There are three artifact types that enable the sharing of Microsoft Dynamics AX metadata between environments: XPO files, model files, and model store files.
>XPO files are development artifacts. They are typically used to move metadata between development environments.
> Model files are deployment artifacts and are the recommended vehicle for distributing solutions to customers, and for deploying builds on a test or staging environment.
>Model store files contain the metadata of your entire application, including element IDs and all other element metadata. Model store files are recommended when you deploy a solution from a staging environment to a production environment. When using model store files, you must maintain common element IDs between the source and target systems, as described later in this document.
The following table
describes features of these three artifact types.
|
|||
XPO files
|
Model files
|
Model store files
|
|
Installation tool
|
Microsoft MorphX
|
AXUtil.exe or Windows PowerShell
cmdlets
|
AXUtil.exe or Windows
PowerShell cmdlets
|
The files can be uninstalled.
|
No, but elements can be
individually deleted.
|
Yes
|
No
|
The files can be signed.
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
Element IDs are preserved in
the target model store.
|
All elements that already
exist in the model store preserve their IDs (XPO files don’t contain IDs).
For new elements, new IDs are generated.
|
All elements that already
exist in the model store preserve their IDs. For new elements, new IDs are
generated.
|
All element IDs on the target
system become equal to the IDs stored in the model store file.
|
Compilation is required after
installation.
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
CIL generation is required
after installation.
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
