Change the default Sitecore CM CD website name and publish folder path

When installing vanilla sitecore 10 and above , make sure you change the default website directory path otherwise the Sitecore will install the content delivery and content managed website in c:/inetpub/wwwroot.

When you download setup file from Sitecore download repository , make sure you make changes to setup files.

1. Update Physical folder path

To update the folder path, update the XM1-SingleDeveloper.json file and change the default value to the desired folder location.

Look for "SitePhysicalRoot" node and child property or attribute "DefaultValues": "c:/{someworkingfolder}/{YourSitecoreWebsiteName}

2. Give IIS_IUSRS permission to sitePhysicalRoot

Make sure the parent folder {someworkingfolder} has the necessary security permissions. Give permission to (IIS_IUSRS)

3. Rename your website name that is hosted in IIS

To update the Local instance to be the same as our current url, update the setup.exe.config file and update the following values: Look for parameter that value ="{prefix}.cd"

parameter that has value="{prefix}.cm" You are all set! Happy Coding!

Why Nextjs Sitecore XMCloud application not to be hosted in Azure App Service?

 Problem Statement

Sitecore strongly recommends serverless hosting for XM Cloud, like Vercel or Netlify. Why Nextjs shouldn't be hosted in Azure App Serice? 

The main reason for not recommending Azure App Services is that it takes a server infrastructure approach to hosting, leading to lower performance, difficulty scaling, and higher management complexity.

Lets see them one by one

1. Performance Limitations:

Since Next.js is a JavaScript application and JavaScript is a single-threaded language, the Node.js runtime for JavaScript is also single-threaded. This means that the single-threaded Node server has to handle all requests to your websites, Experience Edge, image optimization, incremental static regeneration, and more, leading to performance issues.

Workaround
PM2 is often suggested as a solution to Node.js performance issues. However, using this tool adds more complexity, and it has not been established whether it improves performance in an XM Cloud front-end hosting solution.

What is PM2?
PM2 is a production process manager for Node.js applications with a built-in load balancer. It allows you to keep applications alive forever, to reload them without downtime and to facilitate common system admin tasks. 

2. Scalability Limitations

• Efficient scaling requires a content delivery network (CDN). However, Azure App Services does not come with a CDN by default.
• Azure does offer the Azure Content Delivery Network service, but you must manage the endpoint and caching. This leads to further increased complexity. This results into higher management complexities.

3. Network Connection Limits

• A specific limitation of Azure App Services that XM Cloud customers have experienced is the limited network port capacity for outbound network calls. 
• Customers have hit the network connection limits' upper bounds, leading to severe performance degradation.

Estimation prerequisites for Sitecore Migration and upgrade

 When we planning any sitecore upgrade from lower version such sitecore 8.0+ to sitecore 10+. It is always recommended to understand the dependencies , integration touch points and library.

• .Net framework vs .Net core any nuget /assembly/library/dll
• Solr
• Active Directory
• SQL server version
• IIS
• Federated Login Identity
• Asp.net mvc if it is mvc project
• Decide XM vs XP
• Mongo DB database migration to XConnect
• Azure Kubernetes require Sitecore v10.3.0

Sitecore Compatability table- XP|XM

https://support.sitecore.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0087164

Sitecore Solr Compatability table

https://support.sitecore.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0227897

Sitecore MongoDb Compatability table

https://support.sitecore.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0633863

Refused to apply style from launchpad.css because its mime type is not supported

If you happen to load sitecore cms and your static content is broken and unable to load static content like js, css and images then it is due to IIS is not enabled with static content.

Refused to apply style from launchpad.css because its mime type is not supported

 

Resolution:
Go to Control Panel > Turn Windows features on or off > Internet Information Services > World Wide Web Services > Common HTTP Features > Static Content. 

Make sure you run IISreset to see the effect.