deploy tier 2 account

 

Pre-requisites:

- Access to the D365 Deployment Service Account for the client

- Need the Power Platform Admin role to deploy a new Power Platform environment alongside the Sandbox.

- The role may already be applied to the Deployment Service Account, but not all clients provide the access upfront. There may be a need to have the client add the role temporarily.

- Environment license has been purchased by the client and applied to their Azure Tenant

- Know what version the environment needs to be deployed on

- This is not a Production environment deployment

 

 

LCS Deployment Settings:

 

1. Login to LCS using the D365 Deployment Service Account for the specific client. If we do not have access to login using the D365 Deployment Service Account ourselves, then the deployment steps will need to be completed with the assistance of the client.

2. Within the clients LCS project, navigate to the 'Environment' section on the right-hand side of the dashboard.

 

3. Locate the open environment slot. It should show as either 'Default: Standard Acceptance Test', 'Addon: Standard Acceptance Test', or 'Dynamics 365 Operations Sandbox: Premier acceptance test'. (If this is a Tier 3+ environment, the name may be slightly different, as those are usually tied to Performance.)

 

4. Click on the 'Configure' button to launch the deployment wizard.

5. The first screen will ask for the version we want the environment to deploy on. Make sure you select the correct 'Application version'. Keep the default 'Platform version' as there is only one option available for each. (If you do not know what version to deploy, first look at the other environments and then confirm with the client. Do not assume)

 

6. Click next. A new window will open with all the custom settings for the environment.

 

 

Custom Environment Deployment Settings

General

1. The 'General' section consists of two settings. The first is the name of the environment and the second is the location where the environment will be deployed. In the textbox under 'General', type in the name the client wants to use for the environment. The name must be globally unique. We recommend using the clients friendly name and the purpose of the environment in the 'ClientName-Type' format (i.e. ClientName-Stage, ClientName-Test, etc.). If this information is not included in the request, confirm with the ticket requestor what the environment name should be. If this is not the client's first Tier 2+ environment, try to match the name to the existing instance. 

 

 

2. For the 'Geography/Location' drop-down, expand out the options and locate the requested region provided in the ticket request. If one was not provided, confirm with the ticket requestor. You can also view the location the other Tier 2+ environments were deployed in and use the same. All environment deployments should reside in the same region. (It does not cause major issues if they aren't, but that is not recommended by RSM or Microsoft.) For almost all of our deployments, we will choose between 'useast - Data resident region, uscentral - Data resident region, and uswest - Data resident region' as all the other options are outside the US.

 

 

 

3. Once both the name and location have been selected, click on 'Next'.

 

Change selected topology

4. The 'Change Selected Topology' section will be displayed. By default, we skip this section as it takes you back to the beginning of the deployment process where you select the version. In addition, it wipes out any selections you've made up to this point. If you have made it to here and chose the wrong version, then you can click on the 'Change Selected Topology' button or cancel out of the deployment and start again.

 

 

5. Assuming the correct version was selected at the beginning of the deployment, click 'Next'.

 

Customize SQL Datasets

6. On the next window, we will select the dataset we want to use for the environment base. By default, it will have 'Demo' selected. For all deployments, we want to change the dataset to 'None' as we don't want any Microsoft data added ahead of time to the environment as we would most likely run into major issues when loading our custom data. Expand out the drop-down menu and select 'None'. 

 

7. Click on 'Next'.

 

Customize solution assets

8. The next section allows you to select the BPM library applied during the deployment. By default, it is blank. Most deployments do not have a BPM library we apply during the deployment, so moving onto the next step is the default option. A BPM can be added after the environment has been deployed if necessary. If the ticket requests a specific BPM to be used, click on the drop-down and select the correct library.

 

 

9. Click on 'Next'. 

 

Power Platform Integration

10. The 'Power Platform Integration' section is where the Power Platform, tied to this environment, is deployed.

a. For all Tier 2+ environment deployments, it is required for there to be a Power Platform environment connected to it either from the start or within a month of the sandbox deployment.

11. Our options are as follows:

a. Deploy a new Power Platform environment alongside the Sandbox environment.

b. Deploy the Sandbox with a connection to an existing Power Platform environment

12. For a brand-new environment deployment, we are more likely deploying a new Power Platform environment alongside the Sandbox (Option A).

a. Settings are as follows:

i. Use an Existing Power Platform Environment: Slider Off

ii. Language: English (United States)

iii. Currency: USD ($)

iv. Power Platform Template: Dynamics 365 Standard

 

 

b. If the environment is brand new but connecting to an existing environment, proceed to the next step.

13. For new environments being redeployed and/or needing to connect to an existing Power Platform environment, enable the 'Use an Existing Power Platform Environment' slider.

a. Settings are as follows:

i. Power Platform Environment ID: Follow the below steps to obtain the ID

 

 

Obtain an Existing Power Platform Environment ID

a. Log into https://admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com/

b. Click on the 'Environments' tab on the right-hand side of the screen.

c. Locate the environment we are connecting to the Sandbox and click on the name to open the environment details.

d. Under the 'Details' section, locate the 'Environment ID'. 

e. Copy the ID and paste it in the 'Power Platform Environment ID' textbox.

 

14. Once you've pasted the ID in, click on 'Next'.  

 

Environment Notifications

15. We are then asked to provide email addresses for LCS to send environment notifications to. Microsoft requires two different email addresses to start, but more can be added. We recommend the 'CSM' and the 'client main point of contact' as the base two accounts. If you are unsure, there are a couple of options to find out who should be included. First, you can reach out to the ticket requestor. Second, you can look at who has been used on other Tier 2+ environments by navigating to the full details section and checking the 'Notification list'. (Requires other environments to be deployed.) 

 

 

16. Once you have identified who should be included, type in the email accounts using a semicolon (;) to separate the e-mail addresses. There is no space after the semicolon either.

 

 

17. After adding the email addresses, click on 'Next'.

 

Environment administrator

18. The 'Environment Administrator' section allows you to change who you want as the administrator account. It will automatically default to the current logged in account. (Should be the D365 Deployment Account for the specific client.) If it needs to be a different account, click the drop-down and select the requested account. Note, this is the account which does not get disabled when the enviornment is refreshed and is used to set the default domain for the environment. Make sure to not set this to any non-client domain account.

 

 

19. Click on 'Next'.  

 

Summary

20. On the 'Summary' page, review all of the configurations to ensure it looks as expected. If you see something that is incorrect, click the section on the left side of the page. This will take you to the section where you can make the edits. If all looks as expected, click on 'Next'.

 

 

Customer sign off

21. The last page is where you'll be signing off on the configuration and deploying the environment. In the textbox, type in AAD name for the account you are logged in with. This can be located at the end of the second line in parenthesis.

 

 

22. Once you've typed in the name, click on 'Deploy'. This will kick on the deployment. If there are issues with any of the settings, you should get a prompt at this time. If everything checks out, then you'll be taken back to the LCS dashboard page. (If 'Save' is clicked, then you'll be taken back to the LCS dashboard. You'll need to click on the 'Configure' option again, go to the sign off and click on 'Deploy' as all your configurations should be the same.)

23. On the LCS dashboard, you'll see the environment you deployed on the left-hand side of the page. It will have a status of 'Deploying'. The process usually takes 30-60 minutes to complete. After some time, refresh the page. Continue to periodically refresh the page until the environment status changes to 'Deployed'.

 

 

24. After the environment deploys, complete the additional steps to add the proper code and data to the environment