Install Sitecore Azure and deploy to Microsoft Azure
Install Sitecore Azure, including system requirements and deploying to the Microsoft Azure Cloud.
Use this topic to install Sitecore Azure and deploy to the Microsoft Azure cloud.To install Sitecore Azure, you must first have Sitecore® Experience Platform™ 8.1 (Sitecore XP) installed on your on-premise content editing server, and you must download the Sitecore Azure installation package from the Sitecore Developer Portal. If you want to have separate environments for development, testing, and production, you can do this because you have more than one environment file. Sitecore Azure lets you manage all of these environments from within the same Sitecore installation.
Before you install Sitecore Azure, you must have the following system requirements in place on the on-premise content editing server (Web Server):
Sitecore XP 8.1
If you deploy with xDB Cloud Edition then you must have a Sitecore xDB Cloud Subscription.
Microsoft Windows 64-bit.
Microsoft .NET Framework v 4.5 or higher.
A Microsoft account (formerly Windows Live ID) with a valid Azure subscription. A thirty-day free trial is available at: Microsoft Azure SDK for .NET version 2.7.1.
Download and install the following components of the Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Feature Pack:
Microsoft® System Clear Types for Microsoft SQL Server 2012
Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Shared Management Objects
Download and install Microsoft Azure SDK for .NET version 2.7.1
Configure your web server’s firewall rules to allow Sitecore Azure traffic.
Note
To use Analytics in the Sitecore Cloud, you first need to configure a Sitecore xDB Cloud connection.
To deploy Sitecore to Azure, you must have a Sitecore Azure environment file. Sitecore Azure environment files are configuration files that contain information about your Microsoft Azure subscription.
Important
If you do not have a Sitecore Azure environment file, submit a request for it before you install Sitecore Azure. It can take up to 48 hours to receive the file. However, while you wait for the environment file, you can install the Sitecore Azure package on your Sitecore installation and use the local emulator to test your deployment without incurring any costs.
To request a Sitecore Azure Environment file, in the Sitecore Azure Environment Setup dialog box, enter your contact information, a project name, and your Sitecore license file here.
If you are in China then request a Sitecore Azure Environment file here.
You can download the Sitecore Azure installation package from dev.sitecore.net.
To install the Sitecore Azure installation package:
Log in to your on-premise content editing server as an administrator and open the Sitecore Desktop.
On your Sitecore desktop, click Sitecore Start, Development Tools and use the Installation Wizard to install the Sitecore Azure package. When prompted, overwrite the existing components.
When the installation completes, on the Sitecore desktop, click Sitecore Start, Sitecore Azure. The Local Emulator environment is represented by a single grey dot.
To upload your Sitecore Azure environment file, click Add.
In the Upload Environment File dialog box, click Browse and locate the
Environment.xmlfile, and then click Upload.At this point, you can set up a test environment with the Microsoft Azure Emulator or select a test or production environment.
Note
If you are using your own environment file, you will receive a prompt to upload a management certificate the next time you launch Sitecore Azure. Option A is the simplest way to do this.
The environment types that you can deploy to depend on the type of Microsoft Azure subscription you have, and there are many ways that you can set up Sitecore to assemble a solution to deploy.
Note
You can avoid publishing after deployment by going to web.config, <setting name="DefaultPublishingTargets" value="" />, and setting the default publishing target to Internet (the Web database), if you have not already created a Sitecore Azure farm. You can also minimize deployment time by removing unnecessary files from the document root of the content editing environment.
To add and deploy a new editing farm or a delivery farm to a Microsoft Azure hosting location:
In Sitecore Azure, on the ribbon, in the Environment Type group, choose the environment type you want to deploy to from the drop down box.
On the map, click the relevant Microsoft Azure hosting location, and add the farm type that you want to create. Sitecore Azure supports only one Editing farm and multiple Delivery farms.
In the New Deployment dialog box, specify the settings for instances and web roles:
Number of instances – Specify the number of instances you want to deploy. To ensure high availability, you should choose at least two instances. You can also change the number of instances in an environment.
VM Size – Specify the size of the virtual machine. The default size is Medium, but if you add multiple farms, you should scale up to a larger size. Use a small size for evaluation and test deployments.
Note
Microsoft Azure does not currently support changing the web role size after a deployment is made. You should make a new deployment to the staging slot with the larger Virtual Machine size and swap when the deployment is up and running.
Share databases for Production and Staging slot – The default database selection is to share databases between Production and Staging. If you have separate databases for production and staging, you should clear this check box.
Publishing mode – Select this mode to use a controlled publishing environment when you create an editing farm.
Live mode – Select this mode to make the changes in the content editing farm available on your website immediately. In live mode, the content is not automatically transferred to the delivery farms.
For additional configuration options, click More options to open the farm that you are creating in the Content Editor.
Click Start deployment.
You can follow the progress of the deployment in the info bar at the bottom of the Sitecore Azure dialog box. During the deployment process of an editing farm, you can create a delivery farm on another location.
Note
The deployment processing time can vary greatly between environments, depending on the size of the solution, network conditions, and other factors, expect a minimum of 15 minutes.Creating storage accounts usually takes a long time. However, the deployment time will decrease after the first deployment to a single location. This is because deployments in the same location share storage accounts.
Make sure you are logged in as an administrator. Click
Run.bat.Important
If the error: bat loader could not be found occurs, then rename
RunDevFabricDownloadertobatdownloader (Website/sitecore/shell/Applications/Azure).
Azure deploys your site to a localhost using the next port that is available, (not port 80). In Data/AzurePackages/(0)DevFabric, you can see the files that are being deployed and the folder hierarchy. Note that with each deployment the number (0) increases incrementally.
Note
This step only applies when deploying to a Local Emulator.
You have the following xDB deployment options:
You don't want xDB running on your Sitecore farm.
Use the xDB instructions to disable xDB on the deployment server. The settings are applied to your Sitecore farm during the deployment process.
You want your Sitecore farm connecting the xDB Cloud.
To connect to xDB Cloud you need to obtain an xDB Cloud subscription and follow the Connect to the xDB Cloud from Sitecore Azure instructions.
You want your Sitecore farm to connect to a custom xDB.
Follow the instructions in Connect to your own xDB from Sitecore Azure. You will require a custom xDB to be deployed and ready to implement.