ADO.NET Provider for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Build 23.0.8839

Establishing a Connection

Cloud Endpoints

To connect to data, specify OrganizationUrl. The OrganizationUrl should be set to one of the following:

  • The endpoint to your business central account, such as https://businesscentral.dynamics.com/abc123/.
  • The web services root.
  • The custom API base url.

On-Prem Endpoints

The following are examples of on-prem endpoints: 

https://base URL:port/serverinstance/api/API publisher/API group/API version/
https://base URL:port//serverinstance/ODataV4  
https://myInstance/.local:7048/BC220/ODataV4
The URL is blocked by default; your administrator must enable access to it.

For more details on how to specify the OrganizationUrl and which endpoints are available, see Business Central Endpoints.

If you have multiple companies in your organization, you can specify the Company to indicate which company you would like to connect to. If you leave Company blank, the provider retrieves all companies as separate schemas.

User and Access Key

Note: User and Access key Authentication will not be supported for cloud version starting in Apr 2021. For on-premises, Web Service Access Key (Basic Auth) will remain an option for the time being.

To use Access Key auth, set the AuthScheme to Access Key. To authenticate to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you may provide the User and AccessKey connection properties. Microsoft recommends these for testing and development purposes, but discourages their use for production environments.

To obtain the User and AccessKey values, navigate to the Users page in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and then click on Edit. The User Name and Web Service Access Key values are what you will enter as the User and AccessKey connection string properties. Note that the User Name is not your email address. It is a shortened user name.

Connecting to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Before you can authenticate to the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central source, set the OrganizationUrl to the URL of the organization you are connecting to. Depending on whether you are using v1 or v2, this could look quite different. For a discussion of the various possible formats for OrganizationUrl see Business Central Endpoints.

Access Key

Set the User along with the AccessKey to authenticate to the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central source.

Azure AD

Azure AD is Microsoft’s multi-tenant, cloud-based directory and identity management service. It is user-based authentication that requires that you set AuthScheme to AzureAD.

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop.

Before you connect, set the following variables:

  • InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. Used to automatically get and refresh the OAuthAccessToken. CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop; that is, in situations where the user is using a local server not connected to the internet.

    You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application.

  • Custom Azure AD applications only:
    • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
    • CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your custom OAuth application.

When you connect, the provider opens the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application. The provider then completes the OAuth process:

  1. Extracts the access token from the callback URL and authenticates requests.
  2. Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
  3. Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation. These values persist across connections.

When the access token expires, the provider refreshes it automatically.

Web Applications

Authenticating via the Web requires you to create and register a custom OAuth application with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, as described in Creating a Custom OAuth Application. You can then use the provider to get and manage the OAuth token values.

This section describes how to get the OAuth access token, how to have the driver refresh the OAuth access token automatically, and how to refresh the OAuth access token manually.

Get the OAuth access token:

  1. To obtain the OAuthAccessToken, set these connection properties:
    • For authentication using a Client Secret:
      • OAuthClientId: The client Id in your application settings.
      • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret in your application settings.
    • For authentication using a Certificate:
      • OAuthClientId: The client Id in your application settings.
      • OAuthJWTCert: The JWT Certificate store.
      • OAuthJWTCertType: The type of the certificate store specified by OAuthJWTCert.
  2. Call stored procedures to complete the OAuth exchange:
    • Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationUrl stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB and the CallbackURL to the Redirect URI you specified in your application settings. The stored procedure returns the URL to the OAuth endpoint.
    • Navigate to the URL that the stored procedure returned in Step 1. Log in and authorize the web application. You are redirected back to the callback URL.
    • Call the GetOAuthAccessToken stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB. Set the Verifier input to the code parameter in the query string of the redirect URI.

After you obtain the access and refresh tokens, you can connect to data and refresh the OAuth access token automatically.

Automatic refresh of the OAuth access token:

To have the provider automatically refresh the OAuth access token, do the following:

  1. The first time you connect to data, set these connection parameters:
    • InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
    • OAuthClientId: The client Id in your custom OAuth application settings.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret in your custom OAuth application settings.
    • OAuthAccessToken: The access token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
    • OAuthSettingsLocation: The path where you want the provider to save the OAuth values, which persist across connections.
  2. On subsequent data connections, set:
    • InitiateOAuth
    • OAuthSettingsLocation

Manual refresh of the OAuth access token:

The only value needed to manually refresh the OAUth access token is the OAuth refresh token.

