Hello @taylorgmojo ,
Migrating from an unmanaged CRM instance with multiple publishers to a managed solutions approach can be challenging due to the interdependencies and sheer volume of components involved. Here are detailed answers to your questions and steps to help you achieve this:
1. Is it safe to merge multiple publishers into a single solution to enable ALM?
Yes, it is generally safe to merge multiple publishers into a single solution to facilitate ALM (Application Lifecycle Management). This approach helps streamline your development and deployment processes. However, careful planning and execution are required to handle dependencies and ensure that nothing breaks during the transition.
2. How to find and add all unmanaged objects to a single solution?
Given the vast number of components, manually inspecting and adding each object is impractical. Instead, you can automate the process using PowerShell scripts and the Dynamics 365 Web API.
3. Scripts or techniques to get all unmanaged components into a solution
Here’s a step-by-step approach to automate the process, you can do it manually bue also try in a programatically way:
Prerequisites:
- PowerShell installed on your system.
- Microsoft.Xrm.Data.PowerShell module to interact with Dynamics 365.
Steps:
Install the Dynamics 365 PowerShell Module:
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Xrm.Data.Powershell
$crmConn = Get-CrmConnection -InteractiveMode
# Load required assemblies
Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.Xrm.Tooling.Connector
# Connect to the CRM organization
$conn = Get-CrmConnection -InteractiveMode
# Solution unique name where you want to add components
$solutionUniqueName = "NewManagedSolution"
# Function to add an entity to a solution
function Add-EntityToSolution($entityLogicalName) {
$addReq = @{
ComponentType = 1 # Entity
ComponentId = (Get-CrmEntityMetadata -conn $conn -EntityLogicalName $entityLogicalName).MetadataId
SolutionUniqueName = $solutionUniqueName
}
Add-CrmSolutionComponent @addReq
}
# Function to add all unmanaged entities to the solution
function Add-AllUnmanagedEntitiesToSolution {
$entities = Get-CrmEntityMetadata -conn $conn -EntityFilters Entity
foreach ($entity in $entities) {
if ($entity.IsManaged -eq $false) {
Add-EntityToSolution -entityLogicalName $entity.LogicalName
}
}
}
# Execute the function to add all unmanaged entities
Add-AllUnmanagedEntitiesToSolution
Additional Considerations:
- Test in a Sandbox Environment: Perform these steps in a sandbox environment to ensure that everything works as expected before applying changes to the production environment.
- Backup Your Environment: Always take a full backup of your CRM instance before making significant changes.
- Review Dependencies: Carefully review and resolve any dependencies during the migration process. This might require some manual intervention and testing to ensure all components function correctly.
- ALM Best Practices: Once the initial migration is complete, establish ALM best practices using tools like Azure DevOps for source control, build, and deployment pipelines to manage your managed solutions effectively.
By following these steps, you can consolidate your unmanaged components into a managed solution, streamline your CRM environment, and enable effective ALM practices going forward.
