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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Issue Installing Intelligent Data Management Framework

Correction:

Update from the MS Folks - The correct link to download IDMF Installation and Admin Doc is http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=16111


Sorry, I had a wrong install document which was bunded with Dynamics AX 2012 Upgrade Docs (in which the below AxSummationProject.xpo is mentioned. With the new installation doc, this step is no longer required.



Thought to share with you an issue which I'm facing while Installing IDMF (Intelligent Data Management Framework)

Last week I downloaded Intelligent Management Framework from the below link in CustomerSource

I followed the Installation manual which comes with the download. There's a section in it which mentions about "Manually Running the Post-installation tasks"

If you go to Step 7 in that Section, you will find instruction to import Summation Xpo.






But, the issue here is you won't be able to find the xpo's anywhere in the location mentioned above. I did a search for the xpo's in my entire hard drive with no luck. Later on, I tried to examine the msi contents by extracting the msi file which I posted here and to my surprise, the .msi package is the culprit as there's no AxSummationProject.xpo in the XPO folder.

Anybody else facing this issue while installing IDMF, please drop a line? I have reported this issue to Microsoft via "Give Feedback" link.

Meanwhile, I was lucky to have an old copy of IDMF setup which I downloaded last year :) and it has the AXSummationProject.xpo which is missing from the current one.

I will be soon write a blog post on how I went with the installation and setup of IDMF. Watch this space! 

Friday, December 23, 2011

Greetings of the Season!!

Dear All,

Wishing each one of You a Merry Xmas and a Happy and Healthy 2012. Njoi!!!  :-)



Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Tip - How to extract files from msi package via command-line

I had a requirement to extract files from a .msi setup to a local folder, i.e. without running the installer, I found this  blog post useful for my purpose

The command is:

msiexec /a msifilepath /qn TARGETDIR=TargetDirectoryPath

Note:

/a represents administrative purpose
/qn displays no user interface

The blog post above uses /qb as the second switch for extraction to target directory but In my case, I used a different switch /qn 
/qb displays basic user interface whereas use /qn if you don't want any UI.

You can find more about the command and the switches here
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc759262(WS.10).aspx

Monday, December 19, 2011

How to Install and Configure Dynamics AX 2012 SCOM Pack

Hi Friends, This is a sequel to my earlier post on Configuring Dynamics AX 2009 MOM Pack.

In this post, I will be covering the steps involved in Installing and configuring Dynamics AX SCOM Pack for monitoring Dynamics AX 2012 Instances.


Introduction:

Monitoring Microsoft Dynamics AX with Operations Manager can reduce the cost of managing a distributed Microsoft Dynamics AX system. Operators and administrators can view information about all Application Object Server (AOS) instances in the environment, take AOS servers offline for maintenance, and troubleshoot problems with AOS instances.
The Monitoring Pack for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012  enables administrators to proactively react to changes in the overall health of the Microsoft Dynamics AX environment, and to adjust the system for optimal performance and reliability


Pre-Requisites:
a. Install SCOM 2007

b. Download and Install Mointoring Pack for Dynamics AX 2012

c. Also you need to install and setup Dynamics AX 2012, AOS, AIF, EP (Different Components which you want to monitor)

d. Windows Powershell should be installed (By default this comes with Windows Server 2008)



Steps to Import Management Pack:

1.Once you have downloaded, the msi for SCOM Pack, Run it to install it. It will prompt for location to
   extract the setup files
3.   Select all Mp’s here (as per below screenshot) The following management packs are available for Dynamics AX:









·         Microsoft.Dynamics.AX6.ManagementPack.AIF.Monitoring.mp – Monitors AIF


·         Microsoft.Dynamics.AX6.ManagementPack.AOS.Discovery.mp – Monitors and Discovers AOS Rules


·         Microsoft.Dynamics.AX6.ManagementPack.AOS.Monitoring.mp – Monitors servers running AOS


·         Microsoft.Dynamics.AX6.ManagementPack.ClassLibrary.mp – Common Classes


·         Microsoft.Dynamics.AX6.ManagementPack.EP.Monitoring.mp – Monitors EP


·         Microsoft.Dynamics.AX6.ManagementPack.SSRS.Monitoring.mp – Monitors SSRS


4.     Run the Monitoring Pack for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Discovery Wizard, and select the computer where Microsoft Dynamics AX components are installed. Agents will be deployed to the appropriate computers as they are discovered. :

·         AOS


·         Enterprise Portal for Microsoft Dynamics AX


·         SQL Server Reporting Services


·         SQL Server Analysis Services

Key Monitoring Scenarios



AOS Monitoring



-       Tasks


-        Events


-        Performance counters


-        User sessions,


-        Environment availability.


