KB-1399 How to deploy Appian on Microsoft Azure Cloud

Introduction

Deploying Appian on Azure is easy. Once you have selected the target environment, the installation instructions are no different that running through an Self-managed installation. The same recommendations and best practices apply.

There are many online resources that cover in detail how to create, manage, and configure Virtual Machines in Microsoft Azure, including samples. A few of note are listed below:

• Windows Virtual Machines Documentation
• Linux Virtual Machines Documentation

Note: The steps to create a new VM are subject to change at any time. Please consult Microsoft for assistance with creating a virtual machine within Azure.

Creating a new virtual machine

Like other cloud providers, Microsoft Azure makes it easy to deploy virtualized environments. They support both Linux- and Windows-based systems and can be available to you in just a few clicks. To get started:

1. Login to https://portal.azure.com
2. Click on the New button found on the upper-left hand corner of the portal.
3. Select Compute, and then select one of our supported OS platforms, such as Windows Server, Red Hat Linux or Ubuntu. For more details, please review the System Requirements page for the version of Appian you wish to install on Azure.
   
4. Enter the Virtual Machine Information. When done, click Ok.
   
5. Choose an appropriate size for your environment. In order to do this, please review our Systems Requirements. Our Solutions Consulting team can also help you determine your Hardware Sizing recommendations given your current or estimated needs. Please contact your Account Executive for more details. You may click on View All to see all options.
   
6. Complete the settings page with details such as Network, Subnet, Public IP address settings per your requirements. 
   
7. Once final validations are done, press Purchase.
   
8. The new VM will be pinned to your Azure portal dashboard. Once the deployment is complete, the VM summary blade automatically opens.

Connect to the virtual machine

Windows Servers

To create a remote desktop connection to the virtual machine, perform the following:

1. Click into the newly created VM window on your Azure Dashboard.
2. Click the Connect button on the virtual machine properties. A Remote Desktop Protocol file (.rdp file) is created and downloaded.
   
3. To connect to your VM, open the downloaded RDP file. If prompted, click Connect. On a Mac, you need an RDP client such as this Remote Desktop Client from the Mac App Store.
4. Enter the username and password you specified when creating the virtual machine, then click Ok.
5. You may receive a certificate warning during the sign-in process. Click Yes or Continue to proceed with the connection.

Install IIS using PowerShell

On the virtual machine, start a PowerShell session and run the following command to install IIS:

Install-WindowsFeature -name Web-Server -IncludeManagementTools

Open port 80 for web traffic (optional)

If you wish your server to be accessible from the internet, please follow these steps:

A Network security group (NSG) secures inbound and outbound traffic. When a VM is created from the Azure portal, an inbound rule is created on port 3389 for RDP connections. Because this VM hosts a webserver, an NSG rule needs to be created for port 80.

1. On the virtual machine, click the name of the Resource group.
2. Select the network security group. The NSG can be identified using the Type column.
3. On the left-hand menu, under settings, click Inbound security rules.
4. Click on Add.
5. In Name, type http. Make sure Port range is set to 80 and Action is set to Allow.
6. Click OK.

View the IIS Welcome Page (optional)

With IIS installed, and port 80 open to your VM, the webserver can now be accessed from the internet. Open a web browser, and enter the public IP address of the VM. the public IP address can be found on the VM blade in the Azure portal.

More on Azure

There are plenty of detailed tutorials that go over advanced configurations and management of VMs, disks, automation, High Availability, etc. Please review them to learn more about managing your VMs on Appian.

Linux Servers

Create an SSH connection with the virtual machine.

1. Click the Connect button on the virtual machine blade. The connect button displays an SSH connection string that can be used to connect to the virtual machine.
   
2. Run the following command to create an SSH session. Replace the connection string with the one you copied from the Azure portal.

ssh azureuser@X.X.X.X

Open port 80 for web traffic (optional)

If you wish your server to be accessible from the internet, please follow these steps.

A Network security group (NSG) secures inbound and outbound traffic. When a VM is created from the Azure portal, an inbound rule is created on port 3389 for RDP connections. Because this VM hosts a webserver, an NSG rule needs to be created for port 80.

1. On the virtual machine, click the name of the Resource group.
2. Select the network security group. The NSG can be identified using the Type column.
3. On the left-hand menu, under settings, click Inbound security rules.
4. Click on Add.
5. In Name, type http. Make sure Port range is set to 80 and Action is set to Allow.
6. Click OK.

Install Appian

Once your VM has been setup, you’re ready to Install Appian. Please be sure to check the Prerequisites page and then follow the Linux Installation Guide.