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Microsoft CRM 3.0 Database Restore/Deployment on new Machine Environment and in a new domain.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Database Deployment on new Machine Environment and in a new domain.

We have our clients Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 database in the form of:
1.      CRM_METABASE  BACKUP FILE
2.      CRM_MSCRM BACKUP FILE
3.      CRM CUSTOMIZATION XML FILE
New Domain Environment has following on One machine/server:
1.      Windows Server 2003 OS with required service packs.
2.      Installed MS Sql Server 2005 with the required Service Packs in which we have default CRM3.0 database
a.)       <OU name>_Metabase database
b.)      <OU Name>_MCSRM database
3.      We installed Microsoft Dynamics CRM3.0 Professional and configured it properly.
4.      For Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 we have all the required component  like Sql reporting server configure on IIS, Active Directory user structure etc and with the default database of CRM we are able to run the CRM successfully.
But when the IT Manager at our Clients site takes the backup of their CRM Database, we are not able to deploy it on our site in a new domain and we gets the error of Security authentication and users etc. We have already tried all the work-around (User Redeployment Tool for user mapping, uninstalled the CRM, and Installed it again after running the Redeployment Tool successfully) but none of them is working and we are not able to run the CRM using that new database, it gets stuck at lot many different steps and we get diffrent error messages every time. So are there any specific steps that we need to follow while taking a BACKUP of the Database at the Clients site and to restore it in a new domain at our site.  We already followed the steps provided by Microsoft to backup and restore the database on new machine for CRM, but those steps dont talks about the new domain setup.
The intension of doing all this exercise is to create a development environment other than the clients production environment for CRM, to do the customizations. And the physical location of the Production Environment and development environment are globally different.

Please help us and let us know the solution and the correct steps to handle this problem.
Avatar of Tommie Nathaniel Carter, Jr., MBA
Tommie Nathaniel Carter, Jr., MBA
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I recently spent some time working with a client on this issue and apparently there are changes that need to be made to the directory structure whenever you try a database restore.

In my opinion you probably just need to grab a copy of VMWARE workstation and configure a mirror image of the current production environment (WinImage might be useful).

Do the development and only transfer client applications not the database.

HTH
Tommie
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Infinite-tech-team

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This will not help us setup the development environment globally and also there are requrements to backup and restore the DBs.
From my understanding you can do what you are trying to do as long as when you create the new crm test environment you use the same organizational name. Once that is done you should be able to use the same databases.  

We had a failure on our end and we could not just bring over the old databases but we also had to migrate over the system databases as well.  THis may not be relevant in your case.
Is there any documentation out there for restoring CRM into a new domain environment?  It would make disaster recovery much less of a headache in our environment.
I would contact the company at this point and ask them point blank for a disaster recovery plan related to the use of their software. I have seen that this is a very intensive project to get a Dynamics database moved into a new environment. Perhaps a batch file of the steps involved would be useful in getting all of the kinks worked out.
Were you able to resolve this?

There is a good KB article about moving CRM to a new domain:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917948


Looks like this KB is dealing with moving within the same domain.  In fact, this quote at the start of the article basically sets the tone:
"We recommend that you use this procedure to move Microsoft CRM SQL databases from one server to a different server that is in the same domain. You must not use this procedure to move data from one server to another server across domains."

Hmmm, you are correct.  I KNOW there was a KB article about this.  I've read it.  Trying to post the link to it, I must have grabbed the wrong KBid.  I can't find the right one, but I'll continue to look.

In the meantime, this might help:
http://blog.devstone.com/Aaron/archive/2007/09/21/2522.aspx
Cool.  That article is reassuring.  I have not had the time to work through a recovery scenerio to a new domain yet, but it looks like it is possible.  Thanks for the link!!
Any updates in this thread?
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