Application Integration Frameworks

Table of ContentsIntroduction0-1Welcome ............................................................................................................ 0-1

Microsoft Dynamics Courseware Contents ........................................................ 0-2

Documentation Conventions .............................................................................. 0-3

Student Objectives ............................................................................................. 0-4

Chapter 1: Introduction to Services and Application Integration Framework1-1Objectives........................................................................................................... 1-1

Introduction......................................................................................................... 1-1

Concepts ............................................................................................................ 1-2

Integrations......................................................................................................... 1-9

Summary .......................................................................................................... 1-14

Test Your Knowledge ....................................................................................... 1-15

Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned ................................................................. 1-16

Solutions........................................................................................................... 1-17

Chapter 2: Architecture2-1Objectives........................................................................................................... 2-1

Introduction......................................................................................................... 2-1

High Level Features and Concepts .................................................................... 2-2

Topology............................................................................................................. 2-7

Usability .............................................................................................................. 2-9

Support for Data Model Changes ..................................................................... 2-14

Summary .......................................................................................................... 2-15



Solutions........................................................................................................... 2-18

Chapter 3: Installation and Upgrade3-1Objectives........................................................................................................... 3-1

Introduction......................................................................................................... 3-1

Installation .......................................................................................................... 3-2

Lab 3.1 - Configure Services to Use IIS ........................................................... 3-16

Lab 3.2 - Install MSMQ..................................................................................... 3-19

Upgrade............................................................................................................ 3-22

Summary .......................................................................................................... 3-29



Solutions........................................................................................................... 3-32Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsiYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementApplication Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012Chapter 4: Administration4-1Objectives........................................................................................................... 4-1

Introduction......................................................................................................... 4-1

Set Up Batch ...................................................................................................... 4-2

Lab 4.1 - Set Up Batch ....................................................................................... 4-6

Integration Ports ................................................................................................. 4-9

Adapters ........................................................................................................... 4-15

Summary .......................................................................................................... 4-24



Solutions........................................................................................................... 4-28

Chapter 5: Development Concepts5-1Objectives........................................................................................................... 5-1

Introduction......................................................................................................... 5-1

Service Types..................................................................................................... 5-2

Document Services ............................................................................................ 5-7

Lab 5.1 - Add Validation and Defaulting to a Web Service............................... 5-24

Lab 5.2 - AIF Document Service Wizard .......................................................... 5-25

Custom Services .............................................................................................. 5-27

System Services............................................................................................... 5-27

How AIF Exchanges Data ................................................................................ 5-31

Customizing the AIF Pipeline ........................................................................... 5-41

Business Operations Framework ..................................................................... 5-52

Lab 5.3 - Business Operations Framework ...................................................... 5-56

Security ............................................................................................................ 5-58

Summary .......................................................................................................... 5-64



Solutions........................................................................................................... 5-69

Chapter 6: Working With Services6-1Objectives........................................................................................................... 6-1

Introduction......................................................................................................... 6-1

Call an External Service ..................................................................................... 6-2

Create and Call a Custom Service by Using a Basic Port.................................. 6-6

Lab 6.1 - Create and Call a Custom Service by Using a Basic Port................. 6-10

Call a Document Service by Using NetTcp ...................................................... 6-13

Lab 6.2 - Call a Document Service by Using NetTcp ....................................... 6-17

Call a Document Service with the File Adapter ................................................ 6-20

Lab 6.3 - Call a Document Service with the File Adapter ................................. 6-26

Create a Synchronous Document Exchange between BizTalk and AIF .......... 6-30

Exchange Documents by Using the MSMQ Adapter........................................ 6-36

Call the Metadata Service ................................................................................ 6-42iiMicrosoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementTable of ContentsLab 6.4 - Call the User Session Service........................................................... 6-46

Create and Deploy Outbound Exchange.......................................................... 6-48

Lab 6.5 - Create and Deploy an Outbound Exchange...................................... 6-60

Summary .......................................................................................................... 6-67



Solutions........................................................................................................... 6-70

Chapter 7: Troubleshooting and Logging7-1Objectives........................................................................................................... 7-1

Introduction......................................................................................................... 7-1

Monitoring Services and AIF .............................................................................. 7-3

Troubleshooting................................................................................................ 7-10

Lab 7.1 - Debugging Services .......................................................................... 7-16

Summary .......................................................................................................... 7-19



Solutions........................................................................................................... 7-22Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreement

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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012ivMicrosoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 1: Introduction to Services and Application Integration FrameworkCHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO SERVICES AND APPLICATION INTEGRATION FRAMEWORKObjectivesThe objectives are:Introduction

List the high-level features of Services and Application Integration

Framework (AIF).

Discuss integration planning and options.

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 provides many services that can be used by the Microsoft Dynamics AX components and with third-party applications. Services are programmable artifacts in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. There are many

out-of-the-box document services that are shipped with Microsoft Dynamics AX

2012, which can be used as it is, or customized to fit requirements. Additionally, new document services can be created, and any static method call can be exposed as a service.

All customizable application and framework X++ services in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 are compiled to Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL). These services can be grouped together and deployed to ports, which is a new concept introduced in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. A port represents a Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service endpoint. By default, a port is hosted on the Application Object Server (AOS).

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 also ships with three non-customizable system services: the Metadata service, the Query service, and the User session service. With these services, clients can interact with and retrieve system information, thus enabling the development of more powerful applications, data queries through Office add-ins, and inquiries into system structure.

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreement

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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012Services and the Application Integration FrameworkIn Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, services provide a first-class programming model for integration and enable the Microsoft Dynamics AX application to expose its functionality by means of Windows Communication Foundation-based services.

Concepts

Application Integration Framework (AIF), built on top of services, supports the processing of incoming and outgoing messages, such as message transforms and value look ups. Together, services and AIF provide the programming model, tools, and infrastructure support for message-based integration of application functionality and data with Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Services and AIF is composed of a number of concepts. Distinguishing between these concepts will help provide a building block for understanding the full capability of Services and AIF. This lesson briefly introduces the concepts in Services and AIF, which will be explained in detail in later chapters.

The following table shows the key concepts of Services and AIF.FeatureDescription

Application Integration

FrameworkThe Application Integration Framework (AIF)

helps users integrate Microsoft Dynamics AX

2012 with other systems that are inside and outside of the enterprise by allowing for the exchange of data through formatted XML, and other formats through transforms.

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Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 1: Introduction to Services and Application Integration FrameworkFeatureDescription

ServicesApplication Object Server (AOS) is the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service host for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 services that are exposed to users and applications on an intranet.