  1. To manually refresh the OAuthAccessToken after the ExpiresIn period (returned by GetOAuthAccessToken) has elapsed, call the RefreshOAuthAccessToken stored procedure.
  2. Set these connection properties:
    • OAuthClientId: The Client Id in your custom OAuth application settings.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The Client Secret in your custom OAuth application settings.

  3. Call RefreshOAuthAccessToken with OAuthRefreshToken set to the OAuth refresh token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
  4. After the new tokens have been retrieved, set the OAuthAccessToken property to the value returned by RefreshOAuthAccessToken. This opens a new connection.

Store the OAuth refresh token so that you can use it to manually refresh the OAuth access token after it has expired.

Headless Machines

If you need to log in to a resource that resides on a headless machine, you must authenticate on another device that has an internet browser. You can do this in either of the following ways:

  • Obtain the OAuthVerifier value as described in Obtain and Exchange a Verifier Code, below.
  • Install the provider on another machine and transfer the OAuth authentication values after you authenticate through the usual browser-based flow.

After you execute either of these options, configure the driver to automatically refresh the access token on the headless machine.

Obtaining and Exchanging a Verifier Code

To obtain a verifier code, you must authenticate at the OAuth authorization URL from a machine with an internet browser, and obtain the OAuthVerifier connection property.

  1. Choose one of these options:

    • If you are using the Embedded OAuth Application, click Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central OAuth endpoint to open the endpoint in your browser.
    • If you are using a custom OAuth application, set the following properties to create the Authorization URL:
      • InitiateOAuth: OFF.
      • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
      • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your application.
      After the Authorization URL is established, call the GetOAuthAuthorizationUrl stored procedure with the appropriate CallbackURL. Open the URL returned by the stored procedure in a browser.

  2. Log in and grant permissions to the provider. You are redirected to the callback URL, which contains the verifier code.
  3. Save the value of the verifier code. Later you will set this in the OAuthVerifier connection property.
Next, exchange the OAuth verifier code for OAuth refresh and access tokens.

To obtain the OAuth authentication values, set these properties:

  • InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
  • OAuthVerifier: The verifier code.
  • OAuthSettingsLocation: The location of the file where the driver saves the OAuth token values that persist across connections.
  • Custom applications only:
    • OAuthClientId: (custom applications only) Set this to the client Id in your custom OAuth application settings.
    • OAuthClientSecret: (custom applications only) Set this to the client secret in the custom OAuth application settings.

After the OAuth settings file is generated, re-set the following properties to connect:

  • InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
  • OAuthSettingsLocation: The location containing the encrypted OAuth authentication values. Make sure this location grants read and write permissions to the provider to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.
  • Custom applications only:
    • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your application.

Transferring OAuth Settings

Prior to connecting on a headless machine, you must create and install a connection with the driver on a device that supports an internet browser. Set the connection properties as described in "Desktop Applications" above.

After completing the instructions in "Desktop Applications", the resulting authentication values are encrypted and written to the location specified by OAuthSettingsLocation. The default filename is OAuthSettings.txt.

Once you have successfully tested the connection, copy the OAuth settings file to your headless machine.

On the headless machine, set the following connection properties to connect to data:

  • InitiateOAuth: REFRESH.
  • OAuthSettingsLocation: The location of your OAuth settings file. Make sure this location gives read and write permissions to the provider to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.
  • Custom applications only:
    • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
    • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your application.

Azure Service Principal

Azure Service Principal is role-based application-based authentication. This means that authentication is done per application, rather than per user. All tasks taken on by the application are executed without a default user context, but based on the assigned roles. The application access to the resources is controlled through the assigned roles' permissions.

For information about how to set up Azure Service Principal authentication, see

Creating a Custom OAuth Application

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central supports authentication using Azure AD and Azure Service Principal, both of which are OAuth-based.

