Setup Instructions for Microsoft

Dynamics AX 2012 R2 Solution Demo

Package
Version: 3.0
July, 2013

Table of Contents
System Requirements ................................................................................................................................ 2
Setting up Hyper-V..................................................................................................................................... 3
Create the Virtual Network Adapter .................................................................................................... 3
Importing the Virtual Machines ............................................................................................................ 4
Starting the Virtual Machine ..................................................................................................................... 5
Contoso User Startup Script ...................................................................................................................... 6
Windows Licensing Model ........................................................................................................................ 6
Windows Activation.................................................................................................................................... 6
Windows Rearm .......................................................................................................................................... 7
Create a new virtual with the virtual hard disk ....................................................................................... 7
Hyper-V Best Practices ............................................................................................................................... 8
Best Practices for Virtual Machine Folders .......................................................................................... 8
Hyper-V Snapshots................................................................................................................................. 9
Create a Snapshot .............................................................................................................................. 9
Return to a Snapshot ......................................................................................................................... 9
Branch the Snapshot Tree ................................................................................................................. 9
Best Practice Guidance and Potential Issues for Using Snapshots ............................................ 10
Use Snapshots to Capture and Quickly Start Demos .................................................................. 11

System Requirements
Supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server
2012
Supported Hyper-V version: Hyper-V 3, Hyper-V 2 *
*You will need to recreate the virtual machine using the existing hard disk.

Additionally you will need:

Hyper-V role enabled.

Drive Formatting: NTFS

Processor: Intel VT or AMD-V capable

RAM: 30 GB or more recommended

Hard disk space required for install: 220 GB

Internet Access (Required for activating the Virtual Machines)

Virtual Machine
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
R2 - A
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
R2 - B
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
R2 - C

VHD Size
175 GB

RAM Allocated
16 GB (16384 MB)

70 GB

6 GB (6144 MB)

25 GB

2 GB (2048 MB)

Setting up Hyper-V
Create the Virtual Network Adapter
Before importing the Virtual Machines you will need to create the Virtual Network Adapter. Its
important to have the Virtual Network adapter created before importing to maintain the
necessary network configuration.
1. Open Hyper-V Manager
2. Under Actions, click Virtual Network Manager

3. Click New virtual network, select Internal click Add

4. Enter a name of AX2012R2-v3 and click OK

5. To connect the virtual machines to the internet, you will need to create a second Virtual
Network adapter. Repeat steps 1-4. In step 3, select External instead of Private. In step 4,
you will need to choose the appropriate network adapter that will bridge this virtual
network to the physical LAN. Your options will differ than whats shown below.

Importing the Virtual Machines

6. In Hyper-V Manger, under Actions, click Import Virtual Machines

7. Use the Browse button to select the folder where the virtual machine package was
extracted.

8. Click Import and wait for the Import to complete

9. Select the newly imported virtual machine and click Settings under Actions.
10. Confirm that the Network Adapter is connected to AX2012R2-v3 from the steps above
11. Adjust the Memory if necessary. 8GB is the recommended size for this virtual machine
12. Close the virtual machine Settings dialog
13. Repeat the import process for the remaing two virtual machines

Starting the Virtual Machine

1. Return to the Hyper-V Manager
2. Select the Virtual Machine

3. Click Start under Actions

4. Under Actions, click Connect

5. Login to the Virtual Machine using the Virtual Machine Console as the following user:
6. User: contoso\Administrator
7. Password: pass@word1

Contoso User Startup Script

This release a log on script was created for ease of user setup. The script does several things such as
setup the start menu, pin items to the taskbar, set the user IE homepage to the Enterprise Portal role
center, and copy IE favorites. In order for these items to become fully functional the user will be logged
off at first log on. The user will then be require to log back into the virtual machine with the same
credentials to continue using the virtual machine.

Windows Licensing Model

The Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 Virtual Machines are using the evaluation version of
Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012. The evaluation period for Windows Server
2008 R2 is 180 days, and you are given 10 extra days in the beginning to activate the image.
During these 10 days you should activate Windows via Internet. (Product key not required) You
are given 180 days to use the image. You will be able to extend, or rearm, the evaluation
period twice. The count down for evaluation period will start once you activate Windows. The
evaluation period for the Windows Server 2012 images is 365 days and you are given one
additional rearm for a total of two years.

Windows Activation
1. When you run the virtual machine for the first time or first time after the rearm, you
should activate Windows within 10 days.
2. Click Start, right click Computer, and select Properties
3. Under Windows activation click Activate Windows now

4. Follow the wizard to complete the activation. You will need internet access to activate
Windows. Refer to the section Setting up Hyper-V to enable internet access.

