ISV vs USR layer in D365 F&O — when to use each?

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Posted on by Raed Bzour

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Hi everyone,

Can someone explain the practical difference between ISV and USR layers in D365 F&O development?

When should I use each one, and can a USR model be packaged and deployed like ISV?

Thanks.

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Martin Dráb 239,240 Most Valuable Professional on at

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Layers are almost irrelevant in F&O. You can't package and deploy layers - you'll use modules/packages instead. A module/package contains one or more models, typically just one, and it's the unit of compilation (you'll get an assembly by building it). You deploy a deployable package, which consists of one or more modules. A layer is merely a property of a model and don't play any role here.

Still, it makes sense to assign each model a layer that corresponds its purpose. ISV, as the same suggests, it intended for ISVs, i.e. when you develop a add-on that you sell to multiple customers. I'd use the USR (user) layer. If you're talking about changes developed by a customer or specifically for a customer, use CUS (customer) layer instead. You can find overview of layers at many places, such as here.

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Raed Bzour 120 on at

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Thank you, Martin!

Can I use the USR layer in Production? I asked one of the AI models and it said to avoid the USR layer because it's not deployable to production. But from what I understand, you can actually create a deployable package from the USR layer and deploy it to any environment including Production.

My specific question: if I want to build customizations and extensions (new tables, data entities, CoC classes) and deploy them to a Production environment, will the USR layer behave exactly the same as ISV or CUS layers at runtime?

Or are there specific limitations in Production that only apply to USR?
Thank you

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Martin Dráb 239,240 Most Valuable Professional on at

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I think I already answered it. It doesn't matter at all; a layer is a merely a property of a model and has no role in deployment at all. And the USR layer isn't special in any way.

Even in older versions when layers were used for deployment, it wasn't true that you couldn't deploy the USR layer.

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