Flows, Connection References and Connections… with some Service Principal Names

Dynamics 365 Business Central

The article discusses the use of Service Principal Names (SPNs) in automated ALM in the Power Platform, highlighting the operational benefits and higher flow limits associated with using SPNs.
It explains the difference between connection and connection reference when creating a Flow in a development environment that connects to Dataverse.
The history lesson section mentions the evolution of how connection information was stored in Flows and the introduction of connection references to link flows to connections.
It emphasizes the importance of creating a single, specific connection reference in the development environment and always using it, regardless of whether SPNs are used or not.
The process of creating an SPN connection is detailed, including the need to create a new SPN connection when the client secret expires.
It advises to create connections separately from connection references to ensure they are specific to the environment and can be easily managed during releases.
The article also mentions the visibility of connections in the Maker portal and the warning that appears when updating flows linked via a connection reference.
Overall, the key takeaway is to consistently use a single connection reference in the development environment and properly manage connections, especially when working with SPNs in automated ALM processes.

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