Upgrade from Dynamics CRM Server 2013 or Dynamics Server 2011

Applies To: Dynamics 365 (on-premises), Dynamics CRM 2016

You can’t directly upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 or Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016. However, you can upgrade a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 or Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 deployment in-place by using a valid Microsoft Dynamics CRM product key, or migrate by using a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 trial product key, as an interim step in the upgrade process.

In This Topic

Dynamics CRM upgrade best practices

In-place upgrade: Upgrade a CRM 2013 deployment using a valid CRM 2015 product key

Migration upgrade: Upgrade a CRM 2013 deployment by using a CRM 2015 trial product key

Migrating from CRM 2011

Dynamics CRM upgrade best practices

• Before you upgrade Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server, make sure all Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook users with go offline capability sync with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server to send and receive the most recent data.

• Consider migrating the deployment by using a new instance of SQL Server. Although this option requires a different computer for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server and a different instance of SQL Server, it provides the least amount of potential downtime for Microsoft Dynamics CRM users since the existing Microsoft Dynamics CRM deployment can remain functioning until the upgrade is completed and verified.

• When you migrate the deployment from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016, you can create separate deployments for both CRM 2015 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 at the same time. After the deployments are verified, you can import the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 organizations in to the CRM 2015 deployment and then quickly import them into the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 deployment as described in the Migration upgrade: Upgrade a CRM 2013 deployment by using a CRM 2015 trial product key topic below. Since the CRM 2015 deployment is only temporary, the CRM 2015 deployment can be created as a virtual machine.

In-place upgrade: Upgrade a CRM 2013 deployment using a valid CRM 2015 product key

Be aware that following these steps may cause significant application downtime if issues occur during the in-place upgrade of a production Microsoft Dynamics CRM server. Instead of using an upgrade option that may affect the production deployment, consider migrating your deployment. More information: Upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013

1. Make sure the servers running Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 meet the minimum hardware and software requirements. More information: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Server hardware requirements and Software requirements for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Server

2. Upgrade the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2013 using a valid product key. To do this, follow the steps in this topic: Upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Server

3. Complete post-upgrade tasks such as install Microsoft Dynamics CRM Reporting Extensions. After the upgrade: Post-upgrade steps for servers

4. If you have Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 for Outlook users, upgrade them Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook. More information: Upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook

5. Upgrade the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2015 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2016. More information: Upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics 2015 Server

   Important

   Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 for Outlook is not compatible with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2016. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 for Outlook users must be upgraded to at least Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook for compatibility with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2016. More information: Dynamics 365 for Outlook support.

6. For users who require go offline capability, upgrade Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook to Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Outlook. More information: Upgrade Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook

Migration upgrade: Upgrade a CRM 2013 deployment by using a CRM 2015 trial product key

Notice that when you use a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 trial product key you cannot upgrade Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 in-place. Instead, you must create a new deployment of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 and then migrate your Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 organizations into the new Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 deployment.

1. Create a new deployment. To do this,

   • Have at least one Windows Server computer running IIS.

   • Although you can also run SQL Server on the same computer that is running IIS, we recommend at least one dedicated SQL Server to use for the database engine.

   • Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server. Download and install Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2015 that is available on the Microsoft Download Center. The trial product keys are included in the download description. More information: Install Microsoft Dynamics CRM Full Server role on a server without Microsoft Dynamics CRM installed

   Important

   You cannot in-place upgrade Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2013 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2015 using a trial product key. You must create a new deployment.

   Trial versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server can be used within a 90-day period before you must enter a valid commercial product key to continue use.

   To make sure the latest updates to the Setup program are applied that help ease upgrading, we strongly recommend that you click Get updates for Microsoft Dynamics CRM during the installation or upgrade.

2. In the new Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2015 trial versioned deployment:

   1. Install Microsoft Dynamics CRM Reporting Extensions.

3. Take the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 production deployment offline. For information about how to disable organizations and servers in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, see Disable or enable an organization and Disable or enable a server.

4. Import each organization into the new deployment. Organizations will be upgraded during the import. To do this, back up each organization database on the SQL Server that maintains the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 organization databases and restore each database to the new SQL Server. Then, use the Update-CrmOrganizationWindows PowerShell command or Deployment Manager to import each organization in to the deployment.

5. Install or upgrade the new trial version to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2016 by following the steps in the Install or upgrade Microsoft Dynamics 365 Server topics.

   Important

   CRM 2013 for Outlook is not compatible with  Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2016. CRM 2013 for Outlook users must be upgraded to at least Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook for compatibility with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2016. More information: Dynamics 365 for Outlook support

   If you import (migrate) a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 organization in to a new Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 deployment, make a copy of the encryption key for each Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 organization in the deployment. The key will be required when you import a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 organization in to a new Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 deployment. More information: Copy your organization data encryption key

6. In the new Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 deployment:

   1. Install Microsoft Dynamics CRM Reporting Extensions.

   2. Import each CRM 2015 organization into the new deployment. To do this, use the Update-CrmOrganizationWindows PowerShell command or Deployment Manager.

   3. Upgrade optional applications to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016.

      1. In-place upgrade Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook. More information: Upgrade Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook

      2. Uninstall optional applications that cannot be upgraded in-place, such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM Email Router, and install the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 version as necessary.

   4. Update the appropriate records to the DNS server so that Microsoft Dynamics CRM clients will resolve to the new Microsoft Dynamics CRM server.

7. Upgrade Dynamics 365 for Outlook.

   1. In-place upgrade CRM 2013 versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook to CRM 2015. More information: Upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook.

   Important

   To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server, Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook users must have Dynamics 365 for Outlook or Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook. Although Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook is compatible with   Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2016, CRM 2013 for Outlook is not. More information: Dynamics 365 for Outlook support

8. For users who require go offline capability, upgrade Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook to Dynamics 365 for Outlook.

Migrating from CRM 2011

You can use similar steps to migrate from CRM 2011 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016. To do this, you must include the preliminary task to migrate the CRM 2011 organizations to CRM 2013, and then follow the steps described earlier to migrate the CRM 2013 organizations to CRM 2015 before completing the upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016. For information about how to migrate CRM 2011 to CRM 2013, see Upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2011.

See Also

Upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics 2015 Server
Upgrade Microsoft Dynamics CRM Reporting Extensions

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