Category: SmartConnect

This post is part of the series on Implementing SmartConnect, an integration tool from eOne Solutions, which can take data from any source and integrate it into Microsoft Dynamics GP (and other systems such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Sales Force amongst others). It has a drag and drop interface to make creating integrations quick and easy for all users rather than just developers (as many integration tools target).

SmartConnect has certain prerequisites which need top be met before implementing SmartConnect; these are outlines below.

Microsoft windows components:

• Windows Domain is required for integrating with eConnect for Microsoft Dynamics GP.
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7.1 or greater installed on all servers or clients on which SmartConnect will be run. The SmartConnect installer will install it if it does not present although it can be installed manually prior to starting the installation.
• Microsoft IIS 8.0+ is recommended for machines running either the SmartConnect web service or SmartConnect WCF Rest services. and must be set up to allow the running of .NET applications. For WCF Rest installations the server must also be set up to enable WCF HTTP Activation.
• Windows Identity Foundation is required to connect to a Microsoft CRM Internet facing deployment, or Online system.
• SOAP SDK is required (http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/details.aspx?id=10747) for installations using the legacy excel templates downloaded from www.eonesolutions.com.

Windows user permissions:

• For 64-bit machines Read / Write access to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Wow6432Node \ eOneSolutions \ SmartConnect registry keys
• For 32-bit machines Read / Write access to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ eOneSolutions \ SmartConnect registry keys
• Access to the SmartConnect installation (standard install path is C:\Program Files\eOneSolutions\SmartConnect\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\eOneSolutions\SmartConnect\ if 32-bit)

User requirements:

• The Windows Domain service account used for eConnect needs to be able to log into the Microsoft SQL Server that contains the Microsoft Dynamics GP databases using windows authentication.
• SmartConnect Web Service controls integrations coming into SmartConnect from Excel, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and third party applications that use the web service to connect. This user will need to be set up within SmartConnect after installation have been completed. This user may be the same user as the eConnect user.
• SmartConnect Windows Service is used by scheduled maps to run integrations. This user must also be set up within SmartConnect after installation has been completed and will be used as the default user for all scheduled integrations (unless a user has been specified on the scheduled map) and as such should have security to access/run all SmartConnect integrations.
• Salesforce Web Service is used to connect Salesforce real time data source maps to SmartConnect. This web service must be installed externally so it can be accessed by Salesforce. The internal user the web service uses to connect to SmartConnect should be restricted to only access required by Salesforce real time data source maps so as to reduce security issues associated with externally facing web services.

Microsoft Dynamics GP requirements:

• eConnect needs to be manually installed on each server or client with SmartConnect installed.

With all of the prerequisites met, we can install the SmartConnect application.

This post is part of the series on Implementing SmartConnect, an integration tool from eOne Solutions, which can take data from any source and integrate it into Microsoft Dynamics GP (and other systems such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Sales Force amongst others). It has a drag and drop interface to make creating integrations quick and easy for all users rather than just developers (as many integration tools target).

Before starting to install SmartConnect, the following requirements should be checked to ensure compatibility; if procureing new servers or software, I’d generally advise to aim for the top of the requirements to ensure greatest longevity.

Processors:

• 32 bit processor machines, 2 GHz or greater.
• 64 bit processor machines, 2 GHz or greater.

Memory (RAM):

• 1 GB of RAM is required, at least 4GB is recommended.

Continue reading “Implementing SmartConnect: System Requirements”

This post is part of the series on Implementing SmartConnect, an integration tool from eOne Solutions, which can take data from any source and integrate it into Microsoft Dynamics GP (and other systems such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Sales Force amongst others). It has a drag and drop interface to make creating integrations quick and easy for all users rather than just developers (as many integration tools target).

For providing clients with integrations, we’ve typically used Integration Manager, which is part of the Customisation Pack. Having recently taken a look at SmartConnect from eOne Solutions, I rapidly came to the conclusion that while Integrating Manager is easy to use and integrations are relatively simple to create, it lacks a lot of the features of SmartConnect.

