We needed to deploy a development instance of WordPress for our soon-to-be built new public site so I looked at adding a second instance to our existing Azure subscription. Going through the portal reports that you’ve reached your MYSQL limit when you try to add another – nice.
There is mention of adding a second WordPress instance and using the same DB although I’m not willing to entertain that, Prod is Prod & hallowed be that principle.
Azure is still “preview” so this could change any day but here is the process for adding that second MySQL DB to use for a second WordPress instance.
Stage 1. Create a new MySQL DB with ClearDB
- Go through Azure’s Portal > New > Store and add the free ClearDB MySQL Add on.
- You could also head over to https://www.cleardb.com/store/azure and get yourself a free 20MB MySQL database. You’ll have to wire up your DB Connection string yourself and manually install WordPress though. Not elegant, thankfully this is easier.
- Ensure that your DB region will match your web-site region. I chose Northern Europe for ours, it’s apparently the newest and most powerful DC in Europe.
Stage 2. Create a new WordPress site on Azure with new DB
- Follow the normal process for creating a WordPress site on Azure: New > Compute > Web Site > WordPress
- Select the new DB you created in Stage 1.
- Visit the site URL and complete the WordPress setup.
The downside of this wizard is that if you have may DB’s in the same region, you wouldn’t be able to identify it since during the Azure Store purchase you don’t see the database name, only the connection name. You’ll have to go an document your DB names before doing this.