Tasks


Tasks enable you to work with AOS instances directly, without having to move work in Microsoft Dynamics AX. You can use tasks to manage and monitor settings for the AOS instances on a server.

To access tasks:


In the Monitoring pane, click Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, click Application Object Servers, and then click Instances.
























The available tasks are shown in the tasks pane on the right, and include:
·         Accept or reject client sessions
·         Start or stop the service
·         Set the startup type
·         View online users

 
















These are some cool features present in the current SCOM Pack, you need not visit AX Client to see online users and accept or reject new client sessions, It can be done staying in SCOM Console 

Note: The View online users task is also available as part of Environment health. It reports all online users from all AOS instances in an environment.


Events


The management pack collects only the most important events generated on the AOS server. It monitors whether the AOS Service has been stopped and also whether the AOS service is configured properly. Most informational events are not collected.

To see the events that were collected:


In the Authoring pane, click Rules, and then in the Look for box, enter Dynamics.














Performance Counters


The performance counters that are monitored for Microsoft Dynamics AX processes are a subset of those available for monitoring Windows services.

To view AOS counters:


In the Monitoring pane, click Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, click Application Object Servers, click Performance, and then click Process.






 
 



 
 
 
User Sessions


A count of the active user sessions is available.


To view the active user sessions:

In the Monitoring pane, click Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, click Application Object Servers, click Performance, and then click Session.

To retrieve a list of the users that are currently connected, use the View online users task for an AOS instance

















Environment Information and Availability


The management pack provides functionality to perform some monitoring to determine whether an environment is accessible to remote clients. This includes the following checks:

·         Whether the RPC port is accessible
·         Whether the Web services port is accessible
·         Whether connections to the AOS are successful


These monitors, in conjunction with the AOS service availability checks, enable you to quickly identify a problem when encountering connection issues for an AOS.


Note: In order for the environment discovery to work, the Microsoft Dynamics AX database server must be available.


To view the servers that are hosting AOS instances:


In the Monitoring pane, click Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, click Application Object Servers (AOS), and then click Computers.

To view AOS instances:


In the Monitoring pane, click Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, click Application Object Servers (AOS), and then click Instances.




·         SysServerConfig
·         SysServerSessions
·         SysClusterConfig


Enterprise Portal



Servers that are running Enterprise Portal are automatically discovered by the management pack. These servers are monitored for events and performance counters. The following views are available for the Enterprise Portal:


·         Alerts – Lists all the alerts that were generated as a result of monitoring on the server that is running Enterprise Portal.


·         Enterprise Portal Computers – Lists all computers where Enterprise Portal has been installed.


·         Enterprise Portal Sites – Lists the Enterprise Portal sites that have been discovered. The management pack monitors the configuration and availability of the Enterprise Portal site.


·         Events – Lists the Microsoft Dynamics AX events that were generated on the server that is running Enterprise Portal.


·         Performance – Lists the Enterprise Portal performance counters from the server that is running Enterprise Portal.


Notes:


·         The performance counters for Enterprise Portal are per website, not per server. The counters will return a row of data for each website on a server.


·         By design, uninstalling Enterprise Portal does not remove the Enterprise Portal site information from Microsoft Dynamics AX. Until a site has been deleted from within Microsoft Dynamics AX, it will remain visible to the management pack monitoring system.


SQL Server Reporting Services



The management pack provides functionality to automatically discover all the servers that are running SQL Server Reporting Services and that have been configured for use with Microsoft Dynamics AX. The configuration of the Reporting Services service and accounts are also monitored.


Note: By design, uninstalling the Reporting Services extensions does not remove the Reporting Services site information from Microsoft Dynamics AX. Until a site has been deleted from within Microsoft Dynamics AX, it will remain visible to the management pack monitoring system.


SQL Server Analysis Services



The management pack provides functionality to automatically discover all the servers that are running SQL Server Analysis Services and that have been configured for use with Microsoft Dynamics AX.


Note: Once the servers running Analysis Services have been discovered, no further monitoring is performed.


Application Integration Framework



The management pack collects the number of active Application Integration Framework requests and exceptions, as well as monitoring requests that have been pending for longer than the specified interval.


The management pack collects and displays health and performance information about Application Integration requests and exceptions.


Health Monitors



Long waiting requests – Identifies tasks that have taken longer than the configured threshold to complete.


To view the general health monitors:


1.     In the Monitoring pane, click Microsoft Dynamics AX, click Frameworks, and then click Application Integration Framework Health.