Windows Rearm
Once you have activated Windows you are given 180 days of evaluation period. After 180 days
are over, you can extend the evaluation period for the same number of days maximum two
times. The section below shows how to rearm Windows and provides the command to track
the remaining number of days and rearms.
Command to rearm windows:
From a Command Prompt type slmgr /rearm
Commands to track remaining number of days and rearms:
From a Command Prompt type slmgr /dlv

Create a new virtual with the virtual hard disk

Follow these steps to recreate the virtual machine files based off the virtual hard disk (VHD). NOTE: If
you are running these virtual machines on Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system you should install
this patch http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2744129.
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

Open Hyper-V management console

From Actions pane select New -> Virtual Machine
Before You Begin page click, Next
Specify Name and Location page
a. Name field enter a name for the virtual machine
b. Select store the virtual machine in a different location and browse to the location where
the virtual machine will be stored
Assign Memory page allocate the startup memory to what is specified in the chart above.
Configure Networking page select the internal network adapter, AX2012
Connect Virtual Hard Disk page select Use an existing virtual hard disk
a. Select browse and browse to the location of the downloaded VHD
Select Finish
Select the virtual machine in the Hyper-V management console and select Settings
Select Add Hardware and select Network Adapter
Select the new network adapter and select the virtual switch that is used for external network
communication
Select Processor and increase the number of virtual processors to 4
Start the virtual machine
After the virtual machine starts log in and open the Network and Sharing console
Go to Change adapter settings
Open a command prompt and enter ipconfig to view which IP is the internal network adapter. It
is usually the one starting with a 169 address.

17. Locate the NIC in the adapters page and enter the IPs as listed below. Subnet mask is
255.255.255.0 and DNS is 10.20.12.101.
AX2012R2A

10.20.12.101
10.20.12.110
10.20.12.111
10.20.12.112
10.20.12.113
10.20.12.114
10.20.12.120
10.20.12.121

AX2012R2B

10.20.12.102
10.20.12.115

AX2012R2C

10.20.12.103

18. Restart the virtual machine.

Hyper-V Best Practices

Best Practices for Virtual Machine Folders

Following are some best practices to use when setting up your virtual machine folders:

Create or identify a directory for your virtual machine(s). To simplify file management,
consider using this folder exclusively for virtual machines, and set up folder-level exclusion in
your local antivirus software settings.

Ensure that the virtual machine folder is not compressed. Hyper-V does not support the use
of NTFS compression; using compression may cause corruption of your virtual machine files
under certain circumstances.

Ensure that the virtual machine folder exists on a local storage volumethis means local
(internal or external) drives or a logical unit number (LUN) from a storage area network (SAN)
or iSCSI target mounted as local disk. Files used by Hyper-V cannot be stored on drives
using Windows Network Sharing, network file system (NFS), or other network-attached
storage (NAS) technologies.

If possible, locate the virtual machine folder on a separate physical drive from the host
operating system.

If multiple physical drives are available and if you plan to run multiple virtual machines
simultaneously, consider setting up multiple folders to separate the virtual machines and to

use as many physical drives as possible. Alternately, consider using hardware RAID level 0 or
10.

Hyper-V Snapshots
Hyper-V includes the ability to capture a snapshot, a hierarchy of multiple persistent saves of
the complete state of a virtual machine at a given point in time. Snapshots are very useful for
demo purposes, even though they are discouraged in production environments. You can use
snapshot branching (see the section Branch the Snapshot Tree) to create different demo images
for multiple customer engagements. However, using too many snapshots can have a negative
impact on performance.
Snapshots can be taken when the virtual machine is running (an online snapshot) or shutdown
(an offline snapshot). Snapshots use Saved States and differencing disks behind the scenes to
capture the state of RAM and disk respectively.

Create a Snapshot
Creating a snapshot is as easy as putting the virtual machine into the state you wish to capture
and then clicking Snapshot. This can be done from either the Hyper-V Manager or the Virtual
Machine Connection window. By default, a snapshot is given the name of the virtual machine
and the current local date and time. You should generally rename the snapshot with a more
descriptive name for tracking purposes.

Return to a Snapshot
You can return to a snapshot at any time by selecting the snapshot and clicking Apply. If the
current state of the virtual machine has not already been saved, you are prompted whether to
capture the state or not. If you choose to save the current state, a snapshot of the current state
is created before the previous snapshot is applied. When applying an online snapshot, the
running state of the virtual machine before the snapshot is applied determines whether the
snapshot resumes as Saved (if the virtual machine was off) or Running (if the virtual machine
was running).

Branch the Snapshot Tree

When multiple snapshots are captured, the snapshots are arranged in a hierarchy (or tree) in the
Hyper-V Manager that reflects the order in which the snapshots were created. By applying
earlier snapshots and making changes, you can branch your snapshot tree from common
points in time. This is most useful for testing or capturing alternate configurations of the same

virtual machine.

