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Apply updates to on-premises deployments

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This article explains how to apply supported updates to Dynamics 365 Finance + Operations (on-premises). All updates to on-premises environments are done through Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services (LCS).

Search for and download updates

For more information about how to find the updates that you can apply to your on-premises environment, see Issue search in Lifecycle Services (LCS). For information about how to download updates from the tiles in the Updates section of the Environment details page in LCS, see Download updates from Lifecycle Services (LCS).

Note

When you are updating an on-premises environment, always select updates from the update tiles on the Environment details page. If you select updates from another location, the updates might not work.

Update an on-premises deployment

You can apply updates to an on-premises environment either during deployment or after the deployment is completed.

While an on-premises environment is being deployed, you can select to deploy a custom package in the Advanced settings. For more information about how to apply customizations or application X++ updates, see Develop and deploy custom models to on-premises environments.

To apply updates to an on-premises environment after it has been deployed, in LCS, on the Environment details page for the environment, under Maintain, select Apply updates.

Note

You can apply updates after deployment only on environments that have Platform update 12 for finance and operations or later. The environment must also have the latest version of the local agent available in LCS. For more information, see Update the local agent. If you're on a platform version that is older than Platform update 12, you can reconfigure an environment that is already deployed to update the customizations or update to the latest platform release. For more information about how to redeploy an environment, see Redeploy on-premises environments.

Apply application or binary updates through LCS

The following steps can be used to apply X++, All Binary, or Platform binary updates.

Important

The application of updates requires downtime for your environment. Therefore, no business transactions can be performed in the environment during the update. When you complete the following steps, verify that the system isn't being used, and that an official downtime notice has been communicated to all system users.

Important

To move to the latest platform, always select the platform update from the Platform Binary Updates tile on the Environment details page. If you select updates from another location, the updates might not work.

Prerequisites

  • Before you begin, complete a full backup of the Management Reporter (MR), Microsoft Dynamics AX, and Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS databases). Although the code is restored through LCS, the database must be manually restored to help guarantee that there is no data loss.

  • Update your environment to the latest build of Platform update 12.

  • Update the local agent to the latest version. For more information, see Update the local agent.

  • Depending on the type of update, complete the following steps to generate a deployable package:

Update a sandbox environment

  1. In the LCS Asset library, upload the deployable package that was generated in the "Prerequisites" section of this article to the Software deployable packages tab.
  2. In LCS, open the on-premises implementation project, and then open the Environment details page of the environment to update.
  3. Under Maintain, select Apply updates. A slider shows the updates that were uploaded to the Asset library. Note that only packages that are marked as Valid in the Asset library appear.

If you are on local agent version 2.1.0 and higher, complete the following steps.

  1. Select the update, and then click Prepare. Clicking on Prepare will prepare your on-premises environment for servicing.

    Note

    During preparation, the environment state will be Deployed but the Deployment status field will show the progress of Preparation. Steps such formatting the package and downloading the package are executed during preparation. The environment is not directly touched during preparation and hence there is no downtime during the preparation phase. Users can continue to use the system during preparation.

  2. After the preparation is complete, you will see Abort and Update Environment buttons. To start applying the update, click Update Environment. If preparation fails, see the "Resolve a failed update application" section later in this article.

  3. In the confirmation message, select Yes. The servicing operation has started on this environment. This is the start of the downtime on your environment.

  4. The environment state is changed from Deployed to Deploying.

  5. After the update is completed, the environment state is changed back to Deployed. If application of the update fails, the environment state is changed to Failed. For information about what to do if package application fails, see the "Resolve a failed update application" section later in this article.

  6. Open the History and Environment details pages to view the operations that were performed on the environment. You can also view a record of major actions that were performed on the environment, such as deployments, servicing, and rollbacks.

If you are on local agent version lower than 2.1.0, complete the following steps.

  1. Select the update, and then click Apply.

  2. In the confirmation message, select Yes. The servicing operation has started on this environment. This is the start of the downtime on your environment.

  3. Environment state changes from Deployed to Preparing.

    Note

    During preparation, steps such formatting the package and downloading the package are executed during preparation. The environment is not directly touched during preparation and hence there is no downtime during the preparation phase. Users can continue to use the system during preparation. However, we recommend that the downtime starts when the environment enters the Preparing state.

  4. After preparation is complete, the environment state is changed from Preparing to Deploying.

  5. After the update is completed, the environment state is changed back to Deployed. If application of the update fails, the environment state is changed to Failed. For information about what to do if package application fails, see the "Resolve a failed update application" section later in this article.

  6. Open the History and Environment details pages to view the operations that were performed on the environment. You can also view a record of major actions that were performed on the environment, such as deployments, servicing, and rollbacks.

Update a production environment

Before you update a production environment, you must successfully complete the package application update on a sandbox environment.

  1. In the project for the sandbox environment that you applied the package to, open the Asset library, and then, on the Software deployable packages tab, select the package, and mark it as a Release candidate.
  2. On the Environment details page, under Maintain, select Apply updates. In the dialog box, only packages that are marked as a Release candidate are shown.
  3. Select the Release candidate package to be applied to the Production environment.
  4. The rest of the Update flow is the same as that of a sandbox environment. Your update experience will differ based on the version of the local agent running on your environment. We recommend that you always run with the latest version.

Resolve a failed update application

When preparation fails, the environment state is Deployed. When the application of an update fails, the environment state is Failed. The first step is to determine why there is a failure. The location of the logs varies, depending on the stage where the failure occurred:

  • Preparation stage: If the operation fails during the Preparation stage, the logs are uploaded to LCS. In the log files, select Download logs to download the log files. If the package has any merge issues, the error is included in the log file.
  • Deploying stage: If the operation fails during the Deploying stage, the logs are located in the on-premises environment. You must sign in to the environment, and then access the logs and event viewer.

For more information about how to use the troubleshooting logs, see Troubleshoot on-premises deployments.

After you review the logs and determine the cause of the failure, complete one of the following operations to restore the environment to a healthy state. No actions can be performed on an environment that is in a Failed state. The environment must first be restored to a healthy state.

  • Retry failed operation – If update application fails, select Retry to recover from the failed operation.

  • Abort failed operation – Because there is no change made to the on-premises environment, if the preparation fails, you have the option to cancel the operation. Select Abort to cancel the preparation.

  • Roll back the update – To roll back the update that failed, select Rollback. Before you start the rollback, you must restore the database to the last known good state. When you select Rollback, the environment is restored to the last known good state. The environment state is then changed to Preparation, then to Deploying, and then to either Deployed or Failed.

    Note

    The Rollback button doesn't roll back the database. You're responsible for restoring the database to the last known backup that was made before update application. This step is critical to help guarantee that there is no data loss.

  • Refresh the state – If update application fails during the Preparation stage, the failure is on the LCS side, and update application hasn't yet started. Therefore, the on-premises environment is in a good state. To restore the LCS environment state to Deployed, on the project dashboard page, select Refresh.

  • Delete and redeploy an environment – If the retry and rollback options don't work, you must delete and redeploy the environment. To delete the environment, on the project dashboard page, select Delete. You then see the option to configure the environment.

    Important

    This option should not be used on a production environment. However, it can be used on a sandbox deployment to restore the environment to a healthy state.

    Because this option requires that you do a fresh deployment of the environment, you lose any updates that were previously applied. Any customizations and binary updates must be reapplied to the environment.