2.     Double-click an instance to open the Health Explorer for Application Integration Framework.


Performance Counters

The management pack also collects and displays information about the following under Application Integration Framework Performance:


·         Exceptions that throw warnings and errors
·         Inbound requests


To view a count of incoming requests and exceptions:


1.     In the Monitoring pane, click Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, click Frameworks, and then click Application Integration Framework Performance.
2.     Click the checkbox next to a performance counter to add it to the chart view.


Batch Framework

The management pack collects and displays health and performance information about batch jobs and tasks.


Health Monitors



The management pack provides the following general health monitors for jobs:


·         Long executing batch tasks – Identifies tasks that have taken longer than the configured threshold to complete.


·         Long waiting batch jobs – Identifies jobs that have a status of ready that have been waiting more than 30 minutes to run.


·         Failed batch jobs – Identifies all jobs that have failed.


To view the general health monitors:


1.     In the Monitoring pane, click Frameworks, and then click Batch Framework Health.


2.     Double-click an instance to open the Health Explorer for Batch Framework.


3.     Click a link in the Task pane to view a list of batch jobs or tasks.


Performance Counters

The management pack also collects and displays the number of batch jobs and tasks under Batch Framework Performance, aggregated by the following states:
·         Canceled
·         Failed
·         Waiting
·         Running


To view a count of jobs and tasks by state:


1.     In the Monitoring pane, click Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, click Frameworks, and then click Batch Framework Performance


2.     Click the checkbox next to a performance counter to add it to the chart view.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Dynamics AX 2012 Upgrade Q&A Update

Couple of months ago, Microsoft Dynamics Community had come out with a great initiative to offer help on Dynamics AX 2012 Upgrade Queries, I had a blog post covering the Q&A link http://daxdilip.blogspot.com/2011/10/dynamics-ax-2012-upgrade-q-link-on.html

Thanks to Andy for inviting me to be part of the Expert panel which involves Brandon, Joris and few other well known active bloggers in Dynamics AX space.

I have tried to answer some of the questions to the best of my knowledge. Andy has recently published out the Q & A here. I know some of the questions might involve more discussions as it's sometimes very difficult to answer without knowing the environment and issue in depth.

Brandon has a post covering the Q & A session in his blog as well http://dynamics-ax.blogspot.com/2011/12/ax-2012-upgrade-questions-answered.html

Looking forward to more such initiatives in Dynamics AX space and Thanks again to Andy and Brandon for inviting me to be part of the panel.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Installing Dynamics AX 2012 on SQL Server 2011/2012 Denali CTP 3

This post was sitting in my drafts box for a while now, so thought to flush it out :-)

Few months ago, out of curiousity, I had installed SQL Server 2011 "Denali" CTP3 (now called SQL Server 2012) on my local box

Yes, you can have a side-by-side install, In my case I have SQL Server 2008 along with "Denali".

The next step was to try out and see if Dynamics AX 2012 can run on it. Although, Dynamics AX 2012 Setup/Installer complains about the new version, but there's a workaround to set this up.

- Backup the existing AX 2012 database (Baseline and Transactional db's) from SQL Server 2008
- Restore the db onto SQL Server 2012 "Denali"
- Install a new AOS and make it point to the restored DB

And, now your Dynamics AX 2012 is ready and up on SQL Server 2012 :-)

If you are interested to know "What's New in SQL Server 2012" maybe you can have a look at the below links or just "google" it.

http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/sqlserverdenali/sql-server-denali-new-features-140115

http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/sqlserverdenali/sql-server-denali-new-features-140115

I will be exploring the new features of SQL 2012 as and when I get time, I will do some posting on how Dynamics AX can leverage the new and improved features in SQL Server 2012.

Till then, Njoi :-)

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Tip str2CapitalWord function to convert string into TitleCase

We have some custom export routines written in our solution which ftp's .csv file from AX. Now, the target system needed one of the column names in TitleCase.

Solution:
In my previous experience, I have used strUpr and strLwr functions in AX, but never had a requirement to convert something into TitleCase, Initially, for a quick workaround, I used Proper function in Excel to convert the column into TitleCase. But, the right way to fix was in the source program. so as soon as I got some time did bit of digging in AX standard functions and found out we have 2 functions:

1. str2Capital 

    This function just converts the first letter of the word as UpperCase so didn't match my requirements e.g.
     
     Input String : "new south wales"

     Output String: print str2Capital("new south wales") returns New south wales


2. str2CapitalWord
     
     This function was exactly what I was looking for. It converts the first letter of each word in the sentence to     
      uppercase.  
     
      Input String: "new south wales"
     
      Output String: "New South Wales"