
BC database
BI4Dynamics is reading data from BC replica, a synchronized Production database copy. This is not affecting Production operations.
Exporting BC data
Accessing the BC database (Production or Replica) with external tools is not possible. BI4Dynamics is exporting data to Azure Data Lake using web services, created by BI4Dynamics extension.
BI4Dynamics extension
BI4Dynamics extension, available from App Store is installed to BC tenant. First time setting includes:
- BC tenant information (ID, user)
- Azure Data Lake Storage (subscription)
The extension will automatically:
- create queries, one query for each exported BC table,
- expose queries as web services,
- read BC metadata that BI4Dynamics will use for customizations.
A standard BI4Dynamics extension will export 150 tables that be used to create the following business areas: Sales, Purchase, Receivables,
Payables, Finance, Inventory, Fixed Assets, Jobs and Resources, Production, Service, Bank Accounts, Item Information, and Service.
Because the process is automated there is no interaction with the IT team needed after this step.
Running web services
BI4Dynamics creates a docker, that triggers web services. Web services are using the OData protocol. This is a lighter, a little faster protocol than SOAP. The results are BC tables, exported as CSV files to Azure Data Lake.