In order to be prepared to install on your own or select Great Plains implementation consultant, you should be familiar with GP database platform and technology. In early XXI Century, Great Plains Software and respectively Great Plains eEnterprise and Dynamics ERP was acquired by Microsoft.
Microsoft formed Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions with head office in Fargo, ND, later on renamed into Microsoft Business Solutions, and finally in September 2005 into Microsoft Dynamics subdivision. Since the time of Microsoft acquisition, Great Plains was on the way of phasing out non-Microsoft DB platforms, such as Pervasive SQL 2000 (former Btrieve) and Ctree/Faircom – final version supporting these non-Microsoft databases was Microsoft Great Plains Professional and Standard 7.5. For you this means that you should be very comfortable in supporting and troubleshooting Microsoft SQL Server (2005 or 2000) in your organization, as GP is available exclusively on MS SQL Server. Let’s come down to the details bullets:
1. Microsoft Dexterity IDE and scripting language of GP. Former Great Plains Dexterity, currently Microsoft Dynamics GP Dex is the hearth of GP development and scripting. Dex traces are now hidden to certain extent, however you could see it in DEX_ROW_ID column in each table, Dynamics.dic, Dex.ini and Dynamics.exe architectures
2. GP Utilities. When you finish files copy on your workstation or the MS Windows Server, installation process launches Dex Utilities to begin Dynamics database loading. Dex Utils create the database itself, tables, atomic stored procedures, views, other DB components, then they load eConnect encrypted stored procedures. Great Plains has modular structure, and historically vanilla installation of GP includes multiple modules, normally 12 for version 10.0
3. Accounts structure. Here you need to understand that GP requires you to decide on how many segments and maximum account length of your GL accounts. This decision should be communicated to Great Plains Utilities in the Dynamics DB installation time. If you plan to familiarize yourself with GP (if you are installing if from MSDN evaluation DC, foe example), we recommend you to have 3 segments with the following lengths: 3, 4, 2 respectively
4. Review the installation. We recommend you to review Dynamics.set file and see which modules are really installed, you should not install additional modules, if you do not have them in your ERP set, examples could be Manufacturing, Project Accounting, etc. If you are just evaluating GP you can disregard this recommendation, however in production MRP environment, you should install only the modules you need, as all the other modules will try to validate themselves and force you to do their setup
5. Old version update. If you need GP upgrade, then if you are on archaic version, where your DB is not MS SQL Server, then you will need to undergo migration process – migration tool does this job. Migration tool uses link to Pervasive SQL or Ctree and ODBC connection to Microsoft SQL Server to transfer your GP tables. If you are on MS SQL Server, then you need to check with your Microsoft Business Solution VAR on the upgrade path, especially if you are two or more versions behind. Current version is 10.0 and in order to upgrade from version 8.0 or 9.0 you must apply GP 10.0 Service Pack 1 or the newer as it will be available
6. Installation in Citrix environment. In terminal server you more likely would like to suppress Microsoft Office stack of products integration, including Microsoft Outlook. Please review table SY08100 in Dynamics database.
7. Great Plains Customization Upgrade. Here you will need professional Dexterity programmer help in reviewing your alternative business logic forms and scripts and performing the upgrade job
8. Great Plains Integration upgrade. Here you should find out which integrating tool you deploy. In the case of Integration Manager or IM, you should now that in versions 9.0 and 10.0 you have now eConnect IM connectors for such popular integration destinations, as SOP transactions, POP transactions, customers, shipping methods, etc. In order to get the performance advantages of new eConnect connectors you will have to reassemble IM integrations. eConnect doesn’t require GP workstation be running behind the scenes, however each integration targets specific GP company, which is not the case for old OLE integrations
9. Additional Considerations. These might be self apparent, however we saw the problems related to them. So, please be sure that you have Server admin right if you are installing server side and user workstation admin rights if you are installing user part
10. Vista User Workstation installation. Please, review latest technical articles for Vista and Microsoft Dynamics GP, as at this time, January 2008 Vista has certain patches and assumptions, when you install Great Plains there
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Planning Dynamics GP Customization in Large Corporation
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