Execute phase

  • 15 minutes

In the Execute phase, you'll be working in a Lifecycle Services implementation project for finance and operations apps. To move to the Execute phase, you must purchase finance and operations apps.

Diagram of the execution process from Code upgrade to Data upgrade.

The following activities are necessary in the Execute phase:

  1. Dynamics AX 2012 preparation tasks - Complete tasks that are identified in the Analyze phase such as data cleanup tasks, SQL configuration, and the pre-upgrade checklist.

  2. Pre-upgrade checklist - Guides you through preparation for running the upgrade. You must install a hotfix in Dynamics AX 2012, which installs the Dynamics 365 upgrade checklist. You must complete tasks that require data to be added (for example, user mapping to Microsoft Entra ID). If you're upgrading from Dynamics AX 2012 R3, you'll need to install Knowledge base article 4035163. If you're upgrading from Dynamics AX 2012 R2, you'll need to install Knowledge base article 4048614.

    Note

    To install these hotfixes you must have Lifecycle Services access.

    The following screenshot shows the Dynamics 365 for Unified Operations data upgrade checklist in Dynamics AX 2012.

    Screenshot of the the Dynamics 365 for Unified Operations data upgrade checklist in Dynamics AX 2012.

  3. Code upgrade - You'll first receive the new versions of the ISV solutions. Then, you'll need to refactor your customizations (overlayering) to extensions. One approach is to start with the lowest model and then work upward. Start with the platform model, then the foundation, and then continue upward from there. Finally, you should aim for a successful compile because the application can’t be open until it fully compiles.

  4. Data upgrade - Ensure that the Dynamics AX 2012 pre-upgrade checklist is completed. Next, run the data upgrade on the development environment and then validate. Use the AX2012 Database upgrade toolkit for Dynamics 365, to move your AX 2012 data and run the data upgrade on a sandbox tier-2 or higher environment, and then validate.

Data upgrade

Diagram of the process for the data upgrade in a development environment.

You'll start the data upgrade process by backing up your Dynamics AX 2012 database and then you'll upload the backup to Azure storage. The target will be your development environment, where you'll download and restore the backup. Last, you'll run the upgrade, which can be run manually, or you can use Lifecycle Services to run the data upgrade on the development environment. This process helps reduce the overall time that is spent on iterations of the data upgrade process.

In a development environment, an issue can be debugged immediately, code can be adjusted, and the upgrade can be rerun within minutes. However, larger sandbox environments don’t allow for this level of agility. In those environments, a minimum of several hours will be required to debug and remediate issues, update code, deploy the updated code, and then rerun the upgrade.

For more information, see Upgrade from AX 2012 – Data upgrade in development environments.

When data upgrade in a development environment completes, you must perform data upgrade in a sandbox environment. Sandbox is deployed as a self-service environment. The sandbox environment is the environment where business users and functional team members can test business processes by using the upgraded AX 2012 data and code.

The following illustration shows the process for running data upgrade in a sandbox environment. The difference here's that the AX 2012 Database Upgrade Toolkit for Dynamics 365 is used instead of a traditional SQL backup. This toolkit is required to move your AX 2012 data to Azure SQL Database (using SQL transaction replication) and to run the data upgrade. In this case, your source is AX 2012 database and the target is Dynamics 365 finance and operations Sandbox.

Diagram of the process for the data upgrade in a sandbox environment.

The following procedure reviews the data upgrade process in more detail:

  1. Create a copy of the Dynamics AX 2012 database. Use the AX 2012 test environment for this exercise.
  2. Ensure all prerequisites (for example, pre-upgrade checklist, data cleanup, and more) are fulfilled and custom code is deployed in the sandbox environment. Sandbox must only be used for data upgrade.
  3. Download AX 2012 Database Upgrade Toolkit for Dynamics 365 from Lifecycle Services and use this toolkit from source SQL server.
  4. Run Replication setup beforehand (until step 6), and keep monitoring it using the toolkit.
  5. Turn off the AX 2012 AOS instances
  6. Ensure that replication completes, and validate replication completion (dv) by comparing the number of records between source and target using the toolkit.
  7. Run Cutover steps by using the toolkit, and ensure its completion.
  8. Trigger data upgrade by using the toolkit, and finish the data upgrade.
  9. Complete more application configuration and smoke test in Sandbox.

For more information, see Upgrade from AX 2012 - Data upgrade in self-service environments.