Upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

Article
11/13/2013
2 minutes to read

This section provides best practice guidelines and actual procedures to install Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2011 in an organization that already has Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 installed.

Upgrade options

There are three different upgrade options:

Migrate by using a new instance of SQL Server. We recommend this option for upgrading from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. Although this option requires a different computer for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2011 and a different instance of SQL Server, it provides the least amount of potential downtime for Microsoft Dynamics CRM since the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 deployment can remain functioning until the upgrade is completed and verified.
Migrate by using the same instance of SQL Server. This option requires a different computer for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2011, but will upgrade in-place the configuration and default organization databases using the same instance of SQL Server. If issues occur during the upgrade, you must roll back to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 to avoid significant downtime.
In-place upgrade. Although this option does not require a different computer for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2011 or a different instance of SQL Server, it poses the greatest risk if upgrade issues occur because a roll back and reinstall of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Server will be required to avoid potential downtime.

Important

You cannot upgrade versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM that are earlier than Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.

Because Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2011 is only available in 64-bit editions, you cannot perform an in-place upgrade with 32-bit versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Server. For more information, see Migrate from 32-bit versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Server to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Server in this guide.

Upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

Upgrade options

See Also

Concepts