PowerShell Scripting to Replicate Dynamics CRM Data to MySQL

The CData Cmdlets for Dynamics CRM offer live access to Dynamics CRM data from within PowerShell. Using PowerShell scripts, you can easily automate regular tasks like data replication. This article will walk through using the CData Cmdlets for Dynamics CRM and the CData Cmdlets for MySQL in PowerShell to replicate Dynamics CRM data to a MySQL database.

After obtaining the needed connection properties, accessing Dynamics CRM data in PowerShell and preparing for replication consists of four basic steps.

The connection string options meet the authentication and connection requirements of different Dynamics CRM instances. To connect to your instance, set the User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, to valid Dynamics CRM user credentials and set the Url to a valid Dynamics CRM server organization root. Additionally, set the CRMVersion property to 'CRM2011+' or 'CRMOnline'. IFD configurations are supported as well; set InternetFacingDeployment to true.

Additionally, you can provide the security token service (STS) or AD FS endpoint in the STSURL property. This value can be retrieved with the GetSTSUrl stored procedure. Office 365 users can connect to the default STS URL by simply setting CRMVersion.

Collecting Dynamics CRM Data

1. Install the module:

   Install-Module DynamicsCRMCmdlets

2. Connect to Dynamics CRM:

   $dynamicscrm = Connect-DynamicsCRM -User $User -Password $Password -URL $URL -CRM Version $CRM Version

3. Retrieve the data from a specific resource:

   $data = Select-DynamicsCRM -Connection $dynamicscrm -Table "Account"

   You can also use the Invoke-DynamicsCRM cmdlet to execute pure SQL-92 statements:

   $data = Invoke-DynamicsCRM -Connection $dynamicscrm -Query 'SELECT * FROM Account WHERE FirstName = @FirstName' -Params @{'@FirstName'='Bob'}

4. Save a list of the column names from the returned data.

   $columns = ($data | Get-Member -MemberType NoteProperty | Select-Object -Property Name).Name

Inserting Dynamics CRM Data into the MySQL Database

With the data and column names collected, you are ready to replicate the data into a MySQL database.

1. Install the module:

   Install-Module MySQLCmdlets

2. Connect to MySQL, using the server address and port of the MySQL server, valid user credentials, and a specific database with the table in which the data will be replicated:

   $mysql = Connect-MySQL -User $User -Password $Password -Database $Database -Server $Server -Port $Port

3. Loop through the Dynamics CRM data, store the values, and use the Add-MySQL cmdlet to insert the data into the MySQL database, one row at a time. In this example, the table will need to have the same name as the Dynamics CRM resource (Account) and to exist in the database.

   $data | % { $row = $_ $values = @() $columns | % { $col = $_ $values += $row.$($col) } Add-MySQL -Connection $mysql -Table "Account" -Columns $columns -Values $values }

You have now replicated your Dynamics CRM data to a MySQL database. This gives you freedom to work with Dynamics CRM data in the same way that you work with other MySQL tables, whether that is performing analytics, building reports, or other business functions.

Notes

• Once you have connected to Dynamics CRM and MySQL in PowerShell, you can pipe command results to perform the replication in a single line:

  Select-DynamicsCRM -Connection $dynamicscrm -Table "Account" | % { $row = $_ $values = @() $columns | % { $col = $_ $values += $row.$($col) } Add-MySQL -Connection $mysql -Table "Account" -Columns $columns -Values $values }

• If you wish to replicate the Dynamics CRM data to another database using another PowerShell module, you will want to exclude the Columns, Connection, and Table columns from the data returned by the Select-DynamicsCRM cmdlet since those columns are used to help pipe data from one CData cmdlet to another:

  $columns = ($data | Get-Member -MemberType NoteProperty | Select-Object -Property Name).Name | ? {$_ -NotIn @('Columns','Connection','Table')}