Default topologies

Current version: 9.3

Sitecore ships with a number of default topologies. You can configure and deploy your own topology to meet your scaling requirements.

For small implementations, including local environments such as developer workstations and testing environments, you can deploy the platform as three web applications that combine fourteen roles. This topology is known as XP Single:

The XP Single topology.

For larger implementations, you can scale the platform vertically and horizontally to suit your requirements. A fully vertically scaled topology configuration is known as XP Scaled:

The XP Scaled topology.

Parts of a topology

A topology consists of:

  • Web Deploy packages (WDPs) for each role or role combination in the topology. For example, Sitecore 9.X.X rev. XXXXXX (OnPrem)_xp1collection.scwdp.zip is the xConnect Collection service WDP for the on-premise XP Scaled topology. WDPs are .zip files that contain everything you need to set up a role or role combination:

    • The application or worker root, including all required binaries and configuration files.

    • Databases packaged as .dacpac files.

    • SQL scripts to create users, grant user permissions, and make other changes to the database as part of the installation process.

  • Configuration files (Azure Resource Manager templates in Azure) for each role or resource that define parameters used during installation. For example, xconnect-xp1-collection.json defines parameters named SqlCollectionUser and SqlCollectionPassword.

Some topologies, such as on-premise XP Single, include a PowerShell script that installs the entire topology on a single machine.

Web Deploy package variants

Some WDPs have multiple variants. For example, the xConnect Collection Search WDP is available with Solr or with Azure Search:

  • Sitecore 9.X.X rev. XXXXXX (Cloud)_xp1collectionsearchsolr.scwdp.zip is preconfigured to use the Solr search provider.

  • Sitecore 9.X.X rev. XXXXXX (Cloud)_xp1collectionsearch.scwdp.zip is preconfigured to use the Azure Search search provider.

Differences between on-premise (IaaS) and Azure PaaS Web Deploy packages

There are separate WDPs for the IaaS (labelled On-Prem) and Azure PaaS versions of each role. For example, Sitecore 9.X.X rev. XXXXXX (Cloud)_xp1collectionsearch.scwdp.zip and Sitecore 9.X.X rev. XXXXXX (OnPrem)_xp1collectionsearch.scwdp.zip are the Azure PaaS and IaaS versions of the xConnect Collection Search role. Key differences include:

  • Different default providers. For example, the Azure PaaS package uses Azure Search for xConnect Search and Application Insights for logging.

  • Azure-specific configuration in the Azure PaaS packages.

On-premise (IaaS) topologies

Default on-premise (IaaS) topologies include:

  • XP Single

  • XP Scaled

  • XM Scaled

All topologies are available with each release of the platform on the Downloads Portal.

Azure (PaaS) topologies

Azure (PaaS) includes six default topologies. All topologies are available with each release of the platform on the Downloads Portal. Alternatively, use the Azure Marketplace to deploy your chosen default topology.

Roles that are not part of any default topology

The following roles are not part of any topology and you must install them separately, if required:

  • Content Publishing service - replaces traditional publishing. Install to improve publishing performance. Documentation and downloads available on the Downloads Portal.

  • Universal Tracker Processing and Collection services - only required if you have custom functionality that uses this service. Downloads available on the Downloads Portal.

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