Cluster Index
The ClusterIndex value is given to the underlying Microsoft SQL Server database system as a performance tuning choice. This choice generally controls the physical sequence in which the records are stored in the underlying database.[Let's just say we have 100 fields in a table and we need to fetch 3 fields from different locations, then we use cluster index to make it quick]
Primary Index
The drop-down list contains the surrogate key plus every index on the table that has its AlternateKey property set to Yes.
Surrogate key
In AX 2012, a surrogate key is the auto-generated primary key for a table in the database. The surrogate key is linked to the already existing RecId field within any table. This means that the surrogate key is a unique 64-bit integer value that is mandatory for the table and cannot be changed or have duplicates. The fact that it is a 64-bit integer (int64) value means table operations normally perform faster than other types of field such as string fields. This is the main strength of surrogate keys.
Replacement key Index
While a surrogate key is great for lookup and database performance, it is not useful for the end-user because it gives no indication of the table’s purpose, or what related tables it is linked to. For this reason, AX 2012 has added the ‘Replacement Key’ index property for tables. The replacement key index is a dropdown of alternate keys that have been specified for the table. There can be any number of alternate keys for a table but only a single replacement key. More than one field can be specified under a replacement key, and it is these fields that will be displayed to the end-user on a form instead of the surrogate key field.
A replacement key is an alternate key that the system can display on forms instead of a meaningless numeric primary key value. Each table can have a maximum of one replacement key.
Alternate key
A table can have any number of alternate keys. An alternate key may be a natural key or a single field primary key used in foreign or primary key relations with other tables. In either case, to set one, the user must create a new index and then set AllowDuplicates to “No” and AlternateKey to “Yes”. If AllowDuplicates is not set to “No” then AlternateKey should be greyed out and uneditable Reference
CreateRecIdIndex
This property controls whether the system creates a unique index on the RecId field. The default value is Yes. This is the basis of the surrogate key.
No other field is added to this index, not even DataAreaId.
Replacement Key
The drop-down list contains every index that has its AlternateKey property set to Yes.
You might change the default blank value to an index whose field values within each record provide a name or other moniker that is meaningful to people. If a ReplacementKey is chosen, its fields can appear on forms to help identify each record.
The ReplacementKey should be a set of fields that represent the natural key.
Alternate Key
Yes means that other tables can create foreign key relations that reference this key, as an alternative to referencing the primary key.
Indexes with two or more fields cannot have their AlternateKey property value set to Yes.
Configuration key
Configuration keys allow administrators to enable or disable features in the application for all users. Disabling features help to minimize the attack surface against potential attacks.
Configuration keys are applied to:
Tables
Fields
Indexes
Views
Menus
Menu items
Form controls,
Report controls
Extended data types
Enumerations
Security key
Security keys allow administrators to set security on a user group level. Minimizing access on a user group level helps to reduce the attack surface against potential attacks.
The main reasons to apply user-level security are to:
Allow users to do only their designated tasks.
Protect sensitive data in the database.
Prevent users from inadvertently breaking an application by changing code or objects on which the application depends.
You need to apply a security key to:
Tables
Views
Menus
Menu items
Form controls
Report controls