cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Reply
chrisOrtiz
Helper II
Helper II

Portal Migration clarification and advice

I am new with portals, I created a website last week for a client and its live now. They now require further page updates and content updates, in order to do this I need a testing environment (since I cant risk breaking the live site). So I need to pretty much make an exact replica of the live site which is in a production environment. I found this https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powerapps/maker/portals/admin/migrate-portal-configuration and had thought this was the solution, I followed the steps and the result was the starter basic portal that is created from a blank portal with the 3 tabs from my original portal that do nothing.

I placed a ticket with Microsoft support about this and the service personnel I got said that the migration does not seem to be the solution for what I am trying to achieve (creating the exact replica of the portal).

From everything I have seen here it seems that they are incorrect. I did further research and I found that XrmToolBox can achieve what I am trying to get done...which is an exact copy of my live portal website for testing purposes.

My question is: 

1) Is the Microsoft personnel I got incorrect about this?

2) If he is incorrect, which will be easier for a noob like me to use, XrmToolBox or Configuration Migration tool?

 

9 REPLIES 9
OliverRodrigues
Super User
Super User

Hi, so first thing here is to make sure you have provisioned the same Portal type in your test environment (I believe you already did this).

Now you need to migrate data, in your case from LIVE to TEST. 

 

Microsoft's official method would be using the Configuration Migration as you pointed out the link.. I personally like to use XrmToolBox / Portal Records Mover, with that tool you can export/import or transfer the Portal data. You can also select which tables/records will be moved across.

 

Please see if this video helps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oANcwG0nLU8

this might be referring to an older version of the tool, but should still be a good starting point




If you like this post, give a Thumbs up. Where it solved your request, Mark it as a Solution to enable other users find it.

Power Pages Super User | MVP


Oliver Rodrigues


 

Fubar
Solution Sage
Solution Sage

Would recommend you have a Dev, Test, and Prod environment (even if you do Test as a Trial), that way you can test the actual move of Solution Files and the Portal, before just dumping them into Prod.

 

Depending on exactly what you need to do, if you need to 'clone' Prod you can do that (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/copy-environment), and then point a new Portal at the cloned instance.  The alternate method is to move solution files and other config data, and then copy the Portal using the Configuration Migration Tool (or XrmToolBox).

 

If you are doing a manual setup it is important that the type of Portal you install is the same as what you have in Prod.

 

(also, if you clone, make sure you don't have things like Pending emails, or Plugins etc that point to Production Web Services etc in your Test - because if everything is hooked up the emails etc will send and look like they came from Prod)

chrisOrtiz
Helper II
Helper II

Thank you for the information, I used the XrmToolBox. First I tested by migrating a trial portal to a testing environment and it worked perfectly, the trial portal I migrated is very similar to the live portal I intended to migrate.

Then I created a new sandbox environment and migrated the live portal but I did not get the same results at all. below is what I got instead

chrisOrtiz_0-1618543508450.png

I had removed the navigation bar from my live portal but the migration placed it back and with no content. the highlighted are the pages from my live portal. None of these tabs have any functionality. Below is the edit of the portal:

chrisOrtiz_1-1618543620211.png

I followed and disabled the extra default publishing states and no change. I do not understand why my test run of migrating a trial portal worked but not the migration of my live portal which is in a production environment, that is the only difference. I will try again, maybe I missed something. 

@Fubar What do you mean by the type of portal I install is the same as what I have in production? The only way I have built a portal is by "Portal from blank" is that what you mean? Thank you.

.

Fubar
Solution Sage
Solution Sage

Yes, both blank or both Customer Self-Service etc

 

You sometimes get the double Home etc when you have multiple types of Portal in your environment, and you get the menu items from the different types of portal onto the Primary navigation Web Link Set.  Or you have somehow ended up with the Guid's being different of the duplicated items.

 

The last time I looked at Publishing States they were't really working.

 

When you install the Portal into your Environment (Test) before migrating/copying the portal it will give you a blank portal with all the default setup - Primary navigation etc - the copying of the Portal from one environment to another does not delete or remove stuff that is in the Target environment - it does an Upsert - what this means is that if you removed out of the box items from the source you also have to remove them from the target.  This is similar to what happens with Solution Files for moving Tables and Columns etc etc so we are probably used to this type of thing occurring.