To consume services over the Internet, you must host services on Internet Information Services (IIS). Services that are hosted on IIS use the WCF message routing service. IIS routes all service requests to AOS. All service requests are processed on AOS, regardless of whether they

originate on the Internet or an intranet. AOS then returns a response to the service consumer through IIS. Exchanges that are configured to

use web services are processed synchronously and are therefore not queued. Microsoft Dynamics AX deploys the service that is based on Web Services Description Language (WSDL) to a subfolder of the virtual directory that is associated with the website that you provide.

Service operationsService operations are the capabilities that are offered by a service, and include:

create

delete

find

findKeys

getKeys

getChangedKeys

read

update

Service groupsA service group is a collection of services that are intended to be managed together.

Each service group is associated with one WSDL

rather than having one WSDL for each service, as was the case in previous versions.


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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012FeatureDescription

Integration portsIn Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, integration ports provide simplified administration of services and Application Integration Framework (AIF). Integration ports replace the AIF endpoints and related concepts that were used in previous releases of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Each integration port can expose one or more service operations, and each integration port has a unique Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that identifies the address of the port. The following list shows the available integration ports:

Basic Inbound Port

Enhanced Inbound Port

Enhanced Outbound Port

AdaptersIn Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 services and Application Integration Framework (AIF), integration ports use adapters. These adapters enable Microsoft Dynamics AX to communicate by using various transport protocols. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 provides the following four adapters that represent predefined bindings:

HTTP

NetTCP

MSMQ (Microsoft Message Queuing)

File system

MessagesIn Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 services and Application Integration Framework (AIF). messages use the SOAP specification, even for MSMQ and File System adapters. A message is a self-contained unit of data that can consist of several parts. These parts include an envelope, body, and header. When AIF receives and processes an inbound message, it generates an outbound message in response.

SchemasAIF requires XML documents to follow a specific XML Schema Definition (XSD). XSD files (which have a .xsd file name extension) are meta-documents that describe the format, or schema of XML documents that declare the namespace of the XSD. Each schema includes rules about the hierarchical arrangement of XML elements, which elements must be present in the document, and other such requirements.

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Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 1: Introduction to Services and Application Integration FrameworkFeatureDescription

TransformsTo accommodate for the fixed schema that is required by AIF, the following transforms were introduced.

eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transform (XSLT) - XML-based language to transform an XML document to a different XML document.

.NET assembly - Custom logic to allow a programmer to perform tasks such as converting a .csv to an .xml document.

Refactored ServicesIn Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Microsoft improved services with the following key areas:

Simple setup and configuration

A first class programming model

Aligning with industry standards

Richer integration of specific features

Performance enhancements

Simple Setup and ConfigurationIn Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, user interfaces were simplified. In previous versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX, there were 17 top-level concepts on menus. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 has four top-level concepts.

Inbound ports

Outbound ports

Value substitution maps

Web sites

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 applies the "Progressive Disclosure" principal to accomplish a more simplistic setup and configuration, while adding more capabilities. With this applied principal, administrators are only provided options when they need them. For example: Service contract customizations are available when you configure enhanced inbound ports, but not when you configure basic inbound ports.

In addition to a simplified user interface, the following changes were made to simplify the experience by using and administering services and AIF in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.


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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012ChangeDescription

Services hosted on the AOSThe Application Object Server (AOS) is the WCF service host for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 services. Services that are hosted on AOS are mainly intended to be consumed from the intranet.

IIS services hosted without a

.NET Business

ConnectorIn the previous release of Microsoft Dynamics AX, IIS-hosted services required .NET Business Connector to communicate with the AOS. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, IIS-hosted services use the WCF routing service instead of the .NET Business Connector.

The business connector proxy user account is still required for running the IIS application pool, and it must match the user business connector proxy user account that is specified in Microsoft Dynamics AX system accounts and the business connector proxy user account that is still used for impersonation.

AutoDeploy property on service groupsThe AutoDeploy property on service groups allows these groups to be deployed without administrator interaction.

First Class Programming ModelSome of the steps that have been taken to transform services into a first class programming model include the following:

System services like Query service, Metadata data service, and user session service have been added

No custom code is needed to expose X++ logic as a service because declarative attributes are now available to help the developer do this

"Always On" service groups work out-of-the-box

Document service code generation transparently handles the

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 data model changes

Align with StandardsMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012 provides expanded support for Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), beyond the basic HTTP and HTTPS bindings. The proprietary BizTalk Server adapter that is used in the previous releases of Microsoft Dynamics AX is no longer available. Instead, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 provides equivalent functionality through native WCF functionality. However, custom adapters that were developed by customers and partners by using the AIF adapter framework continue to be supported in this release.

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Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 1: Introduction to Services and Application Integration FrameworkNew FeaturesServices and AIF for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 include feature improvements, which are shown in the following table.

FeatureDescription

Service groupsWith service groups, a developer can group related services together.

Integration portsIntegration ports provide a simple interface to control data that is going into and coming out of services and AIF.

Support for non- XML filesData that is not XML, for example, a comma-delimited file, can now be imported into and exported from Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Batched messagingIn Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you can submit large amounts of data by using the batch XML schema. This schema allows you to group single messages into message sets that can be submitted together by using a single XML document.

Change trackingIn Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you can configure the database to keep track of when changes happen at the table level. When so configured, you can use the getChangedKeys service operation to retrieve entity keys for only those documents that have changed based on certain criteria, such as a specified date and time.

Performance improvedSeveral improvements were made to enhance the overall performance of services and AIF in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

SecurityMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012 offers a robust and flexible security framework. Users are granted access to Microsoft Dynamics AX based on their assigned role.

Services and AIF rely on WCF for additional security. You can change the WCF configuration to make necessary security settings that are required by Microsoft Dynamics AX services. WCF is responsible for authenticating the user. Service-level authorization is defined by the integration port configuration.

Improved troubleshootingA new table links message and exception log data. You can do a full-text search for all records in the following AIF forms:

Exceptions

History

Queue manager

Debugging was moved to Visual Studio.


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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012FeatureDescription

Support data model changesThe document services framework supports the data model changes that are implemented in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

Performance EnhancementsThe following list describes enhancements in services and AIF that result in improved performance:

Compiled CIL is used to process Services.

To achieve scale and redundancy, you can configure AOS servers with the Network Load Balancing (NLB) for Microsoft Dynamics AX services. The AOS-clustering solution affects only the RPC- based connections and does not allow you to load balance Microsoft Dynamics AX services.

Client applications can access services through the WCF runtime without using .NET Business Connector, which was required for services and AIF in previous releases of Microsoft Dynamics AX.

A deployment on an intranet does not require IIS because services are now hosted on the AOS by default.

You can host services on IIS for requests that originated from the Internet; however, the routing service on IIS dispatches these requests to the AOS host. All service requests, regardless of the origin, are processed on the AOS.

The services framework uses connection pooling to reduce the overhead of creating and destroying a session on service calls.

