A solution is a bucket where all the customization components of a particular project are stored. Creating a solution helps in moving these components from one environment to another. There are three different types of solutions: default, managed and unmanaged.
- Default Solution. The out-of-the-box Microsoft Dynamics CRM software as well as the pre-deployment customizations are part of the default solution. You can access a default solution by navigating to Settings, Customizations, and Customize the system:
- Unmanaged Solution. The beginning state of solution is the unmanaged solution state. During this phase, you can add, edit, update, remove, delete, and test any of the components of the solution. You also have the ability to create restrictions on the components within the solution. Any number of these unmanaged customized solution components can be associated with any number of unmanaged solutions.
- Managed Solution. A managed solution is a finalized solution that can be distributed and installed. They are created by exporting an unmanaged solution by setting restrictions to prevent any further customizations. They are installed in addition to the system solution. They can also be layered on top of other managed solutions as well. The unrestricted components of the solution are still customizable.
Solution Components
(http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg334576.aspx)
Schema:
- Entities
- Attributes
- Relationships
- Global Option Sets
Analytics:
- Dashboards
- Reports
- Visualizations
User Interface:
- Application Ribbon
- SiteMap
- Forms
- Entity Ribbons
- Web Resources
Process/Code:
- Processes – Dialogs and Workflows
- Plug-ins – Assemblies and Processing Steps
Templates:
- Mail-merge
- Contract
- Article
Security:
- Security Roles
- Field Level Security Profiles