 

I use the Data Migration Tool and not XrmToolBox (but I have a colleague who prefers XrmToolBox). One difference between the 2 is that the Data Migration Tool moves everything (unless you have changed the Schema file) but XrmToolBox allows you to move smaller elements (it is possible that you haven't selected the correct options in XrmToolBox - but I am not sure).

 

Personally, I would be using the Portal Management App to see what was wrong rather then the new editor interface - e.g. do the Web Pages exist are they linked correctly to navigation etc but I probably have more of an idea about when something looks wrong in the config. 

chrisOrtiz
Helper II
Helper II

I think I figured out why my migration did not work. My portal in my production environment is not a trial (production). My portal in my Sandbox environment is a trial. The use of "production with environments and portals confused me. the Image below is the status of both my portals. The first "test copy" is my sandbox environment where I was trying to migrate my live portal into. The second if my portal in my Production environment which is live. From my understanding they should both be in "production"?

chrisOrtiz_0-1618551470938.png

chrisOrtiz_1-1618551511543.png

 

 

OliverRodrigues
Super User
Super User

Hi, when we say Portal Type we mean if it's starter portal / customer self-service etc, I think you answered that you provisioned both as Starter Portal.

The Portal type set to Prod / Trial / Sandbox / etc shouldn't really matter

 

Would you be able to check if the Website GUIDs are the same? You can check that in a few ways:

  • install a browser extension and check via Portal Management App (extensions: D365 Level-Up or D365 Power Pane)
  • open Advanced find, search for Websites and export via Excel, there should be a hidden column (A) in your excel file with the record GUID.. it's important that they are the same for the data migration



If you like this post, give a Thumbs up. Where it solved your request, Mark it as a Solution to enable other users find it.

Power Pages Super User | MVP


Oliver Rodrigues


 

chrisOrtiz
Helper II
Helper II

@Fubar "the copying of the Portal from one environment to another does not delete or remove stuff that is in the Target environment - it does an Upsert - what this means is that if you removed out of the box items from the source you also have to remove them from the target." - This is what happened when I did a test migration from another environment with a trial portal to the destination sandbox environment. In the source portal I had removed out of the box navigation default settings and when the migration was completed, everything I had removed from the source portal was not in the target portal, was an exact copy. @OliverRodrigues I am trying a fresh migration again carefully and will look into that if I get the same errors. Thank you all for the input I really appreciate it all.

chrisOrtiz
Helper II
Helper II

@OliverRodrigues I downloaded the excel and in section A (GUID records) are different from the target portal and the source portal. How can I make sure they are the same? Thanks. 

chrisOrtiz
Helper II
Helper II

I was able to make a successful migration. I had placed a ticket and interesting enough, the documentation was missing 1 step. What I had to do was make a copy of the source environment and copy it into the new target environment. After that, it was all working perfectly. The Microsoft service was very knowledgeable and I think something should be done about the fact that the documentation is not updated. 

Helpful resources

Announcements

Power Platform Connections Ep 15 | L. Baybutt | Thursday, 1 June 2023

Episode Fifteen of Power Platform Connections sees David Warner and Hugo Bernier talk to Microsoft MVP Lewis Baybutt aka Low Code Lewis, alongside the latest news and community blogs.   Use the hashtag #PowerPlatformConnects on social media for a chance to have your work featured on the show.      Action requested: Feel free to provide feedback on how we can make our community more inclusive and diverse.  This episode premiers live on our YouTube at 12pm PST on Thursday 1st June 2023.  Video series available at Power Platform Community YouTube channel.    Upcoming events:  European Power Platform conference – Jun. 20-22nd - Dublin Microsoft Power Platform Conference – Oct. 3-5th - Las Vegas  Join our Communities:  Power Apps Community Power Automate Community Power Virtual Agents Community Power Pages Community  If you’d like to hear from a specific community member in an upcoming recording and/or have specific questions for the Power Platform Connections team, please let us know. We will do our best to address all your requests or questions. 

