Difference between GAC, Database and Disk deployments options in Plugin Registration Tool

In this article I want to highlight some key points about different options to store plugin assembly  when you register plugin using  Plugin Registration tool in  Dynamics 365.

GAC (Global Assembly Cache)

1. Plugin stored in  GAC does not support Dynamics 365 Online.
2. Plugin does not backed up with database, plugin  assembly stored in GAC of the server. So database backup or restore will not restore your plugin.
3. You can not add your plugin with your solution which means you always have to copy  and register dll when you want to deploy in another environment.
4. In case of GAC deployment you always need to IIS restart for any update of your plugin.
5. Registering plugin in GAC does not mean that you can access any external dll , you can only refer the dll which you have referenced at the time of plugin development.

Database Deployment

1. Support both Dynamics 365 online and On-premise.
2. Plugin is secured and its stored in Dynamics 365 database itself  you can backedup and restored the database with plugin.
3. You can include your plugin into your solution and move another environment by solution import.
4. When you update any plugin you dont need to do IIS reset to reflect the changes in the Application  level.
5. You can refer external dll from the disk and from GAC.

Disk Deployment

1. Does not support dynamics CRM online .
2. Similar like GAC does not backed up with database, plugin  assembly stored in  the server. So database backup or restore will not restore your plugin.
3. You can not add your plugin with your solution which means you always have to copy dll and register using plugin registration tool when you want to deploy in another environment.
4. In case of GAC deployment you always need to IIS restart for any update of your plugin.
5. You can refer external dll from the disk and from GAC.

Hope this helps.