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To programmatically distinguish between tables carrying business-critical data and configuration or system-related data in Dataverse, you can leverage the table metadata provided by the Dataverse Web API or the SDK. Specifically, you can use the IsCustomEntity and OwnershipType properties, as well as naming conventions and metadata like table prefixes or descriptions. Here's how you can achieve this:

Steps to Identify Business-Critical Tables

1. Check Metadata for IsCustomEntity

Custom tables typically have IsCustomEntity set to true.

Business-critical tables (like account, contact, or custom tables) are often custom or standard business tables.

Example Query:

Use the Web API to query metadata:

GET [Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions?$select=LogicalName,IsCustomEntity,DisplayName

Filter for IsCustomEntity=true for custom business data tables.

2. Filter by OwnershipType

Business data tables are usually user-owned (UserOwned) rather than organization-owned (OrganizationOwned).

Configuration or system-related tables are often organization-owned.

Example Query:

GET [Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions?$select=LogicalName,OwnershipType

Filter for OwnershipType=1 (UserOwned) to target business-critical data.

3. Leverage Naming Conventions

Standard Microsoft system tables often use specific prefixes like msdyn_, mscrm_, or plugin.

Custom business tables often use custom prefixes or meaningful names.

Approach:

Programmatically exclude tables with prefixes such as msdyn_, mscrm_, plugin, etc.

4. Analyze Table Purpose through Metadata

Use properties like Description and DisplayName in the metadata to identify table purposes.

Business-critical tables often have meaningful descriptions, while system tables may have generic or technical descriptions.

Example Query:

GET [Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions?$select=LogicalName,DisplayName,Description

5. Exclude Known System Tables

Maintain a list of known system and configuration tables (e.g., msdyn_fieldservicesystemjob, plugintracelog) to exclude programmatically.

Microsoft provides a list of system tables here.

6. Use the IsAuditEnabled Property

Business-critical tables are often audit-enabled, while system tables are not.

Query IsAuditEnabled to identify business-relevant tables:

GET [Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions?$select=LogicalName,IsAuditEnabled

7. Manual Overrides for Edge Cases

For any ambiguous tables, you may need a manual review or predefined rules to classify them.

Example Code (C#)

Here's an example using the Dynamics 365 SDK:

using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk;

using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Messages;

using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Metadata;

using System.Linq;

public void GetBusinessCriticalTables(IOrganizationService service)

{

// Retrieve all entity metadata

RetrieveAllEntitiesRequest request = new RetrieveAllEntitiesRequest

{

EntityFilters = EntityFilters.Entity,

RetrieveAsIfPublished = true

};

RetrieveAllEntitiesResponse response = (RetrieveAllEntitiesResponse)service.Execute(request);

var businessTables = response.EntityMetadata

.Where(e => e.IsCustomEntity == true ||

e.OwnershipType == OwnershipTypes.UserOwned)

.Where(e => !e.LogicalName.StartsWith("msdyn_") &&

!e.LogicalName.StartsWith("plugin"))

.Select(e => new

{

e.LogicalName,

e.DisplayName,

e.Description

});

foreach (var table in businessTables)

{

Console.WriteLine($"Table: {table.LogicalName}, Name: {table.DisplayName?.UserLocalizedLabel?.Label}, Description: {table.Description?.UserLocalizedLabel?.Label}");

}

Summary of Key Filters

1. IsCustomEntity=true

2. OwnershipType=UserOwned (1)

3. Exclude known system prefixes (msdyn_, plugin, etc.)

4. Include IsAuditEnabled=true where applicable.

This approach ensures you target business-critical data tables while filtering out configuration or system tables.

Distinguish between MS config tables to business tables

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