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Dynamics AX 2009-2012

Supported versions of Dynamics AX

Data Hub supports connections to source databases from the following versions of Dynamics AX:

  • 2012 RTM (Partitions are not available in AX 2012 RTM.)

  • 2012 R2

  • 2012 R3

  • 2009 (Organizational hierarchies and partitions are not available in AX 2009.)

Important

Dynamics AX 7 uses a separate data source and unique connection settings.

Minimum permissions

If the Dynamics AX application is being used as a source database, a connection to the AOS service is required.

To create or update an AX-based cube, the user making the connection must have the following:

  • Read authentication with the AOS service, which is used for accessing objects and information (e.g. customizations). The user must be a member of a group with full control to the business connector security key in AX.

  • The Business Connector security role must be assigned to the user who accesses Microsoft Dynamics AX through the .NET Business Connector.

  • Previously logged into the AX client (as that user).

Connect to the data source

Connect to a Dynamics AX source by first specifying the AX service connection settings, followed by the source connection settings.

Note

For this functionality to work correctly, the Dynamics AX .NET Business Connector must be installed.

  1. Specify the settings in the AX Service Connection group. The following settings are required:

    1. AX Server. Specify the name of the server where AX is installed.

    2. AX Services WSDL Port. Specify the port number used by the AX WSDL service. The default setting is 8101.

      Note

      You can determine the correct port number by opening the Dynamics AX Server Configuration utility and locating the Services WSDL Port setting on the Application Object Server tab.

    3. AX AOS TCP/IP Port. Specify the business connector port used by the AX server.

    4. User Name. The user name needed to access the specified AX instance.

    5. Password. The password for the specified user name.

    6. Caption language. Select the language that will be used for the AX captions.

  2. Click Detect Source Connection Details. Data Hub automatically detects some of the settings in the Source Connection group, allowing for faster and more accurate data source configuration. Using this feature, you can populate the Server and Database settings in the Source Connection group. The User Name and Password settings are not populated for security reasons.

    Note

    For this functionality to work correctly, the Dynamics AX .NET Business Connector must be installed.

  3. Specify the settings in the Source Connection group.

    1. Server. If necessary, specify the name of the SQL Server instance that hosts the AX database you want to access. Just the server name may be entered if there is only one SQL Server instance on that server. If the server hosts multiple instances, use the syntax ServerName\InstanceName. You can type in the instance name directly, or choose from a list of instances on your local network using the drop-down list.

    2. Authentication. You can provide credentials to authenticate to the database instance (specified above) in two ways. The method used will depend on how your database instance is configured:

      1. Windows login. Enter a Windows user name and password.

      2. SQL Server login. Enter a SQL Server user name and password.

    3. User Name. Type a user name in the same form you use to log in directly to Windows or SQL Server (depending on which authentication method you chose above). This may be just a user name, or it may include the domain name in canonical form (domain\user) or UPN form (user@fully-qualified_domain_name), depending on your environment.

    4. Password. Type a password for the specified user name.

    5. Database. Type a database name to use as the data source or select the database from a drop-down database list found on the specified server.

Optional:

Set advanced data source properties

Optional advanced connection settings are available using either of the following:

  • Advanced panel on the Connect screen when adding the data source.

  • Properties panel when viewing an existing data source, under the Advanced section.

Select the partition and company for the model (AX Data Sources Only)

When creating a data model using the AX data source, you need to choose the AX partition that will be used, as more recent versions of AX (starting with 2012 R2) allow multiple partitions. Once selected, the companies in the partition are displayed and can also be selected.

Important

This screen is only used when creating a model with certain data sources (including AX data sources).

  1. Verify that you are connected to the AX data source.

  2. From the Partition drop-down list, select the existing partition that contains the companies that you want to use in your data model.All companies in the selected partition are listed on the COMPANY SELECTION tab.

  3. On the COMPANY SELECTION tab, select the companies in the specified partition that will be included in the data model using the checkboxes adjacent to the Name column.

  4. Specify the primary company, the company whose Chart of Accounts will be included in the model, using the corresponding check box in the Primary Company column.You can only select one company as the primary company, and the selected company must be one that you selected for inclusion in the model (as described in step 3 above).

    Note

    If you want the Chart of Accounts for all companies, not just the single, selected company, you need to remove the company source filter on the Chart of Accounts pipeline after the model is created. You must select a primary company at this stage of the model creation process. For more information, see Defining Source Settings in a Date Pipeline.

  5. Click Next.

Creating Financial Dimensions and Organizational Hierarchies (AX Data Sources Only)

When creating a data model using the AX data source, you need to specify the financial dimensions and organizational hierarchies that you want to include in your model (and in the corresponding cube).

Financial dimensions are used to store information such as cost center, department, and project. They are used to classify data in financial reports. Financial dimensions are configured in AX on a per-partition basis.

Organizational hierarchies are added as a dimension in your model's cube and can be accessed as a pipeline within the model itself. For more information on organization hierarchies and how they are implemented in AX 2012, refer to the following website: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh242144.aspx

Important

This screen is only used when creating a model with certain data sources (including AX data sources).

  1. Using the checkboxes on the FINANCIAL DIMENSIONS tab, select the financial dimensions that you want to include with your data model.

  2. Click the ORGANIZATIONAL HIERARCHIES tab.

  3. Using the checkboxes on the tab, select the organizational hierarchies that you want to include with your data model.

  4. Create a dimension pipeline for each of the select financial dimensions or organizational hierarchies using any of the following options:

    1. To create both the selected dimensions and hierarchies, and then proceed to the next screen in the wizard, simply click the Next button.

      Note

      If no financial dimensions or organizational hierarchies are selected, those items are not created using this method.

    2. To create the individual items, but remain on the Configure Model screen, perform one of the following actions:

      1. To create the financial dimensions, click the + Dimensions button on the FINANCIAL DIMENSIONS tab.

      2. To create the organizational hierarchies, click + Organizational Hierarchies on the ORGANIZATIONAL HIERARCHIES tab.

  5. (Optional) View the status of the creation process in the Status pane on the far right side of the tab. This pane is automatically expanded once the creation process is initiated, and a separate section appears for each item.

    Note

    Sections only appear for those items that you are creating.

  6. If necessary, click Next.

View and edit data source company information (AX Data Sources Only)

If you are using a model created from an AX source, you can view the companies currently selected from the source, and change these selections using the COMPANY SELECTION tab. In addition, you can refresh the virtual company data if it has changed in the AX source.

View and edit the selected companies

Companies from your AX source that are currently included in your model are selected using their corresponding checkboxes. You can select additional companies, or remove selected companies, using the checkboxes that appear to the left of the company names.

Changes to this tab are automatically reflected in your model once the data source is saved.

Select a Primary Company

You can select the company whose Chart of Accounts will be included in the model, using the corresponding check box in the Primary Company column.

Only one company can be selected as the primary company, and the selected company must be one that you selected for inclusion in the model as described in Viewing and Editing the Selected Companies above.

Note

If you want the Chart of Accounts for all companies, not just the single, selected company, you need to remove the company source filter on the Chart of Accounts pipeline. For more information, see Defining Source Settings in a Date Pipeline.

Update Virtual Company information

If you have changed the virtual company information in your AX source, specifically by adding a new AX table collection to the source since your created your model, you can click the Refresh virtual companies button to update the related information in your model.

Specifically, this feature updates the model's pipelines by refreshing the source schema and relationship mapping between company columns.

Note

This process is done automatically when a solution is deployed.

In this section: