Deployment topologies for Retail
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
Note
This topic includes information about features that were added or changed for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 Cumulative Update 8. For more information, see the section later in this topic.
Before you install Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for Retail, you must decide on the system topology. This topic describes common topologies for a Retail system.
The topology at the head office is a standard Microsoft Dynamics AX deployment, with additional computers for retail functions. Depending on the requirements of your organization, you can use a computer for more than one purpose. We recommend that you load balance across multiple computers whenever load balancing is possible.
Note
For development and testing, you can install the complete Retail system on a single computer. However, a deployment of this kind is not a supported production scenario.
This topic contains the following sections:
Deployment topologies for Retail in AX 2012 R3
Deployment topologies for Retail in AX 2012 R2 and AX 2012 Feature Pack
The following table lists the types of computers that are used in a typical Retail deployment with AX 2012 R3.
Deployment location |
Types of computers |
---|---|
Head office |
|
Brick-and-mortar stores |
|
The following figures illustrate typical deployment topologies for a POS system in AX 2012 R3.
In Figure 1, each component is hosted on a dedicated physical computer or virtual machine. Components that support multiple instances, such as AOS, Async Server and Real-time Service could be installed on additional computers for load balancing. This deployment topology is appropriate for a large retailer.
Figure 1 Hosting of POS components on dedicated computers
In Figure 2, on the head office side, the Async Server instance, Real-time Service, and Enterprise Portal for Microsoft Dynamics AX have been combined on a single computer. A midsize retailer might want to consolidate these services on one computer or run them on virtual machines on a single physical server. On the store side, Async Client is installed on the same computer as the channel database server.
Figure 2 Shared hosting of POS components
For Retail POS registers, the following store-side database topologies are supported:
POS registers have offline databases that are synchronized with the channel database within the store when the POS registers are connected.
POS registers do not have databases and must always be connected to the channel database within the store.
For Retail Modern POS, the following store-side database topologies are supported:
Retail Modern POS registers have offline databases that are synchronized with the channel database.
Retail Modern POS registers do not have databases and must always be connected to a Retail Server.
Retail Modern POS registers connect directly to a channel database without connecting to a Retail Server.
Figure 3 illustrates the supported topologies for POS registers. In the POS portable topology, the POS device uses the channel database by default, and synchronizes its local database and the channel database. If the channel database becomes inaccessible, the POS device uses its offline database until the connection to the channel database is re-established. In the POS always online topology, the POS device must always be online to connect with the channel database.
Figure 3 Supported database topologies for POS devices
Note
Async Server, Async Client, and Real-time Service have been omitted from Figure 3, because they are not affected.
Figure 4 illustrates the supported topologies for Retail Modern POS registers.
Figure 4 Supported topologies for Retail Modern POS devices
The following figures illustrate typical deployment topologies for an online store system in AX 2012 R3.
In Figure 5, each component is hosted on a dedicated physical computer or virtual machine. Components that support multiple instances, such as AOS and online store sites, could be installed on additional computers for load balancing.
Figure 5 Hosting of online store components on dedicated computers
In Figure 6, Async Client, Real-time Service, and Enterprise Portal have been combined on a single computer. A midsize retailer might want to consolidate these services on one computer or run them on virtual machines on a single physical server.
Figure 6 Shared hosting of online store components
The following table lists the types of computers that are used in a typical Retail deployment with AX 2012 R2 or AX 2012 Feature Pack.
Deployment location |
Types of computers |
---|---|
Head office |
|
Brick-and-mortar stores |
|
Typically, head office and store computers where Synch Service is installed also have SQL Server Express Edition installed. However, this instance of SQL Server is used only for the Synch Service message database.
The following figures illustrate typical deployment topologies for a POS system in AX 2012 R2 and AX 2012 Feature Pack.
In Figure 1, each component is hosted on a dedicated physical computer or virtual machine. Components that support multiple instances, such as AOS and Synch Service, could be installed on additional computers for load balancing. This deployment topology is appropriate for a large retailer.
Figure 1 Hosting of Retail POS components on dedicated computers
In Figure 2, on the head office side, the Synch Service instance, Real-time Service, and Enterprise Portal for Microsoft Dynamics AX have been combined on a single computer. A midsize retailer might want to consolidate these services on one computer or run them on virtual machines on a single physical server. On the store side, Synch Service is installed on the same computer as the store database server.
Figure 2 Shared hosting of Retail POS components
Retail supports the following store-side database topologies:
POS registers have offline databases that are synchronized with the store database when the POS registers are connected.
POS registers do not have databases and must always be connected to the store database.
Figure 3 illustrates the two supported topologies. In the POS portable topology, the POS register uses the store database by default, and synchronizes its local database and the store database. If the store database becomes inaccessible, the POS register uses its offline database until the connection to the store database is re-established. In the POS always online topology, the POS register must always be online to connect with the store database.
Figure 3 Supported database topologies for Retail POS registers
Note
Synch Service and Real-time Service have been omitted from Figure 3, because they are not affected.
The following figures illustrate typical deployment topologies for an online store system in AX 2012 R2 and AX 2012 Feature Pack.
In Figure 4, each component is hosted on a dedicated physical computer or virtual machine. Components that support multiple instances, such as AOS, Synch Service, and online store sites, could be installed on additional computers for load balancing.
Figure 4 Hosting of Retail online store components on dedicated computers
In Figure 5, Synch Service, Real-time Service, and Enterprise Portal have been combined on a single computer. A midsize retailer might want to consolidate these services on one computer or run them on virtual machines on a single physical server.
Figure 5 Shared hosting of online store components
Create a store database or an offline database (AX 2012 R2 and AX 2012 Feature Pack)