eConnect configuration to integrate data to GP

Question

We need to integrate data from our application to GP using eConnect. We have GP and eConnect installed in a server.Our application runs from another machine which has to send data to GP in our server using eConnect.

Is that necessary to install eConnect in developer's machine as well as in the server?

As eConnect uses windows authentication, we use integrated security in our application to connect with eConnect. So, we are now able to integrate data from one user's machine whose credentials was given while installing eConnect in server.

Can anyone help?

Answer 1

In short, yes. The eConnect SDK must be installed on every client machine that issues eConnect for requests. If you are building a web application, then you would need the eConnect SDK installed on the webserver from which the requests originate.

If you are developing windows forms application to be installed on each users' PC, then the eConnect SDK must also be installed on each users' PC. Because this is often not a desirable deployment scenario, many people are in the practice of creating a new service to encapsulate the specific eConnect requests that the application needs so that the SDK only needs to be installed on the server.

Another option worth considering is a separate installation for Dynamics GP called the Dynamics GP Web Services. That would allow you to issue web service requests without the need of installing the eConnect SDK. However, installing Web Services for Dynamics GP is not trivial.

Regarding security, the eConnect SDK creates a windows service where credentials are supplied. It is these credentials that are used to authenticate eConnect to Dynamics GP. Keep in mind that Dynamics GP does not support Active Directory authentication for user access. However, one can use a domain service account in the eConnect service and set that up for access directly in SQL Server with DYNGRP role. Normally, this account would be a service account created for this purpose and not the user account.