Dynamics must be accessible from the internet in order for ClickDimensions to work, and your Dynamics system must be able to access ClickDimensions. If you use Dynamics on-premise, we recommend Microsoft's prescribed method of Internet-Facing Deployment (IFD) for Dynamics. An alternate method is discussed below.
Configuring access to Dynamics
If Dynamics is deployed on-premise, it must be accessible from the internet. Dynamics Online deployments are already configured for external internet access, so this article does not apply to Dynamics Online customers.
How does ClickDimensions connect to my Dynamics?
ClickDimensions’ cloud service communicates with your Dynamics via web services using connection methods described in Microsoft's Software Development Kit (SDK). This requires your Dynamics to be accessible from the web.
Why does ClickDimensions need to connect to my Dynamics?
Installing ClickDimensions in your Dynamics sets up a two-way integration where users can design email templates, forms, landing pages, etc., right within Dynamics and submit email jobs to the ClickDimensions cloud service. ClickDimensions queries Dynamics for recipients and synchronizes data such as opens, clicks, completed web forms, etc., back to your Dynamics.
How do I make my Dynamics accessible from the web?
There are two ways you can accomplish this. You may require the assistance of your Dynamics partner to implement either of these methods.
-
Recommended: Configure Dynamics for Internet-Facing Deployment (IFD). This is Microsoft’s recommended method for configuring secure external access to Dynamics. In addition to making your Dynamics accessible to ClickDimensions, an IFD configuration enables your users to access Dynamics from mobile devices or the Dynamics Outlook client without being on your network. (Note: Dynamics 4.0 uses an IFD tool to assist in configuring forms-based authentication. Dynamics 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016 require ADFS – Active Directory Federation Services, a claims-based authentication service. ADFS 2.0 is a free download from Microsoft and is installed on a separate web server from Dynamics. With Dynamics 2011/2013/2015/2016, IFD is configured in the Dynamics Deployment Manager.) See the links at the bottom of this article for Microsoft's documentation on IFD.
NOTE: Although ADFS is necessary to configure IFD for your Dynamics in order to utilize ClickDimensions, since ADFS is a separate service through Microsoft and is not part of the ClickDimensions solution, ClickDimensions Support cannot troubleshoot its setup or implementation. We also cannot troubleshoot authentication issues when using a third-party authentication mechanism, such as a Single Sign-On (SSO) solution.
- Expose the Dynamics website to the internet through standard web publishing techniques (open the firewall to a public IP for the Dynamics server and permit direct Windows auth). This approach can be less complex to configure than IFD. This method will allow the ClickDimensions cloud service to connect to your Dynamics, but will not enable the Dynamics Outlook client to access Dynamics while outside of your network. In this scenario, users and our service would be able to access Dynamics externally through standard Windows authentication.
If you provide us with just a public IP address for your Dynamics server, it will not be possible to use SSL, since the Dynamics address would need to match the SSL certificate. For example, the Dynamics address would need to be https://Dynamics.mycompany.com so that you could apply a commercial SSL certificate that matches the address 'Dynamics.mycompany.com'. Alternately, if you wish to just use an IP address and wish to further secure the connection, you can configure your firewall to restrict access to only our IP addresses for better security, but traffic will not be encrypted if you do not use SSL. Also, please note that we cannot advise on firewall configuration (TMG, F5, ISA, etc.) for this setup as it is not a setup that Microsoft documents for external Dynamics access.
In Dynamics 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2016 the address of the Organization Service web service must be updated in the Deployment Manager's web address properties so that it uses an address that is reachable from the internet - not an internal server name.
Both methods described above may require DNS and firewall changes on your network and with your domain host in order to allow your Dynamics server’s address to be resolved and accessed from an external URL.
Caution: When configuring external access to your Dynamics, evaluate the security ramifications of any approach carefully. Always use SSL encryption and refer to Microsoft documentation for best practices. We do not support self-signed certificates. Tip: Many organizations find it cost-effective to implement IFD for a production environment while using method 2 above for test and development environments.
Are there alternatives?
No. ClickDimensions requires a connection to Dynamics to work. There is no application that can be installed on your server to replace our cloud-based functionality.
Do you support VPNs? What about Azure Connect?
We do not support VPNs or Azure Connect.
What if my company policy does not permit connections to applications inside our firewall?
Some customers have deployed an additional Dynamics web front end server in their DMZ in order to provide external access to their Dynamics system's web services. This is an option you can explore with your Dynamics partner and network administrator.
Is the connection secure?
Yes. When you register your Dynamics with ClickDimensions, connection details are securely encrypted. If you set up Microsoft's recommended IFD method for external access or set up your Dynamics to use an SSL certificate, the communication between ClickDimensions and your Dynamics will be encrypted. You can also restrict access via your firewall to just our IP addresses.
Accessing the ClickDimensions Service from Your Dynamics
Just as important as reaching your Dynamics deployment from the cloud, it is also necessary that the cloud-based ClickDimensions service be accessible from your Dynamics server. Many corporate networks block outbound connections from application servers by restricting certain IP ranges, domain names or ports. This can sometimes prevent access to ClickDimensions. To ensure connectivity from your Dynamics server to the ClickDimensions system, it may be necessary to add an exception rule to allow inbound and outbound requests from the ClickDimensions IP addresses on the secure port 443.
(For a complete list of IP addresses for the ClickDimensions API, see the article “What firewall changes are needed to allow ClickDimensions proper access to your Dynamics deployment?”)
This exception will need to be created for any firewalls through which traffic from your Dynamics server may traverse. Proxies that require inbound authentication must be configured to permit the ClickDimensions IP addresses to bypass the proxy by adding them to the Proxy Bypass List.
To test connectivity to the ClickDimensions API from the browser, open Internet Explorer on the Dynamics server and browse to the following address:
https://app.clickdimensions.com/service.svc/help
Note: If there are any errors when attempting to connect to the above address, review your firewall and IE settings.
For further reading:
IFD for Dynamics 365
- Download: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Implementation Guide (Microsoft)
IFD for CRM 2015
- Download: Microsoft Dynamics 2015 Implementation Guide (Microsoft)
IFD for CRM 2013
- Download: Microsoft Dynamics 2013 Implementation Guide (Microsoft)
IFD for CRM 2011
- Download: Microsoft CRM 2011 Implementation Guide (Microsoft)
- Blog: Configuring IFD with Microsoft CRM 2011 (Microsoft)
- Video: Introducing Microsoft CRM 2011 Claims-based Authentication (YouTube)
- MSDN Article: Configure the Microsoft CRM Server 2011 for IFD (Microsoft)
Related Articles
- Article: What firewall changes are needed to allow ClickDimensions proper access to your Dynamics deployment? (ClickDimensions)
- TechNet Article: Network ports for Microsoft Dynamics (Microsoft) - NOTE: This is for reference only. ClickDimensions only needs to communicate on standard web ports (such as 80 or 443, or a custom port if you specify one for your Dynamics website).