Installing Hotfix and Impact analysis Tool

Prerequisites

- When we should use the Impact Analysis Wizard (AXImpactAnalysis)?

Impact Analysis Wizard is recommended to be used in a test environment before you install any application update.

- What is the baseline model store?

The baseline model store is a database that has the same schema as the model store. It is used when updates are applied and during upgrades. During the update process, the Impact Analysis Wizard uses the baseline model store to store application updates before they are applied, so that the updates can be compared to existing code. During upgrades from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 or Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0, the Detect code upgrade conflicts item on the Code upgrade checklist uses the baseline model store after you have imported existing .xpo files into it. The content in the baseline model store is overwritten during the update process.

Applying a hotfix from Microsoft

Microsoft occasionally releases hotfixes that are made available via Partner or customer source. Services packs or second releases (for example R2) are also released this way, but this is beyond the scope of this document. These hotfixes are installed as a model per hotfix to the SYP layer. The update must be coordinated with your Partner, who apply the hotfix to its system and release an updated model of the supplied code. The only conflict resolutions you should be concerned with are conflicts to the code in your layers.

A hotfix can affect the following components:

• Client: An update to a client component will be applied to all clients.

• Components: Components include debuggers, management utilities, report server extensions, and so on.

• Application: An update to the model store effectively installs an Ax model. This is termed as database, but it means the model store database or application code.

• Server: An update to the server components needs to be applied to all the Ax application objects servers.

Applying a hotfix should be done in a controlled fashion, tested, and deployed as per any change to your live environment.

This would entail refreshing a test environment form live to create a sandboxed environment so that the update can be applied and tested in isolation.

Hotfixes may make changes to code that is already modified in layer above the SYP layer (for example, ISV, VAR, CUS and so on). If this is the case you should contact the authors for an update of where they have already merged the code from the hotfix. If not, you will have to merge the code into one of your layers.