Sitecore DMS in Azure

Question

I've deployed the Sitecore on to Azure CD by using Sitecore Azure 3.0.0.

However, I'm not getting any analytics data until I manually update the "analytics" connection string to sql azure.

If anyone has already configured above, could you help me with queries below:

1. Is manual connection string the best solution? Or, am I missing any configuration setting for sitecore azure deploy.

2. Is it possible to Sync SQL Azure analytics to on-premise analytics db? We need this for disaster recovery i.e. to deploy all web,core,analytics to different data centre in event of disaster.

3. Does DMS slow down the performance of Sitecore CD?

Thanks.

Answer 1

1. You can add your "analytics" connection string to the connection string patch file defined in your Sitecore Azure config. Do this via the following steps:

   • Navigate to /sitecore/system/modules/Azure/[Environment]/[Region]/[Farm]/[Role]/[Deployment]
   • In the deployment item (e.g. Staging, Production), you should see a field named "Connection Strings Patch".
   • Scroll down in that field until you see the connection strings for the "core", "master", and "web" databases.
   • Add a connection string element for your "analytics" database. Be sure to use the connection string for the deployment item you're editing, i.e. use your Analytics staging connection string for the Staging item, production connection string for the Production item.
     
     

2. It is not recommended to use Azure SQL Data Sync for backup/disaster recovery (this recommendation is not specific to Sitecore). It is recommended to use a combination of Azure SQL database copying and then Azure SQL database export.

   Also, Azure SQL Data Sync has limitations regarding the database schemas supported. SQL Data Sync is unable to synchronize any table that does not have a Primary Key (the Sitecore Analytics database has a few tables without primary keys).

   Also, SQL Data Sync synchronizes only data but not stored procedures and triggers (the Sitecore Analytics database does have stored procedures).

   Lastly, as your Analytics database grows, a sync operation is likely to take a significant amount of time to complete, whereas a copy operation will still take some time but likely not as much and will place less of a burden on your SQL server.

   • This MSDN article provides and overview of the copy/export process: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/hh852669.aspx#adr3
   • This MSDN article provides details on how to copy Azure SQL databases: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/ff951631.aspx
     
     

3. Yes, Sitecore content delivery server performance is impacted when DMS is enabled. To what extent largely depends on how you're using DMS (e.g. personalization, MV testing, engagement plans) and the amount of traffic your server receives.