1. Getting started with OrderCloud

Regions and environments

This reference provides a comprehensive list of OrderCloud API servers across all supported regions and environments. Each combination offers specific capabilities and considerations for your implementation.

Regional availability

OrderCloud operates in these Azure regions:

US West

Primary region with established infrastructure:

US East

East coast presence for improved latency:

Australia East

Asia-Pacific coverage:

Europe West

European market support:

Japan East

East Asian presence:

Environment types

Each region supports three distinct environments:

Production

  • Live business operations
  • Maximum performance
  • High availability
  • Full redundancy

Staging

  • Pre-production testing
  • Weekly data sync
  • Integration validation
  • Performance testing

Sandbox

  • Development work
  • Feature testing
  • Integration setup
  • Proof of concepts

Implementation considerations

Region selection

Consider these factors:

  • Geographic location
  • Data residency
  • Network latency
  • Compliance requirements

Environment usage

Best practices:

  • Use Sandbox for development
  • Test thoroughly in Staging
  • Reserve Production for live operations
  • Maintain environment separation

Performance optimization

Tips for best results:

  • Choose closest region
  • Monitor response times
  • Track usage patterns
  • Plan for scaling

Additional information

For detailed documentation about:

Environments

See Regions and environments for:

  • Environment types
  • Usage guidelines
  • Configuration details
  • Operational procedures

OrderCloud environments

OrderCloud provides three distinct environments, each accessible through a unified Portal interface:

  • Free Sandboxes for development and testing
  • Staging for pre-production validation
  • Production for live business operations

Environment definition

An environment represents an isolated OrderCloud API instance that includes:

  • Unique hostname for direct access
  • Dedicated computing resources for performance
  • Independent data storage for security
  • Complete system isolation

This isolation enables:

  • Independent development and testing
  • Separate resource management
  • Controlled data handling
  • Environment-specific configurations

Each environment operates in any of OrderCloud's five regions, requiring the correct base URL for your specific region/environment combination.

Production environment

Production environments serve live applications with real business transactions. These environments provide:

Performance features

  • High-performance infrastructure
  • Maximum availability
  • Geo-redundant data protection
  • Optimized resource allocation

Access control

  • Reserved exclusively for live applications
  • Created after contract finalization
  • Managed creation process
  • No self-service provisioning

Implementation recommendations

  • Begin data loading well before go-live
  • Establish sustainable data migration pace
  • Enable thorough Staging environment testing
  • Support comprehensive UAT processes

Staging environment

Staging provides a testing environment with weekly Production data synchronization:

Synchronization details

  • Weekly restore at 3
    UTC Sunday
  • Complete data refresh
  • Overwrites weekly changes
  • Requires explicit access request

Modified resource handling

  1. Message Senders:

    • Nullified URL property
    • Removed assignments
    • Prevents unintended notifications

  2. Webhooks:

    • Preserved configurations
    • Disabled functionality
    • Empty ApiClients array
    • Prevents external system triggers

  3. Integration Events:

    • Complete removal
    • Prevents integration conflicts
    • Maintains system isolation

  4. API Clients:

    • Nullified integration references
    • Affects multiple event types:
      • OrderCheckout
      • OrderReturn
      • AddToCart
    • Prevents unintended integrations

Post-restore automation

  • Configure automated setup
  • Use Staging Post-Restore webhook
  • Restore test configurations
  • Maintain consistent environment

Sandbox environment

Sandbox environments provide development and testing capabilities:

Access details

  • Free environment access
  • Expandable for active customers
  • Flexible usage options

Ideal use cases

  1. New application development:

    • Initial setup
    • Feature testing
    • Integration validation

  2. Persistent testing:

    • Long-term test data
    • No automatic overwrites
    • Consistent test scenarios

  3. Subset testing:

    • Focused data sets
    • Specific feature validation
    • Performance testing

When to use Staging instead

  • Full production data testing
  • Complete system validation
  • Integration testing
  • UAT processes

Performance considerations

Staging and Sandbox environments operate with scaled resources:

Resource allocation

  • Reduced computing power
  • Limited storage capacity
  • Optimized for development
  • Cost-effective operation

Performance expectations

  • Lower response times
  • Reduced concurrent capacity
  • Basic availability guarantees
  • Development-appropriate performance

Usage guidelines

  • Avoid production-level loads
  • Plan for lower performance
  • Consider resource limitations
  • Monitor system usage

Rate limits

OrderCloud implements marketplace-wide rate limiting:

Current implementation

  • Unpublished limit values
  • Automatic enforcement
  • 403 Forbidden responses
  • Marketplace-level application

Error handling

  • Verify 403 error sources
  • Check error response data
  • Implement appropriate retries
  • Monitor usage patterns

Future considerations

  • Potential endpoint-specific limits
  • More granular control
  • Enhanced monitoring
  • Updated enforcement rules
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