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

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.

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

<SubArea Id=”nav_audit” ResourceId=”Audit_SubArea_Title” DescriptionResourceId=”Audit_SubArea_Description” Icon=”/_imgs/area/16_audit.png” Url=”/tools/audit/audit_area.aspx” AvailableOffline=”false” />

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

<SubArea Id=”nav_social” ResourceId=”Social_SubArea_Title” DescriptionResourceId=”Social_SubArea_Description” Icon=”/_imgs/area/16_social.png” Url=”/tools/social/social_area.aspx” AvailableOffline=”false” />

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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:

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 seeSuccess 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.

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.