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This article is for people who implement offline functionality related to the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce Store Commerce application. It describes features, functionality, and implementation tips that are related to the use of offline functionality.
Proper configuration and synchronization of data is crucial to a correct implementation. Regardless of business requirements, IT infrastructure, and overall preparedness, if data isn't correctly synchronized, the whole environment is effectively useless. Therefore, a top priority is to understand what's required to configure, generate, synchronize, and verify data across the full implementation. This full implementation extends from Commerce headquarters through the Commerce Scale Unit to the brick-and-mortar stores that use the Store Commerce app (with or without an offline database) and other in-store components. Commerce Data Exchange (CDX) is the Commerce functionality that replicates and synchronizes data across databases. However, CDX differs from typical data replication functionality because it also allows for filtering. CDX helps minimize data sets by generating only data that's specific to the channels specified for selection, filtering specific tables from offline databases, and filtering expired records for data that are no longer used, such as expired discounts.
Before reviewing this article, it's important that you understand the concepts of a channel (store), registers and devices, and the Store Commerce app offline database. We recommend that you review some of the resources listed at the end of this article, such as Device management implementation guidance and Commerce architecture overview.
Important offline features
For details regarding features that enhance or alter the data synchronization of an offline database (based on CDX), see Commerce Data Exchange best practices. The following table highlights some important offline features.
| Feature name | Description |
|---|---|
| Advanced offline | This feature consists of a series of settings in the offline profile. These settings make more offline switching scenarios available, give users the ability to switch to offline mode before they sign in to the POS, and allow for enhanced Commerce headquarters availability testing so that you can easily switch to offline mode and return to online status. |
| Offline status dashboard | A new dashboard, provided as of the Commerce version 10.0.20 release, shows the latest offline status, error, and details of the database for each device. This dashboard can be found at Retail and Commerce > Channel setup > POS setup > Register offline status. For this dashboard to function correctly the Modern POS offline monitoring feature must be turned on in the Feature management workspace, followed by the execution of the 1110 distribution schedule job. For more information, see Feature management overview. |
| Performance-based offline switching (POS seamless offline for performance degradation) | This feature, provided in release 10.0.20 and later, enables Store Commerce devices to switch to offline mode seamlessly when encountering outbound web request performance degradation. This feature requires the Enable advanced offline switching functionality to be enabled from the Offline profile page in Commerce headquarters. The POS seamless offline for performance degradations feature must be turned on in the Feature management workspace. For more information, see Feature management overview. |
Enable database index compression
In addition to the preceding features, use database index compression features to help reduce the database size. See Commerce database index compression for details on these features.
Advanced offline feature
You can configure the advanced offline feature in the offline profile. The following settings relate to this feature:
- Allow manual switch to offline before sign in – When you turn on this setting, it lets Store Commerce app users switch to offline mode before they sign in to the POS. It's helpful in scenarios where timeouts might occur before sign-in is completed, or where atypical response codes from the Commerce Scale Unit (cloud or self-hosted) are occurring. A Store Commerce app user who is using an offline database can access the Settings menu from the POS sign-in page. This menu includes a new option for switching to offline mode. When users select this option, they can sign in directly against the offline database instead of first having to sign in via a call to the Commerce Scale Unit.
- Enable advanced offline switching – When you turn on this setting, it enables the Store Commerce app to switch to offline mode more easily and more often. Typically, the Store Commerce app tries to maintain its online status and switches to offline mode only when such a switch is required to continue functionality. When you turn on this setting, the Store Commerce app can switch more often, especially in scenarios that involve sign-in and more Commerce Scale Unit responses that might be considered a delay to POS operation. This setting is most valuable in scenarios where speed is a higher priority than maintaining availability of online-only features (for example, paying with a gift card, which requires connection to headquarters).
- System health check interval (mins) – This setting works as a subfeature of the Enable advanced offline switching setting. Usually, when you turn off that setting, and the Store Commerce app is in offline mode, the POS waits a specific amount of time, based on configuration in the Offline profile, and then tries to reconnect to the Commerce Scale Unit during the next operation call that occurs. This advanced offline health check provides a more frequent, operation-independent method of checking online availability and switching as soon as online functionality is available again.
