Adding a second 365 tenant for testing Sage 200 Professional upgrades and disaster recovery sites

 NOTE: If another tenant is required for in-house testing by partners or developers, please follow the advice in this article. 

This process is designed to allow partners to test upgrades and development with a working API on the live site and a separate server.

Frequently Asked Questions around this process can be accessed here.

Overview of process

 NOTE: The below is an overview of the upgrade process used during testing and does not replace a partners current upgrade process or checks but is important to note any amendments that may be required. 

 CAUTION: It is imperative that the test 365 tenant being used is a unique serial number, completely separate from the live tenant being used. Customers must also have a unique test and recovery licence for the Sage 200 Professional software to be used on the secondary site. 

1. Separate Microsoft 365 tenant registered with Sage to onboard.
2. New server setup with a later version of Sage 200 Professional installed, licenced with the customers Test and Recovery serial number.
3. Databases backed up and restored onto the new server.
4. Databases tested and updated in System Administration.
5. API installed and configured using the second test Microsoft 365 tenant.
6. Sage API Test Tool ran to confirm API working correctly.
7. After successful testing, original server is decommissioned with API uninstalled.
8. System Administration updated to use the live Sage 200 Professional licence.
9. API removed and reinstalled on the new server to use the live tenant.

The sections below expand on the steps above.

1. Separate Microsoft 365 tenant registered with Sage to onboard

 NOTE: The Microsoft 365 tenant must be unique and in no way associated to the subscription used in the live environment.

• Ensure that the Microsoft 365 subscription being used is compatible for use with Sage 200 API following this guide.
• Follow the onboarding steps detailed here.

2. New server setup with a later version of Sage 200 Professional installed, licenced with the customers Test and Recovery serial number.

• The customer must have a Test and Recovery licence to register the software on the new server, updated via System Administration.

3. Databases backed up and restored onto the new server.

• If the Configuration database is being moved and used on the new server, the script below will need to be run to break the link to the old API.
   CAUTION: This is to only be run on a copy of the configuration database on the new server, running this on the live server will break the API connection. 
  

  --delete the entry to the API
  DELETE FROM tblParameters where ParameterName = 'APISiteID'
  
  --delete API user entries
  DELETE FROM tblExtIdentity where ExtIdentityTypeID IN (1,2)
  
  --remove any API references to existing users
  UPDATE tblUser
  SET isAPIUser = 0
  WHERE isAPIUser = 1

4. Databases tested and updated in System Administration.

• Ensure details in the API tab show as disabled and API User column in the user list shows as No.

5. API installed and configured using the second test Microsoft 365 tenant.

• Follow the normal Native API Install instructions found in this article, using the second test Microsoft 365 tenant details when required.

6. Sage API Test Tool ran to confirm API working correctly.

• Run and test the Sage API Test Tool to confirm the API is working correctly.
• Ensure that the Site ID and Site Name given in the tool match to the API tab of System Administration on the new server.
• If using the same Sage ID in System Administration you should see the companies for both the live and test site.

7. After successful testing, original server is decommissioned with API uninstalled.

• Follow the steps detailed here to uninstall the API on the original server without reinstalling.
   NOTE: It is imperative that the API is uninstalled in the described way prior to disabling the original server as a whole.

 8. System Administration updated to use the live Sage 200 Professional licence.

• On the new server, change over the Test and Recovery licence serial number to the live serial number via System Administration > Licence > Update.

9. API removed and reinstalled on the new server to use the live tenant.

• Follow through the instructions detailed here to remove the Test Microsoft 365 Tenant and install the API using the Live Microsoft 365 Tenant.
• Use the Test API tool again to ensure only the live server shows results.