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Install Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Search

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Important

This content is archived and is not being updated. For the latest documentation, see Microsoft Dynamics 365 product documentation. For the latest release plans, see Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform release plans.

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

This topic describes how to install Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Search. You must complete the installation procedure on each search server.

Task

Details

Verify required services

Verify that required SharePoint services are configured correctly and are running. For more information, see Install and configure Search prerequisites.

Install Microsoft Dynamics AX

Install the Microsoft Dynamics AX client, database, and Application Object Server (AOS) in the environment before you install Enterprise Search, and then complete the initialization checklist. If you attempt to install Enterprise Search before you complete these other tasks, the installation fails. For more information, see Install Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

Create a domain account

Create a domain account for Enterprise Search. This account must be configured as a Microsoft Dynamics AX user. The user account must be assigned to the Search crawler role before you install search. For more information, see Configure the Search Crawler account.

Verify web application requirement

Verify that the SharePoint Web application used for Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Search is configured for NTLM authentication. Also verify that the Web application is not configured for anonymous authentication.

Verify prerequisites

On the computer where you will install Enterprise Search, run the prerequisite validation utility to verify that system requirements have been met. For information about how to run the prerequisite validation utility, see Check prerequisites.

For more information about the hardware and software requirements for Microsoft Dynamics AX, see the system requirements.

Stop BDC service in load balanced environments

If you are setting up Enterprise Search in a load-balanced SharePoint server farm, verify that the Business Data Connectivity service (BDC) is only running on the Enterprise Search server. You must stop this service an all Web front-end servers in the farm. If you do not stop the service on all Web front-end servers, the Enterprise Search Configuration Wizard returns errors.

Install hotfix

If you are installing Enterprise Search on Microsoft Search Server 2010 Express, you must install the SharePoint Server 2010 hotfix package dated August 31, 2010. If you do not install the hotfix, you receive the following error message when you install Enterprise Search: “The trial period for this product has expired.” For more information and to download the hotfix package, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article number 2276336.

Important

Search is not supported in an environment with multiple AOS servers on the same server, unless all AOS servers point to the same database. Limitations in the Search server configuration (mssdmn.exe.config) and the Microsoft Dynamics AX client configuration prevent support for a topology with multiple AOS servers on the same server.

Use this procedure to install Enterprise Search. If you are installing other Microsoft Dynamics AX components at the same time, the installation pages vary, based on the components that you are installing.

  1. Start Microsoft Dynamics AX Setup. Under Install, select Microsoft Dynamics AX components.

  2. Advance through the first wizard pages.

  3. If the Setup Support files have not yet been installed on the computer, the Select a file location page is displayed. The Setup Support files are required for installation. Enter a file location or accept the default location, and then click Next. On the Ready to install page, click Install.

  4. If you are installing AX 2012 R3, in the Select an installation option page, click Microsoft Dynamics AX.

  5. On the Select installation type page, click Custom installation, and then click Next.

  6. On the Select components page, select Enterprise Search, and then click Next.

  7. On the Prerequisite validation results page, resolve any errors. For more information about how to resolve prerequisite errors, see Check prerequisites. When no errors remain, click Next.

  8. On the Select a file location page, select the location where you want to install 32-bit versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX files, and then click Next.

  9. On the Specify a location for configuration settings page, specify whether you want Enterprise Search to access configuration information from the registry on the local computer or from a shared configuration file. If you select to use a shared configuration file, you must enter the network location of the file. Click Next.

  10. On the Connect to an AOS instance page, enter the name of the computer that is running the Application Object Server (AOS) instance that you want to connect to. You can optionally specify the name of the AOS instance, the TCP/IP port number, and the WSDL port for services. Click Next.

    Note

    If you entered AOS connection information for other Microsoft Dynamics AX components that are installed on this computer, this screen is not displayed. Subsequent installations on this computer reuse the existing AOS connection.

  11. On the Specify Business Connector proxy account information page, enter the password for the proxy account that is used by the .NET Business Connector. Click Next.

  12. On the Specify the search crawler account page, enter the account information, and then click Next.

  13. On the Configure a Web site for the search crawler page, select a web site from the list. If the site is not already configured as a SharePoint Web application, then Setup configures it in SharePoint.

