the last six recently visited records by entity type.

•  Record Set Navigation
  • When you have record open, such as a contact, you're no longer limited to seeing just that record. You can use the record set navigation feature to quickly navigate through a list of records without leaving the form. Just another feature that reduces clicks and improves the overall satisfaction of the user!

•  Sticky Views
  • When a user selects to use a non-default CRM view for a specific entity, that view will "stick" during the user's active session. Whenever the user comes back to the view during the session, the most recent view will show rather than the default view
     
• Ribbon
  • There is now a contextual ribbon across the top of each CRM page to allow for easier access to CRM commands. The more that you use the pane, the more you'll appreciate how much of a time saver it can be.

Form Additions

• Side Tabs
  • In previous versions, tabs were listed across the top of your forms. The tabs have now been moved to the left-hand side of the form. We feel that this allows for a more inline user experience. Again.....less clicks! This change allows our forms to flow in a very smooth manner.

•  Header/Footer
  • Forms now have a header at the top of the page and a footer at the bottom. The header and footer each contain CRM information (customizable). You can scroll down your form and the header and footer will stay visible.

•  Sub-grids
  • Entity grids can be added to a form to display related information to the record you are displaying in the form. For example, when working with a specific account record, you can add the related contact grid to the main form rather than accessing the related contact information from the sidebar.

Making Views Even Better

• Record Counts
  • We heard your feedback. When you look at a view, you want to know the exact count of the records returned at the bottom of the page. The total record count of each view is now shown towards the bottom of each view.

•  Column Filtering
  • In CRM 2011, you can still sort most columns listed in views. You're now also able to filter columns. This allows you to incorporate functionality that was previously only available through an advanced find.

•  Associated Views
  • Associated views in CRM 4.0 were views that were presented when accessing a related entity. Let's say that you were looking at a specific account. If you navigated to the Contacts sidebar, you'd see the contact associated view within the account entity. In CRM 2011 you are able to select whichever view you'd like in this scenario. Rather than using the default "contacts associated view" in the above example, you could now use whichever view you'd like.

•  Lookup Views
  • Lookups now have access to all the entity grid views for the entity. You are no longer limited to just using the lookup view when using the lookup. Lookups can also be filtered to display a subset of records.

•  Personal Views
  • There is now a "Create Personal View" option that more clearly explains to end users that they can create their own views. Selecting this option will open the Advanced Find form for you to create your view.

Some Exciting Core Features

• Dashboards
  • We're happy to say that dashboards have been included into CRM 2011. These dashboards will allow your group to construct multiple sets of charts and grids that make the most sense for your business. Several dashboards are shipped out of the box.

•  Charts
  • You'll find the ability to view charts all through the application. These charts can be created and customized with the appropriate security roles.

•  Attachments & Bulk Emails
  • I've heard many customers comment in the past how nice it would be to include attachments when sending CRM bulk email. The wait is over! It's now possible to include attachments when sending bulk email. Only one actual attachment will be stored in the database when sending out multiple bulk emails with an attachment.

•  Data Import Wizard (and reimport)
  • The Import Wizard facilitates a smooth data import process by providing an easy way to migrate your legacy data into the Microsoft Dynamics CRM System. Several new features in CRM 2011 are:
    • Support for CSV, TXT, XML, or ZIP file types
    • Support for Option Value Mapping (aka picklists)
    • Support for Lookup Mapping
    • Support for a single source file with multiple entities (Account & Contacts)
    • Support for Bulk Update of records via Import Wizard

• Get Started Pane
  • It's best that CRM users be given some training before setting them lose on the application. The system does have a great Help feature that will answer many of your CRM questions. New in CRM 2011 is the "Get started pane". The pane provides your users with relevant information for the grids they are viewing.

We're proud to announce that Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 14 released Thursday Nov. 18th, 2010! 

On Nov. 19th, Greg Nichols from the Microsoft Premier Field Engineering team provided information and answered questions about the recent release of Update Rollup 14 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0:

 Update Rollup 14 Podcast

Related links you should know about: 

• Update Rollup 14 Microsoft Download Center page
• Update Rollup 14 "master" Microsoft Knowledge Base article (KB 2389019)
  • This article also contains links to related Microsoft Knowledge Base articles
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Sustained Engineering Team's Update Rollup 14 blog posting

Build number:
4.0.7333.3135 

Packages are available for download via the Update Rollup 14 Microsoft Download Center page for these CRM components:

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Email Router
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Data Migration Manager
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Connector for Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)
  • Typically included in the Server product in the srsdataconnector folder
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Language Pack (aka Multilanguage User Interface, MUI)

 Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 14 Prerequisites:

• Update Rollup 7 is a prerequisite for Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Data Migration Manager
• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 11 (and beyond) Prerequisites:

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 11 added support for SQL Report Viewer 2008 SP1 and this has a prerequisite on .Net Framework 3.5 SP1, so this is also a requirement for installing UR11 and future Update Rollups on your CRM servers, routers, clients, etc.
• Update Rollup 11 also included changes that require Visual C++ 2008 + SP1, so this is also a requirement for installing Update Rollup 11 and future Update Rollups on your Microsoft Dynamics CRM servers, routers, clients, etc.
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x86)
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86)
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x64)
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x64)

Issues resolved via Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 14: 

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 14 is a cumulative Update Rollup that includes all the fixes for the issues that are documented in the "Master Knowledge Base Articles" for Update Rollups 1 through 14. Hyperlinks to these articles are included in the "Issues that are resolved in Update Rollup 14 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0" section of the Update Rollup 14 "master" Microsoft Knowledge Base article. 