All of the services references are placed in a single web services description language (WSDL) file. The single helps helps developers reuse types when they are consuming Microsoft Dynamics AX services.

ArchitectureMicrosoft Dynamics AX exposes its functionality through services that are based on Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and hosted on Application Object Server (AOS) by default, or Internet Information Services (IIS) with extra configuration. All services requests, regardless of their origin, are handled by the WCF runtime that is hosted on AOS. External applications and client

applications on the local area network consume Microsoft Dynamics AX services by accessing them directly from AOS.

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Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 1: Introduction to Services and Application Integration FrameworkIntegrations

These clients and applications include Microsoft Dynamics AX components such as the Microsoft Dynamics AX client, Office Add-ins for Microsoft Dynamics AX, and Enterprise Portal for Microsoft Dynamics AX. Internet-based external applications and clients can access the Microsoft Dynamics AX services through IIS. IIS routes the incoming requests for Microsoft Dynamics AX services to AOS.

Most Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 implementations will require integrating with one or more other systems. Some examples of outside systems that would require integration to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 include:

An ERP in another division

A corporate website

A shipping station

Creating and maintaining these integrations can be one of the more difficult tasks that are performed in an implementation, and careful planning should be performed to ensure smooth implementation and operation of these integrations.

Services and Application Integration Framework (AIF) provides a capable platform for implementing these integrations.

Integration by Using ServicesIntegrations to external systems are best implemented by using the services programming model. Although the weakly-typed and strongly-typed .NET interop to X++ can be used for the integration development pattern, we do not recommend the use of these technologies for integration. Their firewall unfriendliness, combined with their dependencies on Business Connector assemblies make these technologies unfit for most integration scenarios.

If the functionality that you need is not available in a service that ships with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you can use the declarative attributes to expose existing X++ classes and methods as a service interface.

Service TypesTo support a range of options for customization and programmability, including writing integrations, Microsoft Dynamics AX provides the following types of services:

Custom Services are services that you create to expose X++ logic through a service interface. You can use the business logic with inbound or outbound transfers.


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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012Document Services represent data and business logic within Microsoft Dynamics AX. You can use or customize the over 70 standard Axd document services that are included with Microsoft Dynamics AX. If none of the standard document services meet your needs, you can create a new document service by using the AIF Document Service Wizard.

System Services cannot be customized. The Query Service, Metadata Service, and User Session Service are Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) services that are included with Microsoft Dynamics AX. The services provide access to data that is returned in queries, metadata for AOT objects such as tables and extended data types (EDTs), and data about the calling user such as default

language and default company.Integration PlanningPlanning is an important part of any data integration effort. When you integrate Microsoft Dynamics AX with other systems, one of the first steps is the planning phase. In this phase, the implementation team must define high-level requirements and make decisions about the design of the integration. After these requirements are defined, the partner, IT staff, and development staff can work together to define the best way to implement the exchange in Application Integration Framework (AIF).

The decisions that must be made about the design of the integration fit into two primary categories: decisions about the data and decisions about the environment.

Data - Central to integration is the data. While planning the integration, you must make many decisions about the data that is being exchanged and the associated business rules. This phase often involves the expertise and knowledge of business users, because these users understand the meaning of the data and can define the requirements for integration.

Environment - Configuration requirements define the environment that is used for integrations. Factors that affect these requirements include the network configuration, the hardware and software configuration of the external system, and the level of trust between Microsoft Dynamics AX and the external system.

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Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 1: Introduction to Services and Application Integration FrameworkBefore integrations are created, we recommend that the implementation team consider the questions that are described in the following table.

QuestionEffect on the Design

What data will need to be exchanged?This information helps you determine whether you can take advantage of an existing document service. If you cannot, you might have to create a new document service or a new custom service, or you might have to use one of the system services.

Is the data sent from Microsoft Dynamics AX to an external system, or is the data received by Microsoft Dynamics AX from an external system?This information helps you determine whether you must use an inbound or outbound integration port.

Is the integration based on the "pull" model or the "push" model? In the "pull" model, the external system requests data from Microsoft Dynamics AX. In the "push" model, an event in the application causes data to be sent to the external

system.This information helps you determine how to configure a document exchange.

Integrations that pull data into Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 will need to use an integrating technology other than Services and AIF

Is there any business logic that needs to be implemented for this

integration that would not be found in existing AIF documents?This information helps you determine whether any customizations must be made to existing AIF documents.

Do the documents that are sent or received need to be transformed? Do the transformations have to be performed before data is sent or when data is received? What is the extent of the data transformations? Are the transformations performed by Microsoft Dynamics AX or an external system?This information helps you determine whether AIF value mapping, .NET transformations, or XSLT transformations must be used.

Does the external system have any restrictions about how data is exchanged? In other words, the external system can only create .csv documents, and it can only save them to the local file system.This information helps you determine the type of transport adapter that is required for the exchange.

Is the external system an in-house system or an external trading partner?This information helps you determine how users and security must be configured.


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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012QuestionEffect on the Design

What is the availability of the systems that are being integrated? What are the requirements for real- time data exchanges?This information helps you determine whether you must use synchronous or asynchronous adapters.

What is the volume of transactions?This information helps you determine which adapters you must use. The information also helps you determine the scale of the deployment, such as the number of computers that run Application Object Server (AOS).

Integration Planning ProcessTypical integration scenarios use document-based exchanges. Whether you require integration with internal legacy systems or external trading partners, planning for the integration involves common key steps.

1. In a typical integration scenario, users who have business expertise first determine the requirements for document exchanges. These are requirements from a business perspective. The business users work with the implementation team to determine the following requirements:

oThe data that must be exchanged

oAny business logic that is related to that data

oThe external systems with which data must be exchanged

oThe conditions under which data is sent from or received by

Microsoft Dynamics AX2. The system implementer works with the IT staff to determine the hardware and software requirements for Application Integration Framework (AIF). The system implementer analyzes the existing environment and recommends any new hardware or software that must be installed.

3. The IT staff installs and configures any hardware and software that are required to support AIF, and sets up the required authentication, encryption, and authorization.

4. A developer programs the document exchange. The developer can either customize the AIF documents or create new documents to meet the requirements of the business users. The configuration of AIF partly depends on the network environment. Therefore, the developer can work with the IT staff to implement an integration scenario.

5. The IT staff monitors the document exchanges and troubleshoots any errors that are generated.

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Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 1: Introduction to Services and Application Integration FrameworkThe following figure provides a high-level view of the process that is used to integrate Microsoft Dynamics AX with other systems.

FIGURE 1.1 INTEGRATION PLANNING PROCESS

Skills RequiredThe following are the skills and expertise that is needed to fully take advantage of services and AIF:

X++ development

C# and Visual Studio

Internet Information Services (IIS) administration, if IIS-based web services are deployed

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreement

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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012Summary

Integration concepts, such as enterprise application integration (EAI), business-to-business (B2B), and synchronous and asynchronous transports

Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0

Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ), if used

Services and AIF for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 provide a first class programming experience for integrations and creating applications. These technologies allow data to be passed into external systems from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, and into Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 from external systems, by using XML and other formats.

