ADCS NAV 2016 OVERVIEW
Hi All,
Today I'm going to describe how you can do ADCS Installation & Configuration in NAV 2016, also Testing using Hyper terminal.
Overview
The Automated Data Capture System (ADCS)
solution provides a way for Microsoft Dynamics NAV to communicate with handheld
devices through web services. You can test your solution by using the VT100
plug-in.
Overview
and Architecture
ADCS enables you to accurately capture data for inbound,
outbound, and internal documents, primarily for warehouse activities. For
example, you can have users scan the bar codes of items in your warehouse as
they perform daily tasks, and that information is recorded from these handheld
device activities in Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV Server processes the data coming to in from the handheld devices
via the plug-in and sends the appropriate response back to the handheld devices
via the plug-in. An XML format is used to send and receive the data. The VT100
plug-in makes sure that the response from Microsoft Dynamics NAV is directed to
the correct handheld device. This reduces the load on the server.
The
VT100 plug-in provides the link between the server and the Access Points for
the handheld devices and acts as a virtual Telnet server. All connection
requests and data transmissions are handled by this service, and the incoming
native protocol is transformed into standard XML that the server can interpret.
After a request has been transformed, the request is forwarded by the VT100
plug-in to the server. When a reply is received, it is converted from XML into
the native protocol of the handheld device. Function keys are mapped using an
XSLT file that you can modify. After the data has been transformed and
formatted, it is forwarded to the handheld device.
Design Overview
The following illustration provides a simple diagram of ADCS. The part of the illustration that is shaded, which does not include ADCS, represents what could be developed.
Consider the following
when you deploy an ADCS solution:
- You can configure multiple instances of Microsoft
Dynamics NAV Server on a single computer, but each instance can only
access one company. Therefore, if you want to access several companies
from the same computer, you must configure several Microsoft Dynamics NAV
Server instances for NAS Services.
- You can only install one instance of the VT100 plug-in
on a single computer. The VT100 plug-in can only serve one company but it
can communicate with multiple instances of Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server.
This means that all of the instances of the server that use the same VT100
plug-in can only access the same company.
- If you want to communicate with more than one company,
you must install the VT100 plug-in on more than one computer, one for each
company. Each of the VT100 plug-in installations must then use a separate
Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server to access one of the companies.
NOTE:
You can also install the VT100 plug-in multiple times on the
same computer, one for each company.
Supported Devices
An
ADCS device includes devices such as bar code readers or optical character
readers that are used to mechanize the entry of information into the database.
All
character-based handheld devices that have a VT100 interface will work with
ADCS, although you may have to implement minor adjustments with some models.
When you use a handheld device, you must be able to connect either the Access
Point or the RF terminal to the IP or port address of the ADCS server.
If you
want to use a graphics-based handheld device, you will have to develop your own
plug-in.
You
can connect multiple handheld devices to the VT100 plug-in. However, if
performance becomes an issue, you can always add an additional Microsoft
Dynamics NAV Server and direct the VT100 plug-in to also connect with the new
server to improve performance.
Configure the ADCS:
- Installation of ADCS [Microsoft Dynamics NAV VT100 Plugin]
- NAV configuration changes for ADCS
- Logon permission to VT100 Service
- ADCS config file.
Let me install ADCS in my System and describe the steps to you:
1. Installation
of ADCS [Microsoft Dynamics NAV VT100 Plugin]:
Ø I have already installed NAV 2016 in my System,
so I am opening “Add / remove programs” and adding the ADCS component to the
same by clicking on the ‘Change’.
Ø Once you clicked on Change, the “Maintenance
window” opened.
Ø Click on “Add or Remove Components”, then click “Automated data Capture System” And
then select “Run from My Computer” [See the Bellow Screenshot].
Ø Click
on “Next” Button, Then “Specify
parameters” window will appear.
Note: If you have already installed NAV 2016, then
you don’t really need to change anything in this window.
Ø Click on the “Apply” Button from the “Specify
parameters” window.