New fixes released prior to Update Rollup 14 that are included in Update Rollup 14 but not included in Update Rollup 13 are:

• 2448885  "There is a problem communicating with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server" error message when you add members to a marketing list in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 that has Update Rollup 11, Update Rollup 12 or Update Rollup 13 installed
• 2444464  You experience slow performance, or the application becomes unresponsive when you query email messages under a serializable isolation level in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0
• 2431852  A time-out occurs, or you experience slow performance when you save an Appointment activity after you run the Internet Information Services reset in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

Other fixes released via CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 14:

• You cannot add a column or a group when you create reports by using the report wizard on Internet Explorer 9.
• When you create an opportunity through a marketing list, you cannot set a price list. Additionally, you receive the following error message: "There was an error with this field's customized event."
• The same 100 email messages are polled repeatedly, the 101st or higher are not processed.
• For a Send Email step in a workflow, an email template is not retained when the email step properties window is opened again.
• Assume that you created a report by using the Report Wizard. When you click a section of a chart to view some data tables, you receive the following error message: "The processing of FilterExpression for table 'Table0' cannot be performed".
• The Full Name field on a Contact record is cut off when the field contains more than 50 characters.
• Email messages are not processed from the forward mailboxes by using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Email Router. This happens when you use the Exchange 2010 web services together with Exchange 2007.
• When you try to go offline in Microsoft Dynamics CRM that has many custom entities, for example more than 400 entities, you receive the following error message: "There is insufficient system memory to run this query".
• After you install the Update Rollup 12 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server and router, you cannot create email rules by using the Rule Deployment Wizard. Additionally, you receive the following error message: "There is no such object on the server."
• In the Microsoft Dynamics CRM client for Microsoft Office Outlook, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM client AutoUpdate continuously prompts you to install the update and then restart. This happens if the User Access Control (UAC) is enabled.
• When you create a child record that contains a field of type Owner that is mapped to a field of type Lookup from a parent entity, you receive the following error message: "Invalid Argument, Error code: 0x80040203".
• The Track in CRM button is not checked by default on a POP3 profile for users who want to track all email messages by using the Outlook email form.
• On a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 environment where Workflows are configured to be triggered on the update of a specific field, WorkflowExpansionTasks are created even if the specified field was not part of the update request.
• The More menu displays nothing after you apply Update Rollup 12 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.
• Through the Microsoft Dynamics CRM client for Outlook after you click Export Data to Excel, select the Dynamic PivotTable option, and then click Export, the Refresh for CRM button does not work.
• Users in different time zones see the same date for Notes even when the time changes should set it to the next day or the previous day.
• Enter Value is still displayed when the date is pasted by using shortcut key on the Advanced Find.
• Activities remain in the offline database after you change attendees of the activities.
• You cannot merge records that are related to closed opportunities.
• You cannot extend the maximum length for city and country on leadaddress.
• Duplicate Detection checks all fields instead of just the edited fields when you click Save after you edit a record.
• The Async service starts too many threads causing high CPU and memory usage.

Hotfixes and updates that you have to enable or configure manually

Update Rollup 14 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 contains the following hotfixes and updates that you must enable or configure manually. You can enable or configure these hotfixes and updates on the server that is running Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 by following the instructions in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles:

• 2436115  A time-out occurs, or you experience slow performance when you save an Appointment activity after you run the Internet Information Services reset in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.
• 2459536  An appointment is deleted unexpectedly in the Outlook calendar for the attendee after the appointment is untracked in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.
• 2461448  The Reminder time of a task record in Outlook is overwritten unexpectedly by the Due time of the task record in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 client for Outlook.

Internet Explorer 9 Compatibility

• The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Sustained Engineering team has been extensively testing pre-release versions of Internet Explorer 9 and plan to, if necessary, release enhancements via the next several Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup releases to support Internet Explorer 9.

You can download the Release Candidate version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 from the Microsoft download servers at http://downloads.microsoft.com.  Here are the specific links to the various packages that can be downloaded:

Locations:

This is still a pre-release version of the software, so this is not the final Release to Manufacturing (RTM) build.  There is a CRM 2011 launch event planned for January 20, 2011 where information about the final release will be shared.  If you would like to watch the launch event, you can find more information and register here: http://crm.dynamics.com/2011launch/

I blogged about some of the more important Microsoft CRM 2011 End User Features several months back.  I've recently put together a list of additional items that you'll want to be aware of when considering an upgrade, or new install, to CRM 2011. 

The features listed in the Core CRM section has a broad impact across both users and administrators.  You'll find that there are a number of the items listed below will positively impact your business.

