Microsoft Dynamics

Solutions Development
AX 2012
Management
Matrix Business Solutions - MBS
Technology
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Agenda

Licensing And Who use AX

Microsoft Dynamics AX layers system
Microsoft Dynamics AX Architecture
Application Integration Framework
Inside AX2012

BASIC LICENSING REQUIREMENTS

User Type Overview

User Rights
Unrestrictive access to setup, administer all parameters and functional processes across the
enterprise. Key Roles whose work impacts multiple users activities or tasks such as
budgeting, forecasting, planning or scheduling
Manage complete cross organizational activities and business including: Legal, Financial,
Payroll, Compensation & Benefits and IT
Setting up and Defining Organizations, Business Unit, departments, divisions, Positions, and
employee Jobs
Access to all Manufacturing Roles and functions excluding Shop Floor Control and Quality
Management
Managing cross organizational processes
Examples:
Approving professional user processes
Any system administrator
AX system developer
Any project manager that manages cross organizational projects
Financial controller
Accounts receiver clerk/manager
Legal team
Human resource manager and payroll administrator

User Rights

Manage a set of activities in the process to create, fabricate, sell, deliver, or support the
product or the service sold by their company
Manage a shop floor within a production or manufacturing cycle
Manage a set of projects and related services incl. the management of relevant resources
Manage HR cycles: Recruitment, Trainings, and On/Off boarding of employees
Manage budget transfers and requests pertaining to his / her operational department, ,
division, or unit
Create applicants / employee master data records, create a job or a position requisition within
the organization
Raise invoices pertaining to their clients
Approve Vendor invoices or voucher for rendered services
Create and Manage master data records pertaining to their Customers, Vendors, as well as
their product inventory or catalog
Approver of Self Serve or Task Users.
Functional Users do not and cannot perform (these are completed by Enterprise Users):
ERP system setup, Data base setup or reports customizations
functions related to setting up (System Configuration) projects, productions, services or
financial parameters (Product, Inventory, projects, production, route, service grouping, etc.)
financial Transactions related to Employee Payroll, Customer and vendor settlements,
payments, credits, checks, cash dispenses, all Accounting functions & activities

transaction spanning cross Business Units or Legal entities processes: Budgeting and
Examples:
Resourcing
Recruiter,
Training and HR personnel
All Project Managers, Service managers, Quality assurance supervisors
Warehouse managers, Shop floor supervisors, Retail store managers
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All Employee managers

User Rights

Users access the system to:

Enter billable time (Project Activities, Production card, etc.)
Billable expenses (project and other types)
Performance management and goal setting, annual reviews, etc.

Examples:

Machine operator
Field technician
Consultant
Project team members
Service team members
Employees who manage their own performance and goals

User Rights
Employee Self Serve Discrete Scenarios (Payroll Clock In/Out, Expense Report, Personal Data,
Time & Attendance, Personal Service Requisitions

amples:

ng ERP to perform their job like laborers (e.g. clock-in/clock-out, creating travel requests, viewing reques

Device CAL Overview

LICENSING ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE

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Microsoft Dynamics AX layers system

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In Microsoft Dynamics AX, a layer system is used to manage elements. The USR layer is
the top layer and the SYS layer is the bottom layer, and each layer has a corresponding
patch layer above it.
The following table describes the application object layers in Microsoft Dynamics AX:
Layer

Description

USR

The user layer is for user modifications, such as reports.

CUS

The customer layer is for modifications that are specific to a company.

VAR

Value Added Resellers (VAR) can make modifications or new developments to the VAR layer as specified
by the customers or as a strategy of creating an industry specific solution.

ISV

When an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) creates their own solution, their modifications are saved in
the ISV layer.

SLN

The solution layer is used by distributors to implement vertical partner solutions.

FPK

The FPK layer is an application object patch layer reserved by Microsoft for future patching or other
updates. For more information, seePatch Layers.

GLS

When the application is modified to match country or region specific legal demands, these modifications
are saved in the GLS layer.

SYS

The standard application is implemented at the lowest level, the SYS layer. The application objects in the
standard application can never be deleted.

Each layer has a corresponding patch layer that can be used to incorporate updates to your application or to
store conflicts when you import models into a layer.

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Microsoft Dynamics AX Architecture

Three-Tier Architecture
In Microsoft Dynamics AX,
there is a 3-tier
infrastructure with a
database server, an
application object server
(AOS), and a client. The
database server contains
the table data. The AOS is
used to execute
application objects, such
as queries and classes.
Application objects in the
user interface, such as
forms and reports, run on
the client computer. This
topic describes how to
develop an application
using the different tiers
and how record buffers
are related to the tiers.
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EXTENDED
ARCHITECTURE

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an application object server (AOS)

Overview

Separating Application Objects into Tiers

When you separate the application data from the application objects, it is easier to distribute upgrade versions of your
application. This is because you can distribute forms, queries, classes, and reports that are based on the same set of
underlying tables without affecting application data. In addition, separating data from other application objects can reduce
network load.

You can use the AOS for sharing objects and information as an effective tool to increase performance. Microsoft Dynamics AX
and SQL server databases can be used together to provide powerful programming languages to validate data and enforce
business rules. For more information, seeBest Practices: Application Object Server (AOS)and
How to: Optimize an Application for the AOS.
Multiple AOS Computers

When you start the programAX32.exe development, the MorphX development workspace window opens. A session is
created to connect this client program to an AOS. This connection uses the standard Remote Procedure Call (RPC) protocol.
This session is kept open and is used each time you open another Application Object Tree (AOT).

