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Diagnostic Framework for Microsoft Dynamics AX User Guide [AX 2012]
Updated: December 18, 2012
Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
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| This is pre-release documentation of a preliminary nature and is subject to change at any time without notice. Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided herein. |
The Diagnostic Framework for Microsoft Dynamics AX, beta version, helps administrators diagnose the health of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. The framework assesses the health of Microsoft Dynamics AX and its components, such as Application Object Server (AOS), Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, and Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services.
The Diagnostics Framework is available from the InformationSource services download page.
The Diagnostics Framework is an on-premise web-based tool that can be configured in one or more Microsoft Dynamics AX environments to perform the following tasks:
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Collect data from Microsoft Dynamics AXservers.
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Run rules on the collected data.
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Report rule violations on a dashboard.
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Provide reports.
Rules are organized into modules that test conditions and raise messages. Modules consist of data collectors, transformations, and rules. A base set of modules and reports is distributed and installed with the framework. Modules can be exported and imported. For example, independent software vendors (ISVs) can develop modules based on their Microsoft Dynamics AX features, export the modules, and provide those modules to customers for import into the Diagnostic Framework.
Data can be collected from multiple sources, such as the Microsoft Dynamics AX database, Microsoft Windows Performance Monitor counters, Windows events, and Windows registry hives. Data is collected by using jobs that run either on predefined schedules or on demand.
The supported versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX include:
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Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2
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Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack
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Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
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Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009
The Diagnostic Framework supports the following goals:
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Unify diagnostic data collection and analysis into a single location.
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Help customers identify and resolve problems sooner and at lower cost.
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Guarantee that the server and application configuration conforms to best practices through scheduled, rule-based automation.
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Combine observations and metrics, and correlate disparate events from multiple sources to get the “big picture.”
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Help customers achieve operational excellence.
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Minimize the effect of monitoring on operations.
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Provide a separate platform for data analysis that is isolated from production.
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Let customers and partners extend and customize data collection and rules for their environments and customizations.
The following diagram shows the components of the Diagnostic Framework.
The framework consists of three tiers: the Diagnostic Framework, data sources, and the servers in the environment.
Framework components
Environment discovery is the process during which the user identifies the Microsoft Dynamics AX business database that is associated with the environment to monitor, and then the Diagnostic Framework discovers the additional servers that are associated with that environment.
After an environment has been discovered, and rules have been configured to run, data is collected from the servers in the environment through the Diagnostic Framework Windows service. The data that is collected is stored in the Diagnostic Framework Microsoft SQL Server SQL Server database. The Diagnostic Framework database can be created on any available SQL Server instance. In other words, the Diagnostic Framework database does not have to be co-located with the Diagnostic Framework services.
The database contains metadata about the environment, information about the modules, and the data that is collected when each module runs.
No agents are required on the servers in the environment. If Performance Monitor collection is enabled, a data collector set (DCS) is created on servers on which the Performance Monitor collection has been deployed. If SQL Trace collection is enabled, a server-side trace is deployed on the SQL Server instance that runs the Microsoft Dynamics AX business database.
No data is transferred externally by the Diagnostic Framework.
A web dashboard provides an interactive interface that presents messages that are generated by rules. The Diagnostic Framework website lets you schedule data collection and rule evaluation, view reports, and grant users access.
You can also develop custom modules for the Diagnostic Framework.
An environment is a collection of servers that comprise a Microsoft Dynamics AX installation. These servers are the database server that contains the Microsoft Dynamics AX database and the other Microsoft Dynamics AX servers that use the common database.
The following application roles in a Microsoft Dynamics AX environment are supported:
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SQL Server
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Application Object Server (AOS)
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IIS
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Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services
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Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services
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Help Server
A module consists of the following parts:
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Data collectors
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Transformations
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Rules
Data collectors
Data is collected from servers and stored in the Diagnostic Framework database. The following table describes the types of data that can be collected from these application roles.
| Data classification | SQL Server | AOS | IIS | Reporting Services | Analysis Services | Help |
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| Database tables | X | |||||
| Registry hives | X | |||||
| Windows events | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Windows service status | X | |||||
| IIS configuration (XML) | X | |||||
| Performance Monitor counters | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| SQL Trace | X |
Performance Monitor - You can use Diagnostic Framework to define and execute Performance Monitor data collector sets on servers. Counters that are collected by a DCS are defined per application role in Diagnostic Framework. A DCS can be configured to run on a remote server, and a job can be configured to collect the data that is captured by the DCS and store it in the Diagnostic Framework database.
SQL Trace - You can use Diagnostic Framework to define and deploy a server-side trace on the SQL Server instance in a Microsoft Dynamics AX environment. SQL Trace events can be collected and stored in the Diagnostic Framework database.
Transformations
A transformation is an expression that operates on collected data and returns a scalar value of a specified data type. The data type can be integer, string, date, or Boolean. The value that is returned by a transformation is called a clause variable in Diagnostic Framework, because the value can be used in rule-antecedent clauses. Transformation values are saved in the Diagnostic Framework database every time that the transformation is executed.
Rules
A rule tests conditions and returns a Boolean value. The conditions can use clause variables from transformations, or the outputs of other rules. A rule can include multiple conditions. Conditions can be grouped and combined by using and or or.
A rule can be configured to generate different messages, depending on whether the conditions return a true or false value. Rule messages are displayed on the Diagnostic Framework dashboard.
A rule also includes a description that explains what the rule evaluates, the recommended mitigation, web references, or URLs, and, if applicable, relevant data that was evaluated.
By default, only the installing user can access the Diagnostic Framework. You must add additional users to grant them access.
| Note |
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| The credentials of the Microsoft Dynamics AX Diagnostic Framework Windows service account, not the credentials of the current user, are used to access servers in an environment. |
