How to install nopCommerce on Azure

Preparation of the program for upload to Azure

1. Install Visual Studio 2012 RC Ultimate
http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/11/
2. Install Windows Azure SDK for .NET (for Visual Studio 2012 RC)
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=254364
3. Download the newest version (currently ver2.6) of nopCommerce with source from the following url.
http://nopcommerce.codeplex.com/downloads/get/420033
4. Rebuid the solution with Visual Studio 2012
5. Run src/Prepare.bat and src/Deploy.bat batch files which are included in the nopCommerce source files. They will make all the necessary directories and files under the directory "Deployable"


Setting in Azure

We select [Virtual Machine]  in Azure.  ([Virtual Machine] is not equal to [VM Role])

1. Apply for the subscription of Azure.
http://aka.ms/azure-subscriptionAzure.
2. Apply for the preview of the virtual machine of Azure.
http://aka.ms/azure-subscription#02
3. Sign in Azure portal.
http://manage.windowsazure.com/
4. Create virtual machine by clicking [+NEW] -- [VIRTUAL MACHINE] -- [FROM GALLERY] and install "Windows Server 2012 (Release Candidate)."
5. In Azure Portal, set end points of the virtual machine.
   TCP PUBLIC PORT 80
   TCP PRIVATE PORT 80
6. Click [Connect] icon in the lower pannel of  Azure Portal and start Remote Desktop. Server Manager will be displayed. Then click [Add Roles and Features]  and install "Application Server" and "Web Server (IIS)."
7. Click the Explorer icon at the lower left of Remote Desktop, File Explorer will be displayed. Then copy all the directories and files in the above-mentioned "Deployable" (local machine) into Azure virtual machine's  Inetpub\wwwroot in C drive.


Installing nopCommerce

1. In a  browser of the local machine, navigate Azure URL (http://xxxxx.cloudapp.net)/install
2. In the first installation page of nopCommerce, select SQLServer Compact.
3. Get started Installation.
4. Installation will be completed. It will take much time.


Actual nopCommerce running on Azure

The following is an actual nopCommerce  on Azure.

http://www.digipubrank.net/

It installed 10 language packages. If you select "Japanese" from the upper right language selection dropdown list, Japanese menus and messages will be shown. Moreover, it was set up mobile device ON. So if you access it by mobile such as iPhone and iPad, the menus for the touch panel device will be displayed.

thanks for sharing, really usefull for those cloud users..

I don't quite understand why Nop 2.60 is slow on Azure?
what configuration you are using?
I am thinking of migrating to azure with expectation of boosted performance.

It seems that nopcommerce demo store are pretty fast.

Ohtsu,
I don't think this is a website hosted on Azure. Its just a VM hosted on Azure on which you installed nopC. Its not even on SQL Server its on SQL Compact. That is why there are issues as VMs are naturally resource hungry and you are running a whole OS just to run a website.
Azure is much more than that. Unless a website is hosted in Azure fabric you can't leverage the true power of Azure.

To install nopC on Azure don't use the VM role, there is a separate website role for this. I have installed an instance of nopC on Azure and its extremely fast although I have given it the minimum compute time and resources.

I am pretty much impressed with Azure and hope that nopC Team will consider it in v2.7 (although MULTI STORE is more important :)... ). There are many out-of-the-box websites in the gallery and it would be very nice to see nopCommerce also in the gallery. It will be a very good marketing opprtunity for our community.

The website is hosted at http://nopc.azurewebsites.net/

The best thing is that its absolutely free for upto 10 websites and certain other storage and traffic constratints. You can see the details at http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/pricing/details/

If you need any help about creating the website please do let me know.

infiniti wrote:

why your azure store loads so fast, while mine loads so slow? I am using a large instance VM, and all my images are from
azure blob. but the loading still takes so long:

http://pocomaru.cloudapp.net/

(use firefox or chrome, the ie has some layout issue)

i am using sql azure web

Have you tested my site? Does it have a better response time than your?
I didn't get you when you said that you are hosting on a VM and then you said that it is azureweb?

infiniti wrote:

so i convert the db to sql azure(web version, theyhave business version as well),
and publish nopcommerce as an azure service. I also stored all the pictures to azure blob.
but the performance is horrible..

You don't have to convert SQL databases or deploy it as an azure application. It is deployed just like you would deploy a site on any web hosting platform. There is Web Role which is in the beta right now, you have to enable that first. Then create a site and associate a database with it and FTP your deployment files to it. Then run the nopC install just like you would normally do and the site is ready.

infiniti wrote:

If i am deploying to azure, then i would like everything to be "azure". Thats why I converted database to sql azure( so that i will not need install sql server any more) and use blob storage. Also this is an existing website. running install does not make sense here.

I don't have problem in deploying it to azure. its just that the performance is not satisfying.