SQL Server Technical Kit for Microsoft Dynamics NAV

It has been on partnersource for a while now, but I wanted to highlight it again.

Microsoft assembled all tools that are important for SQL Server, and put it on one CD: the SQL Server Technical Kit for Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Actually, I got it on CD on Directions, but you can also download it from partnersource.

There is not much online of what you can expect in this kit. Therefore, I'll try to give some more info.

On the CD, there is a flash-menu that guides you through the different resources on the CD. That makes it very handy to browse. The menu is divided into the 3 sections:

• Getting Started:
  • System Requirements for Dynamics NAV 5.0 . A pdf with the system requirements for 5.0 If you need the system reqs for earlier versions, visit this link.
  • Hardware Guide for Microsoft Dynamics NAV
  • Technical Presales Advisory Group (TPAG). The TPAG is a resource available to partners to provide in-depth technical evaluations to compare the customer proposals to industry standards and microsoft best practises. On the CD, you get the URL to the page on partnersource.
  • Benchmark Report for NAV with SQL Server 2005 white paper
  • SQL Server 2005 Runtime FAQ. This is an interesting document. At least for me, because recently I had some issues about this topic (I covered in this post). I searched the document, and my issue wouldn't have been solved though .
  • Building a vertical business success on NAV
  • VPC image for NAV 5.0. Contains a document with links to the download from partnersource. I used this VPC for many occasions (mainly testing reasons) and they work !
  • Business Analytics for Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
  • Additional Resources: just a word document with these links:
    • Microsoft SQL Server Option for Microsoft Dynamics NAV
    •  How to Buy Microsoft SQL Server
    •  SQL Server 2005 Licensing Frequently Asked Questions
    •  SQL Server Home Page
    •  SQL Server 2005 Product Information
    •  Rules to Better SQL Server Databases
    •  Physical Database Storage Design
    •  Knowledge Base Article: What are the differences between RAID 1 and RAID 5, and why is RAID 1 recommended?
    •  Microsoft Dynamics NAV on Microsoft Cluster Server
    •  Windows Server® 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition Server Clustering
    • Introduction to Backup and Restore Strategies in SQL Server
    •  Recovery Models and Transaction Log Management
• Installation and Setup
  • Installation and System Management - SQL Server Option. This manual describes how to install and maintain an installation of NAV on SQL Server. Let's say .. It's the basics .
  • Application Designer's Guide. Aka the NAV bible. Not read by many, but o-so much info in this PDF.
  • C/SIDE Solution Development (Training Manual). It just contains a TOC of chapter 11 (Optimizing SQL Server) in the training manual. Also a link where you can order a hard copy of the training manual.
  • Security Setup in NAV. This document includes links to documents that discuss everything around setting up security in NAV.
  • Making Database Backups in NAV. A white paper with guidelines. Always interesting!
  • SQL Migration. The necessary info you need to migrate to SQL Server. Actually, I my opinion, you need much more info to migrate. This info is definitely not enough. Therefore, I would like to add this link as well.
  • SQL Server 2005 Report Pack. A assembly of interesting reports that can be deployed on SQL Server Reporting Server and connect with a standard NAV Database.
  • SQL Optimization Web Casts. Links to some of the most popular webcast about NAV ever (in my knowledge). A must-see!!
  • Database Resource Kit. This is the famous toolkit (and manual) that helps you fine-tune and troubleshoot a NAV implementation on SQL Server. You probably know it (it's been there for a long time):
    • Activity Log
    • Index Defrag Tool
    • Client monitor
    • Session monitor
    • ...
• Troubleshooting
  • Database Resource Kit.
  • Knowledge Base Articles. This is a 7 page word document with links to knowledge base articles about issues with SQL Server (and NAV). Most recent date is 27^th of September 2007 and it's going back to 2005... .

OK, that's it. I think you have a pretty good idea now of what's on the CD ... and I think you'll agree that it is worth downloading immediately.

Good job, Microsoft!