Changing the “Original” Server Configuration

After installing the Dynamics AX client on my machine, having set it to connect to a development AOS, I needed to eventually connect the client to the testing AOS. During installation, I was prompted to enter the AOS name, however changing this later was not immediately clear. At first, I assumed this could be done in the AX client, however, after a little bit of digging, I found that changing the AOS connection must be performed via the “Microsoft Dynamics AX Configuration Utility” (Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Microsoft Dynamics AX Configuration).

If you are like me however, you may be curious to know exactly where these settings reside behind the scenes. Using the utility, you cannot change the “Original” configuration, but rather, are expected to create a new configuration which you can then apply and later edit as often as you desire. This serves the purpose well, and I cannot foresee a reason to ever need to modify the original configuration. However, in my industry there are usually exceptions, and obscure needs tend to be required more often than not. So what if for some unknown reason, you need to change the server in the original configuration? This can actually be done quite easily, as the server name is explicitly defined in the following series of registry keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Dynamics\5.0\Configuration\Original (installed configuration)\

Keys:
- aos2
- internet

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Dynamics\5.0\Configuration\Original (installed configuration)\SetupProperties

Keys:
- AOS2
- CLIENTAOSSERVER

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Dynamics\5.0\Configuration\Original (installed configuration)\

Keys:
- aos2
- internet

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Dynamics\5.0\Configuration\Original (installed configuration)\SetupProperties

Keys:
- AOS2
- CLIENTAOSSERVER