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Switching from an Email Router to Server-Side Sync in Dynamics CRM 2013

Post Author: Joe D365 |

If you haven't done so by now, you are probably considering upgrading to CRM 2013. CRM 2013 introduces the new Server-Side Synchronization (SSS) feature which can take the place of email router. Eliminating the email router also offers the benefit of further centralizing the administration of CRM toward the application layer. In this blog we will discuss how to migrate email router settings to Server-Side Sync.

You can configure SSS manually, but Microsoft also included a migration feature that makes the transition much easier and ensures that you are not missing any granular settings that may be in place for the Email Router. All you need to use the migration option is access to the CRM Email Router folder on the server where it is installed.

Before You Begin

A side note before we go on, if you have upgraded to 2013 you may be missing part of the site map that you need for the rest of this walk-through. Under Settings you should see an Email Configuration button to the right of Auditing.

Switching from an Email Router to Server-Side Sync in Dynamics CRM 2013

If you don't see this option, you can add this it with a simple sitemap edit. Find the following entry in the sitemap:

Paste the following in to the sitemap after the above tag:


Migrating Email Router Settings

  1. On the server where the email router is installed, open an Internet Explorer Browser and navigate to CRM. Once there click Settings > Email Configuration (the button showcased above). Then click the Migrate Email Router option. From here provide the files needed by the email router:

EncryptionKey.xml
Microsoft.Crm.Tools.EmailAgent.SystemState.xml
Microsoft.Crm.Tools.EmailAgent.xml

All of these files can be found in the folder C:Program FilesMicrosoft CRM EmailService if you did not change the installation path of the Router when it was installed.

Note: You may have to edit security the permissions on these files to allow you to upload them. In my case I was required to grant my user Read access to the EncryptionKey.xml and Microsoft.Crm.Tools.EmailAgent.xml files.

Switching from an Email Router to Server-Side Sync in Dynamics CRM 2013

2.  After you have the files ready to upload, click next through the following screens and Finish on the summary page. The summary page does advise on what needs to be done next.

Switching from an Email Router to Server-Side Sync in Dynamics CRM 2013

Since we are migrating to Server Side Synchronization, we will assume that all user specific email settings are already configured in CRM. If not, check out step 4 of our blog on Email Router Troubleshooting 101.

Now all that is left to do is make a settings change and then test the mailbox.

3.  Click the Email Configuration Settings from the Email Configuration screen.

Switching from an Email Router to Server-Side Sync in Dynamics CRM 2013

4.  In the pop-up window, select Server-Side Synchronization in the Process Email Using dropdown and click OK. You should Also notice the name of the server profile (shown in the migration screen) in the box below.

 

5. Click the mailboxes on the email configuration screen. Then, select the mailbox that you would like to test and choose Test and Enable. 

Switching from an Email Router to Server-Side Sync in Dynamics CRM 2013

Switching from an Email Router to Server-Side Sync in Dynamics CRM 2013

6.  On the pop-up screen, select OK as we only want to test one mailbox for now. We can leave the first check box selected as this box will test the mailbox after the new settings are applied to it. Also, note the checkbox at the bottom of the window, you should make this selection if all users are the member of only one CRM organization.

Switching from an Email Router to Server-Side Sync in Dynamics CRM 2013

7.  After you have clicked OK, wait a few minutes and then open the mailbox record.

When you do this you may get one of the following messages:

Switching from an Email Router to Server-Side Sync in Dynamics CRM 2013

Switching from an Email Router to Server-Side Sync in Dynamics CRM 2013

If you see either of these messages, check back on the mailbox later to see if the test has been completed. If not, you should see Success in the appropriate boxes under Configuration Test Results. In this case, I only tested outgoing email.

When the test finishes you should see Success in the fields that were tested successfully. In this case, we only tested an outgoing profile.

Switching from an Email Router to Server-Side Sync in Dynamics CRM 2013

8.  Once this is finished, apply the default settings to the remaining mailboxes and Test & Enable. When the test completes, all users will be using Server-Side Synchronization.

More on Server-Side Sync

If you are interested in learning more, The CRM Book explains all the advantages and limitations of this new feature for CRM 2013! Check in with our blog for other updates and, as always... Happy CRM'ing!

Joe CRM
By Joe D365
Joe D365 is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 superhero who runs on pure Dynamics adrenaline. As the face of PowerObjects, Joe D365’s mission is to reveal innovative ways to use Dynamics 365 and bring the application to more businesses and organizations around the world.

9 comments on “Switching from an Email Router to Server-Side Sync in Dynamics CRM 2013”

  1. Hi JoeCRM, thanks for your post. I followed your steps but i have this problem:
    "The migration process cannot start. Microsoft Dynamics CRM will not transfer credentials over an unsecured channel.
    Contact your system administrator"
    Can you help me?
    Best regars

    1. By default crm will not send credentials if not over ssl. So two options. A - make sure your smtp server supports tlsssl (preferred option). OR B - Run this script. This will set a flag to in DeploymentProperties in your mscrm_config that disables the ssl encryption check. If you do this backup your databases first.

      UPDATE [MSCRM_CONFIG].[dbo].[DeploymentProperties]
      SET [BitColumn]=1
      WHERE ColumnName='DisableSSLCheckForEncryption

  2. Hey JoeCRM! I have an issue where the message "The email configuration test is scheduled" but it never runs for specific mailbox users. Other user mailboxes are just fine. We are using Server-Side Sync with Office 365.

    1. Hi - Make sure the user's email is correct in crm and the email address is 'approved'. In crm 2015 sp1 we'll have access to a very nice debug log downloadable from the mailbox profile.

      1. Hi Joe,

        We are having same issue, all new Queues or Mailboxes are stuck on "The email configuration test is scheduled", this is after we upgraded to CRM 2015. Exisiting approved and enabled Mailboxes work fine.
        Any ideas? Email is correct, have restarted Async.

        1. Hi - Have you installed update 0.1 for CRM 2015 ? There are a couple small things fixed related to server side sync. If we are still getting an error, the next step would be run a server side trace. This would create an log file with the exact error we are getting from when server side sync tries to run.

  3. Hello,

    I am using an e-mail router and NOT server-side sync, but when I run a test with "Test and Enable" on a mailbox, I am getting an error telling me to "Make sure that the credentials specified in the mailbox are correct and have sufficient permissions for receiving email." but since I am not using server-side-sync there are no credentials specified on the mailbox.... I am at a loss...If I DO add credentials to the box I get an error message to remove them as they are not needed. Any help would be sweet. The router itself is passing inbound and outbound tests just fine.

  4. Hi,
    Is it possible to use same email id for multiple queue mailboxes to enable Email Router services.
    Eg: just for instance, I have a mailbox named TestMailbox with email id testmail@microsoft.com. have another mailbox named DevMailbox. can I use testmail@microsoft.com again to get Email Router enabled for second mailbox? is this possible and what are limitation on these. Please help me on this. Thank you 🙂

  5. Thanks for sharing this article, it is really helpful. However I would want to test Incoming Email and Appointments/Contacts/Tasks, What are the steps to test it?
    Thank you.

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