• Dashboards
  • We're happy to say that dashboards have been included into CRM 2011. These dashboards will allow your group to construct multiple sets of charts and grids that make the most sense for your business--several dashboards are shipped out of the box.
• Charts
  • You'll find the ability to view charts all through the application. These charts can be created and customized with the appropriate security roles.
• SharePoint Integration (Document Management)
  • Ability to easily configure CRM to allow for SharePoint document management within CRM forms.
  • SharePoint 2007 and 2010 are supported. Microsoft SharePoint 2007 versions will be shown in Microsoft Dynamics CRM inside an iFrame, while Microsoft SharePoint 2010 can be shown with rich integration features if the Microsoft Dynamics CRM List Component is installed.
  • The two major advantages of using SharePoint 2010 are:
    • The List Component enables you to achieve the appearance and behavior of a Microsoft Dynamics CRM view while using SharePoint functionality.
    • You must have folders created in Microsoft SharePoint to store the documents for your Microsoft Dynamics CRM records. You can either create the folders manually or you can let Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically create folders in the context of Microsoft Dynamics CRM records on Microsoft SharePoint. To let Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically create folders and deliver the documents stored on SharePoint with the same appearance and behavior as the Microsoft Dynamics CRM lists, you can install Microsoft Dynamics CRM List Component on a site collection on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.
• Auditing
  • Organizations need to track changes made to records for many purposes; these include maintaining security, examining the history of a particular record, documenting modifications for future analysis, and record keeping necessary for regulation compliance. Auditing allows customers to effectively track creates, deletes, and updates.
• Field Level Security
  • Allows administrators to set permissions on each field to allow a user to Update, Create and/or Read that specific field. (limited to custom attributes in CRM 2011)
• Multiple Forms
  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 introduces the capability to define more than one main form for each entity: use multiple forms to create forms that are customized to specific roles or tasks in the organization; use security roles to control which groups will be able to use the forms you create.
• Team Ownership
  • Teams in CRM 2011 can own records. It's also possible to assign security roles to teams which will allow customers to manage overall security at a team level, rather than a user level.
• FetchXML Reports
  • In CRM 2011, it is possible to create both FetchXML reports and standard SQL RS reports. Fetch-based reports use the Microsoft Dynamics CRM proprietary FetchXML queries to retrieve data for reports. Because these reports use FetchXML queries instead of SQL queries, they do not need to use the filtered views in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM SQL database to retrieve data for reports. Since FetchXML reports no longer have to use filtered views in order to honor CRM security, the time that it takes to execute these FetchXML queries should decrease quite a bit.
•  Data Import Wizard (and reimport)
  • The Import Wizard facilitates a smooth data import process by providing an easy way to migrate your legacy data into the Microsoft Dynamics CRM System. Several new features in CRM 2011 are:
    • Support for CSV, TXT, XML, or ZIP file types
    • Support for Option Value Mapping (aka picklists)
    • Support for Lookup Mapping
    • Support for a single source file with multiple entities (Account & Contacts)
    • Support for Bulk Update of records via Import Wizard
• Application Related
  • Get Started Pane
    • It's best that CRM users be given some training before using the application. The system does have a great Help feature that will answer many of your CRM questions. New in CRM 2011 is the "Get started pane". The pane provides your users with relevant information for the grids they are viewing.
  • Connections
    • In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 you can create and view the relationship between two records by using Connections. You can also connect a lead to the account that referred it to you, connect one contact to another to show employer and employee statuses, or connect a record to yourself and identify each as a colleague, friend, employee, or other relationship. The Connections feature is available for most CRM entities.
  • Attachments & Bulk Emails
    • It's now possible to include attachments when sending bulk email. Only one actual attachment will be stored in the database when sending out multiple bulk emails with an attachment.
  • Negative Pricing
    • The Negative Pricing feature allows for negative quantities, amounts, and negative prices.
  • Enhanced Decimal Precision
    • Decimal precision can now be set based off of the Pricing Decimal Precision (System Settings), Currency Precision (set at the currency level), or Field Precision (set at the field level).
  • Opportunity Enhancements
    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 allows you to create Write-In Products on the Opportunity and also to create a Quote, Order, or Invoice directly from the opportunity.
  • Sales Goal Management
    • Sales Goal Management is for users and managers who need to manage and monitor their achievements. They need to monitor things like how many units were sold and how much revenue was earned. The monitoring periods can be annually, semiannually, quarterly, monthly, or every four week period.
  • Recurring Appointments
    • The recurring appointment type is available in CRM 2011 as a new activity type.
  • Dynamic Marketing Lists
    • In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, you can specify a query in the Marketing list. Depending on the list type,  those Leads, Accounts, or Contacts that fulfill the criteria are automatically added as the members of the list, whenever the list is used. This is a change from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 where users can have only a static list of members.
  • Queue Enhancements
    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 brings many enhancements to queues. These enhancements include:
    • Queues are securable through role privileges.
    • Default queue added to Users and Teams.
    • All entity types can be enabled for queues.
    • The Queue entity can be customized.
    • Queue and Queue Item are supported in Processes "Workflows".
    • Separation of Queue Item assignment "Working On" and record ownership.
• Solutions (Managed & Unmanaged)
  • Solutions are the new functionality in CRM 2011 that will allow you to move your customizations in and out of your CRM organizations. Solutions are used to author, package, and maintain a single unit of software that extends Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. You can distribute your customization work as Solutions so that organizations may use Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 to install and uninstall the business functionality as defined by the Solution. Solutions can be unmanaged (you can add, remove, update, test, and export or import any of the components of the Solution), or managed (cannot be modified or exported once it is imported and deleting a managed solution will uninstall all of the solution components....including any data that has been entered in the system from entities created by that solution). Using managed solutions is a great way to control the customizations that will move between your environments.
  • Once plug-ins are brought into an organization through the plug-in registration tool, they can be added to a solution. After that, the plug-in will be contained within the solution. Therefore, it will not be necessary to bring the plug-in over to the new organization in a separate manner.
• Bulk Record Deletion
  • Allows users that hold the correct security role to bulk remove data from the CRM system via an advanced find-type tool.
• Processes
  • You'll notice that we now have Processes in CRM 2011. Processes are either workflows, or dialogs. For the most part, workflows have the similar look and feel to CRM 4.0. A dialog, when presented to an end-user can be a conversation and a guide, which helps achieve a set of tasks in a standardized and repeatable fashion. Dialogs enable any user (sales, marketing, support) to interact with the customer in a standardized manner using a script as a guide to enable an effective customer engagement. Since work typically involves complex interconnected tasks, a script detailing the tasks will be used as a guide to complete the tasks.
• IFD/Claims Authentication
  • Since the release of CRM 4.0, a number of developments have happened in the Industry around standards based Authentication. A number of Authentic protocols have matured since CRM 4.0, WS-Trust , WS-Federation, and SAML 2.0(protocol) . Microsoft Windows Server released Claims based access platform where it added support for these protocols. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 discontinues the 4.0 IFD design and snaps into the new Claims based options. After Claims is properly enabled in your environment, it will still be necessary to go through the CRM IFD setup steps to make your CRM application accessible outside of your network.
• Administration & Customization
  • Global Option Sets
    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 now enables the use of Option Sets (previously picklists) on multiple entities, called Global Option Sets. Global Option Sets are sets of values that are available to be re-used.
  • Form design
    • Now possible to drag and drop customizations easily on the form.
    • Access to customize forms from the ribbon
    • Easily customize the form elements (ex. navigation area)
  • Web Resources
    • Web Resources are "virtual files" that are created within the context of a Solution stored in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database, and can be retrieved using a unique URL address. They represent files that might normally be placed on a web server to extend Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. Using Web Resources, you can store and use common types of web content that will enable you to create rich client-side extensions such as HTML pages, JScript libraries, and Silverlight applications.
  • Filtered Lookups
    • In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, lookup dialogs did not have any filtering capabilities. For example, a lookup dialog for an Account record would display all Account records in the system to which the user has access. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 enhances lookup dialogs and offers several methods to filter lookup values. It is possible to easily do this through the UI in the customizations section. It is also possible to enable filtered lookups at runtime by programmatically filtering lookups using APIs included in the SDK.
  • Custom Activities
    • Provides the ability to add new activity types to your CRM system. The Activity Party fields are automatically available to the custom activity when this option is selected.
• Setup
  • Specify Server Roles (via setup wizard)
  • It's now possible to specify specific server roles for CRM server install when using the install wizard.
• CRM Update Rollups & Windows Update
  • CRM 2011 will make Update Rollups available through Windows Update. If using Windows Update or WSUS to push out updates, this functionality will be very beneficial.
• Dynamics Marketplace
  • The Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace will help customers discover applications and professional services that extend the value of Microsoft Dynamics. The Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace will be accessible directly from within Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, making it even easier to find solutions.
• SDK Enhancements
  • Sandbox
    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online support the execution of plug-ins in an isolated environment. Plug-ins can be registered to this isolated environment, also known as a sandbox, and make use of the full power of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK to access the Web services. Access to the file system, registry, system event log, network, and more, is prevented in the sandbox. However, sandbox plug-ins have access to external endpoints like the Windows Azure platform.
    • The sandbox is the recommended execution environment for plug-ins as it is more secure, supports run-time monitoring and statistics reporting, and is supported on all Microsoft Dynamics CRM deployments.
  • Jscript Libraries
    • JScript libraries refer to JScript Web Resources that contain functions you can use to: 1) handle form and field events, 2) perform actions for controls configured in the Ribbon, and 3) support other functions.
    • JScript libraries allow developers to consume JScript libraries in multiple places such as forms and ribbon. With JScript libraries, you can more efficiently manage code used in Web Page (HTML) Web resources or Ribbon Commands by linking them to a shared library of JScript functions.
  • Showing and Hiding UI Elements
    • All form elements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 support the ability to be shown and hidden using the supported JScript method setVisible().
  • Backward Compatibility
    • When a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 organization that contains JScript code is upgraded to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, the existing code is automatically upgraded and should still continue to function.
      • Note:  There is no guarantee that ALL Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 client-side code will upgrade correctly (especially in the case of unsupported code). However, every attempt has been made in order to ensure most Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 code will upgrade correctly.
    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 includes support for executing plug-ins developed for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. A limitation of using Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 plug-ins is that they are not able to take advantage of any new Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 capabilities such as executing in the sandbox (isolation mode), which includes running on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online using tracing to help in debugging, and more.
  • Test and Debug JScript Libraries
    • You can edit scripts through the Web Resource form or from the Events tab where you configure form libraries and event handlers. The ability to make changes this way facilitates small, easy changes as needed.
  • WCF in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011
    • In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, the service-oriented architecture design is extended with a WCF endpoint. The WCF implementation:
      • Improves overall performance
      • Improves the data integration experience
      • Improves compatibility and interoperability support through improved use of native .NET capabilities
      • Streamlines the Microsoft Dynamics CRM developer experience

