What's New: Server and Database (2026 release wave 1)

Overview

The session covers the server and database area of 2026 release wave 1. The stated investments are performance, more effective document layouts, and security hardening.

It describes memory work (a new platform codeunit for base64 conversion with stream support), index usage insights, analysis view definitions in AL apps, a Word add-in update with layout lifecycle statuses, security changes including stricter HTTP client URI validation, and added telemetry for MCP and client hardware and network. Later telemetry on large JSON and XML documents and size limits on objects are mentioned as coming.

Key points

• The MCP server supports protocol compliance, so MCP clients other than the default one can be used. MCP resources (file support) allow data extraction, for example for statistical analysis.
• Memory per tenant is lower and base64 handling is optimized. A new platform codeunit converts base64 with a smaller memory footprint, and a new method can write the result to a stream.
• Existing code needs no changes. Expect fewer out-of-memory exceptions, but new AL errors when excessive memory use is caught, for example on very large documents. Put limits in and use the stream overloads.
• Index insights show how much space indexes use and whether they are used. Metadata-defined indexes can be turned off and back on, and auto-tuned indexes can be removed to reclaim space. Many indexes make write operations slower.
• AL developers can ship analysis view definitions in apps: define the view in the client, export it to JSON, add metadata, and include it in the app.
• The Word add-in for document reports has a better UI, search in the data picker and an easy way to define tables. Report layouts now have a lifecycle status: draft, pending approval, approved and retired.
• HTTP client URI validation is hardened to limit outgoing calls from AL, such as calls to internal ports. It is mandatory in hosted environments, has two server settings on-premises, and was backported to versions 26 and 27.

Features

A status with a roadmap link comes from the Microsoft 365 roadmap feature this part of the video covers (matched by Haiku; links Opus dropped are not used); other statuses need a status word in the video itself.

AL objects mentioned

As heard in the captions. A name that matches one object page by exact type and name links to it; the others stay as named.

• codeunit “platform code unit for dealing with base 64 conversion” at 2:24

Not found in BC28-30: codeunit “platform code unit for dealing with base 64 conversion”.

Quotes

• 0:27 “The main investments in this release wave are three things. Make it faster, more effective document layouts, and hardening or security.”
• 2:09 “we realized that one of the common causes of varying performance was basically memory pressure, and a lot of the memory pressure comes actually”
• 3:13 “You don’t need to change any code. What you’ll see is fewer out of memory exceptions, but also AL errors where we have caught”
• 5:35 “Plus, having a lot of indexes can make write operations smaller, not smaller, but slower.”
• 5:59 “Analysis mode is a hugely popular feature with with Business Central users. And in this release wave, we allow AL developers to include analysis”
• 8:28 “we have hardened the URI validation in the HTTP client, so that we now limit more outgoing calls from your AL code”
• 9:25 “This has been backported to 26, version 26 and 27, which is wave 1 2025 and wave 2 2025, and it is in effect”

Disclaimers in the video

• 4:14 coming-later: We will add telemetry also for partners on large JSON documents, large XML documents, etc. And at some point, we are also going to put in limits on the sizes of objects.

Presenters (as heard): Kenny Pontopidan, Jens Miller Peterson.