May 2023 Community Newsletter and Upcoming Events

Welcome to our May 2023 Community Newsletter, where we'll be highlighting the latest news, releases, upcoming events, and the great work of our members inside the Biz Apps communities. If you're new to this LinkedIn group, be sure to subscribe here in the News & Announcements to stay up to date with the latest news from our ever-growing membership network who "changed the way they thought about code".         LATEST NEWS "Mondays at Microsoft" LIVE on LinkedIn - 8am PST - Monday 15th May  - Grab your Monday morning coffee and come join Principal Program Managers Heather Cook and Karuana Gatimu for the premiere episode of "Mondays at Microsoft"! This show will kick off the launch of the new Microsoft Community LinkedIn channel and cover a whole host of hot topics from across the #PowerPlatform, #ModernWork, #Dynamics365, #AI, and everything in-between. Just click the image below to register and come join the team LIVE on Monday 15th May 2023 at 8am PST. Hope to see you there!     Executive Keynote | Microsoft Customer Success Day CVP for Business Applications & Platform, Charles Lamanna, shares the latest #BusinessApplications product enhancements and updates to help customers achieve their business outcomes.         S01E13 Power Platform Connections - 12pm PST - Thursday 11th May Episode Thirteen of Power Platform Connections sees Hugo Bernier take a deep dive into the mind of co-host David Warner II, alongside the reviewing the great work of Dennis Goedegebuure, Keith Atherton, Michael Megel, Cat Schneider, and more. Click below to subscribe and get notified, with David and Hugo LIVE in the YouTube chat from 12pm PST. And use the hashtag #PowerPlatformConnects on social media for a chance to have your work featured on the show.         UPCOMING EVENTS   European Power Platform Conference - early bird ticket sale ends! The European Power Platform Conference early bird ticket sale ends on Friday 12th May 2023! #EPPC23 brings together the Microsoft Power Platform Communities for three days of unrivaled days in-person learning, connections and inspiration, featuring three inspirational keynotes, six expert full-day tutorials, and over eighty-five specialist sessions, with guest speakers including April Dunnam, Dona Sarkar, Ilya Fainberg, Janet Robb, Daniel Laskewitz, Rui Santos, Jens Christian Schrøder, Marco Rocca, and many more. Deep dive into the latest product advancements as you hear from some of the brightest minds in the #PowerApps space. Click here to book your ticket today and save!      DynamicMinds Conference - Slovenia - 22-24th May 2023 It's not long now until the DynamicsMinds Conference, which takes place in Slovenia on 22nd - 24th May, 2023 - where brilliant minds meet, mingle & share! This great Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Conference features a whole host of amazing speakers, including the likes of Georg Glantschnig, Dona Sarkar, Tommy Skaue, Monique Hayward, Aleksandar Totovic, Rachel Profitt, Aurélien CLERE, Ana Inés Urrutia de Souza, Luca Pellegrini, Bostjan Golob, Shannon Mullins, Elena Baeva, Ivan Ficko, Guro Faller, Vivian Voss, Andrew Bibby, Tricia Sinclair, Roger Gilchrist, Sara Lagerquist, Steve Mordue, and many more. Click here: DynamicsMinds Conference for more info on what is sure an amazing community conference covering all aspects of Power Platform and beyond.    Days of Knowledge Conference in Denmark - 1-2nd June 2023 Check out 'Days of Knowledge', a Directions 4 Partners conference on 1st-2nd June in Odense, Denmark, which focuses on educating employees, sharing knowledge and upgrading Business Central professionals. This fantastic two-day conference offers a combination of training sessions and workshops - all with Business Central and related products as the main topic. There's a great list of industry experts sharing their knowledge, including Iona V., Bert Verbeek, Liza Juhlin, Douglas Romão, Carolina Edvinsson, Kim Dalsgaard Christensen, Inga Sartauskaite, Peik Bech-Andersen, Shannon Mullins, James Crowter, Mona Borksted Nielsen, Renato Fajdiga, Vivian Voss, Sven Noomen, Paulien Buskens, Andri Már Helgason, Kayleen Hannigan, Freddy Kristiansen, Signe Agerbo, Luc van Vugt, and many more. If you want to meet industry experts, gain an advantage in the SMB-market, and acquire new knowledge about Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, click here Days of Knowledge Conference in Denmark to buy your ticket today!   COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS Check out our top Super and Community Users reaching new levels! These hardworking members are posting, answering questions, kudos, and providing top solutions in their communities.   Power Apps:  Super Users: @WarrenBelz, @LaurensM  @BCBuizer  Community Users:  @Amik@ @mmollet, @Cr1t    Power Automate:  Super Users: @Expiscornovus , @grantjenkins, @abm  Community Users: @Nived_Nambiar, @ManishSolanki    Power Virtual Agents:  Super Users: @Pstork1, @Expiscornovus  Community Users: @JoseA, @fernandosilva, @angerfire1213    Power Pages: Super Users: @ragavanrajan  Community Users: @Fubar, @Madhankumar_L,@gospa  LATEST COMMUNITY BLOG ARTICLES  Power Apps Community Blog  Power Automate Community Blog  Power Virtual Agents Community Blog  Power Pages Community Blog  Check out 'Using the Community' for more helpful tips and information:  Power Apps , Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents, Power Pages 