Feature	Integration Manager	SmartConnect
Easy to create integrations
Schedule Integrations to run automatically
Use Excel XLSX as a data source
Connect to almost any datasource
Integrate to any eConnect node
Integrate with custom eConnect nodes
Extend integrations programatically	VBA	VB.NET or C#
Chain integrations to run one after the other
Schedule export of data to other systems
Robust when integrating large datasets

This post is part of the series on Implementing SmartConnect, an integration tool from eOne Solutions, which can take data from any source and integrate it into Microsoft Dynamics GP (and other systems such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Sales Force amongst others). It has a drag and drop interface to make creating integrations quick and easy for all users rather than just developers (as many integration tools target).

SmartConnect provides an alternative to Integration Manager, which is part of the Microsoft Dynamics GP Customisation Pack. While Integration Manager allows users to create and run integrations on an ad hoc basis, SmartConnect provides much more functionality, such as the ability to schedule integrations, poll a folder to load all files within and load data from many different data sources including Excel spreadsheets, transform data and provides a web service which can be called from any application.

There are three types of integration which can be created in SmartConnect:

• Bulk Data Sources – Bulk data sources are configured to look at fixed data locations (such as a particular file or folder). The SmartConnect Scheduler can be used to define a schedule on which bulk data source integrations should be run.
• Change Data Sources – A change data source will track all data changes since the map last ran successfully; based on the schedule, it will execute a SmartConnect map to integrate the data.
• Real Time Data Sources – Data is integrated in real time from any Microsoft Dynamics GP window or direct from Dynamics CRM to any destination.

Continue reading “Implementing SmartConnect: Introduction”

This post is part of the series on Implementing SmartConnect, an integration tool from eOne Solutions, which can take data from any source and integrate it into Microsoft Dynamics GP (and other systems such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Sales Force amongst others). It has a drag and drop interface to make creating integrations quick and easy for all users rather than just developers (as many integration tools target).

I’ve done a small number of posts before on eOne’s SmartList Builder previously, but this is the first series of posts I’ve done on one of their products.

I’m sure everyone using Microsoft Dynamics GP is aware of who eOne Solutions are, but in case you don’t, eOne are a Microsoft Dynamics GP ISV (Independent Software Vendor) based in Fargo, North Dakota, and with offices in Texas and Australia.

They have created a number of products which either install into Microsoft Dynamics GP or which integrate with it:

1. SmartConnect – the subject of this series is an integration tool which allows you to integrate lots of different systems with Microsoft Dynamics GP.
2. Extender – allows you to create new windows and forms for Microsoft Dynamics GP, without needing the services of a developer.
3. SmartView – provides an alternate, fast and flexible interface to the existing SmartLists.
4. Node Builder – allows easy creation of new eConnect nodes to be created without the need for a developer.
5. Flexicoder – allows you to automatically recode Sales transactions with configurable rules and references.
6. SmartPost – automates the posting of Microsoft Dynamics GP batches.
7. SmartList Builder – enables both the creation of new SmartList objects or modification of existing ones. Up to 32 tables can be linked and tables can be standard GP tables, any Third Party (ISV) tables, any SQL table, SQL views or SQL Scripts, other SmartLists or Extender resources.

I’ve worked with many clients using SmartList Builder and it has proven to be a very popular tool with them for the ease and flexibility of creating new SmartLists. In more recent times, I’ve also done work with Extender, SmartConnect and NodeBuilder. In this series, I am going to be focused on SmartConnect, but over the coming year, I’ll also be taking a look at some of the other products.

SmartConnect is an integration tool from eOne Solutions which can take data from any source and integrate it into Microsoft Dynamics GP (and other systems such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Sales Force amongst others). It has a drag and drop interface to make creating integrations quick and easy for all users rather than just developers (as many integration tools target).

I’ve known about SmartConnect for quite a long time now, but have only just started working with it and thought a series of posts on the installation and configuration process might be useful to do.

The index below will update as each post goes live if you are reading directly here (if you’re reading on a syndicated version, you will need to check back to the original post).

Implementing SmartConnect
Who Are eOne Solutions?
Introduction
SmartConnect vs. Integration Manager
System Requirements
Prerequisites
Installation
Configure Windows Service
Assign SQL Login Security
Install GP Addin
Update GP Cache
Console First Run
Configure GP Connector
Configure Security
Run System Maintenance
Verify Connector Working
Conclusion