Dual-Write ALM

dual-write ALM
Table of Contents
Application Lifecycle Management.............................................................................................................1
What is a Dual Write Solution?................................................................................................................1
Importing entity maps via a Dual Write solution and applying to your environment [New
environments].........................................................................................................................................1
1. Import the Dual Write entity map solutions................................................................................1
2. Apply the Dual Write entity map Solution in your D365 F0 environment....................................1
Updating entity maps and exporting them as a solution to other environments....................................1
1. Customize your entity maps by modifying existing entity maps and adding new entity map.....1
2. Create a new Dual Write Solution and add your components (customized entity maps)............1
3. Exporting and publishing your solution.......................................................................................1
4. Test your exported solution package by importing and applying into another environment......1
5. How to use the Entity map version..............................................................................................1
How to upgrade existing Dual Write environments for Solution Awareness [Existing environments]....1
1. Import the Dual Write Core solution...........................................................................................1
2. Upgrade entity maps...................................................................................................................1
Application Lifecycle Management

Making Dual Write Solution Aware enables basic ALM (Application lifecycle management) abilities such
as transportation and backup/restore of Dual Write entity maps across environments. This also enables
scenarios wherein you can get a solution from AppSource published by Microsoft or from an
independent software vendor (ISV).
What is a Dual Write Solution?

A Dual Write Solution can contain one or more Dual Write entity maps that can be imported into your
environment (via Solutions in PowerApps Maker portal) and exported (as a package) to other
environments. You can import entity maps published by Microsoft or ISV from AppSource, modify these
entity maps in your test environment, test it and when ready export it to your prod environment.
Additionally, you can also publish your solution to others via AppSource.
Note: There two types of solutions; There are managed and unmanaged solutions.
A managed solution cannot be modified and can be uninstalled after it is imported. When you import an
unmanaged solution, you add all the components of that solution into your environment. When you
import an unmanaged solution that contains components that you have already customized, your
customizations will be overwritten by the customizations in the imported unmanaged solution.
For more details on Solutions, please review the following guidance: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-
us/powerapps/maker/common-data-service/solutions-overview
Importing entity maps via a Dual Write solution and applying to your environment
[New environments]
In this section, we will learn how to import entity maps from AppSource and apply to your environment.
1. Import the Dual Write entity map solutions

 Start with a new Dual Write environment (new D365 FO and CDS environment)
 Import the Dual Write Core entity maps into your new CDS environment
o Dual Write Core, containing metadata for entity map
https://www.yammer.com/dynamicsaxfeedbackprograms/#/files/
353603264512
 Save the files to your local box and import the cab files via the Solutions import wizard
in PowerApps Maker portal
 Confirm you have imported both the solutions

2. Apply the Dual Write entity map Solution in your D365 F0 environment
 In your new D365 F0 environment, launch the Dual Write wizard by clicking the Dual
Write tile under Data Management
 Walk through the Dual Write wizard and link a the CFDS environment where you just
imported the Dual Write entity maps solutions
 You should pass the Dual Write Health Check since all the solutions have been imported
 After you walk through the Dual Write wizard and link your CDS environment, you will
see a blank or empty page without any entity maps
 Apply the solution you just imported into your Dual Write environment by clicking on
Apply Solution in the top menu
 Once you apply the solution, you will see all the default entity maps published
That’s it - You successfully imported and applied a Microsoft published Dual Write entity map
solution to your environment
Updating entity maps and exporting them as a solution to other environments

In this section, we will learn how to export your customized entity maps as a solution, use it as a backup
and move these artifacts across environments and/or publish to AppSource
1. Customize your entity maps by modifying existing entity maps and adding new
entity map
 Start by customizing the mappings for the default entity map (that you just installed via
a solution) by clicking on the Entity mappings tab. Similarly, you can add a new entity
map by clicking on the Add Entity button. In both cases, when you save the entity map,
you will be prompted to specify the Publisher and the Version number
Example: Adding a new ‘birthday’ field to contacts-CDS Contacts V2 entity map and
choosing default publisher
Note: When you create a new solution, later in the steps below, with these modified
entity maps, you will need to specify the same publisher
Example: Adding a new entity map Address books –
 Confirm the entity maps you just modified and added. Make sure to enable and test
them to ensure they are working as expected.
2. Create a new Dual Write Solution and add your components (customized entity
maps)
 Now that you have customized your mappings and added new mappings, next step is to
create a new Dual Write Solution and add these entity maps to the solution
Go to the PowerApps Maker portal and create a New solution under Solutions. Make
sure to choose the same publisher as in prior steps
 After you hit Create, the new solution will show up in the Solutions list page
 Adding your components (entity maps) to a Solution

Now that you have created your Dual Write solution, you want to add the customized
entity maps that created in prior steps. To do this, click on the solution you just created
and Add existing Dual Write entity map
 From the list, select the customized entity maps and Add it to the solution. The new
solution you created MyCustomeEntityMaps should now have your customized entities
With this step, you just customized your entities and put them into a solution
3. Exporting and publishing your solution
 Once you run the Solution checker and make sure there are no issues, Export the
solution you just created and Publish the changes before hitting Next
 Update the version number and choose to export as a managed (recommended) or
unmanaged solution
 After you hit export, the solution, with all its components is exported to a .zip file
That’s it – You just customized your entities, added them to a new solution and created a
solution file that can now be imported and applied to other environments (useful to move entity
maps between test and prod environments). Similarly, you could create a backup of all your
entity maps by adding them to a solution and exporting the solution as a package which can
then be imported to restore the entity maps into to any environment.
Follow the steps in this article to publish this package to AppSource: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-
us/powerapps/developer/common-data-service/publish-app-appsource
4. Test your exported solution package by importing and applying into another
environment
 First import the package to a new environment
 Apply the solution you just imported on your environment
 Check to see the two customized entity maps are listed on the Dual Write entity maps
list page
 Checking to make sure the customizations, from prior steps are preserved
5. How to use the Entity map version

There could be situations wherein a solution could contain different implementations of an
entity map – Example: The contacts – CDS Contacts -V2 entity map version could have a
different publisher or a newer version. Using the Entity Map version button, you could select
which entity map to use for your environment
How to upgrade existing Dual Write environments for Solution Awareness [Existing
environments]
1. Import the Dual Write Core solution
 Import the Dual Write Core and D365 Finance Operations entity maps into your existing
CDS environment
o Dual Write Core, containing metadata for entity map
https://www.yammer.com/dynamicsaxfeedbackprograms/#/files/
353603264512
 Save the files to your local box and import the cab file via the Solutions import wizard in
PowerApps Maker portal
When you're prompted to choose [Solution Action], please select [Update]

2. Upgrade entity maps
 Once you whitelist your tenant, you would see a notification prompting you to upgrade
 Click on Upgrade entity maps from top menu

 You will receive a notification once the upgrade completes (takes a few minutes)
 Once completed, you can proceed to try out scenarios mentioned above

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Application Lifecycle Management

What is a Dual Write Solution?

1. Import the Dual Write entity map solutions

 Confirm you have imported both the solutions

Updating entity maps and exporting them as a solution to other environments

 Adding your components (entity maps) to a Solution

5. How to use the Entity map version

When you're prompted to choose [Solution Action], please select [Update]

 Click on Upgrade entity maps from top menu

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