Check out the new Power Platform Communities Front Door Experience!

We are excited to share the ‘Power Platform Communities Front Door’ experience with you!   Front Door brings together content from all the Power Platform communities into a single place for our community members, customers and low-code, no-code enthusiasts to learn, share and engage with peers, advocates, community program managers and our product team members. There are a host of features and new capabilities now available on Power Platform Communities Front Door to make content more discoverable for all power product community users which includes ForumsUser GroupsEventsCommunity highlightsCommunity by numbersLinks to all communities Users can see top discussions from across all the Power Platform communities and easily navigate to the latest or trending posts for further interaction. Additionally, they can filter to individual products as well.         Users can filter and browse the user group events from all power platform products with feature parity to existing community user group experience and added filtering capabilities.       Users can now explore user groups on the Power Platform Front Door landing page with capability to view all products in Power Platform.      Explore Power Platform Communities Front Door today. Visit Power Platform Community Front door to easily navigate to the different product communities, view a roll up of user groups, events and forums.

Microsoft Power Platform Conference | Registration Open | Oct. 3-5 2023

We are so excited to see you for the Microsoft Power Platform Conference in Las Vegas October 3-5 2023! But first, let's take a look back at some fun moments and the best community in tech from MPPC 2022 in Orlando, Florida.   Featuring guest speakers such as Charles Lamanna, Heather Cook, Julie Strauss, Nirav Shah, Ryan Cunningham, Sangya Singh, Stephen Siciliano, Hugo Bernier and many more.   Register today: https://www.powerplatformconf.com/   

Welcome! Congratulations on joining the Power Pages community!

Welcome to the Power Pages Community!   You're now a part of a vibrant group of peers and industry experts who are here to network, share knowledge, and even have a little fun.     Now that you're a member, you can enjoy the following resources:   The Power Pages Community Forums The forums are also a great place to connect with other Power Pages community members. Check the News & Announcements section for community highlights, find out about the latest community news, and learn about the Community Team. Share your feedback, earn custom profile badges, enter challenges to win prizes, and more.   Community Blog Our community members have learned some excellent tips and have keen insights on the future of business analysis. Head on over to the Community Blog to read the latest posts from around the world. Let us know if you'd like to become an author and contribute your own writing — everyone is welcome.   And that’s not all, we have Galleries of additional information such as the Community Connections & How To Videos & Webinars & Video Gallery and more to motivate, educate and inspire you.   Again, welcome to the Power Pages community family, we are so happy you have joined us! Whether you are brand new to the world of data or you are a seasoned veteran - our goal is to shape the community to be your ‘go to’ for support, networking, education, inspiration and encouragement as we enjoy this adventure together! Let us know in the Community Feedback forum if you have any questions or comments about your community experience, but for now – head on over to the forums Get Help with Power Pages and dive right in!   To learn more about the community and your account be sure to visit our Community Support Area. We look forward to seeing you in the Power Pages Community!   The Power Pages Community Team  

Users online (5,582)