Creating all Azure Resources
What is Azure Resource setup for Straatos Cloud Archive?
The following resources are required and must be created in Azure environment. It is highly recommended to create all Azure Resources in the same Azure region (example: West Europe).
How Does It Work?
This article covers the following key components:
Serves as a container to organize and manage all related Azure resources.
Hosts the Straatos Archive Connector for handling integration and processing.
Enables fast and secure indexing and retrieval of archived documents.
Stores and manages sensitive credentials, secrets, and encryption keys.
Provides durable, secure cloud storage for archived documents.
Maintains metadata, configuration data, and indexing relationships for document retrieval.
Getting Started
To deploy all required resources successfully, follow the steps outlined below.
Names can only include alphanumeric, underscore, parentheses, hyphen, period (except at the end), and Unicode characters that match the allowed characters.
Ensure that Microsoft is listed as the service provider for all Azure resources created.
Azure Resource Group
What is an Azure Resource Group?
A logical container that holds related Azure resources such as virtual machines, databases, and web apps allowing them to be managed collectively. It simplifies resource organization, access control, and lifecycle management across deployments.
Creating Azure Resource Group
In the Homepage of Microsoft Azure please select Create a resource.
In the search bar type in Resource Group and choose the first option.
Select the first result from the list.
Select Create.
Enter your preferred resource group name and click on Review + Create.
The resource group will be created.
Azure Web App Service
What is an Azure Web App Service?
A fully managed platform as a service (PaaS) that enables you to build, host, and deploy web applications using frameworks such as .NET, Java, Node.js, and Python. It abstracts infrastructure management, handles scaling, and enforces security best practices allowing developers to focus on application development.
The Straatos ArchiveConnector runs within an Azure Web App Service, leveraging the platform’s scalability, security, and managed infrastructure.
Creating Azure Web App
In the Overview pane of your resource group, select Create resources to add a new resource.
Use the search bar, enter Web App then select the first result from the list.
Select the first option.
Click on Create.
Please use the following recommended settings to create the Azure Web App.
Name
Web App Service Name (example: webapp-cpro-archive).
Publish
Code.
Runtime Stack
.Net 8 (LTS).
Operating System
Windows.
Region
Same region as the Azure Resource Group (example above: West Europe).
Pricing Plan
Same region as the Azure Resource Group (example above: West Europe).
Azure AI Search
What is an Azure AI Search?
A cloud-based search service that leverages AI capabilities to index, search, and analyze content across diverse data sources. It supports advanced full-text search, cognitive skills such as OCR and entity recognition, and semantic ranking for improved relevance.
In this solution, Azure AI Search enables secure, intelligent document search and retrieval.
Creating Azure AI Search
In the Overview pane of your resource group, select Create resources to add a new resource.
Use the search bar, enter AI Search then select the first result from the list.
Select the first option.
Click on Create.
Use the recommended configuration settings to create the Azure AI Search service.
You may use any name for the Azure AI Search, as long as it meets Azure naming requirements.
Azure Key vault
What is Azure Key vault?
A cloud-based service that securely stores and manages sensitive information such as secrets, encryption keys, and certificates. It enhances data protection by providing centralized access control and secure key management for applications.
Creating Azure Key vault
In the Overview pane of your resource group, select Create resources to provision a new service.
Use the search bar, enter Azure Key vault and select the first result from the list.
Select the first option.
Create the Key vault with the following configuration.
You may use any name for the Key Vault, as long as it meets Azure naming requirements.
By default, the Key vault will implement the settings below. You will not need to configure them.
Access Configuration: Azure role-based access control (RBAC).
Networking.
Azure Storage Account
What is Azure Storage Account?
A scalable cloud storage solution for managing data objects such as blobs, files, queues, and tables. It provides secure, durable, and highly available storage for both structured and unstructured data workloads.
Creating Azure Storage Account
In the Overview pane of your resource group, select Create resources to provision a new service.
Use the search bar, enter Azure Storage Account and select the first result from the list.
Select Storage account.
Click on Create.
Please follow the recommended settings as the image below.
You may use any name for the Storage Account, as long as it meets Azure naming requirements. and choose Geo-redundant storage (GRS) for replication and high availability.
Azure SQL Database
Stores metadata, document index fields, and archive configuration to support efficient document management and retrieval.
An existing SQL server is required. The configuration steps below are intended for creating the database and tables only.
Creating Azure SQL Database.
In the Overview pane of your resource group, select Create resources to provision a new service.
Use the search bar, enter Azure SQL Database and select the first result from the list.
Select SQL Database.
Click on Create.
Create Azure SQL Database using the following settings.
Resource Group
The resource group that was created
Database Name
Any name based on your preference
Server
Follow the server that has been configured for the rest of the Azure Resources
Click Review + create and the Azure SQL Database will be created.
SQL server setup.
In the SQL server, locate the database that was created during the setup process.
Right click the database, then select New Query to open a query editor window.
In the query window, verify that the Database dropdown is set to the database you created.
In the query window, enter the following two lines of code.
The first line creates a user and a password for the Database.
The second line assigns db_owner permissions to the user.
Example of Database Connection String is as below
Data Source=tcp:<servername>.database.windows.net,1433;Initial Catalog=<DBName>;User Id=<Username>;Password=<password>
Overview of Created Azure Components
Upon completion, the following Azure components will be configured:
Azure Resource Group.
Azure Web App Service.
Azure AI Search.
Azure Key Vault.
Azure Storage Account.
Azure SQL Database.
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