In the previous post, we saw how to create a package containing multiple solutions and configuration data. Let us see how to deploy this package using package deployer tool.
What is package deployer? As CRM technical, we all have used plugin registration tool. Similarly Microsoft provides a tool for package deployment, is called Package Deployer. Before we deploy the package using the package deployer, make sure that it is done in test environment and after verification only should be used for production site.
As we created the package in previous post our package is ready in the Project’s bin folder, inside the debug folder as shown in below snippets.
Project’s folder
Inside Project’s folder, there would be bin folder
Inside bin folder, there would be debug folder
Inside the debug folder, we can see the PkgFolder and the dll of our package. These two are important items used for deployment. The PkgFolder would consist of the content folder, solutions and data file and import.config file. If you remember, in previous posts, we have selected the Copy always option for these files, hence this folder is copied in the bin folder, when we build the project.
Let us copy these two items ( PkgFolder and project dll file) to some folder, let us say LearningPkgDeployment is the folder name
To obtain the package deployer tool, we have to visit the below site and download the nuget.exe
https://www.nuget.org/downloads
Click on the Download Package Link as shown in below snippet.
Once downloaded the package deployer installable, if it is saved in the folder D, then go to the d folder in command prompt and install this using below command
d:\nuget install Microsoft.CrmSdk.XrmTooling.PackageDeployment.Wpf -Version [VERSION] -O d:\PD
This will install the package deployer tool to our machine. Once installed , we can use it the same way we use the plugin registration tool. Let us go to the folder which will look like below snippet and copy the above created package dll and Pkgfolder to this folder.
After copying the two items, double click the package deployer application. It will as for credentials to connect to CRM organisation as we do for plugin registration tool. Just follow the subsequent instructions as the application progresses and we can get our package deployed to target organisation.
As we run the application and deploy the package, we can also do the same using command line. Difference is only after the coping the dll file and pkgfolder to the package deployer root folder, we can go to the command line and run below command
packagedeployer.exe
Hope with all these series of posts regarding deployment, you are able to understand the deployment process in dynamics 365 CE. I know one important topic is still to be explained which is deployment using Power shell scripts, which I will explain in later posts.
Keep reading and keep deploying 🙂
Thank you so much for reading my posts.
Deploying using Package deployer
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