ebook : SharePoint to Sitecore: Strategy and Implementation

Sharing my 6th eBook with Sitecore community - "SharePoint to Sitecore: Strategy and Implementation".

SharePoint to Sitecore

There are multiple ways to move data and images from SharePoint to Sitecore. I tried my best to include all the approaches but explained one approach which worked for me in Sitecore 9 update 1 instance.

You can read and download this ebook from here:

I hope you like this eBook.

Please leave your comments or share this eBook if it’s useful for you.

Sitecore installation 503 error : digged the mountain and found a rat

I was installing Sitecore 9 update 1 on desktop machine with Windows 10 Enterprise as OS and IIS 10.

At "UpdateSolrSchema : SitecoreUrl" stage, I received this error

[---------------------------------------- UpdateSolrSchema : SitecoreUrl ---------------------------------------------
[UpdateSolrSchema]:[Requesting] habitat.dev.local/.../PopulateManagedSchema.aspx
Install-SitecoreConfiguration : Error requesting habitat.dev.local/.../PopulateManagedSchema.aspx
The remote server returned an error: (503) Server Unavailable.
User Name         habitat\user1
[UpdateSolrSchema]:[Requesting] http://habitat.dev.local/sitecore/admin/PopulateManagedSchema.aspx?indexes=all
Install-SitecoreConfiguration : Error requesting
http://habitat.dev.local/sitecore/admin/PopulateManagedSchema.aspx?indexes=all: The remote server returned an error:
(503) Server Unavailable.
At C:\code\install-xp0.ps1:272 char:9
+         Install-SitecoreConfiguration $SitecoreConfiguration `
+         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (:) [Write-Error], WriteErrorException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.WriteErrorException,Install-SitecoreConfiguration

When I checked my new Sitecore website were available in IIS, but when I try to run them , I was getting 503 errors.

I googled it find out that its something related with Windows 10 patches.
I tried different solutions suggested by developers like App pool settings, permission, SOLR availability issues but none of them work for me.

Solution:-

My initial doubt  was on Windows 10 Enterprise machine as I done the installations on Windows 10 Professional several time and didn't encountered any issue. After spending several hours Windows 10 Enterprise OS seems to be fine and have all the patches in place.

This machine was running in client office environment. So their IT team using proxy to access internet. This proxy is blocking all local websites to run in browser. When I disabled this, my Sitecore applications started to work.
 
To disabled proxy
Open Internet explorer -> Goto Tools Menu -> Select Internet Options -> Click Connections Tab -> Click on LAN Settings Button -> Disabled checkbox of Proxy 
server section.

Proxy Settings in Internet Explorer

I spend 2 days to figure out this issue. I dug up the mountain and all I could find was a dead rat.

I hope this tip will help somebody to resolve similar issue.

SSL certificates role in Sitecore 9

When you installed Sitecore 9 and above, setup should finished with two websites. Normally names like "*.dev.local" and "*_xconnect.dev.local".

Lets take an example of Habitat site.
 
"habitat.dev.local" runs on port 80 and 443 while "habitat_xconnect.dev.local" runs on HTTPS using 443 port. For running on HTTPS, we have to bind it to certificates.

Some of the questions about certificates that come to our mind are

• How to bind certificates to websites?
• How to change certificates to websites?
• Where to find certificates?
• Where to specify their thumbprint values?

How to bind/change certificates to these websites
Select website -> Click on Bindings -> Select Site running on port 443 and click on Edit -> Click on View button to view SSL certificate.
or change certifcates from available SSL certificates dropdownlist list.

SSL Certificate in IIS

 
Where to find certificates
For this click on Start -> search for "Manage Computer Certificates" -> This should open "certlm" -> Expand Personal -> Select "Certificates" -> Select your website and double click website -> This should open "Certificate" window -> Select "Details" tab -> Check "Thumbprint" property as shown below

Available certificates in machine

You will get three certificates for each Sitecore 9 instance.

• habitat.dev.local
• habitat.dev.local.xConnect.Client
• habitat_xconnect.dev.local

We can guess what are "habitat.dev.local" and "habitat_xconnect.dev.local", but what is "habitat.dev.local.xConnect.Client"?

Sitecore 9 is like client-server model where client is Sitecore webiste "habitat.dev.local" whereas xConnect instance "habitat_xconnect.dev.local" act as a server.

So if client want to communicate with server over secure HTTPS channel, they must agree with one thumbprint key. This thumbprint key is specified in new certificate "habitat.dev.local.xConnect.Client".

Where to specify thumbprint values for Sitecore and xConnect instances?
You have to specify thumbprint value of "habitat.dev.local.xConnect.Client" at below locations.

For Sitecore website instance
 
Open "ConnectionStrings.config" from "C:\inetpub\wwwroot\habitat.dev.local\App_Config" and check below keys for client certificate thumbprint value

• xconnect.collection.certificate
• xdb.referencedata.client.certificate
• xdb.marketingautomation.reporting.client.certificate
• xdb.marketingautomation.operations.client.certificate

Thumbprint value in connectionstring.config

For xConnect instance
Open "AppSettings.config" from "C:\inetpub\wwwroot\habitat_xconnect.dev.local\App_Config" and check "validateCertificateThumbprint" key value.

Thumbprint value in AppSettings.config

Certificate is complex subject but I hope these details helps you to understand certificates role in Sitecore 9. Stay tuned for more Sitecore related articles.

Till that happy Sitecoring :)

Sitecore 9 Certification

#sitecore certification was missing from my profile from a long time. Cleared Sitecore 9.0 Certification today

Sitecore 9 updates

I was eagerly waiting for Sitecore 9. Now Sitecore 9 is officially released and available for download at https://dev.sitecore.net/Downloads/Sitecore_Experience_Platform/90/Sitecore_Experience_Platform_90_Initial_Release.aspx

Here is the minimum requirement for running Sitecore XP 9

IIS	IIS 10.0 IIS 8.5
Operating Systems	Windows Server 2016 Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit) Windows 10 (32/64-bit) Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit)
.NET Framework	4.6.2 or later
Visual Studio	Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 or later
Database	Microsoft SQL Server 2016 SP1 Microsoft SQL Server 2014 SP2
Browsers	Microsoft Internet Explorer 11. Mozilla Firefox 54, 55, 56. Google Chrome 60, 61. Microsoft Edge 40. Apple Safari 9, 10, 11.
Hardware requirement	4 core processor 16GB of RAM

So what are you waiting for guys? Download, install and start playing with Sitecore 9.