SDL Web 8 Installation - Content Delivery on separate server

Question

I have installed Web 8 and plan, to install the CD roles on a separate server as a distributed architecture and to use DXA 1.5.

So far I have created the required databases (Tridion_Broker, Tridion_CM, Tridion_Topology, Tridion_DS for discovery service and Tridion_XPM for Experience Manager) and installed the CME on a single server.

I would like to know what are the steps required to configure Content Delivery on a separate server. Also, are there any best practices to be followed for a distributed architecture like this one.

Answer 1

The short answer is "Follow the documentation". I would say 95% of implementations are distributed between CM and CD machines (and often more with dedicated GUI, Search, Publishing and DB on the CM side), normally with a firewall between them and the CD side (which is built for even more distribution between caching, deploying, rendering and presenting content). You will find plenty of scenarios online.

The only real communication between them is the transport service and topology manager which normally uses HTTP/HTTPS, so make sure those ports are open. Out of the box the CM talks to Discovery and Deployer, which typically run on port 8082 and 8084 respectively.

If these machines are not both behind a firewall I would recommend running all of the CD services with HTTPs. I have found the easiest way to achieve this is to make one endpoint (something like "https://cdservices.mydomain.com", and set up URL routing to send the CD calls to different micro services as follows:

https://cdservices.mydomain.com/Content > http://localhost:8081 https://cdservices.mydomain.com/Discovery > http://localhost:8082 https://cdservices.mydomain.com/Deployer > http://localhost:8084

This means you only need to open one port (443) in the firewall, which simplifies setup.

Answer 2

I would add that if you are trying to use AWS, for instance, you may need to open the port(s) you need access to in the EC2 Network and Security section, as well as in your Windows Firewall Inbound Rules, if applicable.