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, services and AIF were refactored for simplicity, alignment with industry standards, and to add more capabilities. These changes include:

Reducing high level concepts from 17 to 4

Adding features that allow services and AIF to be used for more than integrations

Support for WS-* compliant services

Service groups

Support for non XML files

Batched messaging

Change tracking1-14

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 1: Introduction to Services and Application Integration FrameworkTest Your KnowledgeTest your knowledge with the following questions.

1. Categorize the following features: 1. Service

Groups

2. Integration port

3. Support for non-XML files

4. Performance improved 5. Support data model changes 6. Improved troubleshooting

7. Change tracking

8. Batched messaging

a.Service groups help a developer group related services together.

b. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you can submit large amounts of data by using the batch XML schema. This schema helps you group single messages into message sets that can be submitted together by using a single XML document.

c.In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you can configure the database to keep track of when changes happen at the table level. When so configured, you can use the getChangedKeys service operation to retrieve entity keys for only those documents that have changed based on certain criteria, such as a specified date and time.

d. Integration ports provide a simple interface to control data going into and coming out of services and AIF.

e.Several improvements were made to enhance the overall performance of services and AIF in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

f.The document services framework supports the data model changes that are implemented in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

g. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, the troubleshooting and logging of AIF was performed at the service operation level. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, services and AIF troubleshooting and logging is performed at the integration port level.

h. Data that is not XML, for example, a comma- delimited file, can now be imported into and exported from Microsoft Dynamics AX.

2. What is the preferred method for integrating to Microsoft Dynamics AX

2012?

( ) .NET Interop

( ) .NET Business Connector

( ) ServicesMicrosoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreement

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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012Quick Interaction: Lessons LearnedTake a moment and write down three key points you have learned from this chapter

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Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 1: Introduction to Services and Application Integration FrameworkSolutionsTest Your Knowledge1. Categorize the following features: a 1. Service

Groups

d 2. Integration port

h 3. Support for non-XML files

e 4. Performance improved f 5. Support data model changes

g 6. Improved troubleshooting

c 7. Change tracking

b 8. Batched messaging

a.Service groups help a developer group related services together.

b. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you can submit large amounts of data by using the batch XML schema. This schema helps you group single messages into message sets that can be submitted together by using a single XML document.

c.In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you can configure the database to keep track of when changes happen at the table level. When so configured, you can use the getChangedKeys service operation to retrieve entity keys for only

those documents that have changed based on certain criteria, such as a specified date and time.

d. Integration ports provide a simple interface to control data going into and coming out of services and AIF.

e.Several improvements were made to enhance the overall performance of services and AIF in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

f.The document services framework supports the data model changes that are implemented in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

g. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, the troubleshooting and logging of AIF was performed at the service operation level. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, services and AIF troubleshooting and logging is performed at the integration port level.

h. Data that is not XML, for example, a comma- delimited file, can now be imported into and exported from Microsoft Dynamics AX.

2. What is the preferred method for integrating to Microsoft Dynamics AX

2012?

( ) .NET Interop

( ) .NET Business Connector

() ServicesMicrosoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreement

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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 20121-18Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 2: ArchitectureCHAPTER 2: ARCHITECTUREObjectivesThe objectives are:Introduction

Review high level flows in Services and Application Integration

Framework (AIF).

Discuss the topology of the Services and AIF model.

Describe moving service configurations by using integration ports in

AIF.

Discuss the new process of change tracking.

Review the transforms that are available for customization in banking.

Demonstrate Excel Document Service Registration.

Review support data model changes in Microsoft Dynamics AX2012.

Application Integration Framework (AIF) helps companies integrate Microsoft Dynamics AX with external business processes and partners through the exchange of XML over various transport media.

As mentioned in the "Architecture lesson" of Chapter 1: Introduction to Services and Application Integration Framework all services are WCF based and hosted on AOS. When intranet communication is needed for services that are using IIS, the requests are routed to AOS for processing. Inbound and outbound messages can take advantage of message transforms or value substitutions when they are configured to do this.


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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012The following diagram illustrates the services and AIF architecture.

FIGURE 2.1 SERVICES AND AIF ARCHITECTURE

High Level Features and ConceptsThe process flows in Microsoft Dynamics AX2012 are managed by integration ports, simplifying the administration of services and the AIF. This replaces AIF endpoints and related concepts that were used in previous releases of Microsoft Dynamics AX. This lesson will review those high level processes and illustrate the following flowing features and concepts.

Synchronous and asynchronous transports

Basic and enhanced ports

Inbound and outbound message exchanges

Service types2-2

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 2: ArchitectureService operations

Service groups

Synchronous and Asynchronous TransportsAIF supports synchronous and asynchronous transports for exchanging XML documents with external systems. In synchronous mode, requests are tightly coupled to responses, and the same connection is used for the request and the response. In this case, AIF immediately processes the request and then sends a response. In asynchronous mode, requests are sent through a queue, called the gateway queue. Queued messages are processed at a later time. In this case, responses are delayed, but large volumes of messages can be processed more efficiently, and message processing can be controlled by changing various configuration settings.

Basic Integration PortsBasic integration ports are exposed through a specific Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) endpoint on the Application Object Server (AOS) host. Only a developer can create a new basic integration port. When a developer creates a service group in the Application Object Tree (AOT), a basic inbound integration port is also automatically created if the autoDeploy property is set to yes. The basic inbound integration port is then associated with the service group. Some basic integration ports, such as those that are used for system services, are auto deployed and enabled by default.

Enhanced Integration PortsIf you want advanced integration capabilities that you can use to customize the behavior of an integration port, you must create an enhanced integration port. Enhanced integration ports provide the following capabilities that basic integration ports do not provide:

Services can be hosted on either AOS or Internet Information

Services (IIS).A variety of protocols are supported through WCF adapters. These protocols include HTTP and NetTCP. Enhanced integration ports also support a file system adapter that lets you use file paths as addresses and a MSMQ adapter.

You can configure pre-processing and post-processing of service requests and service responses, for instance through configurable transformations.

You can customize service and data contracts by selecting the set of service operations that are exposed when you create the data policies.

You can specify advanced security and troubleshooting settings.

Change tracking is supportedMicrosoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreement

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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012Inbound and OutboundInbound ports are used by external systems to call Microsoft Dynamics AX AIF and services. This kind of exchange is called an inbound exchange. For example, during an inbound exchange, an external system can send a sales order so that the sales order can be saved to the Microsoft Dynamics AX database.

