Can i execute Azure webjobs without AzureWebJobsStorage connectionstring?

Question

When i create new Azure webjob project i could see the connectionstring section in app.config section as below:

<connectionStrings>
    <!-- The format of the connection string is "DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=NAME;AccountKey=KEY" -->
    <!-- For local execution, the value can be set either in this config file or through environment variables -->
    <add name="AzureWebJobsDashboard" connectionString="" />
    <add name="AzureWebJobsStorage" connectionString="" />
  </connectionStrings>

IN my webjob Functions im interacting only with my application db.

1. So Do i really need to create two more databases for azure webjobs ?

When i run webjobs from visual studio i'm getting the below error:

Application: WebJobTest.exe Framework Version: v4.0.30319 Description: The process was terminated due to an unhandled exception. Exception Info: System.InvalidOperationException Stack: at System.Runtime.CompilerServices.TaskAwaiter.ThrowForNonSuccess(System.Threading.Tasks.Task) at System.Runtime.CompilerServices.TaskAwaiter.HandleNonSuccessAndDebuggerNotification(System.Threading.Tasks.Task) at Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.JobHost.Call(System.Reflection.MethodInfo, System.Object) at WebJobTest.Program.Main()

And when i try access webjobs log it shows: WebJob Details WebJobTest

Make sure that you are setting a connection string named AzureWebJobsDashboard in your Microsoft Azure Website configuration by using the following format DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=NAME;AccountKey=KEY pointing to the Microsoft Azure Storage account where the Microsoft Azure WebJobs Runtime logs are stored.

I guess this is because of not having proper database connection string.

2. What could be the possible connection between above two errors ?

Answer 1

The AzureWebJobsDashboard connection string is optional - you only need it if you want to be able to use the Dashboard UI for logs, etc.

The AzureWebJobsStorage connection string IS required - while you might not be using any storage entities, the WebJobs runtime does use some blobs and other storage entities for its own tracking and operation.