Archiving for Dynamics CRM

What versions of Dynamics CRM do you support?  
The Data Archival product supports the following Dynamics CRM versions

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3 base and all service packs and
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4 base and all service packs

What databases does the Data Archival tool work on?  
The Data Archival tool can work with a Microsoft Dynamics CRM environment running on

• SQL Server 2000
• SQL Server 2005 and
• SQL Server 2008

What size database can you work on?
There are no restrictions on database size imposed by the applications. We have tested Data Archival for Dynamics on databases ranging from a few 25 GB to 2 Terabytes and have seen successful performance.

Can you archive by time period?
Yes, time period is one of the criteria, provided for selection by the user, for each entity that undergoes the Data Archival or purge processes.

Can I select what records should be archived / purged?
Yes, the Data Archival application provides the user a predefined set of rules and criteria for each entity. By setting the values for these rules and criteria, it is possible to control / determine what records should be archived / purged.

Can I purge some records and archive others?
Yes the ability to set rules is provided at the level of an entity. Entities are transaction concepts like Leads, Opportunities and Sales Quotations. For example you can archive Opportunities but choose to purge Leads.

Can I have different rules by Business Units?
Yes, the ability to determine whether to purge or archive data is provided by Business Unit and Entity. Thus, it is possible to configure records for an entity that are associated to some Business Units to be archived and some to be purged. For example, you can choose that for Business Unit A you will archive all closed Opportunities and purge all Leads before December 31st, 2007 but in Business Unit B you may chose to purge both closed Opportunities and Leads before December 31st 2006 while archiving both Opportunities and Leads between the period January 1st, 2007 to December 31st, 2007.

How can I view my archived records?
The default setting for the rules are such that when an entity is archived, its sub-entities are also archived. The archived data is stored in another database that is similar in structure to the source MS Dynamics CRM database. It is possible to access this archive data by configuring Microsoft Dynamics CRM application to connect to this Archive database and viewing the data that has been archived.

Can the Data Archival product also be used as a cleanup tool?
Yes, the Data Archival product has a purge feature which can be used for data cleanup.

What data in CRM can be archived by the Data Archival product?
Most data except non-transactional master data would fall under a business entity. The Data Archival tool caters to the archival / purging of these business entities. List of standard entities supported by Data Archival are listed below.

Standard Dynamics CRM entities:

• Leads
• Opportunities
• Cases
• Activities
• Quotes
• Sales Orders
• Invoices

How long does it take to archive records?
The time taken by the archival process is dependent on the server hardware, number of entities being archived and the volume of records for the entities being archived. In general your periodic archival will be done in less than 2 hours*. For your first archival run a longer time window may be required. For shorter archival time, it is recommended that the Data Archival be run more frequently to reduce the number records to be archived.
* Estimated based on a database size of 200 GB

If I archive Opportunities what happens to the Originating Leads?
The Data Archival tool provides the ability to purge / archive data by entity. If an entity like Opportunities is being archived, dependent entities like Leads can also be archived along with the primary entity (Opportunities).

How do you ensure that data integrity is not violated?
The Data Archival tool provides for the ability to purge / archive data by entity. All logical relations between tables that belong to the entity have been taken into consideration in designing the tool. This ensures that orphan records are not left in your database. For example, when you archival Opportunities Data Archival for Dynamics will also archive the Originating Leads, Notes, Attachments, Activities and other related entities related to the opportunity. While the default settings provides the initial recommendation to what should get archived, you can control which related entities get archived or purged and which do not.

Does the Data Archival application track the instances of the entities being archived / purged?
Yes, the Data Archival product maintains the primary identifying attributes of the entity being archived / purged. For example, for Leads, it maintains track of the Business Unit and the Lead that were identified for archival / purge.

Do I need to take my CRM system offline while doing data archival?
The Dynamics CRM system need not be taken offline during archival. However it is recommended that Data Archival is accomplished during a maintenance window so that records that are being archived are not modified by users in the system. This maintenance window can be easily predicted by running the archival process in a test environment.

Can Data Archival be run on a schedule?
Yes, the Data Archival product has a feature that enables setting archival or purge of entities on a schedule. You can set this to run daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or on an annual basis.

How is scheduling implemented by Data Archival?
Data Archival uses Windows Task Scheduler for scheduling. Archival / purge that are scheduled used the Data Archival application result in the creation of a Scheduled Task for Windows Task Scheduler.

What are the various components of the Data Archival application?
The Data Archival application consists of an executable file for the user interface, a SQL database, called the Monitor database, to store

• metadata
• metadata and history of the key values of data that was identified for archival / purge
• stored procedures invoked during the execution of the archival / purge process

What is the language for used for developing the Data Archival user Interface?
The Data Archival application is a .Net application developed using C#. The archival scripts are stored procedures.

Are there any limitations regarding co-location of the source CRM database and the monitor database of the Data Archival product?
It is recommended that the Source CRM database and the monitor exist on the same SQL Server instance in order to avoid linked servers and their corresponding performance impact. However, this is a recommendation and not a limitation of the application. The archived database is typically on a separate server.

Frequently Asked Questions - Archiving for Dynamics AX