AIF can also be used by Microsoft Dynamics AX to call external systems. For example purchase orders can be sent electronically to an external system by using an outbound exchange. Some outbound exchanges can be triggered by an

inbound message. For example, an external system might send an inbound request for information about a specific product and receive product information from an outbound message. This kind of exchange is called an outbound exchange.

How Documents are ExchangedAIF provides an extensible framework for the exchange of XML documents with external systems. The framework supports synchronous and asynchronous transports. In synchronous mode, requests are tightly coupled to responses. This means that the submitter of the request must wait for a response from AIF before proceeding. In this case, AIF immediately processes the request and then sends a response. In asynchronous mode, requests are placed into a queue, called the gateway queue. Queued messages are processed at a later time and AIF sends a response when processing is completed. In this case, responses are delayed, but large volumes of messages can be processed more efficiently, and message processing can be controlled by changing various configuration settings.

AIF can be used to send data into Microsoft Dynamics AX. This kind of exchange is called an inbound exchange. For example, during an inbound exchange, an external system might send a sales order so that the sales order can be saved to the Microsoft Dynamics AX database. AIF can also be used to retrieve data from Microsoft Dynamics AX. This kind of exchange is called an outbound exchange. For example, during an outbound exchange, an external system might send a request for a purchase order and receive the purchase order.

The inbound and outbound exchanges can be categorized in the following ways:

Send data Microsoft Dynamics AX sends documents to an external system.

Send data in response to requests Microsoft Dynamics AX receives requests for documents from another authorized system, and retrieves the requested information, such as a document or a list of documents, from the Microsoft Dynamics AX database.

Microsoft Dynamics AX then returns the information to the requesting system, and the appropriate filtering and security are applied. The request message contains the entity keys or a query that specifies the data that

the external system is requesting.2-4

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 2: ArchitectureReceive and create data Microsoft Dynamics AX receives documents from another authorized system and creates new records in the Microsoft Dynamics AX database.

ParallelismTo improve performance for data exchange by using asynchronous adapters, AIF supports parallelism. Parallelism specifies that inbound messages are processed by one or more AOSs without regard to the order in which they are received or produced. This helps you scale out message processing by adding multiple

AOSs. Note that you can enable parallelism only for inbound channels.

Parallel processing in AIF is implemented on a channel-by-channel basis. Follow these steps to implement parallel processing.

1. Click System Administration > Setup > Services and Application Integration Framework > Inbound Port or System Administration > Setup > Services and Application Integration Framework > Outbound Port.

2. Select a channel and select the Process requests in parallel check box.Conversational parallelismalso known as ordered parallelismmeans that you can specify certain messages to be processed sequentially in a channel, even when parallelism is enabled for that channel. This is done by including a special XML element called in the messages that require sequential processing. All messages with the same ConversationId will then be processed sequentially.

NOTE: If you do not select the Parallel processing field in the Channels form, all inbound messages for a particular endpoint will be processed sequentially and the element in a message is ignored.Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreement

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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012Service TypesMicrosoft Dynamics AX, together with AIF, enables building integrations with other systems. By using the programming model for Microsoft Dynamics AX services, you can customize the document services that are included with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, create new custom services. To support a range of option for customization and programmability, Microsoft Dynamics AX provides the following types of services:

Document Services - Services that represent data and business logic within Microsoft Dynamics AX. You can use or customize the over

70 standard Axd document services that are included with Microsoft Dynamics AX. If none of the standard document services meet your needs, you can create a new document service by using the AIF Document Service Wizard. Each document is represented by a class; the name of a document class is preceded by Axd. For example, AxdSalesOrder is the name of the document and also the name of the document class.

Custom Services - Services that you create to expose X++ logic through a service interface. You can use the business logic with inbound or outbound transfers.

System Services - Services that cannot be customized. The Query Service, Metadata Service, and User Session Service are Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) services that are included with Microsoft Dynamics AX. They provide access to data that is returned in queries, metadata for AOT objects such as tables and extended

data types (EDTs), and data about the calling user such as default language and default company.

Document Service OperationsA service operation is a named set of functionality that is offered by a service. A service can expose multiple service operations. The service operations that a service exposes can include custom service operations.

For example, the sales order document services service operation that creates a new sales order is named SalesSalesOrderService.create. Service operations include: create, delete, find, findkeys, getkeys, getchangedkeys, read, and update

NOTE: When you configure an integration port, you must know which service operations have to be exposed from the port.2-6

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 2: ArchitectureService GroupsDevelopers can group services and service operations that are managed and consumed together into a service group. All the services in a service group are published through a basic port, in a single WSDL file. The WSDL contains all service and data contracts for the service operations of the service group, which simplifies developing the code that consumes services.

NOTE: A Web Service Description Language (WSDL) file defines the operations that are available for a service.Developers can create a service group in the Application Object Tree (AOT). Developers can use the AutoDeploy property to specify whether the service groups that they create are automatically deployed and activated when they are created. Developers must manually deploy and activate any service groups that are not automatically activated.

NOTE: Service groups are associated only with basic integration ports.TopologyThere are certain factors to consider when you plan the topology of services and

Application Integration Framework (AIF).

AdaptersIn Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 services and Application Integration Framework (AIF), integration ports use adapters. These adapters enable Microsoft Dynamics AX to communicate by using various transport protocols.

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 provides the following four adapters that represent predefined bindings:

HTTP adapter - This adapter enables synchronous exchanges through web services on Internet Information Services (IIS), which can expose services on a network or the Internet.

NOTE: Web Services should in general never be deployed by using basic HTTP binding. HTTPS bindings or similar, should be selected even for internal use. When you use the HTTP binding, all data will travel unencrypted and can be read by anyone on the same segment on the network.NetTCP adapter - This adapter enables synchronous exchanges by using support for WS-* standards over the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) transport.


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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012MSMQ adapter - This adapter enables asynchronous exchanges through message queues. To use this adapter, you must install Message Queuing, which is also known as MSMQ, on a network computer. You must also create at least one public queue to configure the MSMQ Adapter for Microsoft Dynamics AX.

File System adapter - This adapter enables asynchronous exchanges through file system directories. You must enable and configure at least one file system directory, or folder, for messages. Inbound messages and outbound messages require separate folders.

NOTE: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 no longer includes a BizTalk adapter. Earlier versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX required a BizTalk adapter for integration with Microsoft BizTalk Server. However, BizTalk Server can now connect to AIF through standards-based adapters. For more information, see Exchanging documents between BizTalk Server and AIF (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=247431&clcid=0x409 ) and the Using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2010 to Exchange Documents with Microsoft Dynamics AX (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=247479&clcid=0x409 )whitepaper.Performance ImprovementsThe following list describes enhancements in services and AIF that result in improved performance:

To achieve scale and redundancy, you can configure AOS servers with the Network Load Balancing (NLB) for Microsoft Dynamics AX services. The AOS-clustering solution affects only the RPC- based connections and does not allow you to load balance Microsoft Dynamics AX services. For more information, refer to Configuring network load balancing for services (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=247480&clcid=0x409 ).