This
will start installing the ADCS component for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016.
2.
NAV configuration changes for ADCS:
Ø Once the installation is successfully done,
then open NAV RTC and check few things in which will enable ADCS to communicate
with NAV server / database effectively.
ADCS
User:
Ø You
need to create an ADCS user which will be used for authenticating the device’s
access to the database.
Ø Type
“ADCS Users” in RTC Search Box and then click relevant menu.
Ø Create a new user and assign a password to it. The same user
id and password you need to pass while connecting NAV from the handheld device [See the Bellow Screenshot].
Connect ADCS user with the Warehouse Employee:
Ø Identify
the ADCS user as one of the Warehouse employee [which in turn identify itself
as one of the window’s login in NAV.
Ø Create a New/Edit “Warehouse Employees” and assign a password to it.
Ø Link
between windows user [warehouse employee] and the ADCS user you have just
created in previous step.
Ø Now
this user will have a default location [Default will be ticked next to the
location code] which he can use in his warehouse related transactions in NAV.
Ø The
same location must be ADCS enabled too. This step need to be repeated if the
user has access to multiple location [See the
Bellow Screenshot].
Enabling Location for
ADCS use:
Ø Open the location card [where the above defined
user has access to work on] according to our setup, “White” Location is
default, for testing purpose “Edit” the “White” location, and then expand
Warehouse “Fast Tab” [See the
Bellow Screenshot].
Check the Miniforms:
Ø Type “miniforms” in RTC Search Box and then click relevant menu.
Ø These are the default miniforms available in ‘Cronus’ company
and the same can be copied to any new company / installation you have created.
Ø These miniforms can manage all the standard warehouse functions
/ activities but you have the liberty to create additional miniforms to cater
to additional custom activities [If you create any additional miniforms, the
same may need changes in the associated ADCS related codeunits in NAV [See the Bellow Screenshot].
Note: These codeunits are
between 7700 and 7714]
Publish the ADCS Web
Service:
Ø Publish the Web Service which will be called by
the VT100 Component [Check the architecture at the top of the post] of NAV.
Open the Web services window and add a new service with the object type
‘Codeunit’ and select 7714 in ‘Object Id’.
Ø Be sure, to keep the Service Name as ‘ADCS’.
Check the service availability by copying the SOAP URL and pasting it in your
browser. This should display the details of the Web Service [See the Bellow Screenshot].
3. Logon permission to VT100 Service:
Ø Additionally
the ADCS component of NAV [Microsoft Dynamics NAV VT100 plugin] must have the
access to NAV database. This is determined by whether the logon user used for
this plugin has the necessary permission in NAV database or not.
Ø You can
use an existing user id already used in NAV as logon user id for VT100 or you
can create a dedicated windows user id for this use. The same user must have
‘ADCS ALL’ Permission Set. If you are not sure about the permission set you can
go ahead with the ‘Super’ Permission Set assigned to the user.
Ø For
example, here I am using my user id as logon user for Microsoft Dynamics NAV
VT100 plugin. [Services can be opened by typing in ‘services.msc’ in your
Search / Run box]
Ø Start the service of this plugin once you are
done with logon information changes [See the Bellow Screenshot].
4.
ADCS config
file:
Ø Open the ADCS config file and update the configuration
according to your VT100 Plugin. [See the bellow Screenshot].
Note: If you have changed any text in this file for your environment,
please make sure that you have restarted ‘Microsoft Dynamics NAV VT100 Plugin’
service.
Congratulations…
ADCS Installation & Configuration completed successfully!
TESTING ADCS USING HYPER TERMINAL CLIENT
APPLICATION
Ø Open “Hyper Terminal Client” and type the Host
address & Port Number, then click OK button [See the bellow screenshot].
Ø Type ADCS User ID & Password. Then press
Enter key from keyboard, [See the bellow screenshot].
Ø After successfully login, Main menu will appear, [see the
bellow screenshot].
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