Implementation considerations
This section describes various aspects and configurations of the advanced offline feature that you should consider when you begin to plan your POS usage scenarios while functioning offline. The features that are described here are related to data management, offline usage, and data configuration. Before you read the guidance that is provided, make sure you understand these concepts. For more information, see Commerce Data Exchange best practices.
SQL Server versions and licenses
SQL Server comes in various versions, such as SQL Server 2022 and SQL Server 2019, and various editions, such as SQL Standard and SQL Express. For more in-depth information about these versions, see Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2022. Also see the Additional resources listed at the bottom of this article.
Use a SQL Server version that is currently under mainstream support. Microsoft doesn't support use of SQL Server versions that aren't under mainstream support with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce. You can find mainstream support dates for SQL Server versions (and other products) in Search Product and Services Lifecycle Information.
Periodically ensure that the version of SQL Server you're using continues to remain under mainstream support. If the version of SQL Server you're using is approaching the end of mainstream support, upgrade to the latest SQL Server version to avoid potential disruptions.
Which SQL Server edition to use
While not an exhaustive list, the following table lists the most used SQL Server editions for Dynamics 365 Commerce. Details and use case scenarios are listed for each edition.
| Edition | Use cases |
|---|---|
| Express | When you use SQL Server Express as a SQL Server version for the offline database, it's important to understand that there are some limitations, such as CPU core count or RAM usage. The largest limiting factor is the 10-GB database size limit. Given the ability to use this version freely, use Express for a Store Commerce app offline database and not for a Commerce Scale Unit (CSU) self-hosted channel database. If you use the Express edition for a CSU (self-hosted), data synchronization problems can occur if the database ever reaches the 10-GB maximum size limit, which can cause problems such as loss of data. When you use the Express edition, it's crucial to use index compression and the Dynamics 365 Commerce features to exclude data from offline databases. For more information on database compression, see Commerce database index compression. Maintain a database at 8 GB in size, or less. |
| Standard | Use SQL Server Standard for CSU (self-hosted) channel databases because it provides enough size and system utilization to typically handle a CSU (self-hosted) channel database for one to several retail store locations. While not common, use the Standard version for offline databases to remove any limitations and maximize offline performance. Further, you can use a more hybrid method where only a set number of Store Commerce app registers use a full Standard version while other registers use the Express version (or potentially no offline database, possibly using Store Commerce for web instead of the Store Commerce app). |
| Enterprise | SQL Server Enterprise is rarely necessary, but there are scenarios where it could be valuable. For example, if you're hosting a CSU (self-hosted) in a data center virtual machine (VM) for use across a large area of many devices, removing the limitations could be valuable to maximize performance capabilities. |
Offline testing
When you update the app, thoroughly test the Store Commerce app and offline functionality. Here's a nonexhaustive list of functions that you should test while you're offline, to verify correct functionality:
Test cashier and manager sign-in.
Test shift opening and closing.
Test product browsing by using categories.
Test product search by using the search bar.
Test a cash and carry transaction.
Test blind returns.
Test discounts.
Test unit of measure changes.
Test payment functionality. All the following payment types should work and be available while you're offline:
- Cash
- Currency
- Check
- Loyalty
- Card
- Gift card
Test Show journal.
Start a transaction while you're in online mode. Then force the switch to offline mode (in other words, disconnect the system from the internet instead of manually switching to offline mode), and continue to check out.
Perform the previous test when the offline database doesn't have the latest data for the customer (missing) or a product (missing) in cart, for example. In this case, the expectation is that the cashier receives a warning or error message, but can still continue to use the Store Commerce app in offline mode to perform new cash and carry transactions.
Perform one or more transactions while you're offline. Then switch back to online mode, and verify that the transactions are uploaded.
Troubleshooting
For more information about troubleshooting, see Commerce offline implementation troubleshooting.
Additional resources
Commerce offline implementation troubleshooting
Commerce Data Exchange implementation guidance
Commerce Data Exchange troubleshooting
Commerce Data Exchange best practices
Online and offline point of sale (POS) operations
Dynamics 365 Commerce architecture overview
Device management implementation guidance