Configuring NAS Services

NAS stands for NAV Application Server. If you have applications that used the “Classic” NAS available with earlier version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, you should now be able to use these applications with Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 without significant modifications. Modifications are required for applications that use COM, because server-side COM is no longer supported in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013. This is because not all COM components can execute on 64-bit operating systems.

NAS Services in Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server support applications such as Microsoft Office Outlook Integration and the NAV Job Queue.

Run NAS Services Applications in Dedicated Server Instances

It is recommended that you create a separate Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance for each NAS services application. See How to: Create a Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server Instance.

There are multiple reasons for running NAS services sessions in dedicated Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instances:

• Efficiency and convenience

  When you change any Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server setting, you must restart the instance for the change to take effect, which interrupts all services using that instance. So if you are running different types of services in the same instance—for example, RoleTailored client services and NAS services—making a change to the settings for either service type will require a server instance restart that interrupts all other service types running through that instance.

  Even for different types of NAS services applications it’s wise to run each application in a separate server instance. For example, if you will be using NAS services for a Microsoft Office Outlook Integration application and also for a Microsoft Dynamics NAV job queue application, create a separate Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance for each NAS services application. This way, if you need to modify settings for the Microsoft Office Outlook Integration application you will not affect the Microsoft Dynamics NAV job queue application, and vice-versa.

• Performance

  Configuring NAS services applications to use separate server instances makes better use of the server computer’s resources, allowing you to run more applications with less degradation.

• Efficient error tracking

  If a NAS services session terminates in an error, and there are no other services running on the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance, the service instance terminates and can be handled like any other Windows service. For example, you could configure the Recovery tab on the Service configuration tool in Control Panel to restart or otherwise manage the service.

NAS Services Settings

You configure NAS services using the settings on the NAS Services tab in Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server Administration tool:

Setting	Description
NAS Company	Specifies the Microsoft Dynamics NAV company that opens when NAS services start.
NAS Startup Codeunit	Specifies the codeunit that contains the method that will be called by the NAS Startup Method. Example values: 0 When NAS Startup Codeunit is set to 0, NAS Services do not start. This is the default value. 1 When NAS services start they run the trigger specified by the NAS Startup Method in codeunit 1. 450 When NAS services start they run codeunit 450 (Job Queue – NAS Start Up), and call the method specified by NAS Startup Method. Note When the NAS Startup Codeunit is a single instance codeunit, the NAS services session will remain alive even after executing all code in the specified NAS Startup Method. For information on single instance codeunits, see Using Codeunits.
NAS Startup Method	Specifies the method that will be called in the NAS Startup Codeunit. Example values: "" If no start method is specified (null string), the OnRun trigger is called. StartNAS NAS services runs the StartNAS method in the NAS Startup Codeunit.
NAS Startup Argument	Specifies a string argument to be used when NAS services start. The argument typically specifies an application type, sometimes with additional configuration information. Example: "OSYNCH" "JOBQUEUE"
NAS Debug	When selected, the NAS services session waits 60 seconds before executing the first C/AL statement, to allow time for activating and attaching the NAV Debugger to the NAS services session.

NAS services sessions execute in the time zone specified by the ServicesDefaultTimeZone parameter for Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server. See Configuring Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server for details on this parameter.