Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Architecture Overview

forums.bsdinsight.com/threads/microsoft-dynamics-ax-2012-architecture-overview.7884/

1. phamthanhnhan14 Active Member

Understanding the internal architecture of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 can help you make decision when planning and
developing a Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 system. Here are some pointers on DAX 2012 architecture primarily for
DAX 2012 architects & solution developers. This topic provides a high-level overview of the system architecture of
Microsoft Dynamics AX.
System architecture
This diagram provides a high-level over of a Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 system with all components installed, and
describes how communications flow between the components.

Application Object Server (AOS) architecture

This diagram describes the functionality within the AOS Windows service, and describes how communications flow
within it.

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Note: Clients communicate with an AOS by using remote procedure calls (RPCs), Windows Communication Foundation
(WCF), or AOS services. In previous releases, other components and third-party programs could communicate with an
AOS by using either .NET Business Connector or Application Integration Framework (AIF). For this release, we
recommend that third-party programs use AOS services to communicate with AOS.
Business Connector architecture
The differences between the client kernel as it runs on a standard client and a Business Connector client are:
The Session Manager in the client kernel manages only a single instance--in the Business Connector kernel, it manages
multiple instances.
The client kernel includes forms security, while the Business Connector kernel does not.
This diagram describes the architecture of the Business Connector version of the client kernel, and describes how
communications flow within it.

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 Application file server architecture

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2.

phamthanhnhan14 Active Member

Model store architecture

Microsoft Dynamics AX contains sixteen layers. Each layer consists of one or more logical parts called models. A model
is generated for each layer. For example, VAR Model is the model that the system generates for the VAR layer. The
system generated models let you install and work with the base Microsoft Dynamics AX system.
When you customize the Microsoft Dynamics AX program, you can take advantage of the capabilities of models.

The following table describes the application object layers in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012:

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3.

phamthanhnhan14 Active Member

Client architecture
This diagram describes the functionality within the client, and describes how communications flow within it.

Client/server communication

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 The client communicates with various Microsoft Dynamics AX components in the following ways:
The client uses the remote procedure call (RPC) protocol to communicate with Application Object Server (AOS).
The client never accesses the database or metadata directly. AOS sends the application objects and data to the
client.
The data layer that the client uses is based on data sources that are specified in metadata for forms and queries. In
addition, any X++ code that is required to retrieve data can use the built-in language support to query and adjust
data.
The client uses a report Web Part to interact with the report server. By calling the web services that are exposed
by the report server, the report control in the Web Part displays information that is contained in Reporting
Services reports. These reports can include either transnational data from the Microsoft Dynamics AX application
or OLAP cubes from Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services. Cubes provide business analytic and key
performance indicators (KPIs).
The client provides workflow forms, alerts, and controls so that users can participate in the business process by
using the Workflow system. The Workflow system is a Microsoft Dynamics AX component that enables
workflow processes by using Windows Communication Foundation classes.
The client provides a Help viewer, which is an application that displays context-sensitive Help topics. The Help
topics are retrieved from a Help server that is located on-premises.
The client also provides Role Centers, or role-based home pages, for users. Role Centers provide role-specific
tasks, activities, alerts, reports, and business intelligence that help users increase their productivity. To interact
with the Role Centers that are provided by Enterprise Portal and hosted on Internet Information Services (IIS), the
client uses a browser control.

4.

phamthanhnhan14 Active Member

Services and AIF architecture

AX 2012 exposes its functionality through services that are based on Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and
hosted on Application Object Server (AOS). External applications and client applications on the local area network
consume AX services by accessing them directly from AOS.

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These clients and applications include AX components such as the AX client, Office Add-, and Enterprise Portal.
Internet-based external applications and clients access the AX services through Internet Information Services
(IIS). IIS routes the incoming requests for AX services to AOS. All services requests, regardless of their origin, are
handled by the WCF runtime that is hosted on AOS.
The AIF request preprocessor, if it is configured, can intercept the inbound request messages for custom
preprocessing, such as message transforms or value substitutions. The AX service invokes the necessary business
logic to process the inbound request message.
Similarly, the AIF response postprocessor, if it is configured, can intercept the outbound response messages for
custom post-processing, such as message transforms or value substitutions. The AIF response postprocessor then
returns the response to the client.