Client applications can access services directly on AOS; IIS-hosted services use the WCF routing service and no longer depend on the

.NET Business Connector, which was required for services and AIF

in previous releases of Microsoft Dynamics AX.

The services framework uses connection pooling to reduce the overhead of creating and destroying a session on service calls.

When to Use IIS HostingTo consume services over the Internet, you must host services on Internet Information Services (IIS). IIS uses the message routing service to route all service requests to AOS where all service requests are processed.. AOS then returns a response to the service consumer through IIS.

Microsoft Dynamics AX deploys services that are hosted on IIS to a subfolder of the virtual directory that is associated with the web site that you provide.

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Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 2: ArchitectureUsabilityNew usability features of services and Application Integration Framework (AIF) are added to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. The following are components of the new features.

Moving service configurations by using integration ports in AIF

Change tracking based on date and time of changes

Templates for the transforms for Banking

Configure services for Office add-ins

Office Add-insThe new add-in for Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word help users to view, analyze, and update information in Microsoft Dynamics AX. The Microsoft Excel add-in has built-in support for consuming document services for updating data.

Excel Document Service RegistrationData in Microsoft Excel can be modified by using any document service that has a Create or Update service operation, and that uses a file adapter or net.tcp. Before using a document service, you must register it, add it to an inbound integration port, activate the port, and then expose the service.

Only the following document services from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 are supported without modification in the Excel Add-in:

BudgetTransaction

EMSMeterReading

EMSSubstanceFlow

GeneralJournal

ProductionPickingList

ProjectHourJournalS

SysImportBusSector

VendGroup

VendRequestSignup

Additional services can be constructed to extend the scenarios in which Excel can be used to update, create, and delete business data in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

NOTE: The configuration of integration ports for Excel import is a specific example of the procedures that are used to configure any integration port.Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreement

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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012Moving Service ConfigurationsMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012 uses integration ports to manage integration scenarios in services and AIF. To move service configurations from test environments to production environments, you must meet specific prerequisites and complete the following tasks:

Export the service metadata from the source environment, which is the test environment. This metadata includes AOT code, service details, and so on.Export configuration data about integration ports from the source environment. The data is exported as a .dat file.

Import the exported metadata into the destination environment, which is the production environment.

Import the integration port data into the destination environment.

Prerequisites to Export/Import Configuration DataBefore you migrate configuration data from a test environment to a production environment, ensure that you meet the following prerequisites:

Create a file share.

For file-based integrations, the account for the AOS must have read/write permissions for the file share. The file share must not be an administrative share, such as shares that contain a dollar sign ($).

The user who is importing the port configurations into the destination environment must have privileges as an AIF administrator. This means that the user must have the AifAdmin privilege.

All customizations must first be added to the source environment, and the application must compile without errors.

All ports must be activated and tested. For ports that are based on NetTCP and HTTP, the Web Service Description Language (WSDL) files must be published. Additionally, a client must be able to start

the service through service calls. For ports that are based on the file system adapter or the MSMQ adapter, the corresponding scenario must be tested.

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Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 2: ArchitectureProcedure: Export the Integration Port Configuration DataUse the following procedure to export the integration port configuration data.

1. Create a new definition group for exports. Click System administration > Common > Data export/import > Definition groups.

a.Click New.

b. Enter a unique name for the group into the Definition groupfield.c.Optionally enter a description.

d. Click the Options tab and clear all the check boxes.

e.Click the Include table groups tab and clear all the check boxes. f.Click OK.

2. Select tables for the definition group by clicking Select tables.

a.Click Add, and then for inbound ports, select AifInboundPortin the Name of table field.b. Select Include document references and Specify related tablescheck boxes.c.Click the Select related tables button. On the Select related tables form, select the desired related tables to include and then click Close.

d. Optionally, add export criteria by selecting the Apply criteria check box, and then click Export criteria. Enter the desired filter criteria and then click OK.

e.Close the Select tables form.

3. Export the data to a local or network file share by clicking Export to on the Definition groups form. Select the file name and path, and then select the file type. Click OK to export the data to the specified file.

4. Close the Definition group form.

5. Repeat steps 1 through 4, using AifOutboundPort in the Name of table field in step 2.a instead of AifInboundPort.

NOTE: During export, you might receive the following message: "TableDirPartyCollection was not found." If you receive this message, add export criteria, which is described in Step 3 of the "Export the Integration Port Data" procedure, to export only new and customized ports.Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreement

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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012Procedure: Import the Integration Port Configuration DataIn the destination environment, use the following steps to import the file for the integration port data that you exported from the source environment.

1. Open the Import options form. Click System administration > Common > Data export/import > Import.

2. If you exported only selected ports by using export criteria, select Update existing record on the Advanced tab. Otherwise, existing ports in the destination environment are deleted.

When you have finished importing the data, you must deactivate the imported ports, register services, register basic ports, and update the configuration details for each port. For example, you would update URIs based on paths in the production environment, and then activate the ports. For more information on completing these steps, refer to Exporting and importing AIF integration port configurations (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=247481&clcid=0x409 ).

NOTE: This process will need to be completed once for each exported file in theExport the Integration Port Data procedure.IMPORTANT: If the production environment is part of a cluster, you must restart all AOS instances to guarantee that all configurations are updated.Change TrackingIn Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you can configure the database to keep track of when changes happen at the table level. When so configured, you can use the getChangedKeys service operation to retrieve entity keys for only those documents that have changed based on certain criteria, such as a specified date and time.

Change tracking must be enabled in the database for the database tables that are used by the document service. To do this, you will need to configure change tracking. To retrieve the entity keys for documents that were changed, you must publish the getChangedKeys service operation through an integration port. Additionally, you will need to create a document filter and add filtering criteria.

NOTE: You can use change tracking only if the document service is exposed through an inbound enhanced integration port.IMPORTANT: You must create at least one document filter. Otherwise, no entity keys are returned from the getChangedKeys service operation.2-12

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 2: ArchitectureOnce enabled, you can use change tracking in two ways:

Submit an XML document to AIF that specifies the getChangedKeys action in the message header.

Call the getChangedKeys method on a document service class.

Only the entities that are changed on or after the _changedDateTime parameter are returned.

The response message contains a list of entity keys. These keys represent the documents that have been changed according to the criteria that you specified, such as documents that were changed after a certain date and time.