This topic describes how to:

  • create and register custom OAuth application for Azure AD or Azure Service Principal
  • provide Admin Consent to a custom OAuth application

Azure AD

In portal.azure.com:
  1. Log in to https://portal.azure.com.
  2. In the left-hand navigation pane, select Azure Active Directory, then applicationRegistrations.
  3. Click New registration.
  4. Enter a name for the application.
  5. Select the desired tenant setup: single- or multi-tenant, and public or private use.

    • If you select the default option, "Accounts in this organizational directory only", you must set the AzureTenant connection property to the Id of the Azure AD Tenant when establishing a connection with the CData ADO.NET Provider for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Otherwise, the authentication attempt fails with an error.
    • If your application is for private use only, specify Accounts in this organization directory only.
    • If you want to distribute your application, choose one of the multi-tenant options.

  6. Set the redirect url to http://localhost:33333 (the provider's default) OR specify a different port and set CallbackURL to the exact reply URL you defined.
  7. Click Register to register the new application. An application management screen displays.
    Note the value in Application (client) ID as the OAuthClientId and the Directory (tenant) ID as the AzureTenant.
  8. Navigate to Certificates & Secrets and define the application authentication type. There are two types of authentication available: certificate (recommended) or client secret.

    • For certificate authentication: In Certificates & Secrets, select Upload certificate, then upload the certificate from your local machine.
    • For creating a new client secret: In Certificates & Secrets, select New Client Secret for the application and specify its duration. After the client secret is saved, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central displays the key value. Copy this value, as it is displayed only once. This value becomes the OAuthClientSecret.

  9. Select API Permissions > Add > Delegated permissions.
  10. Save your changes.
  11. If you have specified the use of permissions that require admin consent, you can grant them from the current tenant on the API Permissions page.

Azure Service Principal

To use Azure Service Principal authentication, you must set up the ability to assign a role to the authentication application register an application with the Azure AD tenant to create a new Service Principal, and create an external application account in Business Central. That new Service Principal can then leverage the assigned role-based access control to access resources in your subscription.

In portal.azure.com:

  1. Create a custom OAuth AD application, as described above.
  2. Use the search bar to search for the Subscriptions service.
  3. Open the Subscriptions page.
  4. Select the subscription to which to assign the application.
  5. Open the Access control (IAM).
  6. Select Add > Add role assignment. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central opens the Add role assignment page.
  7. Assign your custom Azure AD application the role of Owner.
  8. Create an external application account in Business Central for your custom application.

Admin Consent

Some custom applications require administrative permissions to operate within an Azure Active Directory tenant. Admin consent can be granted when creating a new custom OAuth application, by adding relevant permissions that are already marked with "Admin Consent Required". Admin consent is also required to use Client Credentials in the OAuth flow.

To grant admin consent:

  1. Have an admin log in to portal.azure.com.
  2. Navigate to App Registrations and find the custom OAuth application you created.
  3. Under API Permissions, click Grant Consent.
This gives your application permissions on the tenant under which it was created.

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Managed Service Identity (MSI)

If you are running Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central on an Azure VM and want to leverage MSI to connect, set AuthScheme to AzureMSI.

User-Managed Identities

To obtain a token for a managed identity, use the OAuthClientId property to specify the managed identity's "client_id".

When your VM has multiple user-assigned managed identities, you must also specify OAuthClientId.

Kerberos

Authenticating to Microsoft Exchange via Kerberos requires you to define authentication properties and to choose how Kerberos should retrieve authentication tickets.

To authenticate to Microsoft Exchange using Kerberos, set these properties:

  • hive.server2.authentication: Kerberos.
  • AuthScheme: NEGOTIATE.
  • KerberosKDC: The host name or IP Address of your Kerberos KDC machine.
  • KerberosRealm: The realm of the Microsoft Exchange Kerberos principal. Find this value immediately after the '@' symbol of the principal value.
  • KerberosSPN: The service and host of the Microsoft Exchange Kerberos Principal. Find this value just before the '@' symbol of the principal value.

In addition to the authentication values, set:

  • Server: The address of the Exchange server you are connecting to.
  • Platform: The Microsoft Exchange version.
  • Schema: EWS.A.

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Build 23.0.8839