Content Studio have quite low requirements on the server hardware. Almost any Windows server available today is powerful to host a Content Studio site. However, to get good performance it is very important that the hardware supports the performance requirements. Much of the actual performance behavior depends on the requirements of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft SQL Server, in combination with the expected work load.

Hardware components

To enable good performance it is important that no component in the server architecture becomes a bottleneck. The table below summarizes the generic recommendations.

Typically the web server and the database server are located on separate machines for optimal performance. It they are located on the same server, that server needs capabilities corresponding to the sum of the two servers. For instance, if they separately require 1Gb of RAM, then a compbined server should have at least 2 Gb of RAM.

Failover och redundancy

To ensure a safe and stabile server environment, the failover and redundancy aspects must be considered. I power failure backup system should be installed to manage power failure. It is a good idea to have mirrored disks to eliminate moste cases of hard disk problems. None of this is specific to Content Studio, but rather a natural part of maintaining a Windows Server.

Backup

As with all server environments it is of great importance to always backup tha data on the servers. Content Studio keeps all data stored in the database. Therefore it is sufficient to to regular backups of the database (according to the instructions of SQL Server). In case of recovery, just recover the database information and synchronize the file system with the new database. Content Studio has no specialized backup routines.

If the whole server craches, Content Studio must be reinstalled. After the installation, simply reload the most recent database backup as described above. Users and groups may also be redefined, but all of this is a part of normal maintenence of Windows Servers.

External databases

If a Web site built on Content Studio needs to communicate with external databases or systems, a developer can use the rich set of namespaces and classes the .NET Framework data access provides. Connection strings to external databases can be stored in the web.config file and used whenever needed.

Virtual Servers

Content Studio can be used on virtual server hosted in ex. VM-ware or Microsoft Virtual Server. This can be very convenient for the administrator and reduce the number of physical servers in the company. This can lower the hardware and energy costs as well. A common problem is that performance problems can occur if the server adminstrator allow to many virtual machines on the server or if insufficient hardware resources is dedicate to the Content Studio server or the database server. As always, the administrator must carefully investigate the needs that Content Studio will need for the web site and relate this needs to the total needs of all virtual machines on the server.

Proxy server

[to be completed]

Firewall

[to be completed]

Configuration examples

The recommendations below should be considered as guidelines when dimensioning the server environment. A configuration with lower capabilities may still work, but possibly with less good performance. The examples are based on the situation during the summer of 2007.

Very small web site

This example is aiming at a very small web site, possibly only used for testing, devlopment and demonstratinos. Only hosting one web site with a few users at the same time. The web server and the database server are on the same physical machine.

Small web site

This example is aiming at a small web site. It hosts one or two web site with a limited number of users at the same time. The web server and the database server are on the same physical machine.

Large web site

This example is aiming at a rather large web site. The web server is separated from the database server.

Very large web site

This example is aiming at a large web site with about 1 million visitors each month. The content is mixed with about 50% stored in cache. The web server is separated from the database server.