Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Enterprise Server Roles

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Enterprise introduces two new server roles that provide services, which increase flexibility and scalability. You can decide to have a computer dedicated to one server role or to both. The server roles selected and installed during Setup are as follows:

• Application Server Role. This server role provides the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Web user interface and services.
  
• Platform Server Role. This lets you deploy the asynchronous services, such as the Workflow and Bulk E-mail services, to a separate computer.

So now it's possible to deploy more CRM servers in the front-end of your architecture. For example: Two CRM Application Servers can be positioned in a load balanced constructure so that the perfomance will increase considerably. Then using Microsoft Workflow Foundation in combination with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, all Workflow services will be handled on the CRM Platform Server and this will not impact your performance on the CRM Application Servers. Please bear in mind that this architecture will have impact on your CRM licencing structure.

Interesting books regarding Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and Workflow Foundation

Below you find some new interesting books regarding CRM and Workflow Foundation.

These books can be ordered at the website of Amazon

Programming Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 (PRO-Developer) (Paperback)

Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation Step by Step (Pro Step By Step Developer) (Paperback)

Microsoft® Dynamics(TM) CRM 4.0 and Microsoft Dynamics Live CRM Step by Step (Step By Step (Paperback)

Maximizing Your Sales with Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Paperback)

2nd Dynamics Network Drink @ iRelate Zaltbommel (NL)

Next week on October 30th iRelate is sponsoring the second Dynamics Network Drink. So every Microsoft Dynamics Consultant or people who are interested are invited to come. Please sign in on the site and I hope to see you all next week.

Microsoft changes its support for Vmware!

Just reading this article on the internet. One of my clients mentioned this last week.
Check also KB article 897615 of Microsoft.

Today Microsoft changed its support towards Microsoft software running on Vmware serveres (and virtual software in general).Untill yesterday if you had a Microsoft Premier Support contract and you had a problem with a Windows server running in a virtual machine running on Vmware GSX or ESX server, the support engineer would not help you. In those cases you had to re produce the problem on physical hardware, even with Premier Support contract.

Today that has changed, a bit, read carefully:

For Microsoft customers who have a Premier-level support agreement, Microsoft will use commercially reasonable efforts to investigate potential issues with Microsoft software running in conjunction with non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software. As part of that investigation, Microsoft may require the issue to be reproduced independently from the non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software. Where issues are confirmed to be unrelated to the non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software, Microsoft will support its software in a manner that is consistent with support provided when that software is not running in conjunction with non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software.

Well it's better then before, Non-premier customers don't get this support:

Microsoft does not test or support Microsoft software running in conjunction with non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software. For Microsoft customers who do not have a Premier-level support agreement, Microsoft will require the issue to be reproduced independently from the non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software. Where the issue is confirmed to be unrelated to the non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software, Microsoft will support its software in a manner that is consistent with support provided when that software is not running in conjunction with non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software.