Blogs, Updates, Updates
The 4 stages of updating: together towards a successful update
Date
25 February, 2021
Reading time
5min. reading time
As a customer of Boltrics, you can always rely on the most recent Microsoft technology and the newest logistic functionalities in your 3PL Dynamics solution. And besides the fact that you may not be too excited about an update, this is the precondition for being always up-to-date. Currently, Boltrics is busy to successfully transfer the entire peloton to the newest version of Microsoft Business Central. Do you prefer to be in front of the peloton? Then you may already work with the newest version. However, it is also possible that you are not live yet, or that you haven’t started the update process at all. To ensure that you too can successfully make the transition to the latest version, we will guide you through the four phases of updating in this blog and we have put together a checklist for you. For example, what do you need to pay extra attention to during testing? And what setting do you have to check before going live? In this way, you can get started right away and you prevent the most frequently occurred errors during your update process.
Phase 1: previous to your test update
In this phase, the planned date which is discussed with your update coordinator, is closing in and your test environment will be released. Before starting to test your environment, make sure you are familiar with the new client. Are you ready to start testing? Then you fill in your current environment, per user the field ‘E-mail address for verification’. This is the e-mail address of the user who is known in Azure Active Directory (Note: this is only necessary when you use an IaaS or OnPremise solution).
Phase 2: the test phase
In the new test environment you can start with testing your processes. To do so, you need to first configure your profiles and export them. By exporting the profiles, you can later import them easily in your production environment. Important in this phase is that you update your permission sets and fill in your e-mail number sequence in ‘Document Storage Setups’, if this field isn’t filled in yet.
Check the print server
Furthermore, you need to check your print server for messages using SND-PDF and SND-ZPL. Does the location end on ‘DIPOST’? Then you will have to replace this with the new version. Download the instructions here.
Install the scan emulator
To use the Telnet Scan emulator you must download the new Telnet proxy. In addition to that, you must fill the correct file location of the ‘telnetproxy.exe’ in the ‘.cmd’ file.
Phase 3: previous to the production update
You and your colleagues have tested your primary processes in the test environment, and are now on the eve of updating your production environment. In this phase, you have to fill in (for all active users) the field ‘E-mail address for verification’ in your environment. As in phase one, you give the address known in the Azure Active Directory.
Phase 4: the go-live
The update is completed, and now it is up to you to prepare your environment for you daily processes. This starts with importing the profiles, which you have configuration and exported in your test environment. Furthermore, you import the permission sets you have updated before, and again fill in the E-mail number sequence in ‘Document Storage Setups’. As in the test phase, you must update the user printer selection, as this is not automatically copied from the test environment. Also check the transport location again. Finally, you activate your job queue entries and you have fulfilled the four phases of updating.
Check all boxes
Have you lost the overview? and would you like to have all frequent errors listed? Download the checklist and prevent these frequently occurring test errors in your processes.
Support during testing
By following the four phases of the update, as described above, you can tackle the most frequent errors in the update process. However, it is still possible you run into other error messages or are in need of a little help. This can differ per customer and per update. When testing your new environment, you can send potential support tickets to support@boltrics.nl. Important for this is the following:
- Send one e-mail per error. Do not collect all potential errors in one e-mail, but send each error in a separate email;
- Use ‘Test update [short description]’ as subject of your message;
- Add de link to the Business Central page which you were testing. In this way the company name and page id is shared.
- Add a print screen of your tab, include the date and time;
- Make sure it is a reproducible scenario.
Note: the following authentications are not supported after the update (in combination with Web Service connections (Soap)):
1. Windows Authentication
2. TLS 1.0 and 1.1
Check with your external partner if any changes are needed in the application.