Have you ever wondered what the different views under the System Job entity actually meant?  If so, keep reading..... 

First off, each System Job record relates to a record in the AsyncOperationBase table.  The AsyncOperationBase table is made up of a number of columns that serve different purposes.  For this blog, I'm only going to only cover a few columns:

• AsyncOperationId
  • This is the unique value assigned to each and every record in the AsyncOperationBase table. All System Job records will relate to an entry in the AsyncOperationBase table with a specific AsyncOperationId.
• OperationType
  • Each record will have an OperationType value. The OperationType column tells you what type of Async record you're dealing with. For example, all workflows have an OperationType of 10 and all duplicate detection MatchCode records have a value of 12. You can find the full list within the CRM SDK by searching for "AsyncOperationType Class (CrmHelpers)".
• StateCode
  • The StateCode tells you what the overall state of the record is. Each state can have multiple status' (or StatusCode). The valid Async StateCode's are:
    • Completed = 3
      • Indicates that the asynchronous operation has executed to completion.
    • Locked = 2
      • Indicates that an instance of the asynchronous service has locked the operation so that no other instance can access it.
    • Ready = 0
      • Indicates that the asynchronous operation is ready to be executed.
    • Suspended = 1
      • Indicates that the asynchronous operation is temporarily suspended. For example, this could mean that a workflow is currently in a waiting state. As soon as the wait condition occurs, the workflow can continue.
• StatusCode
  • The StatusCode gives you a bit more information relating to the StateCode. Each StatusCode relates to a specific Status Reason.
    • Completed (3)
      • Succeeded = 30
      • Failed = 31
      • Canceled = 32
    • Locked (2)
      • In Progress = 20
      • Pausing = 21
      • Cancelling = 22
    • Ready (0)
      • Waiting for Resources = 0
    • Suspended (1)
      • Waiting = 10

All System Jobs

• This view returns all system jobs with any valid StateCode and a DeletionStateCode of 0:
  • A DeletionStateCode of 0 means that the record is not marked for deletion. A DeletionStateCode of 2 means that the record is marked for deletion.
• The resulting query would be:

exec sp_executesql N'select top 51 asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId as ''asyncoperationid'', asyncoperation0.Name as ''name'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectId as ''regardingobjectid'', asyncoperation0.OperationType as ''operationtype'', asyncoperation0.StatusCode as ''statuscode'', asyncoperation0.OwnerId as ''ownerid'', asyncoperation0.StartedOn as ''startedon'', asyncoperation0.StateCode as ''statecode'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdDsc as ''regardingobjectiddsc'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdName as ''regardingobjectidname'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectTypeCode as ''regardingobjecttypecode'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdYomiName as ''regardingobjectidyominame'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdType as ''owneridtype'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdYomiName as ''owneridyominame'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdDsc as ''owneriddsc'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdName as ''owneridname'' from AsyncOperation as asyncoperation0 where (asyncoperation0.RecurrenceStartTime is null and (asyncoperation0.DeletionStateCode in (@DeletionStateCode0))) order by asyncoperation0.StartedOn desc, asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId asc',N'@DeletionStateCode0 int',@DeletionStateCode0=0

Completed System Jobs

• This view returns all system jobs with a completed state where the StateCode = 3 and the DeletionStateCode = 0.
• The resulting query would be:

exec sp_executesql N'select top 51 asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId as ''asyncoperationid'', asyncoperation0.Name as ''name'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectId as ''regardingobjectid'', asyncoperation0.OperationType as ''operationtype'', asyncoperation0.StatusCode as ''statuscode'', asyncoperation0.OwnerId as ''ownerid'', asyncoperation0.StartedOn as ''startedon'', asyncoperation0.StateCode as ''statecode'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdDsc as ''regardingobjectiddsc'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdName as ''regardingobjectidname'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectTypeCode as ''regardingobjecttypecode'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdYomiName as ''regardingobjectidyominame'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdType as ''owneridtype'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdYomiName as ''owneridyominame'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdDsc as ''owneriddsc'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdName as ''owneridname'' from AsyncOperation as asyncoperation0 where (asyncoperation0.StateCode = @StateCode0 and asyncoperation0.RecurrenceStartTime is null and (asyncoperation0.DeletionStateCode in (@DeletionStateCode0))) order by asyncoperation0.StartedOn desc, asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId asc',N'@StateCode0 int,@DeletionStateCode0 int',@StateCode0=3,@DeletionStateCode0=0

Locked System Jobs

• This view returns all system jobs in a locked state where the StateCode = 2 and the DeletionStateCode = 0.
• The resulting query would be:

exec sp_executesql N'select top 51 asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId as ''asyncoperationid'', asyncoperation0.Name as ''name'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectId as ''regardingobjectid'', asyncoperation0.OperationType as ''operationtype'', asyncoperation0.StatusCode as ''statuscode'', asyncoperation0.OwnerId as ''ownerid'', asyncoperation0.StartedOn as ''startedon'', asyncoperation0.StateCode as ''statecode'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdDsc as ''regardingobjectiddsc'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdName as ''regardingobjectidname'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectTypeCode as ''regardingobjecttypecode'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdYomiName as ''regardingobjectidyominame'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdType as ''owneridtype'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdYomiName as ''owneridyominame'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdDsc as ''owneriddsc'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdName as ''owneridname'' from AsyncOperation as asyncoperation0 where (asyncoperation0.StateCode = @StateCode0 and asyncoperation0.RecurrenceStartTime is null and (asyncoperation0.DeletionStateCode in (@DeletionStateCode0))) order by asyncoperation0.StartedOn desc, asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId asc',N'@StateCode0 int,@DeletionStateCode0 int',@StateCode0=2,@DeletionStateCode0=0

My System Jobs

• This view returns all system jobs that a particular user owns where the OwnerId = USER'S ID and DeletionStateCode = 0.
• The resulting query would be:

exec sp_executesql N'select top 51 asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId as ''asyncoperationid'', asyncoperation0.Name as ''name'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectId as ''regardingobjectid'', asyncoperation0.OperationType as ''operationtype'', asyncoperation0.StatusCode as ''statuscode'', asyncoperation0.StartedOn as ''startedon'', asyncoperation0.StateCode as ''statecode'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdDsc as ''regardingobjectiddsc'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdName as ''regardingobjectidname'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectTypeCode as ''regardingobjecttypecode'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdYomiName as ''regardingobjectidyominame'' from AsyncOperation as asyncoperation0 where (asyncoperation0.OwnerId = @OwnerId0 and asyncoperation0.RecurrenceStartTime is null and (asyncoperation0.DeletionStateCode in (@DeletionStateCode0))) order by asyncoperation0.StartedOn desc, asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId asc',N'@OwnerId0 uniqueidentifier,@DeletionStateCode0 int',@OwnerId0='User's Id',@DeletionStateCode0=0

Ready System Jobs

• This view returns all system jobs in a ready state where the StateCode = 0 and the DeletionStateCode = 0.
• The resulting query would be:

exec sp_executesql N'select top 51 asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId as ''asyncoperationid'', asyncoperation0.Name as ''name'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectId as ''regardingobjectid'', asyncoperation0.OperationType as ''operationtype'', asyncoperation0.StatusCode as ''statuscode'', asyncoperation0.OwnerId as ''ownerid'', asyncoperation0.StartedOn as ''startedon'', asyncoperation0.StateCode as ''statecode'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdDsc as ''regardingobjectiddsc'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdName as ''regardingobjectidname'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectTypeCode as ''regardingobjecttypecode'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdYomiName as ''regardingobjectidyominame'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdType as ''owneridtype'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdYomiName as ''owneridyominame'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdDsc as ''owneriddsc'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdName as ''owneridname'' from AsyncOperation as asyncoperation0 where (asyncoperation0.StateCode = @StateCode0 and asyncoperation0.RecurrenceStartTime is null and (asyncoperation0.DeletionStateCode in (@DeletionStateCode0))) order by asyncoperation0.StartedOn desc, asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId asc',N'@StateCode0 int,@DeletionStateCode0 int',@StateCode0=0,@DeletionStateCode0=0

 Recurring System Jobs

• This view returns all recurring system jobs where the RecurrenceStartTime is not null and the DeletionStateCode = 0.
• The resulting query would be:

exec sp_executesql N'select top 51 asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId as ''asyncoperationid'', asyncoperation0.Name as ''name'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectId as ''regardingobjectid'', asyncoperation0.OperationType as ''operationtype'', asyncoperation0.OwnerId as ''ownerid'', asyncoperation0.RecurrenceStartTime as ''recurrencestarttime'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdDsc as ''regardingobjectiddsc'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdName as ''regardingobjectidname'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectTypeCode as ''regardingobjecttypecode'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdYomiName as ''regardingobjectidyominame'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdType as ''owneridtype'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdYomiName as ''owneridyominame'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdDsc as ''owneriddsc'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdName as ''owneridname'' from AsyncOperation as asyncoperation0 where (asyncoperation0.RecurrenceStartTime is not null and (asyncoperation0.DeletionStateCode in (@DeletionStateCode0))) order by asyncoperation0.RecurrenceStartTime desc, asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId asc',N'@DeletionStateCode0 int',@DeletionStateCode0=0

