Upgrade: Microsoft CRM 3.0 to 4.0 Upgrade

After performing numerous Microsoft CRM 3.0 to 4.0 upgrades, I'd like to share my observations here.  There are a few different scenarios for the upgrade – I will cover these three:

1. Microsoft CRM 3.0 Small Business Edition to 4.0

2. Microsoft CRM 3.0 Professional to 4.0 32 bit edition

3. Microsoft CRM 3.0 Professional to 4.0 64 bit edition

Note: For detail upgrade steps, review the Microsoft CRM 4.0 Implementation Guide - Installing Doc, Section: Upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Server.

1. Microsoft CRM 3.0 Small Business Edition to 4.0:

– Ensure that the Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 Premium is R2 since Microsoft CRM 4.0 Server requires Microsoft SQL Server 2005, so upgrade the SBS to R2 first, then upgrade CRM

– After the upgrade, disable the "Microsoft CRM-Fax Router Service" since it is no longer needed in 4.0

2. Microsoft CRM 3.0 Professional to 4.0 32 bit edition:

– Ensure that Microsoft CRM 3.0 is running on SQL Server 2005.  If not, upgrade the SQL Server 2000 to 2005 first since Microsoft CRM 4.0 Server requires Microsoft SQL Server 2005.  Microsoft CRM 3.0 Server supports both SQL Server 2000 and 2005

3. Microsoft CRM 3.0 Professional to 4.0 64 bit edition:

– Microsoft CRM 3.0 Server does NOT support 64 bits, but Microsoft CRM 4.0 does

– Need to upgrade Microsoft CRM 3.0 Server to 4.0 32 bit edition first (see 2. above)

– Then migrate (via the new 4.0 Import Organization) the upgraded Microsoft CRM 4.0 32 bit edition to your new Windows Server 2003 or 2008 64 bit edition environment

General upgrade notes:

·        All three license versions of the Microsoft CRM 4.0 (Workgroup, Professional and Enterprise) work on all supported platforms.  Check with your Microsoft CRM Partner on the best version to upgrade to.  If you have 3rd Party software installed, check with the 3rd Party software vendor for their 4.0 support, and if going 64 bits – their 64 bits support

·        Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is officially supported to run on a computer that is running Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 and Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V in production systems.  Please review Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 946600 and for Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 957054.  Please review the software support on a computer that is running non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software on the Knowledge Base Articles.

·        Backup, backup, backup - last thing you want is a failed upgrade and no way to recover; people can get fired for this!  I would highly recommend keeping your production Microsoft CRM 3.0 environment intact and performing the Microsoft CRM 4.0 on new server(s).  This way, if the upgrade fails for whatever reason, all you have to do is turn on the existing Microsoft CRM 3.0 environment and be back in operation without any worries. 

·        Use the Microsoft CRM 3.0 Redeployment Tool to properly migrate a "copy" (all the configuration and data) of the current Microsoft CRM 3.0 environment to another enviornment.  The Redeployment Tool is located in the Microsoft CRM 3.0 Server CD's subfolder "RedeploymentTool".  Besure to read the instructions included in the "RedeploymentTool" subfolder and follow the directions so it doesn't impact your currrent environment

·        Test, test, test - especially if this is your first time performing the 4.0 upgrade, be sure to practice the upgrade in a test environment so you could experience all the glory details involved prior to upgrading your production 3.0 environment.  After the technical portion of the test upgrade is successful, ask your end users to login to the test environment and validate their current processes on it to minimize surprises.  If you have custom SDK functions, validate them, especially if you had deployed "unsupported" ones

·        For the Microsoft CRM Outlook Client upgrade, I'd recommend completely uninstalling the Microsoft CRM 3.0 Outlook Client and then reinstall with the Microsoft CRM 4.0 Outlook Client.  If you have any 3.0 Offline Outlook Clients, ensure that they have switched to Online prior to the upgrade.  Also, a good practice would be to apply the latest Windows and Office update on the Microsoft CRM Outlook Client PC