How do you fix an issue where a plugin fails in production but not in development?

When a plugin works flawlessly in development but fails in production, it can be frustrating and challenging. In this article, you will learn how to diagnose and fix such issues, with practical code examples that will assist in understanding and implementing the solutions.

1. Understand the Environment Differences

The first step is to acknowledge that the development and production environments may differ in several ways, including:

• Security Roles and Permissions: Users in development might have more privileges than those in production.
• Data Differences: The data set in production could be larger or more complex.
• Configuration and Customization: There may be differences in configurations and customizations between environments.

2. Check the Plugin Registration

Ensure the plugin is registered correctly in production. Verify:

• The plugin steps and images.
• The correct message and entity.
• The execution order and mode (synchronous/asynchronous).

3. Enable Plugin Tracing

To diagnose the issue, enable plugin tracing in your Dynamics 365 CRM:

1. Go to Settings > Administration > System Settings.
2. Under the Customization tab, set Enable logging to plug-in trace log to All.

This will log detailed information about plugin executions, including exceptions.

4. Review the Plugin Trace Log

After enabling tracing, reproduce the issue and review the plugin trace logs:

1. Go to Settings > Customization > Plug-in Trace Log.
2. Look for entries related to your plugin and examine the details.

5. Common Issues and Solutions

a. Security Roles and Permissions

A common issue is related to permissions. Ensure the user context under which the plugin runs has the necessary permissions. Here’s an example of how to check and handle permissions within a plugin:

public void Execute(IServiceProvider serviceProvider)
{
    // Retrieve the plugin execution context from the service provider
    IPluginExecutionContext context = (IPluginExecutionContext)serviceProvider.GetService(typeof(IPluginExecutionContext));

    // Obtain the organization service factory from the service provider
    IOrganizationServiceFactory serviceFactory = (IOrganizationServiceFactory)serviceProvider.GetService(typeof(IOrganizationServiceFactory));
    
    // Create the organization service using the context's user ID
    IOrganizationService service = serviceFactory.CreateOrganizationService(context.UserId);

    // Get the ID of the current user from the plugin execution context
    var userId = context.UserId;

    // Define a FetchXML query to check if the user has the required role
    var fetchXml = $@"
        <fetch top='1'>
          <entity name='systemuser'>
            <attribute name='fullname' />  <!-- Attribute to retrieve (not used in this example) -->
            <filter>
              <!-- Filter to match the current user by their ID -->
              <condition attribute='systemuserid' operator='eq' value='{userId}' />
            </filter>
            <link-entity name='role' from='roleid' to='roleid'>
              <filter>
                <!-- Filter to check if the user has the required role -->
                <condition attribute='name' operator='eq' value='Required Role' />
              </filter>
            </link-entity>
          </entity>
        </fetch>";

    // Execute the FetchXML query to retrieve matching records
    EntityCollection result = service.RetrieveMultiple(new FetchExpression(fetchXml));

    // Check if any records were returned
    if (result.Entities.Count == 0)
    {
        // Throw an exception if the user does not have the required role
        throw new InvalidPluginExecutionException("User does not have the required role.");
    }

    // Insert the main plugin logic here. This code will only execute if the user has the required role.
}

b. Data Differences

Data issues are another common cause of plugin failures. Ensure your plugin can handle the data variations in production. Add defensive coding practices to handle unexpected data conditions.

public void Execute(IServiceProvider serviceProvider)
{
    // Retrieve the plugin execution context from the service provider
    IPluginExecutionContext context = (IPluginExecutionContext)serviceProvider.GetService(typeof(IPluginExecutionContext));

    // Obtain the organization service factory from the service provider
    IOrganizationServiceFactory serviceFactory = (IOrganizationServiceFactory)serviceProvider.GetService(typeof(IOrganizationServiceFactory));
    
    // Create the organization service using the context's user ID
    IOrganizationService service = serviceFactory.CreateOrganizationService(context.UserId);

    // Check if the InputParameters collection contains the "Target" key and if it is an Entity object
    if (context.InputParameters.Contains("Target") && context.InputParameters["Target"] is Entity)
    {
        // Retrieve the target entity from the InputParameters
        Entity entity = (Entity)context.InputParameters["Target"];
        
        // Check if the entity contains the required field
        if (entity.Contains("required_field"))
        {
            // Proceed with the plugin logic as the required field is present
        }
        else
        {
            // Throw an exception if the required field is missing from the entity
            throw new InvalidPluginExecutionException("Required field is missing.");
        }
    }
    else
    {
        // Throw an exception if the "Target" key is missing or not an Entity object
        throw new InvalidPluginExecutionException("Target entity is missing.");
    }
}

c. Configuration and Customization Differences

Ensure that all configurations and customizations are consistent between environments. Use solutions to export and import customizations and configurations to minimize discrepancies.

6. Deploy the Fix

Once you identify the issue and implement the fix, deploy the updated plugin to production:

1. Update your plugin code.
2. Rebuild the solution.
3. Register the updated plugin assembly using the Plugin Registration Tool.
4. Test the plugin in production to ensure the issue is resolved.

Conclusion

Fixing a plugin that fails in production but works in development involves understanding the differences between environments, enabling and reviewing plugin trace logs, and addressing common issues related to permissions, data, and configurations. By following these steps and implementing robust error handling in your plugins, you can diagnose and resolve these issues effectively.

Remember, thorough testing in a staging environment that closely mirrors production can help catch many issues before they reach your users. Happy debugging!