MongoDB support and deployment options in Sitecore 7.5
By: Sitecore MVP Glen McInnis
One of the biggest changes in Sitecore 7.5 is the introduction of its newest database: MongoDB. Thought must be given to how you will both deploy and support this new analytics database. We lay out a few options for both:
When planning for a deployment of Sitecore 7.5, including an upgrade, you need to be ready for a new architectural component in xDB — the NoSQL database platform MongoDB.
Rest assured, the normal SQL Server databases you know and love are still there. MongoDB acts as a supplement to the traditional relational databases, as an analytics collections store and possibly a state server. Sitecore depicts the architecture in the following diagram:
When introducing a new product into your environment, it’s important to consider your deployment and support options. I’ve put together a list of three:
- Open source (DIY): MongoDB is an open source project. Anyone can download the fully functioning database from http://www.mongodb.org/. If your IT team is comfortable with the product and supporting open source systems you can avoid the related licensing costs.
- Commercial support: MongoDB Inc. is the commercial entity behind the MongoDB project. They offer two commercial support options: MongoDB Enterprise Advanced and MongoDB Management Service or MMS, which is a cloud service and provisioning tool (currently, the best supported cloud available is Amazon AWS).
MongoDB Enterprise Advanced has an annual per server (512 GB RAM max) price of $10,000 USD. Support is 24/7 and 365 day a year; the SLA time is one hour.
Once you’ve signed up for an MMS account, the next step is to select the deployment target. If you intend to deploy to Amazon AWS you will need to have your EC2 API Keys.
The MMS service is free for the first 8 servers, then $50 / additional server / month with the first 1 GB of backup being free. Additional backup can be purchased at $2.50 / GB / month.
- Sitecore xDB Cloud Edition: Available through the Sitecore App Center, this service comes directly from Sitecore (running in the Azure cloud) and provides the components required to run a high availability production MongoDB service; non-production environments are also available. The pricing is based on the number of contacts in the database. At present this service is focused on MongoDB, but Sitecore has indicated that additional services will be available in the future, including indexing.
As you can see there are a host of options available in your deployment of MongoDB. If you need some assistance in you upgrade or deployment, drop us a line.
