MS Dynamics CRM 2011 installation checklist and tips

While there is a wealth of information in the installation and planning guide for CRM 2011, it is always good to have a high level checklist of items, along with possible issues and workarounds, when dealing with a multi server install. Here I have attempted to document some of the critical items to have in place before we attempt the install.
A few might be trivial to people who have done a lot of work with CRM, but when you are dealing with multiple teams handling disparate functions, it is best to call out even basic components so as to prevent any surprise's.  Additionally, the first two items in the list are issues that I faced which was not in the installation or planning guide, though for the first issue there is a Microsoft knowledge base article, and the second issue had a solution in the CRM forums.

1. Always install from the ISO (available from msdn downloads). If installing from the executable (http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=27822), rollup updates 6 and above will not be installable, due to error "Action Microsoft.Crm.UpdateWrapper.MspInstallAction failed."
• The workaround is to uninstall and reinstall CRM server. Here is the knowledge base article  from MS, which talks about the error only when using the RTM build, but I also saw the exact error using the executable from here. I ended up having to uninstall CRM on all my servers, and reinstalling it from the ISO. My pain is your gain :)

             Note: This issue could be due to the fact that Rollup 6 is already part of the executable. I have not tested it by trying to install a later rollup update, though.

2. Installing SSRS Data Connector on the SQL Serporting server will result in the following error when installing from the ISO.
• Microsoft.Crm.Setup.SrsDataConnector.RegisterServerAction failed.
                 Requested value 'Geo' was not found
  
  
                 Please see link for workaround, which involves cancelling out of the SSRS install, installing   UR6 for CRM, and repairing the SSRS Data Connector

               

3. All firewall ports listed in the link to be opened for crm server (front end and back end).

4. All firewall ports listed in the link to be opened for crm SQL server .
5. In addition, check if you need open up dynamic  ports TCP/UDP ports 49152 - 65535.
6. Create AD user with local admin privilege on all servers (front end, back end and sql server)

              Other permissions for the user:

• Be a member of the Active Directory Domain Users group. By default, Active Directory Users and Computers adds new users to the Domain Users group.
• Be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer where Setup is running.

• Have Local Program Files folder read and write permission.

• Be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer where the instance of SQL Server is located that will be used to store the Microsoft Dynamics CRM databases.
• Have sysadmin membership on the instance of SQL Server that will be used to store the Microsoft Dynamics CRM databases.

• Have organization and security group creation permission in Active Directory.

• If Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is installed on a different server, add the Content Manager role at the root level for the installing user account. Also add the System Administrator Role at the site-wide level for the installing user account.

7. SQl Server Reporting services should be installed and configured.
8. Create an OU under the base OU for the CRM AD groups.
9. CRM install user account should have elevated privileges on the CRM OU (to create groups and users under them).
10. When deploying multiple Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 servers in a load balanced configuration, the CRM Application service (CRMAppPool) must run as a domain user account, and must use a Service Principal Name (SPN).

Post install, a simple way to check if the discovery service is being called correctly is to fire up the plugin registration tool and try to connect to the crm instance.