This topic discusses the following administration concepts and tasks for Microsoft Dynamics NAV deployments on Windows Azure.

User Authentication

Microsoft Dynamics NAV supports four different credential types for authenticating users:

  • NavUserPassword
  • Windows
  • UserName
  • AccesControlService

These credential types are also supported for Microsoft Dynamics NAV deployments on Windows Azure. By default, the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Provisioning Tools for Windows Azure configure NavUserPassword credential type for Microsoft Dynamics NAV deployments Windows Azure. However, you can configure the deployment for any of the available credential types.

You can change the credential type programmatically by modifying the provisioning tools scripts or manually by establishing a Remote Desktop connection to the virtual machine that is running Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web Server components and Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server, and then modifying the configuration of these components. You must also configure the credential type in Microsoft Dynamics NAV user accounts.

For more information, see Users and Credential Types.

Note
The provisioning tools automatically configure a default Microsoft Dynamics NAV user who is assigned the SUPER permission set. For more information, see Security and Protection for Microsoft Dynamics NAV on Windows Azure.

NavUserPassword Credential Type

With the NavUserPassword credential type, authentication is managed by Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server but is not based on Windows users or Active Directory. The user is prompted for user name and password credentials when they start the client. The credentials are then validated by an external mechanism. Security certificates are required to protect the passing of credentials. This mode is intended for hosted environments, for example, where Microsoft Dynamics NAV is implemented in Windows Azure.

Windows or UserName Credential Type

The Windows and UserName credential types authenticate users against a Windows account in Active Directory. To use the Windows or UserName credential type, you must have an Active Directory domain controller in the same virtual network as the virtual machines that are running Microsoft Dynamics NAV components. The virtual machines must be joined to the domain and Microsoft Dynamics NAV users must have a Windows account in Active Directory. For more information, see Windows Server Active Directory on Windows Azure VMs.

With the Windows credential type, users are authenticated using their Windows credentials. Users are not prompted for credentials when they start the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client or Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client.

You should use the UserName credential type instead of the Windows credential type if users will access Microsoft Dynamics NAV from devices that are not part of the domain. The UserName credential type uses Form authentication for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client. When users access the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client and Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client, they are prompted to enter their Windows credentials.

AccessControlService Credential Type

Windows Azure Access Control Service (ACS) is a cloud service that provides user authentication and authorization for web applications and services. To configure ACS to authenticate users, you must set up the ACS provider, and then configure the Microsoft Dynamics NAV components and users for the ACS credential type.

For more information, see Use ACS to Authenticate Users.

SQL Server on Windows Azure Virtual Machines

When you deploy Microsoft Dynamics NAV on Windows Azure virtual machines, you can create an SQL server for hosting the Microsoft Dynamics NAV database. Depending on whether you built a new Microsoft Dynamics NAV database on Windows Azure or migrated an existing Microsoft Dynamics NAV database, Windows Azure virtual machines provide robust infrastructure for SQL Server. You can control and manage the Microsoft Dynamics NAV database by using the same development and administration tools that are available with on-premise installations.

For more information, see SQL Server in Windows Azure Virtual Machines.

Backing Up and Restoring the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Database

Backing up the Microsoft Dynamics NAV database on SQL Server on Windows Azure virtual machines provides a safeguard for protecting critical data. The guidelines for backing up and restoring the Microsoft Dynamics NAV database on Windows Azure are like on-premise installations of Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

For more information, see Backup and Restore for SQL Server in Windows Azure Virtual Machines.

Optimizing SQL Server Performance with Microsoft Dynamics NAV

There are several procedures that you can perform to optimize the performance in Microsoft Dynamics NAV when you access data from the SQL Server database. For more information, see Optimizing SQL Server Performance with Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

Fault Tolerance

Windows Azure offers geo redundant storage (GRS) that replicates data to guarantee fault tolerance and avoid a single point of failure. Additionally, most high availability and disaster recovery (HADR) database system solutions that are available in SQL Server are supported in Windows Azure virtual machines.

For more information, see the following topics:

Changing the Windows Azure Virtual Machine Size

When you deploy Microsoft Dynamics NAV on Windows Azure by using the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Provisioning Tools for Windows Azure, you specify the size of the virtual machines that are created on Windows Azure. The virtual machine size determines the number of CPU cores, the memory capacity, and the local file system size that is allocated to a running virtual machine. In the Example-1VM and Example-2VM scripts of the provisioning tools, the virtual machine size is set by the $NAV_VMSize parameter in the Set-PartnerSettings file. The provisioning tools support the following sizes: Small, Medium, Large, ExtraLarge, A6, and A7. After the initial deployment, you can change the virtual machine size to suit your requirements.

For more information, see Configure Virtual Machine Sizes and How to: Change the Size of a Windows Azure Virtual Machine.

Managing Microsoft Dynamics NAV Hotfixes

A hotfix is typically a package of one or more files that fix problems in Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Microsoft Dynamics NAV hotfixes are released for the application and platform.

Installing a Hotfix on an Existing Microsoft Dynamics NAV Deployment on Windows Azure

You install a hotfix on a Microsoft Dynamics NAV deployment on Windows Azure just like you install a hotfix on an on-premise deployment of Microsoft Dynamics NAV. To install a hotfix, you establish a Remote Desktop Connection to the Windows Azure virtual machine that is running the Microsoft Dynamics NAV components, and then install the hotfix files to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV installation folder on the virtual machine.

For more information about how to install Microsoft Dynamics NAV application and platform hotfixes, see How to install a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 update rollup (requires a PartnerSource account).

Installing a Hotfix on the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Installation Media

Before you deploy Microsoft Dynamics NAV on Windows Azure, you can install a hotfix on the Microsoft Dynamics NAV installation media that you will use for the deployment. This makes sure that future Microsoft Dynamics NAV deployments on Windows Azure include the hotfix changes. To install a hotfix, copy the hotfix files to the location of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV installation media.

See Also