Suspended System Jobs

• This view returns all system jobs in a suspended state where the StateCode = 1 and the DeletionStateCode = 0.
• The most common reason for a record to be in a Suspended state would be due to the record being in a waiting state. As mentioned above, this could mean that a workflow is currently in a waiting state. As soon as the wait condition occurs, the workflow can continue.
• The resulting query would be:

exec sp_executesql N'select top 200 asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId as ''asyncoperationid'', asyncoperation0.Name as ''name'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectId as ''regardingobjectid'', asyncoperation0.OperationType as ''operationtype'', asyncoperation0.StatusCode as ''statuscode'', asyncoperation0.OwnerId as ''ownerid'', asyncoperation0.StartedOn as ''startedon'', asyncoperation0.StateCode as ''statecode'', asyncoperation0.PostponeUntil as ''postponeuntil'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdDsc as ''regardingobjectiddsc'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdName as ''regardingobjectidname'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectTypeCode as ''regardingobjecttypecode'', asyncoperation0.RegardingObjectIdYomiName as ''regardingobjectidyominame'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdType as ''owneridtype'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdYomiName as ''owneridyominame'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdDsc as ''owneriddsc'', asyncoperation0.OwnerIdName as ''owneridname'' from AsyncOperation as asyncoperation0 where (asyncoperation0.StateCode = @StateCode0 and asyncoperation0.RecurrenceStartTime is null and (asyncoperation0.DeletionStateCode in (@DeletionStateCode0))) order by asyncoperation0.StartedOn desc, asyncoperation0.AsyncOperationId asc',N'@StateCode0 int,@DeletionStateCode0 int',@StateCode0=1,@DeletionStateCode0=0

You can get more information about the StateCode and StatusCode (which translates to the Status Reason) columns by looking through the Microsoft CRM SDK (search for AsyncOperationState Enumeration).  The CRM SDK can be found on the www.microsoft.com/downloads site by searching for "crm sdk".

- Jon

The Microsoft DynamicsTM CRM 4.0 Performance Toolkit (toolkit) was created by the Microsoft CRM product team to formalize testing of Microsoft CRM 4.0.  The performance toolkit can be used by the Microsoft CRM partners and customers to collect data to support their CRM deployment decisions.

Customers have been using the toolkit for the past 3 years in many ways to help reduce risk and increase user adoption of their Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM 4.0 solution.  A few examples of how customers are using the toolkit are:

• To get a performance baseline for their existing environment
• To determine how many users they can get on their system before their environment does not perform adequately
• To test measure the effect of different deployment options (physical vs. virtual, database mirroring, new version of SQL Server, etc…)

For more details on how customers are using the toolkit to make their Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM deployments successful, join Mike Gast and me on our podcast where we discuss the toolkit, and how customers are using it.

If you are looking for assistance in getting up to speed on using the toolkit, or if you want help testing a specific scenario, the Premier Field Engineering team at Microsoft offers a service called the Microsoft® Dynamics Benchmark Hands on Lab.  This service can give you the jump start you need from experts in the field.

For more information on the Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM 4.0 Performance Toolkit, please visit the CRM Product Team Blog post on the CRM Performance Toolkit, and you can also download the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Performance Toolkit from CodePlex.

We want to hear from you!  We will be doing additional podcasts in the future and want your feedback.  If there are discussion topics that you would like to hear, or specific questions that you would like answered in a mailbag, please e-mail pfedynamics@microsoft.com.  Any and all feedback is welcome.

Happy Testing!

Grant

We're proud to announce that Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 15 released Thursday Jan. 13th, 2011! 

On Jan. 14th 2011 Greg Nichols, from the Microsoft Premier Field Engineering team, provided information and answered questions about the recent release of Update Rollup 15 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0:

Update Rollup 15 Podcast

Related links you should know about: 

• Update Rollup 15 Microsoft Download Center page
• Update Rollup 15 "master" Microsoft Knowledge Base article (KB 2449283)
  • This article also contains links to related Microsoft Knowledge Base articles
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Sustained Engineering Team's Update Rollup 15 blog posting

Build number:
4.0.7333.3231 

Packages are available for download via the Update Rollup 15 Microsoft Download Center page for these CRM components:

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Email Router
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Data Migration Manager
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Connector for Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)
  • Typically included in the Server product in the srsdataconnector folder
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Language Pack (aka Multilanguage User Interface, MUI)

 Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 15 Prerequisites:

• Update Rollup 7 is a prerequisite for Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Data Migration Manager
• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 11 (and beyond) Prerequisites:

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 11 added support for SQL Report Viewer 2008 SP1 and this has a prerequisite on .Net Framework 3.5 SP1, so this is also a requirement for installing UR11 and future Update Rollups on your CRM servers, routers, clients, etc.
• Update Rollup 11 also included changes that require Visual C++ 2008 + SP1, so this is also a requirement for installing Update Rollup 11 and future Update Rollups on your Microsoft Dynamics CRM servers, routers, clients, etc.
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x86)
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86)
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x64)
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x64)

Issues resolved via Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 15: 

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 15 is a cumulative Update Rollup that includes all the fixes for the issues that are documented in the "Master Knowledge Base Articles" for Update Rollups 1 through 15. Hyperlinks to these articles are included in the "Issues that are resolved in Update Rollup 15 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0" section of the Update Rollup 15 "master" Microsoft Knowledge Base article. 

