Business Central Musings

I’m excited to announce the release of the second book in the MB-820 Exam Cram series: Business Central Administration and Automation API!

📚 About This Book

After the success of our first book on Install and Upgrade Codeunits, this comprehensive guide tackles one of the most powerful yet underutilized aspects of Business Central development: programmatic administration and automation through APIs.

This 75+ page deep dive is specifically designed for developers, administrators, and consultants preparing for the MB-820 Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Developer certification exam, while also serving as a practical reference for real-world automation scenarios.

🎯 What You’ll Learn

This book covers everything you need to master Business Central administration automation:

Core Topics Include:

• Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) Program – Understanding partner responsibilities and delegated admin privileges
• Business Central Admin Center – Environment management, sandbox creation, trial extensions, and telemetry
• Admin Center API – Tenant-level operations, authentication, environment management, and telemetry retrieval
• Automation APIs Deep Dive – All 22 endpoints across v1.0 and v2.0, from company creation to scheduled job monitoring
• Company Automation – Programmatically create and configure companies
• Configuration Package Management – Master the Create → Upload → Import → Apply lifecycle with RapidStart packages
• Extension Management – Upload, install, uninstall, and monitor extensions via API
• User & Permission Management – Security groups, permission sets, and user provisioning automation
• Telemetry & Monitoring – Azure Application Insights integration and performance analysis
• BCPT (Business Central Performance Toolkit) – Load testing with concurrent virtual users
• Infrastructure as Code – Complete automation workflows for tenant provisioning and CI/CD integration

💡 Why This Book?

Real Code from Microsoft’s Base Application

Every concept is reinforced with actual production code from Business Central’s System Application and Base Application, including:

• APIV2 Automation API pages (Companies, Config Packages, Extensions, Security Groups)
• Extension Management codeunit (2504)
• Configuration Package Management codeunit (8611)
• Security Group management codeunit (9031)

Complete PowerShell Automation Scripts

Ready-to-use scripts for:

• Automated company provisioning
• Configuration package deployment
• Extension deployment workflows
• Bulk user permission management
• Telemetry monitoring
• Complete tenant hydration

Practical Exercises & Exam Prep

• 10 hands-on exercises with step-by-step solutions
• 10 practice exam questions with detailed answers and explanations
• Answer key section with comprehensive explanations
• MB-820 exam tips highlighting key concepts to memorize
• Real-world scenarios and troubleshooting patterns

🚀 Who Should Read This Book?

• Junior to mid-level BC developers preparing for MB-820 certification
• IT Administrators looking to automate Business Central environment management
• DevOps Engineers building CI/CD pipelines for BC extensions
• CSP Partners needing to standardize customer tenant provisioning
• Consultants implementing infrastructure-as-code practices
• Anyone wanting to move from manual administration to full automation

📖 Book Structure

The book follows a logical progression from fundamentals to advanced automation:

1. Foundation – CSP program, Admin Center basics, API authentication
2. Core APIs – Admin Center API and Automation APIs architecture
3. Company Operations – Creating and configuring companies programmatically
4. Data Management – Configuration packages and RapidStart automation
5. Extension Lifecycle – Publishing, installing, and monitoring extensions
6. Security – Users, permissions, and security group management
7. Monitoring – Telemetry, Application Insights, and performance testing
8. Advanced – Complete automation workflows, error handling, retry logic, CI/CD integration

🎓 Perfect Companion to Book #1

While the first book covered Install and Upgrade Codeunits (essential for extension lifecycle management), this second book tackles administration automation – equally critical for MB-820 success and real-world BC projects.

Together, these books provide comprehensive coverage of:

• Extension development lifecycle (Book #1)
• Environment and tenant administration (Book #2)

💻 Based on Current BC Version

All examples are from the latest Business Central codebase (w1-27 branch), ensuring you’re learning current best practices and patterns that Microsoft uses in production.

🔗 What Makes This Different?

Unlike scattered blog posts or generic API documentation, this book provides:

✅ Structured learning path – From basics to advanced in logical order
✅ Real Microsoft code – Not theoretical examples, but actual production implementations
✅ Hands-on practice – Exercises you can run in your own environment
✅ Exam-focused – Specifically designed for MB-820 certification success
✅ Production-ready – Scripts and patterns you can use immediately in real projects
✅ Complete coverage – All automation endpoints with detailed explanations
✅ Error handling – Real-world patterns for async operations, retries, and rate limiting

📥 Get Your Copy

Purchase on Leanpub →

The book is available now on Leanpub with:

• Instant access to the complete guide
• Multiple formats – PDF, EPUB, and MOBI
• Free updates – Get all future revisions at no extra cost
• Read anywhere – Desktop, tablet, or mobile
• DRM-free – Your book, your way

👉 Get the book now on Leanpub

🎯 Coming Next in the Series

Stay tuned for Book #3, which will cover another critical MB-820 exam topic. Each book in the series is designed to be standalone while building a complete MB-820 exam preparation library.

📚 The MB-820 Exam Cram Series

1. ✅ Book #1: Install and Upgrade Codeunits – Master extension lifecycle management
2. ✅ Book #2: Business Central Administration and Automation API – Master programmatic administration (THIS BOOK)
3. 🔜 Book #3: Coming Soon – Another essential MB-820 topic

💬 Feedback Welcome

This book represents hours of research, code analysis, and practical experience. If you find it helpful in your MB-820 journey or BC development work, I’d love to hear about it!

Questions, suggestions, or topics you’d like to see covered in future books? Drop a comment below!

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Ready to master BC administration automation?
Purchase the book on Leanpub →

Limited time discount 20% off

Good luck with your MB-820 exam preparation! 🎓

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Tags: #MSDyn365BC #BusinessCentral #MB820 #Certification #AutomationAPI #AdminCenterAPI #DevOps #InfrastructureAsCode #PowerShell #BCDevelopment #ExamPrep

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About the MB-820 Exam Cram Series:
This series of focused, practical guides helps developers master specific topics for the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Developer certification exam (MB-820) while building real-world skills applicable to production BC projects.

View all books in the series →