Branching Workflow – CI / CD Part 6

Branching Workflow – CI / CD Part 6

“How to start?” … Well, I avoided answering this question a long time, until now. I found an approach which fits perfect into Azure DevOps and satisfy my CI / CD workflow. You know, Real-Life of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is development, deployment, support, and maintenance together. Therefore all of these processes need access to the right source code. Source Code Management (SCM) Some basics: Most of us know “OMA” (Object Manager Advanced). Microsoft Navision developers uses OMA since…

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Uploading a file from MSDyn365BC as “multipart/form-data” message

Uploading a file from MSDyn365BC as “multipart/form-data” message

Yes, uploading a file from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to a Web API sounds easy because Microsoft AL provides all these new and cool objects like JsonObject, HttpRequest, HttpResponse and HttpClient. But sometimes the devil is in the detail…“How-to setup the corret HttpRequest message with all the needed HttpHeaders and how-to add the file content?” Swagger “Web API” Definition Good news, my Web API provide a Swagger definition. Now I see what is needed. Swagger-UI visualization display the API…

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Avoiding Parameter Chaos in PowerApps

Avoiding Parameter Chaos in PowerApps

I love PowerApps! This technology gives me the freedom to create a portable user interface (UI) for my demos in a couple of minutes. Well, sometimes it takes a little bit longer, especially when… Direct before NAV TechDays 2019 I decided to create a PowerApp to demonstrate the power of our Intelligent ERP framework. To execute the needed API calls I attached a Power Automate flow to my PowerApp. During setup of the flow I played a little bit to…

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NavTechDays 2019

NavTechDays 2019

An amazing week at Antwerp with lots of workshops, sessions and talks with experts is over. My personal conclusion after my 4th year at this high level technical #deep-dive conference: No “Big Surprises”, no “Big Changes”, but some “Promising Improvements” of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as product and a strong focus of Integration Scenarios. In my opinion the “Big Picture” at the roadmap gets more clear and many sessions provided a sneak peek into future with a common message:…

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Application Versions – CI / CD Part 5

Application Versions – CI / CD Part 5

Classic NAV development processes, customizations with C/Side became obsolete in the Business Central age was replaced by Apps. Apps have version numbers to identify which app version is newer, handle updates and finally synchronize data changes in the right order. New App Versions are produced by fully automated CI processes in a very short time and the generated Artifacts replace the installed version in target environments during automated CD processes. The application version helps to keep the necessary overview and…

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Another way to Setup Continuous Delivery​

Another way to Setup Continuous Delivery​

The Azure Portal offers a new option to set up Continuous Delivery for Virtual Machines and it’s currently marked as a preview feature. The setup wizard allows to select existing Azure DevOps organizations and projects, when the Azure DevOps tenant is connected to your AAD. Azure starts to configure the continuous delivery for this virtual machine after completing the information and install the deployment agent. After completion the Virtual Machine is present in the deployment group D365BC in the selected…

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Deployment Tasks – CI / CD Part 4

Deployment Tasks – CI / CD Part 4

All we need are Tasks to deploy our Artifacts at Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central SaaS or On-Prem. In this article I’ll share with you a deeper look into my deployment stages. CI/CD Pipeline Tasks for MSDyn365BC Azure DevOps provide lots of build-in tasks to execute almost everything in the context of a Build or Deployment Agent. Unfortunately, pre-configured Pipelines or Tasks for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central are not part of this list. However, there are other good options…

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Agents, Agent- and Deployment Pools – CI / CD Part 3

Agents, Agent- and Deployment Pools – CI / CD Part 3

Artifacts and Deployment Stages and Controlling the Artifact Flow should be clear. It’s time to see what Azure DevOps provide to deploy Artifact(s) into target environment(s). Two scenarios must be covered: SaaS and OnPrem. Both uses the same install base of Dynamics 365 Business Central, but are different in your access rights. Dynamics 365 Business Central – SaaS Here Release Artifact(s) (e.g. per-tenant App) must be deployed into your SaaS environment, your Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central tenant – hosted by Microsoft: BC Sandbox (Microsoft SaaS…

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Controlling the Artifact Flow – CI / CD Part 2

Controlling the Artifact Flow – CI / CD Part 2

In my last post I described my view on Artifacts and Deployment Stages. Now it’s time to look at the Artifact flow. Remember, an Artifact is unchangeable. Therefore it’s deployed only in one direction – strait forward – until any stage in the flow fails or it reaches the final destination. Controlling the Flow You control the flow – each stage – by these questions: When is a stage executed? … Trigger(s) Who allow the Artifact to enter the stage and what must be or informed?…

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Artifacts and Deployment Stages – CI / CD Part 1

Artifacts and Deployment Stages – CI / CD Part 1

Setup of a modern Development Process for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with Azure DevOps is state of the art. It’s future proof, especially to handle monthly updates in the SaaS world. Unfortunately, there is no standard setup for Azure DevOps and no standard CI / CD process available – not yet. Conclusion – we need to define this Setup and the CI / CD process for MSDyn365BC! Artifacts Let’s keep it simple – an Azure DevOps Artifact is a package….

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