Power Platform Community Forum Thread Details

Hi everyone,

I'm currently facing a complex issue with solution upgrades in Power Platform and would appreciate any guidance

I have two managed solutions:

Logistica
Produccion

Both were updated in DEV, where I removed some connection references that are no longer needed.

In PROD, I imported both solutions using Stage for upgrade, which created:

Logistica Upgrade
Produccion Upgrade

However, when trying to apply the upgrades, both fail with the following error:

"The uninstall operation will delete the base layer for the component 'connectionreference'... The operation cannot continue because there are other managed layers over the base layer."

When inspecting the solution layers of the connection references in PROD, I found a circular layering issue:

One connection reference has:
- Base layer → Logistica
- Top layer → Produccion
The other has:
- Base layer → Produccion
- Top layer → Logistica

So both solutions are effectively layered on top of each other for different connection references.

The connection references have already been removed in DEV and I cannot apply upgrade on either solution due to the layer conflict

This creates a deadlock situation: each solution blocks the other from removing its base layer

What is the recommended approach to resolve circular solution layering ?

Categories:

Using connectors

Hi @EP-26031545-0,

You can refer to the below links:
Failed deleting solution error due to circular dependencies between two solutions - Microsoft Dataverse | Microsoft Learn

Breaking the Deadlock: Solving Circular Dependencies in Power Platform ALM

One of the most difficult "Dependency Hell" scenarios in Power Platform ALM (Application Lifecycle Management).

In the community, this is often called a "Solution Deadlock" or "Circular Dependency". It happens because of how the Power Platform handles the Managed Layer Stack.

The Problem: Circular Layering
When Solution A contains a component that Solution B depends on, and Solution B contains a component that Solution A depends on, you create a "Mexican Standoff" for the platform's update engine.

The "Core Solution" Fix (The Gold Standard)
Your recommended approach is exactly how Microsoft Architects solve this. By moving the "Shared" components into a separate Core/Common Solution, you create a linear dependency instead of a circular one.

The New Hierarchy:

Shared/Core Solution: Owns the Connection References.

Solution A: Depends on Core.

Solution B: Depends on Core.

Now, you can update A or B independently because neither one "owns" the foundation of the other.

Critical Success Steps:
Consolidate: Create the "Core" solution in your Development environment.

Export/Import: Deploy the Core solution to Production first.

Clean Up: Once the Core solution is in place, you must perform a "Solution Upgrade" (not just an update) on Solution A and B to ensure the metadata properly points to the new owner.

Layer Check: Use the "See Solution Layers" feature in the Power Apps portal to confirm that the Connection Reference no longer shows "Active" or "Managed" layers from the old, incorrect solutions.

✅ If this answer helped resolve your issue, please mark it as Accepted so it can help others with the same problem.
👍 Feel free to Like the post if you found it useful.