Upgrading from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and 2013

 

Applies To: Dynamics CRM 2013

The only supported upgrade path to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 is from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. This section provides guidelines for preparing for an upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013. Performing these tasks in advance can help minimize system downtime and ensure a successful upgrade. Also, this section describes how Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 upgrades your current system and what happens to items such as existing reports, customizations, and solutions.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 server roles are not compatible with a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 deployment. Therefore, after you upgrade the first Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 server, other Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 servers that are running in the deployment will become disabled. As each server is upgraded, the corresponding server will be enabled.

You can upgrade Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 server roles in any order. However, to have a fully functioning Microsoft Dynamics CRM deployment, all servers and server roles must be upgraded.

For an overview of the upgrade process, see the whitepaper: How to Prepare for the Upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013

In This Topic

Recommended upgrade steps

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server upgrade options

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Server versions supported for upgrade

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Outlook versions supported for upgrade

Microsoft Dynamics CRM software and components not supported for in-place upgrade

Upgrade product key

User permissions and privileges

Sharing a SQL Server

Tips for a successful upgrade

Next steps

To ease the upgrade process and minimize downtime, we recommend that you use the following order when you upgrade Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013.

  1. Make sure all Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Outlook clients are running Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 12 or a later update rollup. Doing so provides Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Outlook the capability to connect and use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2013.

  2. Upgrade all Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 servers and organizations to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2013.

  3. Upgrade Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Outlook to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 for Microsoft Office Outlook. Upgrading to CRM 2013 for Outlook provides Go offline capability.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 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 2011 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013. Although this option requires a different computer for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 and a different instance of SQL Server, it provides the least amount of potential downtime for Microsoft Dynamics CRM users since the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 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 2013, 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 2011 to avoid significant downtime.

  • In-place upgrade. Although this option does not require a different computer for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2013 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 will be required to avoid potential downtime.

For detailed procedures for each of these options, see the Upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 topics in the Installing Guide.

For the latest product information, see the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Readme.

Important

Always run a full backup of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM databases before you upgrade to a new version of the product. For information about database backups, see Backing Up the Microsoft Dynamics CRM System in the Operating and Maintaining Guide.

During an in-place upgrade, only the organization that you specify to upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is upgraded. If the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 deployment contains additional organizations, those organizations are disabled and are not upgraded. You must upgrade those organizations using Deployment Manager. For more information, see Deployment Manager Help.

For each organization that you upgrade, we recommend that the volume have free space that is at least three times the size of the organization database file (organizationName_MSCRM.mdf) and four times the size of the log file (organizationName_MSCRM.ldf). For example, if a single organization database and log file are located on the same volume where the mdf file is 326 MB and the ldf file is 56 MB, the recommended available space should be at least 1.2 GB to allow for growth ((326 x 3) + (56 x 4)). Notice that the database files that expand during upgrade do not reduce in size after the upgrade is complete.

As part of organization upgrade, all entitynameBase and entitynameExtensionBase tables will be merged into a single table. To reduce downtime, consider deferring the table merge of large organization databases that are highly customized so that the table merge process can be run as a separate upgrade operation. For more information, see Run the base and extension table merge as a separate operation.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Server versions supported for upgrade

The following Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 update rollup versions are supported for upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2013. All other update rollup versions will receive an error message resembling the following and will not be upgraded.

The installed version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server cannot be upgraded to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013. For more information, see the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Implementation Guide.

  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 14 or later update rollup.

  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 6 (Not recommended).

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Outlook versions supported for upgrade

The following Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 update rollup versions are supported for upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 for Microsoft Office Outlook.

  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 12 or later update rollup.

  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 6 (Not recommended).

Microsoft Dynamics CRM software and components not supported for in-place upgrade

The following products and solutions are not supported by Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 and will not be upgraded during Microsoft Dynamics CRM Setup. If you upgrade a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 system that includes the product or solution listed below, or you install these components after you install Microsoft Dynamics CRM, these products or solutions may not function correctly. We recommend that you uninstall or manually remove the component before you upgrade.

  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Reporting Extensions

  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Email Router

  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM List Component for SharePoint Server

  • Connector for Microsoft Dynamics

Important

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is not supported for upgrade. However, you can upgrade Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Server to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2011 by using a trial product key, and then upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2013. For instructions about how to migrate from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013, see Migrate from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Server to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Server.

Upgrade product key

Before the upgrade, obtain the product key that you will enter during the upgrade. In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013, the server and client keys are combined so that you enter only one key.

For more information, see Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 editions and licensing in this guide.

If you want to make system changes that require changes to your existing Microsoft Dynamics CRM licensing agreement, see How to buy Microsoft Dynamics.

User permissions and privileges

To perform a successful upgrade, the user who runs Microsoft Dynamics CRM Setup must:

  • Have an account in the same Active Directory domain as the server or servers that are being upgraded.

  • Be a member of both the Deployment Administrator Role and the Microsoft Dynamics CRM System Administrator Role for any organizations that will be upgraded.

    Important

    The upgrade will fail if the user who is running the upgrade has a disabled System Administrator Role.

  • Have administrator rights on the SQL Server and Reporting Services server associated with the deployment that is being upgraded.

  • Have sufficient permissions to create new security groups and add members to those groups in the Active Directory organizational unit that contains the existing Microsoft Dynamics CRM groups.

Sharing a SQL Server

Only one Microsoft Dynamics CRM deployment per instance of SQL Server is supported. This is because each Microsoft Dynamics CRM deployment requires its own MSCRM_CONFIG database, and multiple instances of the MSCRM_CONFIG database cannot coexist on the same instance of SQL Server. If you have multiple SQL Server instances running on the same computer, you can host the databases for multiple Microsoft Dynamics CRM deployment on the same computer. However, this might decrease system performance.

Tips for a successful upgrade

The following issues, if applicable to your current Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 deployment, should be resolved before you start the upgrade:

Do not exceed the maximum number of attributes

If you have more than 1023 attributes defined for an entity, you must delete the additional attributes before you run the upgrade. The upgrade will fail with the following message if you have more than 1023 attributes:

CREATE VIEW failed because column 'column_name' in view 'view_name' exceeds the maximum of 1024 columns.

Remove custom database objects

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM databases often change from one major release to the next because of database redesign.

We suggest that, if you have added custom database objects such as triggers, statistics, stored procedures, and certain indexes, you remove those objects from the configuration and organization databases. In many cases, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server Setup displays a warning when these objects are detected.

Remove the ignorechecks registry subkey

If you have manually added the ignorechecks registry subkey on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2011 server, remove it before you start the upgrade. More information: You cannot deploy Microsoft Dynamics CRM by using an account that does not have local administrator permissions on Microsoft SQL Server

Verify custom indexes before you upgrade

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 12 introduced new indexes for entities in the Quick Find Search Optimization feature. Therefore, if you upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 6, these indexes will be created during Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2013 Setup and you may notice that part of the upgrade will take longer to complete. The reason for this is that the indexes need to be populated and, based on the size of your dataset, the completion time will vary. Additionally, if you have existing custom indexes in the organization database that use the same index name, they will be overwritten during upgrade. For more information, including a list of the indexes added, see Indexes added with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 12.

Consider rescheduling base and extension table merge

By default, during an organization upgrade, every base and extension table will become merged. For large organization databases that are highly customized the merging may take several hours to complete. More information: Run the base and extension table merge as a separate operation 

Next steps

Read more about upgrade in the following topics:

See Also

Planning Deployment of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013
Planning Deployment of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Advanced Topics

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