More sessions are needed as more client programs connect to the AOS tier. Every session adds to the workload on the AOS
tier. The workload on the AOS tier can be shared among multiple instances of the AOS. These AOS instances can be
distributed among one or more computers. The system controls which AOS each new client session connects to. The system
balances the workload among AOS instances to improve performance.
Session Pool for Services

Another session is needed when the client issues a service call. Services are stateless, which means the session is no longer
needed after the service call returns to the caller. After the call returns, the system assigns the session back to a session
pool. Future service calls that are received by the AOS can reuse a session from the pool. Different sessions might be
assigned to several service calls made by one client. The reuse of sessions improves performance by avoiding the overhead
of creating a new session for each service call.

For more information, seeLocating the WSDL for Services.

Record Buffers

Record buffers are automatically replicated between the application object server and the client as needed. As buffers are
replicated, calls between the application object server and the client increase. For example, consider the following scenario.

A record is selected on the AOS.

A table instance method that has been set toClientis called.

The buffer is replicated and sent to the client.

The client reads and then modifies the buffer.

The buffer is replicated and sent to the server.

The buffer is replicated only if needed, as in the preceding example. If the value of the buffer was unchanged, the buffer
would not be replicated on the AOS.

Avoid calling client based objects from the server as this will decrease application performance.15
This is because when

Application Integration Framework

AIF provides an extensible
framework that enables you to
expose Microsoft Dynamics AX
business logic and to exchange data
with other applications. In AIF, data
is exchanged with external systems
through services. This model
provides the ability to expose any
X++ class as a service. A service
can be called from X++ or from an
external system. As part of this
programming model, a set of
services is included with Microsoft
Dynamics AX that is based on
documents such as sales orders or
purchase orders.
AIF enables the integration of
Microsoft Dynamics AX through
Web services, Microsoft Message
Queuing (MSMQ), and the file
system (using a directory). The
following diagram provides an
overview of the AIF architecture.

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Inside AX2012
APPLICATION OBJECT TREE (AOT)
In Microsoft Dynamics AX, the
Application Object Tree (AOT) contains
all of the definitions of elements that are
used to build Microsoft Dynamics AX,
such as classes, tables, forms, and so
on. This topic provides an overview of
the AOT and defines the top-level nodes.
To create a new element in the AOT,
right-click the relevant node, and then
clickNew. In addition, drag-and-drop
operations are available for many
elements.
All elements under the top-level nodes
have:

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Data Dictionary
Contains the data types and tables that make up the database. Also contains objects to
control access to the data. It contains the following sub nodes:

Tables: Tables that contain the Microsoft Dynamics AX data.

Maps: Enables you to create associations between closely related (but non-identical)
table fields and methods.
Views: Enables you to join data from different tables, and then to select which fields
you want to display.
Extended Data Types: Data types that extend one of the primitive data types or
another extended data type.
Base Enums: Enumerable types that contain a list of literals.
License Codes: Determines which components of Microsoft Dynamics AX functionality
are available to a company.
Configuration Keys: Allows administrators to enable or disable features in the
application for all users.
Security Keys: Security keys are obsolete in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and only
exist to use for reference during a code upgrade. There is a new security framework,
which is called role-based security. For more information on the new security framework,
see What's New: Security for Developers in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and Role-based
Security in the AOT for Developers.
Table Collections: Collections of tables that contain data that is often shared between
companies.
Perspectives: Collections of tables that were used to organize information for report
models.
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Macros
Contains the source code for the macros used by the standard application. In addition to
viewing the existing code, you can add your own macros.

Classes

Contains the source code for the application (X++) classes.

You can also use system classes (also known as kernel classes). They are listed in
theSystem Documentation\Classesnode.

Forms

Dialog boxes in the user interface that are used to access the database.

Parts
Contains controls you can use to retrieve and show a collection of data. For more
information, seeParts.

Data Sets

Provides a generic data access layer that allows for external presentation layers
to bind to Microsoft Dynamics AX tables and data types. For more information,
seeData Sets for Enterprise Portal.

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SSRS Reports
Contains SQL Server Reporting Services reports that are included with Microsoft Dynamics
AX.

Reports

Enables users to print or display summary information from the database.

Visual Studio Projects

Contains projects created in Visual Studio and added to Microsoft Dynamics AX by using
Application Explorer. Project types that can be added to this node include Dynamics AX
Model Projects, C Sharp Projects, Visual Basic Projects, Web Application Projects, and
Analysis Services Projects. For more information, seeVisual Studio Integrationand
How to: Add a Visual Studio Project to the AOT.

Report Libraries

Used to store Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 SQL Server Reporting Services report libraries
that are being upgraded for the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 AOT environment.

Queries

Used as the source of records for forms and reports.

Jobs
Typically holds small X++ programs that are used to test new code.

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Menus
Contains the menus you want the end user to see.

Menu Items

Contains a complete list of the items that can be presented in a menu. Menu items act as a
higher layer of abstraction for forms, reports, and so on..

Web

Contains objects related to Web development.

Services

Contains services that are exposed by Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Service Groups
Contains collections of services that are frequently consumed and managed together. All the
services in a service group are published in a single WSDL file.

Workflow
Contains the workflow model elements used to create a workflow configuration. This node
containsCategories,Tasks,Approvals, andTemplates. For more information, see
Implementing Workflow for Microsoft Dynamics AX.

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Security
Contains the objects you use to implement application security, such as roles and
permissions.

Resources

Contains references to image and animation files.

Label Files

Contains label files that store labels for all user interface elements. For more information,
seeLabel Editor.

References

Contains references to Microsoft .NET assemblies and to external Web services. Both types
of references can be used in X++ statements.

Help Documentation Sets

Specifies the documentation sets on the Help Server.

System Documentation
Contains items that represent

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Thank You and any questions?

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