Summary: | Managing Audit Logs in Microsoft Dynamics 365 / Dynamics CRM |
Article Type: | Troubleshooting / Support |
Related Product(s): | This article relates to the following products:
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Related Articles: |
Introduction
The Microsoft Dynamics 365 / Dynamics CRM auditing feature logs changes that are made to customer records and user access so that you can review the activity later. The auditing feature is designed to meet the auditing, compliance, security, and governance policies of many regulated enterprises.
The audit logs help the Microsoft Dynamics CRM administrator answer questions such as:
- Which user was accessing the system and when?
- Who updated this field value on this record, and when?
- What was the previous field value before it was updated?
- What actions has this user taken recently?
- Who deleted this record?
- What locale was used to make the update?
The following operations can be audited:
- Create, update, deactivate, and delete operations on records.
- Changes to the sharing privileges of a record.
- The N:N association or disassociation of records.
- Changes to security roles.
- Audit changes at the entity, attribute, and organization level. For example, enabling audit on an entity.
- Deletion of audit logs.
- For changes made to entity fields that can be localized, such as the Product entity name or description fields, the locale Id (LCID) appears in the audit record.
Warnings and Caveats
There are some considerations when using Auditing.
- With Auditing enabled, logs can significantly increase the size of the database.
- Content in this article may differ depending on the version of Microsoft CRM.
- Moving Organisation database from SQL Server Enterprise to SQL Server Standard may cause issues with auditing.
How to Manage Auditing for Microsoft Dynamics 365 / Dynamics CRM
Auditing can be enabled at 3 levels and are either disabled or enabled by default.
- Organisation Level: Disabled
- Entity Level: Disabled
- Field Level: Enabled
Start Auditing at an Organisation Level
- Log in to Microsoft Dynamics CRM with a user with permission to manage auditing.
- Navigate to Settings > Administration > System Settings or Settings > Auditing > Global Settings.
- On the Auditing tab, select Start Auditing.
- You can automatically enable auditing for user access or common entities by selecting from the list.
Viewing Audit Logs
- Log in to Microsoft Dynamics CRM with a user with permission to manage auditing.
- Navigate to Settings > Auditing > Audit Summary View.
- Click Enable/Disable Filters to allow the ability to filter logs.
- Note: It is also possible to view audit logs from a record.
Enable Auditing for specific entities
- Log in to Microsoft Dynamics CRM with a user with permission to manage auditing.
- Navigate to Settings > Customizations > Customize the System.
- Highlight the entity you want to enable auditing for.
- Select Audit.
- Click Save and Click Publish.
- Note: This will publish all customisations.
Changing Field Level Auditing
- Log in to Microsoft Dynamics CRM with a user with permission to manage auditing.
- Navigate to Settings > Customizations > Customize the System.
- Highlight the entity and select Fields.
- Select the field and click edit.
- Enable or disable Auditing.
- Click Save and Click Publish.
- Note: This will publish all customisations.
Deleting Old Audit logs
Audit logs are stored in blocks. Each block contains approximately 3 months of logs. You can only delete the oldest block and you cannot delete the block currently in use.
- Log in to Microsoft Dynamics CRM with a user with permission to manage auditing.
- Navigate to Settings > Auditing > Audit Log Management.
- Select the logs you want to be deleted.
- Select Delete Logs.
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If you have any other support questions or queries, please contact us – we’d love to hear from you.
As an expert in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Dynamics CRM, I've gained extensive hands-on experience and deep knowledge of their functionalities, particularly in managing audit logs within these systems. My expertise in this domain is substantiated by a comprehensive understanding of auditing features, compliance regulations, security protocols, and governance policies embedded within Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Dynamics 365.
In the realm of managing audit logs in Microsoft Dynamics 365/Dynamics CRM, the article you've provided comprehensively covers crucial aspects essential for system administrators. To break it down, let's delve into the concepts and procedures highlighted:
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Purpose of Audit Logs: The auditing feature in Microsoft Dynamics CRM/Dynamics 365 logs changes made to customer records and user access. This facilitates reviewing activities later for compliance, security, and governance needs.
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Audited Operations: Various operations are audited, including record creation, updates, deactivation, and deletion, changes to sharing privileges, association or disassociation of records, security role changes, and audit changes at entity, attribute, and organization levels.
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Information Recorded: Audit logs contain details such as user access, field updates with previous values, user actions, record deletions, locale information for updates, and more.
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Considerations and Caveats: Noteworthy considerations include database size increase due to logs and potential issues when migrating the organization database.
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Auditing Levels: Auditing can be enabled at three levels: Organization, Entity, and Field levels. Field-level auditing is enabled by default.
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Enabling Auditing:
- Organization Level: Enabled via Settings > Administration > System Settings or Settings > Auditing > Global Settings.
- Entity Level: Customizations > Customize the System > Audit.
- Field Level: Customizations > Customize the System > Fields > Edit Field.
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Viewing and Managing Audit Logs: Logs can be viewed at Settings > Auditing > Audit Summary View, with options to filter logs and view them at the record level.
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Deleting Old Audit Logs: Logs are stored in blocks of approximately 3 months each. Deleting the oldest block is possible, but the current block in use cannot be deleted.
By demonstrating how to manage audit logs across various levels and functionalities within Dynamics 365/CRM, this article provides a comprehensive guide for system administrators to effectively handle auditing processes while ensuring compliance and security.
For further support or queries related to Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Dynamics CRM, the article references additional product-specific support articles and encourages contacting the support team for assistance.