Hotfixes and updates that were released as individual fixes:

Update Rollup 15 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 contains the following hotfixes and updates that were released as individual fixes: 

• 2447256  You cannot synchronize appointments with a mobile device after you install Update Rollup 12 or Update Rollup 13 in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0
• 2451623  The status reason of the workflow remains Waiting when you run a workflow to send an email message from an email template in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0
• 2468135  Microsoft Outlook becomes unresponsive when you synchronize an email message that contains a large attachment to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 server
• 2484633  Hotfix 2484633 is available for the Internet Explorer 9 Beta changes that are not included in Update Rollup 14 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

Other fixes released via CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 15:

• You can redirect to another site through the Uploadfailure.aspx file unexpectedly.
• A Microsoft Dynamics CRM user can run reports by using the Report Manager, even though the user does not have read privileges for the report.
• Assume that you open the report wizard to create a new report. When you move between the wizard pages, you receive a script error message.
• Assume that you type record keywords in the lookup control in Windows Internet Explorer 9 Beta. When you try to save the record, you receive the following error message:
  • The Lookup could not be resolved to a record in the system. You must select the record for the system to use before you can save.
• Assume that you increase the length of text fields to a value that is larger than the default length. When you save data in these fields, you receive a SQL exception error message.
• In the Hungarian version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, you can only use the predefined alphabet bar. However, the predefined alphabet bar can result in lots of matching records. You expect the language bar to be extended.
• The February 2010 cumulative time zone update for Windows is available. Therefore, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 update for the cumulative time zone update is required.
  • For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    979306  February 2010 cumulative time zone update for Windows operating systems
• The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 client for Outlook only retrieves one email message at a time. In Update Rollup 15, mail will be retrieved in batches.
• Assume that you install Update Rollup 7 or a later version of update rollup for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. After you delete a service appointment from the Outlook calendar, the service appointment is still opened in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server.
• Email messages cannot be promoted into Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. Additionally, the E-mail Router logs the following error message in the Application log in the Event Viewer:
  • An error occurred while validating the e-mail message with subject Subject in mailbox Mailbox. System.InvalidOperationException: There is an error in XML document (LineNumber, PositionNumber).System.Xml.XmlException: '', hexadecimal value 0x01, is an invalid character. Line LineNumber, position PositionNumber.
• Assume that you install Update Rollup 12 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. When you run the Neglected Accounts report, you experience slow performance.
• The attribute identifier (ID) in the Organization.xml file and attribute ID in the Microsoft SQL script are mismatched.
• The Async service stops unexpectedly.
• When you try to override a marketing list by using the QualifyMemberListRequest message in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Software Development Kit (SDK), you receive a time-out error message.
• When you click the Test Access button in the E-mail Router Configuration Manager, you receive the following error message:
  • Incoming Status: Failure - User must have a mailbox for name resolution operations.
• The fn_CollectForCascadeAssign function does not scale for a large dataset.
• After you install Update Rollup 11 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, the conversion of leads triggers duplicate detection rules for the target entities. However, you only receive an error message if a duplicate record exists. You expect the Duplicate Detection dialog box to be opened.
• After you set the Month view, the Week view or the Day view Windows Internet Explorer 9 Beta, the user interface (UI) of the Service Calendar page cannot be loaded as expected.

Hotfixes and updates that you have to enable or configure manually

Update Rollup 15 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 contains the following hotfixes and updates that you must enable or configure manually. You can enable or configure these hotfixes and updates on the server that is running Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 by following the instructions in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles:

• 2490574  The postal code of a contact appears in an incorrect position after you synchronize contacts from a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 server to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 client for Microsoft Office Outlook.

Internet Explorer 9 Compatibility

• The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Sustained Engineering team has been extensively testing pre-release versions of Internet Explorer 9 and plan to, if necessary, release enhancements via the next several Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup releases to support Internet Explorer 9.

Because of our Infrastructure Design service, I get a lot of questions about infrastructure requirements for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.  Many times the customer is in the planning stages during these conversations and an overview of the infrastructure is appropriate.  Below is a video I put together to give a general overview of Dynamics CRM infrastructure, how it can be scaled, and how high availability can come into play in the various components.  Just a note that you might want to view it in full-screen mode in order to be able to see the diagrams more clearly.  Enjoy!

For more information on our Infrastructure Design service, contact us at pfedynamics@microsoft.com or review the Infrastructure Design Datasheet.

If you've had the CRM 2011 Outlook client installed and decide to uninstall and install the CRM 4.0 Outlook client, you may run into the following error message (from the config log) when configuring the CRM 4.0 Outlook client:

Error| Configuration exception.System.Exception: Action Microsoft.Crm.Config.Client.InstallPstAction failed. ---> System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0x8004010F): LaunchOutlookInstallerProcess failed.

If you find yourself in this scenario, it may be because the CrmForOutlookInstaller version is currently incorrect.  You can find the file at:
C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft Dynamics CRMClientConfigWizard

If you have the 4.0 client installed, the 4.0 version needs to be in place.  There are situations where the 2011 version might be left over from a prior 2011 Outlook client install. 

To fix, you can copy the 4.0 CrmForOutlookInstaller version from the folder where you extracted the Outlook client install:
C:extract location folder name\pfilesmscrmclientconfigwizard
and replace the file in the program files location:
C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft Dynamics CRMClientConfigWizard

Hope this saves you some headaches.

- Jon

A topic that comes up every so often is how to best handle anti-virus applications with Microsoft Dynamics CRM.  This is actually a great question as performance can be impacted negatively depending on how this has been configured.  Virus scanning can even lock certain files making them inaccessible to other applications.  Since Dynamics CRM can touch multiple servers and multiple areas in an environment, the overall guidance for anti-virus software can be far reaching and bring many areas into consideration.  Anti-virus software can have an effect on the application servers, SQL Server, AD servers, Reporting servers, and client machines. 

The following is a list of files and folders that we feel should be considered to be excluded from anti-virus scanning in order to minimize performance impact.  This is not an exhaustive list, but instead a list built from observing and working with various customer environments.  Keep in mind, however, that each environment requires a thoughtful decision on what to include and exclude, and there is always a possibility that excluding files from scans can lead to unwanted consequences.  This list should be used alongside your well planned internal IT management policies.