Snapshots may be deleted either individually or by subtree (the selected snapshot and all of its
children).
What happens when you delete snapshots depends on the current context of the virtual
machine:

When deleting snapshots or snapshot subtrees in which the snapshots being deleted are
parents of the currently running state:

The snapshot(s) are removed from the tree immediately.

When the virtual machine is next powered off, the differencing disk changes
corresponding to the deleted snapshot(s) are merged into the most immediate
child snapshots differencing disk. A status message indicating the progress of the
merge appears in the Hyper-V Manager. The disk space used for the deleted
snapshot(s) is not free until the merge is complete.

When deleting snapshots or snapshot subtrees in which the snapshots being deleted are
children of the currently running state or in an unrelated snapshot branch:

The snapshot(s) are removed from the tree immediately.

The saved state and differencing disk information associated with the snapshots is
discarded immediately.

Best Practice Guidance and Potential Issues for Using Snapshots

Following is best practice guidance and potential issues for using snapshots.

Snapshots should not be used in production environments.

Closely monitor your disk usage when employing snapshots. Snapshots are based on Saved
State and Differencing Disks; therefore, snapshots can consume large amounts of disk space.
Each snapshot contains the full contents of the virtual machines RAM and all of the changes
to the virtual hard drive since the last snapshot.

Keep your computers in synch if using snapshots. Snapshots of domain controllers and/or
member computers of a domain can cause a variety of issues if the snapshots states
between different computers are not kept in synch. One common issue occurs because
member computers periodically change their credentials for the computers domain account.
If the domain controller or the member computer uses snapshots to roll back to a point
where these credentials are no longer in synch, this can cause the member computer to no
longer be seen as valid on the domain.

Take the performance penalty into account. Since snapshots use differencing disks behind
the scenes, there is a modest performance penalty associated with the use of snapshots. See
the section on Differencing Disks for more details.

Use Snapshots to Capture and Quickly Start Demos

One challenge with virtual machine demos is that they can take a very long time to boot.
Through use of the Saved State and Snapshot functionality in Hyper-V, you can create multiple
point-in-time captures of the virtual machine state that can be returned to at any time and
restored in a few seconds.
Use the following steps to create and use a snapshot for demo purposes:
Capture Snapshots
Use the following steps to capture snapshots of the virtual machines you plan to use.
1. Configure your host machine for Hyper-V and import or create your virtual machine(s).
2. Start the virtual machine(s), and wait for all the virtual machines to reach the login prompt.
3. Select the first virtual machine, and then click Connect to open the Virtual Machine
Connection window.
4. Log in and prepare to begin your demo (get applications up and running, sign in to any
servers, cache pages in the browser if desired, and so on) so that you are ready for the first
demo click.
5. Close the Virtual Machine Connection window without logging off.
6. Repeat steps 35 for each virtual machine you wish to capture until all the virtual machines are
ready.
7. Select the first virtual machine, and then click Snapshot. Repeat for all other virtual machines
you wish to capture.
8. (Optional) Select each virtual machine, and rename the snapshot you just captured. Use a
descriptive name, and give the corresponding snapshot in each virtual machine the same
name.
9. Select the first virtual machine, and then click Turn Off. Repeat for all other virtual machines
you captured.

Launch the Demo

Use the following steps to quickly start a demo from a snapshot.
1. Select the first virtual machine.
2. Select the snapshot for your demo, and then click Apply.
3. Wait for the snapshot restore to complete, and then click Start.
4. Repeat steps 14 for all other virtual machines in the original capture phase.
5. Wait for all the virtual machines to reach the Running state.

Disclaimer

2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista,
Microsoft Dynamics and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or
trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as
the property of others.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of
Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to
changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of
Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the
date of this presentation. Microsoft may make changes to specifications and product
descriptions at any time, without notice.
Sample code included in this presentation is made available AS IS. THE ENTIRE RISK OF THE
USE OR THE RESULTS FROM THE USE OF THIS CODE REMAINS WITH THE USER.
MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE
INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION. NO LICENSE, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, BY ESTOPPEL
OR OTHERWISE, TO ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IS GRANTED BY THIS
PRESENTATION. Microsoft products are not intended for use in medical, life saving, or life
sustaining applications.

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions that

enables you and your people to make business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft
Dynamics works like and with familiar Microsoft software, automating and streamlining
financial, customer relationship and supply chain processes in a way that helps you drive
business success.

U.S. and Canada Toll Free 1-888-477-7989

Worldwide +1-701-281-6500
www.microsoft.com/dynamics