Walkthrough: Setting Up Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Use Connector

You can use Connector for Microsoft Dynamics to integrate and synchronize data between Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. This walkthrough provides a step-by-step demonstration of how to set up Connector for Microsoft Dynamics. It uses demonstration installations of Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 4.0.

About This Walkthrough

This walkthrough shows how to set up Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online so that you can see data integration and synchronization in action. After completing this walkthrough, you will be able to use Connector for Microsoft Dynamics to experiment with synchronizing data between Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. This walkthrough illustrates the following tasks:

  • Creating a Microsoft Dynamics CRM organization.

  • Enabling synchronization in Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

  • Installing Connector for Microsoft Dynamics.

  • Configuring Connector for Microsoft Dynamics.

  • Creating an integration.

  • Synchronizing data.

Roles

This walkthrough demonstrates tasks that are performed by the following user role:

  • Software developer

After the set up performed in this walkthrough is complete, an order processor can work in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM environment to create, enter, and modify data that is synchronized with Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

Prerequisites

To complete this walkthrough, you will need:

  • An installation of the CRONUS International Ltd. demonstration database W1 version.

  • Windows Live IDs.

Creating a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Organization

In the following procedure, you will set up a Microsoft Dynamics CRM organization using a free trial subscription of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

Note

After you set up the trial subscription, you have 30 days to use it before it expires.

To set up Microsoft Dynamics CRM

  1. Create two Windows Live ID accounts for the following types of users:

    • Admin User

    • Integration User

    For more information, see Windows Live, http://www.live.com.

  2. Create a new Microsoft Dynamics CRM organization using the Admin User account. For more information, see https://crm.dynamics.com.

    1. Choose the Free Trial button.

    2. In the Country or region box, select United States. Choose Submit.

    3. Complete the sign up and activation process. Record the organization name and URL that you create. You will need this information in subsequent steps.

  3. Type the URL into the address bar of your Internet browser to start the organization. If prompted, log on to your organization using the Admin User account.

To add an integration user to the online organization

  1. In the navigation pane, choose Settings, choose Administration, and then choose Users.

  2. To create a new user, choose New.

  3. Select the System Customizer role. Choose Next.

  4. Enter the following information:

    • First Name: Enter a first name.

    • Last Name: Enter a last name.

    • E-mail: Enter the Windows Live ID for the Integration User.

  5. Choose Add, and then choose Next.

  6. In the Send email invitations form, select the Add New users and send invitations now option. Choose Create New Users and then choose Close.

  7. Sign out from your Admin User account.

  8. Sign in to your online organization as the Integration User. When prompted, accept the invitation and license terms.

  9. Sign out from Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

Enabling Synchronization in Microsoft Dynamics NAV

To integrate data between Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you must enable synchronization in Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Microsoft Dynamics NAV web services must also be started. For more information, see the "Enabling Web Services to work with the Microsoft Dynamics Connector" section in Troubleshooting: Integrating with the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics.

To turn on integration and enable synchronization

  1. Start Microsoft Dynamics NAV. In the Search box, enter Marketing Setup, and then choose the related link.

  2. On the Inheritance FastTab, clear all check boxes.

    Note

    If you are using the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics, you must clear all check boxes, or else you may encounter synchronization issues with contact information.

  3. On the Synchronization FastTab, select the Enable Connector check box. Choose Yes to confirm.

  4. Exit and start Microsoft Dynamics NAV again before you configure Connector for Microsoft Dynamics.

  5. After you enable Connector for Microsoft Dynamics, verify that the following service is started:

    • Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server

    For more information, see How to: Set Up and Enable the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics.

Installing Connector for Microsoft Dynamics

The next step is to install Connector for Microsoft Dynamics. To download the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics installation file, see Connector for Microsoft Dynamics (requires PartnerSource account).

To install Connector for Microsoft Dynamics

  1. Copy the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics installation file to a folder on your computer.

  2. Double-click the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics.msi file to start the installation wizard.

  3. Type the product registration key.

    Note

    You receive the product registration key when you download the connector.

  4. In Connection Information, enter the name of the computer that is running SQL Server. This is the computer where you want to install and set up the Microsoft Dynamics Integration (MSDI) database.

  5. In the Service account ID and Password fields, type the integration account information in the form Domain\user name. This is the account information that you use to run integration. You must use a Windows domain user account.

  6. Choose Install to complete the installation.

Configuring Connector for Microsoft Dynamics

The following procedures show the basics of configuring the adapters for Connector for Microsoft Dynamics. For complete instructions, see the technical documentation that is included with Connector for Microsoft Dynamics.

To configure the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Adapter

  1. Start Connector for Microsoft Dynamics and choose Adapter Settings.

  2. In the navigation pane, select Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, and on the Adapter Settings form, enter the following information:

    • Domain: crm.dynamics.com

    • User Name: Enter the Windows Live ID for Integration User.

    • Password: Enter the Windows Live ID password for Integration User.

    • Port: Leave blank.

    • Discovery Server: dev.crm.dynamics.com

    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online: Select this check box.

  3. Choose the Test Settings button. After the test succeeds, you receive a message stating that you must configure the organization. Choose Apply.

  4. Choose Configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

  5. In the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Adapter Configuration dialog box, enter the following information:

    • CRM Discovery Server: dev.crm.dynamics.com

    • Port: Leave blank.

    • CRM Online or CRM hosted deployment: Select this check box.

