How to configure the URL of your Dynamics CRM deployment

How to configure the URL of your Dynamics CRM deployment

January 31st, 2012 // 11:10 pm @ Mayank // No Comments

While deploying your Dynamics CRM, you might want to give it a different URL than the “Computer Name” of the server, even if you are not planning a Internet Facing Deployment.

Well it is always good to have an deployment that goes by the URL of crm.yourdomain.com rather than something like appserver.yourdomain.com. For this you don’t really have to change the “Computer Name” of your Server. Lets see how can we configure such an URL for our Dynamics CRM instance.

Well, first thing we need to prepare the Domain Name that we want to configure for our CRM instance. For that you need to take up the following steps

1. You need to go to the DNS Management Console on your DNS Server and create an entry of the New Domain against the IP address of the Server.
2. Next you need to add 2 Service Principle Names (SPN) for this Domains.
   1. Create an SPN for HOST/CRM.YOURDOMAIN.COM using the following Dos command :
      setspn –s HOST/CRM.YOURDOMAIN.COM
   2. Next create an SPN for the login that your CRM Services are going to be configured with :
      setspn –s HTTP/CRM.YMSLI.COM <yourdomain>\<crmserviceaccount>

Now our URL is ready to be configured. Lets configure the Dynamics CRM instance to use the new URL.

1. Next Step is to go to the Deployment Manager, Right click on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Node and select properties.
2. Now on the “Microsoft Dynamics CRM Properties” window, goto the “Web Address” tab and change all the URL(s) to your new URL which in our case is crm.yourdomain.com:80.
3. Next you need to configure the IIS binding for the “Microsoft Dynamics CRM” web application.
4. Next a very important thing, you need to configure the change for the Help Catalogue URL in certain builds as there was a bug where the help used to keep pointing at the old “Computer Name” URL even after you change the binding.
   For this you need to open PowerShell and run the following commands on the CRM Server:  
   1. Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.Crm.PowerShell
   2. $web = Get-CrmSetting WebAddressSettings
   3. $web.HelpServerUrl = ""
   4. Set-CrmSetting $web
5. Next do a IISREST.

And that is all you need to do to get a nice memory-friendly (Human Memory is what I mean)  URL for your Dynamics CRM Instance.

If you find this post useful do leave your feedback in the comments section.

Category : Dynamics CRM