Installing Cosmos
Prior to installation create an Azure and SendGrid account if you do not already have either. Here are links to help you get started:
- Create a free Azure account.
- Get
a free SendGrid account.
- Create a SendGrid API key and save it for use during the install.
Helpful tip: By default, SendGrid blocks all IP addresses from accessing your API Key. To make your life easier for dev/testers, you can disable IP address management which allows all IP addresses to connect to your SendGrid API key. This is NOT a recommended for production.
Once you have your Azure and SendGrid accounts created, choose one of the installation options below.
Free installation option
This option installs Cosmos WPS using free resources within Microsoft Azure. Use this install if you are wanting to try Cosmos without costs. For production we recommend the next option.
- Web app plan (Always free)
- “Always free” Cosmos DB account
- Storage account (free for first 12 months)
Step by step instructions:
- Get started by clicking the “Deploy to Azure” button above, then you should see the deployment form as shown at right.
- Create a new “Resource Group” to perform the install.
- Choose a “Region."
- Next add your email address and SendGrid API.
- Then select “true” to “Install Cosmos Db Free Account."
- And for web app plan choose “Free Tier.”
- Finally, for storage account type, set it to “Locally-redundant storage”.
Install Notes:
- Opening the “editor” and “publisher” websites for the first time take a while to start as their Docker containers are being installed for first use (this is normal). The “free websites” are not performance champions, so give Cosmos even more time to start up the first time.
- Azure only allows one “free” Cosmos DB account per subscription. If this is your case, re-run the install, but choose “false” for “Cosmos DB Free Account.”
- If you already have a free Cosmos account, and/or have an existing App Service Plan, choose our last install option below.
Next: Setup Cosmos →
Low-cost basic install (scalable 1)
Choose this option if you want a low-cost Cosmos website with the ability to host your own domain name and TLS/SSL certificate. This architecture is suitable for websites not needing high availability or capacity. This install can scale up and out to be highly redundant and high capacity.
As of January of 2023, this setup will run for about $0.55 (US) a day.
Step by step instructions:
- Get started by clicking the “Deploy to Azure” button above, then you should see the deployment form as shown at right.
- Create a new “Resource Group” to perform the install.
- Choose a “Region."
- Next add your email address and SendGrid API.
- If this is your first Cosmos free account, choose “true.” Otherwise choose “false.”
- And for web app plan choose “Free Tier.”
- Finally, for storage account type, set it to “Locally-redundant storage”.
Install Notes:
- Opening the “editor” website for the first time take a while to start as the Docker container and database are being installed for first use (this is normal).
- Azure only allows one “free” Cosmos DB account per subscription. If this is your case, re-run the install, but choose “false” for “Cosmos DB Free Account.”
- If you already have a free Cosmos account, and/or have an existing App Service Plan, choose our last install option below.