NOTE: For more information on configuring change tracking refer to Configuring AIF for change tracking (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=247482&clcid=0x409 ).Templates for BankingApplication Integration Framework (AIF) provides framework that can help you generate payment files by using document services. This is an advantage over the previous system where the base classes were extended and customized to select appropriate data from transactional tables. If the parameters changed, then there would need to be recoding. Document services now help you to exchange data with external systems by sending and receiving data in XML documents.

There are two primary areas of functionality in this process: the transport components and the business logic components. The transport components handle the transfer of business logic in and out of the system by using XML documents. The elements of the transport layer define how data is exchanged, including the source of the data, the destination of the data, and how it is transported.

The business logic component of document exchange consists of the data, its format, and the business rules that govern the data. This business logic is exposed by two sets of classes: the base classes and the document service classes in the XML Document Framework. To provide framework for current and future payment formats, you can create a single query that exposes all the fields that are required for all the outbound payment formats. Use the AIF Document query wizard to generate the service and document object, data object, and Axd document classes.

To enable payment generation by using AIF, use the customer and vendor payment services to expose the payment generation data for AIF outbound processing service. These services are based on Microsoft Dynamics AX queries. Customer/Vendor payment query captures all the necessary data to generate customer/vendor electronic payment files. Use the AIF document service wizard to generate the service document and data object classes. An XSLT can be applied on this master data to transform the AIF XML file to the payment file for a specific payment format.


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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012For every payment format that you intend to generate by using AIF, you need to have a corresponding XSLT file. This XSLT is based on the format that is specified by the bank. These XSLTs can be can be created by using a simple text or XML editor. You can also use visual studio and BizTalk mapper. For payment files that are not XML, you need to apply an outbound transformation to convert the XML results to flat file. Outbound transforms can be of any type and they

post-process the generated XML file to obtain the desired payment file.

For the Microsoft Dynamics AX administrator, he or she has access to outbound port setup and can create an outbound port and define payment processing data for a payment format. The administrator can chose the outbound folder and the XSLT for the specific payment format. For a end user, the experience is quite similar to generating the payments by using file I/O. The user only needs to choose payment format and the format specific data that is required for the specific instance of payment creation process.

Generating payments by using services provides flexible and extensible framework helps you to effortlessly easily plug and remove payment formats. The application integration framework provides capabilities, like outbound transforms, to help you plug in additional XSL or binary transformations to generate the desired payment files. In the event of any change to payment formats, the XSLT can be modified outside of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Any new payment formats can be added by creating the XSLT and adding it to the outbound port.Support for Data Model ChangesIn Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, the services framework is enhanced to use several of the infrastructure features that are added in Microsoft Dynamics AX. Each document service is built on top of a query that is used to produce the data contract for that service as a document. The services framework handles scenarios to produce more user-friendly data contracts. These scenarios include the following:

Replacing a surrogate foreign key with the natural key for a specific table relationship so that the final service contract has user-friendly readable fields instead of Surrogate Foreign Keys (SFK).

Handling the queries that contain tables with dimension columns in the data sources. The framework has support to serialize or desterilize the dimension columns across the service boundary.

Understanding table inheritance.

Handling tables with date effective fields.

The create and update document service wizards have been updated to generate code that includes the previous changes.

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Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 2: ArchitectureSummaryApplication Integration Framework (AIF) helps companies integrate Microsoft Dynamics AX and communicate with external business processes and other enterprise applications within and outside the boundaries of the business through the exchange of XML over various transport media.


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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012Test Your KnowledgeTest your knowledge with the following questions.

1. Which of the following can not be a basic port? ( ) Outbound

( ) Inbound

( ) Endpoint

( ) Startpoint

2. Which of the following Axd document service operations are available in

AIF? (Select all that apply)( ) Create

( ) Read

( ) Update

( ) keysFind

3. Which of the following is not a service type? ( ) Custom services

( ) Document services

( ) NetTCP services

( ) System services

4. Which of the following best describes synchronous and asynchronous transports? (Select all that apply)

( ) Requests are tightly coupled to responses.

( ) Requests are placed into a queue, called the gateway queue. ( ) Invoke business logic by using preprocessing options.

( ) Requests develop new file links by using post-processing.2-16

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 2: ArchitectureQuick Interaction: Lessons LearnedTake a moment and write down three key points you have learned from this chapter

1.2.3.Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreement

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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012SolutionsTest Your Knowledge1. Which of the following can not be a basic port? () Outbound

( ) Inbound( ) Endpoint

( ) Startpoint

2. Which of the following Axd document service operations are available in

AIF? (Select all that apply)() Create () Read () Update

() keysFind

3. Which of the following is not a service type? ( ) Custom services

( ) Document services

() NetTCP services

( ) System services

4. Which of the following best describes synchronous and asynchronous transports? (Select all that apply)

() Requests are tightly coupled to responses.

() Requests are placed into a queue, called the gateway queue. ( ) Invoke business logic by using preprocessing options.

( ) Requests develop new file links by using post-processing.2-18

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 3: Installation and UpgradeCHAPTER 3: INSTALLATION AND UPGRADEObjectivesThe objectives are:Introduction

Discuss the installation process and the special considerations for

Services and AIF in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.Review the upgrade considerations for Services and AIF.

Knowing the installation and upgrade considerations for Services and Application Integration Framework (AIF) in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is critical for successful implementation.


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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012InstallationInstallation and configuration of Services and AIF has changed. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, the Application Object Server (AOS) is the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service host for Microsoft Dynamics AX services, and web services on IIS is an optional component. Additionally, the BizTalk adapter has been depreciated in favor of using the Windows Communication Framework (WCF)-based adapters that are included with BizTalk.

IISInstalling Microsoft Dynamics AX web services on IIS is optional. The Application Object Server (AOS) is the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service host for Microsoft Dynamics AX services that are available to users and applications across an intranet. To make Microsoft Dynamics AX services available over the Internet, you must host them on Internet Information Services (IIS).

If you do not need to expose the Microsoft Dynamics AX services over the Internet or need any of the additional bindings that IIS provides, you do not need to install services on IIS.

Before Installing Web Services on IISVerify that the following steps are completed before you install the Microsoft

Dynamics AX web services on IIS:

On the computer where you will install the web services, run the prerequisite validation utility to verify that system requirements have been met.

NOTE: For more information on the prerequisite validation utility refer to the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Installation Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=247483&clcid=0x409 ).Create a domain account that will be used as the Business Connector proxy account. This account might also be the one that is used for reporting service accounts and for the IIS Application pool identity. Each account that must run as a service requires the following properties:

oBe a dedicated account (used only for the specific purpose)

oHave a password that does not expire

oHave minimal access to network resources

oBe able to log on as a service3-2

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 3: Installation and UpgradeMake sure that you have the required permissions to install the web services, which requires you to be a member of the following:

oThe Administrators group on the local computer where you are installing Web Services on IIS

oThe System administrator role in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

CAUTION: Do not install web services on IIS on a server that is a network domain controller.Procedure: Install the Web Server (IIS) RoleWhen you run the prerequisite validation utility it presents the option to configure the Web Server role. However, the prerequisite validation utility does not install the ASP.NET role service. Use the following steps to install the ASP.NET role service:

Start the Server Manager. Expand the Server Manager (computer_name) node. Right-click Web Server (IIS) and then click Add Role Services.

