Self-Service Portal (PaaS Portal) - Optimizely DXP

Exam Area: Area 2 – Installation, Operation & Configuration (20%)
Reference: https://docs.developers.optimizely.com/digital-experience-platform/docs/paas-portal

1. PaaS Portal

URL: https://paasportal.episerver.net

The Self-Service Portal allows you to manage DXP environments without needing access to the Azure Portal.

2. Key Features

PaaS Portal:
├── Environment Management
│   ├── View Integration, Preproduction, Production
│   ├── Start/Stop environments
│   └── View environment status
│
├── Deployments
│   ├── Upload deployment package
│   ├── Deploy to an environment
│   ├── Deployment history
│   └── Rollback
│
├── Database Management
│   ├── Create backup
│   ├── Restore backup
│   ├── Download backup
│   └── Copy DB between environments
│
├── Storage Management
│   ├── View Azure Blob containers
│   ├── Copy blobs between environments
│   └── Manage CDN
│
├── Configuration
│   ├── Manage environment variables
│   ├── Connection strings
│   └── Custom domains/SSL
│
└── Access Management
    ├── Add/Remove users
    ├── Manage API clients
    └── Audit log

3. Environments

Integration    → Development/QA testing
Preproduction  → Staging/UAT
Production     → Live site

4. Environment Variables

PaaS Portal → Environment → Configuration → Environment Variables

Commonly configured:
  ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT = Production
  ConnectionStrings__EPiServerDB = ...
  EPiServer:ServiceApiUrl = ...

5. Copying the Database Between Environments

PaaS Portal → Database → Copy
  → Source: Production
  → Target: Integration (or Preproduction)
  → Useful for: Debugging issues with production data

6. API Client Management

PaaS Portal → Access → API Clients
  → Create new Client ID + Secret
  → Used for Deployment API automation
  → Set permissions:
     - Deploy to Integration only
     - Deploy to all environments
     - Admin access

Review Questions

1. What is the PaaS Portal used for? (Managing DXP environments — deploy, backup, configure)
2. Can you copy a database between environments in the PaaS Portal? (Yes)
3. What does creating an API Client in the PaaS Portal generate? (A Client ID + Secret for the Deployment API)
4. What are the three environments in DXP? (Integration, Preproduction, Production)
5. What are Environment Variables in the PaaS Portal used for? (Per-environment configuration settings — connection strings, API URLs, etc.)