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5. phamthanhnhan14 Active Member

Enterprise Portal architecture

This diagram provides a logical overview of a Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 system with an Enterprise Portal server,
and also describes the various components of the Enterprise Portal architecture.

6. phamthanhnhan14 Active Member

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 Security architecture

See more: http://forums.bsdinsight.com/threads/dynamics-ax-security.7454/

7. phamthanhnhan14 Active Member

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 Workflow system architecture
This following diagram provides a high-level architecture of the workflow infrastructure.
The workflow infrastructure consists of two components that are hosted on Application Object Server (AOS): the X++
workflow run-time and the managed workflow run-time.

8. phamthanhnhan14 Active Member

Analytic architecture

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The following components are used to access cubes or display cube data. The numbers in the following list correspond to
the components in the diagram.
Visual Studio – Developers can use Microsoft Visual Studio tools to build Microsoft SQL Server Reporting
Services reports that use cubes as a data source. In order for such a report to be displayed, the Analysis Services
data extension retrieves data from a cube, and then the Microsoft Dynamics AX report definition customization
extension formats the report. The report is then displayed in the Microsoft Dynamics AX client or in Enterprise
Portal for Microsoft Dynamics AX. For information about how to create reports by using the Visual Studio tools,
see Walkthrough: Displaying Cube Data in a Report.
Microsoft Dynamics AX client – Users can access preconfigured analytical reports from the Microsoft Dynamics
AX client. Analytical reports are typically displayed on Role Center pages. For more information about Role
Centers, see Using Role centers.
Enterprise Portal – Users can access preconfigured analytical reports from Enterprise Portal. Analytical reports are
typically displayed on Role Center pages. For more information about Role Centers, see Using Role centers.
Excel – Microsoft Excel has a data connection wizard that users can run to access cubes and design PivotTable or
PivotChart reports. For more information, see Create a report by using the Excel data connection wizard to
connect to a cube.
Report Builder – Microsoft Report Builder is a component of Reporting Services that users can use to design and
format reports and charts. For more information, see Create a report by using SQL Server Report Builder to
connect to a cube.

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9. phamthanhnhan14 Active Member

Reporting architecture

1. A user requests a report.

A menu item in the Microsoft Dynamics AX client may be bound to a report for Reporting Services. After a user
clicks the menu item, a parameters form is displayed to the user. The user enters parameters to filter the data that is
displayed on the report.
The Microsoft Dynamics AX client then requests the report from the Reporting Services service application in
SharePoint. The request includes the parameters that the user entered.
2. The Reporting Services service application receives the request and requests the report data from the Microsoft
Dynamics AX server.
The Reporting Services service application receives the request and examines the report. The report is stored as an
.rdl file. The .rdl file indicates the report’s data source. The data source may be a Microsoft Dynamics AX query,
a report data provider class, or an external data source that is accessed through report data methods.
If a Microsoft Dynamics AX data source is used for the report, the Reporting Services service application uses the
Microsoft Dynamics AX data extension to retrieve the data.
The Reporting Services service application then requests metadata about the data source from Microsoft
Dynamics AX. Then the Reporting Services service application requests the data for the report.
3. The Microsoft Dynamics AX server receives the request and sends the report data back to the Reporting Services
service application.
The Microsoft Dynamics AX services examine the query in the Application Object Tree (AOT) to return the
requested metadata. The services also run the query to generate the data for the report.
Microsoft Dynamics AX then returns the metadata and data to the Reporting Services service application.
Microsoft Dynamics AX enforces security on all data that it returns. If the user who is running the report is not allowed
to see a specific field, the data for that field is not returned.
1. The Reporting Services service application renders the report and sends it to the Microsoft Dynamics AX client.
The Microsoft Dynamics AX customization extension formats the report. The customization extension uses
metadata to provide automatic formatting of data and can affect the positioning and layout of elements on the
report.
The Reporting Services service application then renders the report into a visual representation and sends that
representation to the Microsoft Dynamics AX client.
2. The report is displayed to the user.
The Microsoft Dynamics AX client displays the report to the user in the report viewer control.

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