On the Select Role Services dialog, expand the Web Server (Installed) > Application Development (Installed) node and then select ASP.NET. Click Next and go through the wizard pages.

Restart the server.

NOTE: This procedure has already been completed in the Hyper-V image.Procedure: Create an IIS WebsiteCreate a website that Setup will use to install the Microsoft Dynamics AX web services. You can create a new website or use an existing one, such as the

Default Web Site on IIS. If you install the Microsoft Dynamics AX web services on an IIS that also hosts a SharePoint web front end or other web services, be sure to avoid port-binding conflicts.

Procedure: Install Web Services on IISUse the following steps to install web services on IIS:

1. Double-click D:\Setup.exe.

2. Under Install, click Microsoft Dynamics AX components.

3. If the setup support files have not yet been installed on this computer, the Select a file location page is displayed. The Setup support files are required for installation. Provide a file location or accept the default location and then click Next. On the Ready to install page, click Install.


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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012NOTE: In the Hyper-V image, setup install files have already been installed.4. Click Next.

5. In the Modify Microsoft Dynamics AX installation page, click

Add or modify components, and then click Next.

6. On the Add or modify components page, select Web services onIIS and then click Next.7. On the Prerequisite validation page, resolve any errors. When no errors remain, click Next.

8. On the Specify Business Connector proxy account informationpage, enter the password for the proxy account that is used by the

.NET Business Connector. Click Next.

NOTE: The proxy account for the .NET Business Connector in the Hyper-Vimage is "CONTOSO\SQLService" and the password is "Pa$$w0rd".9. On the Configure IIS for Web services page, accept default values or provide information for the website, application pool, and virtual directory. Setup will create a virtual directory and an application

pool for the Microsoft Dynamics AX web services under the selected website. The application pool will run as the .NET Business Connector proxy user that you entered in the previous step.

IMPORTANT: You must restart IIS after Setup installs the web services. SelectRestart IIS after installation is complete to automatically restart IIS.10. Click Next to continue.

11. On the Specify an AOS account page, provide the service accounts for the AOS instances that you will use with web services on IIS. Click Next to continue.

12. On the Prerequisite validation results page, resolve any errors.

When no errors remain, click Next.13. On the Ready to install page, click Install.

14. After the installation is complete, click Finish to close the wizard.

Procedure: Configure IISFor IIS 7, use the following steps to configure the application pool that is associated with the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 web services for IIS 7. This step is required to set the correct version of the .NET Framework.

1. Click Start > Administrative Tools > Internet InformationServices (IIS) Manager.2. Click SEA-DEV > Application Pools.3-4

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 3: Installation and Upgrade3. In the Application Pools pane, right-click MicrosoftDynamicsAXAif60 application pool, and click Basic Settings.

4. In the Edit Application Pool dialog box, select .NET Framework

4.0 or a later version, such as V4.0.30319. Select Integrated from the Managed pipeline mode list. Notice that the Start application pool immediately option is selected. Click OK to return to IIS Manager.

5. Click SEA-DEV .

6. Right-click SEA-DEV and then click Stop.

7. Right-click SEA-DEV and then click Start.

For IIS 6, make sure that the virtual directory for the Microsoft Dynamics AX web services is associated with version 4 of .NET Framework. Refer to IIS 6.0 documentation for instructions.

Procedure: Register the Website in Microsoft DynamicsAX 2012Use the following steps to register the website in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

1. Open Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

2. Click System administration > Setup > Services and ApplicationIntegration Framework > Web sites.

3. On the Web sites form, create a new record and provide appropriate values for the Name, Virtual directory share path, Description, and URL fields.

NOTE: On the Hyper-V image a record will already be created with the following URL and virtual directory share path.URL: http://sea-dev:8080/MicrosoftDynamicsAXAif60Virtual directory share path: \\SEA-DEV\MicrosoftDynamicsAXAif60 (file://sea- dev/MicrosoftDynamicsAXAif60)4. Click Validate. Verify that the Infolog dialog confirms that the website is configured properly, and that you can access the computer and the website.

NOTE: When you install web services on IIS, a record for the new website is added to AifWebsites table. If you uninstall web services on IIS, this record is not deleted from the table. This record can cause a warning to be displayed if you reinstall web services on IIS. You can manually delete the record from the AifWebsites table or simply ignore the warning.Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreement

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Application Integration Framework and Services inMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012Creating Additional Web SitesYou can create additional websites if you require them. For example, you might have to expose a web service through a web server that is installed on a different computer than the instance of Application Object Server (AOS).

When adding a website, consider the following:

You must set the appropriate permissions for a new virtual directory so that Microsoft Dynamics AX can access the file share. The group that is named Microsoft Dynamics AX Web Service Administrators must have full access to the new virtual directory and file share.

If this group does not exist as a local group on the new computer, you must create it. You must then add, as a user, the domain account for all AOS instances that require access. For these changes to take effect, you must restart all AOS instances that you added to the group.

When you install web services on IIS, a record for the new website is added to the AifWebsites table. If you uninstall Web services on IIS, this record is not deleted from the table. Because this record still exists, you might receive a warning if you later reinstall Web

services on IIS. You can either manually delete the record from the

AifWebsites table or ignore the warning.

MSMQMicrosoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) is a technology that enables applications that are running at different times to communicate across heterogeneous networks and systems that might be temporarily offline. MSMQ provides guaranteed message delivery, efficient routing, security, and priority-based messaging. It can be used to implement solutions for asynchronous and synchronous messaging scenarios.

To send documents by using Message Queuing, you must install it on a computer on the network and create at least one public queue.

To receive documents by using Message Queuing, you must install Message

Queuing and create at least one queue.

MSMQ LimitationsMessages that are processed by the MSMQ adapter have a size limit of 4 megabytes (MB). For this reason, we do not recommend using Message Queuing to import data in bulk, such as by using the AIF batched-message schema.

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Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft DynamicsYour use of this content is subject to your current services agreementChapter 3: Installation and UpgradeInstalling MSMQAny computer that communicates through Message Queuing, including computers that run AOS, must have Message Queuing installed.

Windows servers must have the Application Server role added. For application servers, select the following options:

Incoming Remote Transactions

Outgoing Remote Transactions

Windows servers must have the Application Server Features added. For Message

Queuing > Message Queuing Services, select the following options:

Message Queuing Server

Directory Service Integration

HTTP Suppor