Add Sitecore modules

Current version: 10.0

This topic introduces Sitecore module asset images and explains how you use these to include additional Sitecore modules when you build custom Sitecore Docker images. In the example used here, you add the Sitecore PowerShell Extensions (SPE) and Sitecore Experience Accelerator (SXA) modules to a Sitecore Experience Platform - Single (XP0) instance.

Clone the Docker Examples repository

If you have not already done so, clone the Docker Examples repository to a location on your machine, such as C:\sitecore\docker-examples\ (the example uses this folder). We use the custom-images folder in the example.

Prepare the example

The custom-images example requires some preparation before you can run it. If you have not already done so, either follow the preparation steps or run the included init.ps1 script to perform the preparation steps automatically:

  • Open a PowerShell administrator prompt, navigate to the custom-images folder, and run the following command, replacing the -LicenseXmlPath with the location of your Sitecore license file:

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    .\init.ps1 -LicenseXmlPath C:\License\license.xml

Understand Sitecore module asset images

Sitecore provides officially supported module asset images that contain the required files and scripts you need to install a Sitecore module when you build your custom Sitecore images. Similar to your your solution, these asset images are intended as a source during build and they are not used at runtime.

There is a single asset image for each Sitecore module for each topology. Refer to the Sitecore module reference for a list of all modules available.

Note there are no xp0 images. For a Sitecore Experience Platform - Single (XP0) instance, you use the xp1 images (for example, sxa-xp1-assets).

Image structure

Each module asset image contains resources with this file structure:

  • C:\module\[role]\content - Content to overlay base Sitecore images

  • C:\module\db - dacpac files with changes to databases required by the module

  • C:\module\solr - Files used to deploy Solr cores required for the module

  • C:\module\tools - Additional tools and scripts to be executed during Docker image build process

Although you never run an asset image as a container, you can still explore the file system if you run the image with an interactive shell. The Sitecore Docker cheat sheet explains how.

To install a given Sitecore module, use these resources to deploy files, database, and index changes to the base Sitecore runtime images during your custom image build process by adding the required Dockerfile instructions to your Sitecore runtime Dockerfiles.

Apply to Sitecore runtime images

The following example shows the configuration for adding the Sitecore PowerShell Extensions (SPE) and Sitecore Experience Accelerator (SXA) modules to a Sitecore Experience Platform - Single (XP0) topology.

Add Dockerfile instructions

To add Dockerfile instructions for each role:

  • Content Management (CM) role

    Open the Sitecore runtime Dockerfile for the cm service (for example C:\sitecore\docker-examples\custom-images\docker\build\cm\Dockerfile). You can see the module asset images for SPE and SXA are brought in at the start with ARGs (configured in Docker Compose), and then initiated as named build stages spe and sxa to be used later on.

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    ARG SXA_IMAGE
    ARG SPE_IMAGE
    [...]
    FROM ${SPE_IMAGE} as spe
    FROM ${SXA_IMAGE} as sxa

    The required cm Dockerfile instructions are added for both SPE and SXA, just after the WORKDIR instruction.

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    COPY --from=spe \module\cm\content .\
    
    COPY --from=sxa \module\cm\content .\
    COPY --from=sxa \module\tools \module\tools
    RUN C:\module\tools\Initialize-Content.ps1 -TargetPath .\; `
        Remove-Item -Path C:\module -Recurse -Force;

    Notice the COPY instructions have been adjusted to:

    • Use the actual named build stages of spe and sxa for the source --from

    • Use a relative path .\ for the destination, because the preceding WORKDIR sets the working directory to C:\inetpub\wwwroot

    Tip

    To optimize caching, add module instructions before any solution instructions, following the Dockerfile best practice of ordering steps from least to most frequently changing.

  • Microsoft SQL Server (mssql) role

    Now open the Sitecore runtime Dockerfile for the mssql service (for example, C:\sitecore\docker-examples\custom-images\docker\build\mssql\Dockerfile). The same ARG and build stages are declared, and then the required mssql Dockerfile instructions are added for both SPE and SXA.

