Configuring Azure storage

In some situations, it may be beneficial to store files of an on‑premise website on a Microsoft Azure Blob Storage account rather than on a local disk.

• For example, if your server has a limited storage capacity and you need to save large amounts of file data. Using Microsoft Azure may be more convenient than upgrading your server, especially if the increased requirements are only temporary.
• The same applies when running Kentico in Azure Web Apps, where use of blob storage is optional (unlike with Cloud Services).

There are two approaches for connecting an Azure storage to your project:

• Store only media files on Azure storage (recommended)

  • We recommend that you map only media library folders to the Azure storage. This allows you to store large media files on a shared storage and optionally use an Azure CDN for this data, while avoiding issues related to Smart search and Web analytics functionality.

• Map the whole file system to Azure storage

  • We do not recommend mapping the whole file system to the Azure storage because of possible problems with Smart search and Web analytics functionality. These features use data that is not suitable for shared file systems.

Configuring Kentico to store only media files on Azure storage

To map media library folders to Azure storage, use the API and the built-in Azure storage provider:

1. Add the following keys to the appSettings section of your project’s web.config file. Specify the storage account name and primary access key:

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    <add key="CMSAzureAccountName" value="StorageAccountName" />
    <add key="CMSAzureSharedKey" value="PrimaryAccessKey" />
   
   
    

   To locate the values of these keys on Microsoft Azure:

   1. Open the Azure Management Portal in a browser and log in.
   2. Click Storage.
   3. Select your storage.
   4. Click Manage access keys on the bottom panel.
      • Use the Storage account name and Primary access key values.

2. Open the Kentico web project in Visual Studio (using the WebSite.sln or WebApp.sln file).
3. Create a new class in the App_Code folder (or CMSApp_AppCode -> Old_App_Code on web application projects).
4. Extend the CMSModuleLoader partial class.
5. Create a new class inside CMSModuleLoader that inherits from CMSLoaderAttribute.
6. Add the attribute defined by the internal class before the definition of the CMSModuleLoader partial class.
7. Override the Init method inside the attribute class:
   • Create a new instance of the Azure storage provider.
   • (Optional) Specify the target container using the CustomRootPath property of the provider.
   • (Optional) You can specify whether you want the container to be publicly accessible using the PublicExternalFolderObject property of the provider. True means the container is publicly accessible.
   • Map a directory to the provider. This is the directory that you want to store in the container.

using CMS.IO;
using CMS.Base;

[CustomStorage]
public partial class CMSModuleLoader
{    
    private class CustomStorageAttribute : CMSLoaderAttribute
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// The system executes the Init method of the CMSModuleLoader attributes when the application starts.
        /// </summary>
        public override void Init()
        {
            // Creates a new StorageProvider instance
            AbstractStorageProvider mediaProvider = new StorageProvider("Azure", "CMS.AzureStorage");

            // Specifies the target container
            mediaProvider.CustomRootPath = "mymediacontainer";

            // Makes the container publicly accessible
            mediaProvider.PublicExternalFolderObject = true;

            // Maps a directory to the provider
            StorageHelper.MapStoragePath("~/MySite/Media/", mediaProvider);
        }
    }
}

8. Save the file. If your project is installed in the web application format, rebuild the solution.

The system now stores files from the ~/MySite/Media/ folder in the mymediacontainer on the Azure storage.

Configuring Kentico to map its file system to Azure storage

1. Add the following key into the appSettings section of your project’s web.config file.

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    <add key="CMSExternalStorageName" value="azure" />
   
   
    

   This key maps the entire file system of your application to the Azure storage.

2. Add the following keys to specify the storage account name and primary access key:

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    <add key="CMSAzureAccountName" value="StorageAccountName" />
    <add key="CMSAzureSharedKey" value="PrimaryAccessKey" />
   
   
    

   To locate the values of these keys on Windows Azure:

   1. Open the Azure Management Portal in a browser and log in.
   2. Click Storage.
   3. Select your storage.
   4. Click Manage access keys on the bottom panel.
      • Use the Storage account name and Primary access key values.

Optional web.config settings for Azure storage

<add key="CMSAzureTempPath" value="C:\AzureTemp" />

 <add key="CMSAzureCachePath" value="C:\AzureCache" />

 <add key="CMSAzureBlobEndPoint" value="http://127.0.0.1:10000/devstoreaccount1" />

 <add key="CMSAzurePublicContainer" value="true" />

 <add key="CMSAzureCDNEndpoint" value="kentico123.vo.msecnd.net" />

<add key="CMSDownloadBlobTimeout" value="50" />