Installing on Azure

Overview

This tutorial demonstrates how to install the Decisions platform on Azure Infrastructure.

Upgrading from v6 to v7?

Please review the Upgrading Decisions (v6 to v7) article for IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS.

For IIS Installations

Ensure that the ASP.NET Core Module V2 in IIS is properly installed. The expected location should be ../ProgramFiles/IIS/Asp.Net Core Module/V2/aspnetcorev2.dll.

Version 7.x .NET Architecture Change:
Versions 7.0.1 - 7.1 require .NET Core 3.1
Versions 7.2 - 7.9 require .NET 5
Versions 7.10+ require .NET 6

Impact on Upgrades:

ALL custom libraries will need to be recompiled for the new .NET architecture.
Custom assemblies will need to be re-written.
Modules may require reinstallation or design refactoring.

Azure Considerations

Create an Azure SQL Server instance.

DB level of at least DTU S4 or P1 should be used since the lower levels greatly restrict transactions per minute, causing timeouts for Decisions SQL queries, especially during installation. Some workloads may require higher throughput, which can be achieved with higher Premium Azure SQL tiers.

Create an Azure VM (any version); the SQL that Decisions generates/executes does not use any recent additions to T-SQL or any of the SQL Server-only functionality.

Note: Select an Azure VM size that meets the following base specifications:

	Production	Non-Production	Repo
D-Series	D4s v3	D4s v3	D4s v3
VCPU	4 or 8 for Advanced Specifications	4	4
Memory	16 GB or 32 GB for Advanced Specifications	16 GB	16 GB
HDD Storage	150 GB	100 GB	100 GB

Example

The app server and the Database Server need to be set to the same Time-Zone.

Once a VM and SQL instance has been created, begin installing Decisions. Open the DecisionsInstaller.exe file, and select Install.

Read the License Agreement, check I accept the terms of the License Agreement, and select Next.

Select an installation Type that fits our needs. Provide Email for Support and select Next.

Under Database Type, select Azure SQL. Under Connection Type, for DB Server, enter the public address for the Azure DB server. Enter anything for DB Database or leave it at the default of Decisions. Under Connection Settings, select MS SQL Security and enter the Azure SQL admin credentials and select Next.

Select Test to verify connection status until the Test Connection text box displays, Testing database connection Status: Success. Now select Next.

SQL Full-Text Warning display text box shows, select next to continue.

In the Domain Name, enter the URL by which the Azure server is accessible where Decisions will be installed. By default, the URL is http://localhost. Select Next.

Select SMTP Direct Server or an SMTP server through which the email should be sent out, select SMPT Server, enter the SMTP server information, and select Next.

Search for any existing key files using the search bar. Select Next to continue.

Verify that all requirements checks pass and then select Next.

Review the installation options. Begin the install process to download the files; select Next.

The installer will begin to download the required files. Select Show Details to see the installation step by step.

The image will display a message that states Installation Finished. The Decisions application has been installed successfully.

After clicking Finish, the Decisions log-in page will load. If the Decisions system was installed on the local machine, the URL will be http://localhost:8081 in the browser’s address bar. The webpage can also be accessed by typing in the DNS or IP address with the port number in a browser. This will navigate users to the login screen.

Note on Port Numbers

For the HTML Portal, users must open the port configured in settings for SignalR and then the next. If Decisions is installed to a default Port, SignalIR will no preference for a specific Port.

Note that without Port specification, the Port is implied from protocol; HTTP uses Port 80, and HTTPS uses 443.

Overview

Azure Considerations

Example

What's Next