  14. On the Prerequisite validation results page, resolve any errors. When no errors remain, click Next.

  15. On the Ready to install page, click Install.

  16. After the installation is complete, click Finish to close the wizard.

Post-install configurations

If you installed Enterprise Search on a computer separate from the AOS, you must specify the Search server url in the Enterprise Portal parameters form. If you do not specify the URL, Search does not retrieve data.

  1. Click System administration > Setup > Enterprise Portal > Enterprise Portal parameters.

  2. Click Search.

  3. In the Search server url field, enter the URL to the SharePoint Search service where you just installed Search. Replace server_name with the name of the server where you installed Search: http:// server_name/sites/DynamicsAXClientSearch/_vti_bin/search.asmx

  4. Click Close to save changes.

Configure Business Connector Proxy membership in the SQL db_owner role

After you install Enterprise Search by using Setup, use SQL Server Management Studio to add the Business Connector proxy account and the search service application pool account (if different from the Business Connector proxy account) as members of the db_owner role for the following databases:

Search_Service_Application_LinksStoreDB_<GUID> (SharePoint 2013 only)

Search Service_Application_CrawlStoreDB_<GUID>

Search_Service_Application_DB_<GUID>

Search_Service_Application_PropertyStoreDB_<GUID> (SharePoint 2010 only)

Important

If you installed FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint each role is prefaced with the word FAST. For example, FAST_Search Service_Application_CrawlStoreDB_<GUID>

Configure queries for searchable data

Data, metadata, and documents can only be crawled and indexed for search if the database table is included in a Microsoft Dynamics AX AOT query. After the table is specified in a query, the query must be configured for Search. You configure a query for Search by setting the Searchable property to True in the AOT. By default, only the following queries are configured for Search. These queries are automatically published and indexed after you install Enterprise Search:

  • BdcDocuRef

  • CustTableListPage

  • EcoResProductPerCompanySearch

  • EngChgCaseAssociationInventTable

  • HcmWorkerListPage

  • HcmWorkerListPage_NotAccounted

  • HcmWorkerListPage_Present

  • ProjCategory

  • ProjGroupQuery

  • SecurityRoleAllTasks

  • smmBusinessRelations_NoFilter

  • VendorEnterpriseSearch

For information about how to make data, metadata, and documents available in Search, see Add AOT queries to the Search configuration. After you have specified which queries should be available in Search, you must publish the queries to SharePoint. For more information, see Configure Enterprise Search by using the Search Configuration wizard.

Configure SharePoint Farm Search Settings

Use SharePoint Central Administration to configure time-out settings and start a full crawl on the Microsoft Dynamics AX content sources.

  1. In SharePoint Central Administration, click Manage service applications, and then click Search Service Application.

  2. Click Farm Search Administration.

  3. In the Time-out (seconds) field, click the 60,60 link. Change the time-out to 600,600 and then click OK.

  4. In the Search Service Applications section, click the Search Service Application link.

  5. Click the Content Sources link.

  6. Right-click the Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Dynamics AX Metadata content sources and click Start Full Crawl.

  7. After the crawl completes, open an Microsoft Dynamics AX client and verify that the Search box appears in the upper-right corner. Also search on a term such as Sales and verify that the system returns results that are shown in both the middle pane (the data, metadata, and documents pane) and the Help Topics pane.

Troubleshooting: SharePoint Search stops working after you install Enterprise Portal

If you install Enterprise Portal on a server that hosts a SharePoint Team site, the default Search settings for the team site can change. SharePoint Search returns errors. To restore Search for the SharePoint team site, reset the SharePoint Search settings to their default values.

  1. Open the Search Settings page. By default, the URL is: http://< server_name>/_layouts/enhancedSearch.aspx

  2. Under Site Collection Search Center, click Do not use custom scopes.

  3. Under Site Collection Search Dropdown Mode, click Do not show scopes dropdown, and use contextual scope.

  4. Under Site Collection Search Results Page, click /_layouts/OSSSearchResults.aspx, and then click OK.

See also

Checklist: Deploy Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Search