Implementing domain delegation
You can set up a subdomain for a Sitecore Discover integration by using Sitecore-created certificates or your own certificates.
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It allows Discover to circumvent the negative effects of tracking prevention technologies, such as Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) and ad blockers.
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Avoid tracking blocks - ad blockers and intelligent tracking prevention (ITP) technologies commonly block cookies from third-party domains, affecting services like Discover that rely on cookies for anonymous visitor tracking. To circumvent this, you can create a subdomain, like rfk.yourdomain.com, allowing Discover to store cookies under your domain. This approach prevents Discover cookies from being flagged as third-party, ensuring uninterrupted tracking and reporting through your dedicated subdomain.
When you create a subdomain, you avoid common web tracking barriers and enhance the reliability of visitor tracking on your website.
Choosing a domain delegation strategy
For services to work as intended, you must choose a delegation strategy to allow Discover to serve traffic on behalf of your website.
The first step in this process is to define a subdomain format. To do this, you choose one of the following strategies:
There are two strategies you can use to configure domain delegation: CNAME (canonical name) record and subdomain delegation. Choosing a strategy depends on the level of control and management of your DNS (Domain Name System) configuration you want to retain or delegate.
Subdomain delegation
The first possible strategy is to delegate a subdomain like rfk.yourdomain.com to point to nameservers provided by Sitecore.
Here's an example of this strategy as configured in Discover:
CNAME delegation
The second possible strategy is to set up CNAMEs with subdomains such as <somename>.rfk.customerdomain.com. Sitecore provides the CNAME entries.
The following is an example of this strategy as configured in Discover:
Setting up your delegation strategy
When Sitecore has completed the configuration of your subdomains in Discover and provided you with the required NS records, you must add them to your DNS service provider.
After you have added the record, you can verify that your setup is correct by searching for your domain’s NS record or DNS record. You can also run the following command on your terminal:
$ host -t NS rfk.<yourdomain>
The following example shows the terminal command to find the NS records for a rfk.riggsandporter.com subdomain, followed by the results of that command:
$ host -t NS rfk.riggsandporter.com
rfk.riggsandporter.com name server ns-1262.awsdns-29.org.
rfk.riggsandporter.com name server ns-1868.awsdns-41.co.uk.
rfk.riggsandporter.com name server ns-450.awsdns-56.com.
rfk.riggsandporter.com name server ns-709.awsdns-24.net.Choosing a certificate strategy
Sitecore Discover uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificates to secure the connection between a visitor's browser and the Discover service, ensuring data privacy and integrity. You set up certificates during domain delegation. There are two strategies: using Sitecore-generated certificates and using your own certificates.