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    COPY --from=spe \module\db \spe_data
    RUN C:\DeployDatabases.ps1 -ResourcesDirectory C:\spe_data; `
        Remove-Item -Path C:\spe_data -Recurse -Force;
    
    COPY --from=sxa \module\db \sxa_data
    RUN C:\DeployDatabases.ps1 -ResourcesDirectory C:\sxa_data; `
        Remove-Item -Path C:\sxa_data -Recurse -Force;
  • Apache Solr (solr) role

    Finally, open the Sitecore runtime Dockerfile for the solr service (for example, C:\sitecore\docker-examples\custom-images\docker\build\solr\Dockerfile). The same ARG and build stages are declared, and then the required solr Dockerfile instructions are added, in this case only for SXA.

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    COPY --from=sxa \module\solr \sxa_data
    RUN C:\Add-SolrCores.ps1 -SolrPath C:\solr -SolrSchemaPath C:\sxa_data\managed-schema -SolrCoreNames 'sitecore_sxa_master_index,sitecore_sxa_web_index'; `
        Remove-Item -Path C:\sxa_data -Recurse -Force;
    Note

    The SXA module is also included in the cd Sitecore runtime Dockerfile (for example, C:\sitecore\docker-examples\custom-images\docker\build\cd\Dockerfile), for use in XP1 and XM1 topologies.

Configure in Docker Compose

To see how you configure this in Docker Compose:

  • Open the docker-compose.override.yml file at the root of the custom-images folder (for example, C:\sitecore\docker-examples\custom-images\docker-compose.override.yml). The cm service is configured as follows:

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    cm:
      image: ${REGISTRY}${COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME}-xp0-cm:${VERSION:-latest}
      build:
        context: ./docker/build/cm
        args:
          BASE_IMAGE: ${SITECORE_DOCKER_REGISTRY}sitecore-xp0-cm:${SITECORE_VERSION}
          SPE_IMAGE: ${SITECORE_MODULE_REGISTRY}spe-assets:${SPE_VERSION}
          SXA_IMAGE: ${SITECORE_MODULE_REGISTRY}sxa-xp1-assets:${SXA_VERSION}
          TOOLING_IMAGE: ${SITECORE_TOOLS_REGISTRY}sitecore-docker-tools-assets:${TOOLS_VERSION}
          SOLUTION_IMAGE: ${REGISTRY}${COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME}-solution:${VERSION:-latest}
      [...]

The SPE_IMAGE and SXA_IMAGE values are configured to use the Docker image repositories for each module according to the Sitecore module reference. There are no xp0 images, so SXA uses sxa-xp1-assets.

The specific module image tag or version is defined with dedicated SPE_VERSION and SXA_VERSION variables. These are defined in the environment file (.env).

The remainder of the services (mssql and solr) are configured in a similar way.

Run Docker Examples

To run the Docker Examples:

  1. Open a PowerShell prompt and navigate to the custom-images folder (for example, C:\sitecore\docker-examples\custom-images), and run Docker Examples with the Docker Compose up command:

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    docker-compose up -d
  2. After the instance is up and running, browse to https://cm.dockerexamples.localhost/sitecore and log in to Sitecore. Use admin for the User Name and the value you specified for SITECORE_ADMIN_PASSWORD in the .env file (Password12345 by default in init.ps1) for the password.

  3. If you are familiar with Sitecore PowerShell Extensions (SPE) and Sitecore Experience Accelerator (SXA), you can quickly see that the modules are installed.

    If you are not familiar, you can see additional buttons on the Launchpad: PowerShell ISE and PowerShell Reports. These are added by Sitecore PowerShell Extensions (SPE):

    PowerShell icons in Sitecore-
  4. Open the Content Editor. On the root Content folder you can see the Tenant insert options. These are added by Sitecore Experience Accelerator (SXA):

    Tenant insert option in the Content Editor.
  5. When you are finished, stop and remove the containers using the down command:

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    docker-compose down

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