CRM Servers

• The following directory should be excluded:
  • %SystemDrive%inetpubtempIIS Temporary Compressed File
  • %systemroot%system32inetsrv
• Ensure any script-scanning functionality in your anti-virus software is turned off on the CRM Server(s)
• The following KB articles provide additional information on anti-virus software used with IIS
  • http://support.microsoft.com/kb/817442

  • http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821749

SQL Server

• SQL Server data files. These files usually have the following file name extensions:
  • .mdf
  • .ldf
  • .ndf
• SQL Server backup files. These usually have the following file name extensions:
  • .bak
  • .trn
• Full-Text catalog files
• The directory that holds Analysis Services data
• If a SQL Server failover cluster is being used, the following should also be excluded:
  • Q: (Quorum drive
  • c:WindowsCluster
• mssql.exe
• sqlagent.exe
• For further information on SQL Server see the following KB article:

  • http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309422

Dynamics CRM Client

• Check for any interference from desktop security software.  Some anti-virus programs include a feature called ScriptScan which can affect performance in Dynamics CRM.  Most programs have functionality to disable scanning on certain web sites.  Make sure the Dynamics CRM URL has been added to this list.  For McAfee specifically see the following KB articles for this setting:
  • https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=KB65382
  • http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924341

• If using other anti-virus software, make sure the CRM website URL is included in the trusted zone for the virus scanning and switch off on-access scanning for the CRM website.  See your specific anti-virus application documentation for more details.

Virtual Servers

• If virtual servers are used in the deployment, make sure the directory on the host machine containing the virtual hard drive files is excluded from scanning.
• For Hyper-V specifically, the following processes should be excluded:
  • Vmms.ex
  • Vmswp.exe
  • Vmwp.exe
• Additional information:

  • http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961804/

Email Router

• If the email router is being used, the following files should be excluded from scanning: (these files are by default in the C:Program FilesMicrosoft CRM EmailService folder)
  • microsoft.crm.tools.email.management.exe
  • microsoft.crm.tools.emailagent.exe
  • microsoft.crm.tools.emailproviders.dll
  • Microsoft.Exchange.WebServices.dll
  • Microsoft.Crm.Passport.IdCrl.dll
  • Microsoft.Crm.Tools.EmailAgent.Configuration.bin
  • Microsoft.Crm.Tools.EmailAgent.xml
  • Microsoft.Crm.Tools.EmailAgent.SystemState.xml

  • If a trace is being run, the trace file as configured in the emailagent.xml can also be excluded.

Updating with a few additional exclusions, thanks to Jeff Reiser.

Enterprise Windows Servers (Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2003, Windows 2000, Vista, XP, and Windows 7)

·         Turn off scanning of Windows Update or Automatic Update related files

o   Turn off scanning of the Windows Update or Automatic Update database file (Datastore.edb). This file is located in the following folder:

•  %windir%SoftwareDistributionDatastore

o   Turn off scanning of the log files that are located in the following folder:

•  %windir%SoftwareDistributionDatastoreLogs

o   Specifically, exclude the following files:

•  Res*.log
•  Res*.jrs
•  Edb.chk
•  Tmp.edb

·         The wildcard character (*) indicates that there may be several files.

·         Turn off scanning of Windows Security files

o   Add the following files in the %windir%SecurityDatabase path of the exclusions list:

•  *.edb
•  *.sdb
•  *.log
•  *.chk
•  *.jrs

·         Turn off scanning of Group Policy related files

o   Group Policy user registry information. These files are located in the following folder:

•  %allusersprofile%

o   Specifically, exclude the following file:

•  NTUser.pol

o   Group Policy client settings file. This file is located in the following folder:

•  %Systemroot%System32GroupPolicy

o   Specifically, exclude the following file:

• Registry.pol

·         For additional information on the above exclusions and for information regarding Domain Controllers please visit the following KB Article

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822158

With CRM 2011 on the verge of being released there are new features being introduced that will allow you to show  1:N related records in a Sub Grid but there is still a limitation of showing information that is from a N:1 (lookup) relationship. 

Using some other new features of CRM 2011 I have created a Web Resource that will allow you to show related information from a lookup field. 

This Web Resource is a custom html page that pulls information from a specified lookup and queries CRM using the new REST endpoint  for the related data, and displays it in a simple format.

Here is what it looks like loaded into the form.  This example shows information being pulled for the Primary Contact on the Account form.

The Web Resource pulls the GUID and Record Type from the Primary Contact Field-- and using the Field parameters specified on the Web Resource--queries for the contact information and displays it inline.

Here is how to set it up. 

1. Download the Solution file ***HERE***

2. Import the Solution File.  After the import you should have a new solution  called “Related Information”

3. Open the Solution to verify you have 3 new Web Resources.

4. Open up the entity form that you want to add the Web Resource to.  Example: Account Form (Tip: You can now open an entity record, click the “customize” tab at the top and then click the “Form” button to open up the designer)

5. Either highlight an existing section or create a new section to add your Web Resource to.

6. Once a section is highlighted, click the “Insert” tab at the top and then click the “Web Resource” button on the ribbon.

7. In the Web Resource field, select the related.html WR that was added.

8. Enter a name into the “Name” and “Label” field.

9. Enter the parameter string in the “Custom Parameter(data)” field.

  Parameters

• lookup – The lookup column name that you want to show related information from.  Example: primarycontactid
• fields – Comma delimited string of columns you want to pull from the related entity. Uses Schema Name
• labels – The labels you want to display for each field. Has to be in the same order as the field list.

Example: lookup=primarycontactid&fields=FirstName,LastName,Telephone1,EMailAddress1&labels=First Name,Last Name,Business Phone,Email Address

10. Click Ok

11. Save the Form

12. Publish Customizations and test your form

Enjoy!

You can find more information regarding related services we provide here.

Development Workshop

Code Review

This customization is provided as-is.

I recently ran into an issue when trying to view the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Implementation Guide (IG) .chm file.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=9886ab96-3571-420f-83ad-246899482fb4

I was getting the following error message:  "Navigation to the webpage was cancelled"

I found out that this was being blocked on my machine based on some security settings.  I had to right click and go to the Properties of the .chm file and click Unblock.  Then I was able to view the CRM 2011 IG .chm file successfully.

Hope this helps!

Thanks!
Shawn

Here are the detailed steps to resolve this error: "Navigation to the webpage was canceled"

• 1. Navigate to the folder you extracted the Implementation Guide files | Right Click on the .chm file | Select Properties.

• 2. Select the 'Unblock' button at the bottom of the General tab and then click OK.

You should now be able to view and search the CRM 2011 Implementation Guide chm file successfully.