Sitefinity 4 Multiple domain configuration

Sitefinity 4 Multiple domain configurationIn this article we’ll take a look at how to setup a multiple domain configuration in Sitefinity 4, so that youcan manage multiple websites from one Sitefinity instance. The base idea is to separate the Sitefinityconfiguration files for the different domains, so that each domain is assigned its own homepage.However, the pages for all domains would appear in the pages area of Sitefinity and can be managedfrom there.Let’s consider the scenario where you want to manage two domains RegionNorth.com andRegionSouth.com through only one Sitefinity instance. For the sake of simplicity, let’s assume that thereare only two trees in the pages area of your Sitefinity instance – each of them is assigned to therespective top-level domain, as shown in the image below.1. First you have to find out the homePageId of the homepages for region north and region south(~/App_Data/Sitefinity/Configuration/PageConfig.config). Save those (temporary) somewhere.2. Remove the Configuration folder from the Sitefinity production website.

3. Paste the Configuration folder in accessible for Read/Write locations and use the guid-IDs thatyou have identified in step 1 to set the homePageId in bothConfigNorth/Configuration/PageConfig.config andConfigSouth/Configuration/PageConfig.config4. Create a website for each domain in IIS pointing to the same physical website5. Create a virtual directory for Configuration pointing to the appropriate domain folder for both IISWebsitesYou’re done!

The drawback to using this approach is that when making changes relevant to all websites you need toapply it in every configuration, for instance adding a new widget to the toolbox etc.Even though in this scenario is used only one Sitefinity instance, you’ll still have to obtain two Sitefinitylicenses for both top-level domains RegionNorth.com and RegionSouth.com.Important note:This workaround for multi-website management is applicable only when all domains are managed bythe same Sitefinity edition and the maximum number of concurrent users for the domains all together isdetermined by the maximum concurrent users that the respective edition allows. For example, if youuse the Sitefinity Standard Edition for the described scenario, you’ll have 5 concurrent users despite thefact that you purchased 2 licenses. With the Enterprise Edition, however, you would have unlimitednumber of concurrent users.