Content Delivery (CD)

Version: 10.1

The Content Delivery (CD) role handles requests from visitors across channels, determines which content to serve, and renders output in the relevant format for the channel.

You can configure one or more content delivery servers for improved scalability and better performance. If you expect to have high numbers of visitors or want to configure servers in different geographic locations, you can arrange content delivery servers into clusters.

Supported infrastructure

You can host the CD role on:

IIS
Azure App Service

Refer to the Sitecore compatibility table for compatible versions.

Reference structure

The CD role has its place in the Sitecore reference structure. It can be referenced by other roles, and it can also reference other roles.

Referenced by

The CD role is not referenced by other roles.

References

The CD role references the following roles:

Storage roles

Role name	Connection string name	Port	Type	Notes
Security database	security	1433	SQL	Optional. Federated authentication is recommended if you have multiple CD clusters.
Web database	web	1433	SQL
Forms database	experienceforms	1433	SQL	The connection strings for the Forms database and for file storage are the same by default. You can create your own file storage provider with a custom connection string. See Manage file storage for forms and The security roles in Sitecore Form for details.
Message Bus	messaging	1433	SQL	If you install Sitecore using SIF, SQL is the default provider. Not applicable to Experience Manager.
Message Bus	messaging	443	Azure Service Bus	If you install Sitecore on Azure, Azure Service Bus is the default provider. Azure Service Bus is available in 9.2 and later.
Private Session State Store	session	1433	SQL	Optional, for SQL session state provider
Private Session State Store	session	6379	HTTP	Optional, for Redis session state provider
Shared Session State Store	sharedsession	1433	SQL	Optional, for SQL session state provider
Shared Session State Store	sharedsession	6379	HTTP	Optional, for Redis session state provider

Note

The Core database is not referenced by the Content Delivery role in Sitecore 9.1 and later.

Application roles

Role name	Connection string name	Default Port	Type	Notes
xConnect Collection service	xconnect.collection		HTTPS
Reference Data service	xdb.referencedata.client		HTTPS
Marketing Automation Operations service	xdb.marketingautomation.operations.client		HTTPS	Generally the same as reporting, unless you split the operations and reporting roles. Used to trigger live events.
Shops		5000	HTTPS	Configured in the /sitecore/commerceEngineConfiguration/shopsServiceUrl config element

The following client certificates and keys are required in a secure production environment:

Used for, role	Connection string name	Type	Notes
xConnect Collection service	xconnect.collection.certificate	Certificate
Reference Data service	xdb.referencedata.client.certificate	Certificate
Marketing Automation Operations service	xdb.marketingautomation.operations.client.certificate	Certificate
Shops	N/A	Certificate	Configured in the /sitecore/commerceEngineConfiguration/certificateThumbprint config element
EXM Dispatch	EXM.CryptographicKey	Key	Must match keys on EXM Dispatch and Content Management.
EXM Dispatch	EXM.AuthenticationKey	Key	Must match keys on EXM Dispatch and Content Management.

Search indexes

Note

The Content Search provider determines how the CD role connects to the indexes. Sitecore supports Azure Search and Solr.

Index	Port, Solr	Port, Azure Search	Type	Notes
Web index	8983	443	HTTPS
FXM Web index	8983	443	HTTPS	Only for XP installations
Web Marketing Definitions index	8983	443	HTTPS
Web Marketing Assets index	8983	443	HTTPS

For more information, see:

Cloud Services

Role Name	Port	Type	Endpoint URL
IP Geolocation	443	HTTPS	geoip-ces.cloud.sitecore.net
Device Detection	443	HTTPS	devicedetection-ces.cloud.sitecore.net

For more information, see:

Other

The Content Delivery role includes a reference to the Package Management Service via the PackageManagementServiceUrl connection string.

Privacy and security

The CD role handles personal data in the following ways:

Reads and utilizes the contact information from the Sitecore Experience Database.
Handles user logins (for example, via federated authentication).
Data submission (for example, via Experience Forms).
Has access to session state data, which includes the following:
- A configurable list of contact facets.
- Any known identifier passed into the IdentifyAs() method.
- The contact ID (loaded into session state in Sitecore 9.2 and later)

Refer to the Security Guide for steps to secure the CD role.

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