PowerShell Scripting to Replicate Dynamics 365 Data to MySQL

The CData Cmdlets for Dynamics 365 offer live access to Dynamics 365 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 365 and the CData Cmdlets for MySQL in PowerShell to replicate Dynamics 365 data to a MySQL database.

Getting Started

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After obtaining the needed connection properties, accessing Dynamics 365 data in PowerShell and preparing for replication consists of four basic steps.

Edition and OrganizationUrl are required connection properties. The Dynamics 365 connector supports connecting to the following editions: CustomerService, FieldService, FinOpsOnline, FinOpsOnPremise, HumanResources, Marketing, ProjectOperations and Sales.

For Dynamics 365 Business Central, use the separate Dynamics 365 Business Central driver.

OrganizationUrl is the URL to your Dynamics 365 organization. For instance, https://orgcb42e1d0.crm.dynamics.com

Collecting Dynamics 365 Data

1. Install the module:

   Install-Module Dynamics365Cmdlets

2. Connect to Dynamics 365:

    $dynamics365 = Connect-Dynamics365 -OrganizationUrl $OrganizationUrl -Edition $Edition -InitiateOAuth $InitiateOAuth
    

3. Retrieve the data from a specific resource:

    $data = Select-Dynamics365 -Connection $dynamics365 -Table "GoalHeadings"
    

   You can also use the Invoke-Dynamics365 cmdlet to execute pure SQL-92 statements:

    $data = Invoke-Dynamics365 -Connection $dynamics365 -Query 'SELECT * FROM GoalHeadings WHERE Name = @Name' -Params @{'@Name'='MyAccount'}
    

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 365 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 365 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 365 resource (GoalHeadings) and to exist in the database.

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

You have now replicated your Dynamics 365 data to a MySQL database. This gives you freedom to work with Dynamics 365 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 365 and MySQL in PowerShell, you can pipe command results to perform the replication in a single line:

   Select-Dynamics365 -Connection $dynamics365 -Table "GoalHeadings" | % {
   $row = $_
   $values = @()
   $columns | % {
   $col = $_
   $values += $row.$($col)
   }
   Add-MySQL -Connection $mysql -Table "GoalHeadings" -Columns $columns -Values $values
   }
   

• If you wish to replicate the Dynamics 365 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-Dynamics365 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')}