Hi All!
Phase 1: C/AL to Business Central On-Premise (AL Platform)
This phase converts the legacy C/AL database and code to the modern AL architecture on a self-hosted (on-premise) server.
| Step | Action / Focus | PowerShell Cmdlet (or Tool) | Notes |
| P1.1 | Code Migration (AL Development) | Txt2Al.exe & VS Code | Convert all C/AL objects to AL, refactor code to conform to the extension model, and create your custom .app files. |
| P1.2 | DB Conversion | Invoke-NAVApplicationDatabaseConversion | Convert the database schema to the new platform format using the new BC setup media. |
| P1.3 | Server Configuration | Set-NAVServerConfiguration | Point the new BC Server instance to the converted database. |
| P1.4 | Uninstall Legacy Code | Uninstall-NAVApp / Unpublish-NAVApp | Ensure all old extensions (and symbols) are removed from the tenant. |
| P1.5 | Publish Core Apps | Publish-NAVApp | Publish Microsoft's System Application and Base Application to the server. |
| P1.6 | Sync Schema | Sync-NAVTenant -Mode Sync | Synchronize the tenant schema against the new base application tables. |
| P1.7 | Application Data Upgrade | Start-NAVAppDataUpgrade | Run the upgrade code for the Core Apps (System, Base Application). |
| P1.8 | Platform Data Upgrade | Start-NavDataUpgrade | Run the main platform and toolkit upgrade scripts. |
| P1.9 | Install Custom Apps | Publish-NAVApp / Install-NAVApp | Publish and install all your newly created custom AL extensions. |
Phase 2: On-Premise BC to Business Central Online (SaaS) Migration
This phase uses Microsoft's Cloud Migration Tool to replicate data from your now-modernized on-premise system to the SaaS environment.
| Step | Action / Focus | Tool / Interface | Notes |
| P2.1 | Prepare On-Premise | BC On-Premise UI / PowerShell | Ensure your on-premise version is supported for migration (BC v14 or newer) and all custom code is running as extensions. |
| P2.2 | Set Up SaaS | AppSource & VS Code | Ensure the target SaaS environment has the same custom extensions installed (published and synchronized) as the on-premise system. |
| P2.3 | Install Gateway | Self-Hosted Integration Runtime (SHIR) | Install the SHIR on a machine that can access the SQL Server database. This creates a secure data pipe. |
| P2.4 | Configure Migration | BC SaaS Assisted Setup Wizard | Run the Set up Cloud Migration wizard, entering the SQL Server connection string and the SHIR key. |
| P2.5 | Initial Replication | Cloud Migration Management Page (SaaS) | Start the initial full replication of all selected tables. This copies the data to the SaaS tenant's database. |
| P2.6 | Check and Finalize | Cloud Migration Management Page (SaaS) | Monitor the replication status. Once complete, run the final data upgrade in SaaS if needed, and confirm the final cutover. |
Phase 3: SaaS to Newer Version (Continuous Upgrade)
The benefit of SaaS is that Microsoft handles the platform upgrades. You only need to manage your extensions.
| Step | Action / Focus | Tool / Interface | Notes |
| P3.1 | Target Testing | Sandboxes & Extension Testing | Microsoft creates a sandbox with the next major version. Test all your custom extensions against this new version. |
| P3.2 | Update Extensions | VS Code & AL Language | Update your custom extensions to the new target version, implementing any required upgrade codeunits (OnUpgrade) to handle schema changes. |
| P3.3 | Publish New Version | VS Code / PowerShell (for upload) | Publish the new version of your custom extensions to your Production Environment (if Microsoft allows it, or wait for the automatic upgrade). |
| P3.4 | Microsoft Upgrade | Automatic | Microsoft automatically handles the platform upgrade. Your extensions' upgrade codeunits run automatically during this process to ensure data consistency. |
| P3.5 | Post-Upgrade Test | BC Production UI | Once the upgrade is complete (usually outside business hours), perform final smoke testing. |
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