    • Domain: crm.dynamics.com

    • Account: Enter the Windows Live ID for Admin User.

    • Password: Enter the Windows Live ID password for Admin User.

  6. Choose Get Organizations and select the online organization that you created. Choose Next.

  7. In the Select the entities to configure for integration dialog box, use the default values. Choose Next.

  8. In the Configure Status for Organization dialog box, select the Import and overwrite customizations check box. Choose Configure, and then choose the OK button to confirm.

  9. When configuration is complete, choose Finish.

    Note

    As part of the configuration process, the Dynamics Integration role is created and Integration User is automatically added to this role. The Access Mode for Integration User is set to Non-Interactive, which means that Integration User will no longer be able to log on to the online CRM organization.

To configure the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Adapter

  1. In the navigation pane, select the version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV that you want, and then open the Adapter Settings form.

  2. On the Adapter Settings form, enter the following information:

    • Domain: Enter your Windows domain.

    • User Name: Enter your Windows user name or alias.

    • Password: Enter your domain password.

    • URL: https://localhost:7047/DynamicsNAV/WS/

  3. Choose Test Settings. After the test succeeds, choose Configure Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

  4. In the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Adapter Configuration dialog box, enter the following information:

    • NAV Base Web Service URL: https://localhost:7047/DynamicsNAV/WS/

    • NAV Administrator Domain: Enter your Windows domain.

    • NAV Administrator Account: Enter your Windows user name or alias.

    • NAV Administrator Password: Enter your domain password.

    Choose Connect.

  5. In the Select Organization box, select CRONUS International Ltd. Choose Finish.

  6. On the Adapter Settings form, choose Close.

Creating an Integration

The next step is to create an integration. In the following procedure, you specify how to map the data between Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

After you have configured the adapters as described in the previous section, Connector for Microsoft Dynamics prompts you to create a new integration. You can also choose New Integration before you start the following procedure.

To create an integration

  1. In the New Integration dialog box, choose From Template and select Dynamics NAV 2013/Dynamics CRM 4.0.

  2. Enter the following information:

    1. Application 1

      • Application: Microsoft Dynamics NAV

      • Company: CRONUS International Ltd.

    2. Application 2

      • Application: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

      • Company: <Your online organization>

  3. Choose Create.

Synchronizing Data

The final part of the walkthrough demonstrates how to synchronize your data. You activate the maps that you have created in the integration part of the walkthrough and check logs for information, errors, and warnings.

You activate maps one at a time. Allow each map to complete its synchronization before you continue with the next one. At any time, in the navigation pane, choose Maps to see an overview of map synchronization activity.

Activate maps in the following order. This helps manage data dependencies and helps prevent integration warnings and errors.

  1. NAV Enumerated Values to Picklist1

  2. NAV Currency Exchange Rates to Currency

  3. NAV Units of Measure to Unit Group

  4. NAV Salespeople/Purchasers to ERP System User

  5. NAV Customer Card to Account

  6. NAV Contact Card to Contact

  7. NAV Item Card to Product

  8. NAV Resource List to Product

  9. NAV Sales Order to Order

  10. NAV Sales Invoice to Invoice

  11. NAV Posted Sales Invoice to Invoice

  12. Account to NAV Customer Card

  13. Contact to NAV Contact Card

  14. Order to NAV Sales Order

1You have to run this map only one time. To specify how often a mapping runs, next to the Check for Changes option, choose Edit for each map that you activate. To have the integration run one time, set the Recurrence Pattern to Once.

To activate a map

  1. Verify that Connector for Microsoft Dynamics is running. You can determine this by reviewing the information in the status bar.

    If Connector for Microsoft Dynamics is not running, right-click Home, and then select Start the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics Service.

  2. Under Home, expand Maps, and then select a map to activate. Choose Activate.

    Important

    Activate maps in the recommended order.

  3. Choose Save to start synchronization.

  4. Choose View log for this map, and then choose Refresh list to review messages in the log file. If necessary, choose Refresh List periodically until messages appear.

    Synchronization is complete when a message of severity Info indicates completion. A typical message looks like this:

    [NAV Customer Card to Account] has completed. 65 record(s) have been written. 0 record(s) have been deleted. Total runtime was 21.2801278 seconds.

    Note

    You will have errors and warnings after you synchronize several of the maps. This is expected behavior because the default demonstration data in Microsoft Dynamics NAV contains values that are incompatible with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. For more information about understanding and resolving these errors, see the technical documentation that is included with Connector for Microsoft Dynamics.

    After you have activated all maps, your data will be synchronized between Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Synchronization occurs at set intervals; the default interval is 45 seconds. To verify that synchronization is occurring, you can create a new account in your online CRM organization and verify that it is correctly synchronized with Microsoft Dynamics NAV. You can search the Customer list to see whether the new account is integrated.

Next Steps

The next step in working with the integration of Microsoft Dynamics NAV with Microsoft Dynamics CRM is to review your own solutions and begin to apply what you have learned in this walkthrough. Before implementing your own integration, you should review and understand the customizations that you will have to implement. Detailed information about how to customize maps is available in the technical documentation that is included with Connector for Microsoft Dynamics. The documentation includes information about the following areas:

  • Working with customizations to Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

  • Implementation details for the standard maps.

  • Editing standard maps and creating new ones.

  • Reviewing and responding to the information in the log files.

  • Troubleshooting tips.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Set Up and Enable the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics
How to: Install the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics

Concepts

Mapping Entities Between Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics CRM