How to: Configure the Roles for a Windows Azure Application with Visual Studio

To configure each role in your Windows Azure project from Solution Explorer, open the shortcut menu for the role in the Windows Azure project and then choose Properties.

A page with the name of the role is displayed in the Visual Studio editor. The page displays the fields for the Configuration tab.

In the Service Configuration list, choose the name of the service configuration that you want to edit.

If you want to make changes to all of the service configurations for this role, you can choose All Configurations.

Important
If you choose a specific service configuration, some properties are disabled because they can only be set for all configurations. To edit these properties, you must choose All Configurations.

Choose the Configuration tab.

In the Service Configuration list, choose the service configuration that you want to update.

Note
You can set the instance count for a specific service configuration or for all service configurations.

In the Instance count text box, type the number of instances that you want to start for this role.

Note
Each instance is run on a separate virtual machine when you publish your application to Windows Azure.

Choose the Save icon in the toolbar to save these changes to the service configuration file.

Choose the Settings tab.

In the Service Configuration list, choose the service configuration that you want to update.

Note
You can update connection strings for a specific service configuration, but if you need to add or delete a connection string you must select All Configurations.

To add a connection string, choose the Add Setting button.

A new entry is added to the list.

In the Name text box, type the name that you want to use for the connection string.

In the Type drop-down list, choose Connection String.

To change the value for the connection string, choose the ellipsis button.

The Storage Account Connection String dialog box is displayed.

To use a local connection string, choose Use the Windows Azure storage emulator radio button and then choose the OK button.

To use a storage account for the local connection string, choose Enter storage account details radio button. For information about how to create a storage account and how to enter the details for the storage account in the Storage Account Connection String dialog box, see Create a Storage Account and Configure Your Application to Use Services Provided by the Storage Account.

To delete a connection string, select the connection string and then choose the Remove Setting button.

Choose the Save icon in the toolbar to save these changes to the service configuration file.

To access the connection string in the service configuration file, you must get the value of the configuration setting. The following code shows an example where blob storage is created and data uploaded using a connection string MyConnectionString from the service configuration file when a user chooses Button1 from the default.aspx page in the web role for an Azure application:

Add the following using statements to Default.aspx.cs:

using Microsoft.WindowsAzure;
using Microsoft.WindowsAzure.StorageClient;
using Microsoft.WindowsAzure.ServiceRuntime;

Add the following code to the Button1_Click method, after you add Button1 to the default.aspx page. This code uses GetConfigurationSettingValue to get the value from the service configuration file for the connection string. Then a blob is created in the storage account that is referenced in the connection string MyConnectionString and finally the program adds text to the blob.

protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    // Setup the connection to Windows Azure Storage
    var storageAccount = CloudStorageAccount.Parse(RoleEnvironment.GetConfigurationSettingValue("MyConnectionString"));
    var blobClient = storageAccount.CreateCloudBlobClient();
    // Get and create the container
    var blobContainer = blobClient.GetContainerReference("quicklap");
    blobContainer.CreateIfNotExist();
    // upload a text blob
    var blob = blobContainer.GetBlobReference(Guid.NewGuid().ToString());
    blob.UploadText("Hello Windows Azure");
  
}

Choose the Settings tab.

In the Service Configuration list, choose the service configuration that you want to update.

Note
You can update strings for a specific service configuration, but if you need to add or delete a string, you must select All Configurations.

To add a string, choose the Add Setting button.

A new entry is added to the list.

In the Name text box, type the name that you want to use for the string.

In the Type drop-down list, choose String.

To add or change the value for the string, in the Value text box type the new value.

To delete a string, select the string and then choose the Remove Setting button.

Choose the Save icon in the toolbar to save these changes to the service configuration file.

To access the string in the service configuration file, you must get the value of the configuration setting.

You need to make sure that the following using statements are already added to Default.aspx.cs just as you did in the previous procedure:

using Microsoft.WindowsAzure;
using Microsoft.WindowsAzure.StorageClient;
using Microsoft.WindowsAzure.ServiceRuntime;

Add the following code to the Button1_Click method to access this string in the same way that you access a connection string. Your code can then perform some specific code based on the value of the settings string for the service configuration file that is used.

var settingValue = RoleEnvironment.GetConfigurationSettingValue("MySetting"); 
if (settingValue == “ThisValue”)
{ 
// Perform these lines of code
}

Choose the Local Storage tab.

In the Service Configuration list, choose All Configurations.

To add a local storage entry, choose the Add Local Storage button.

A new entry is added to the list.

In the Name text box, type the name that you want to use for this local storage.

In the Size text box, type the size in MB that you need for this local storage.

To remove the data in this local storage when the virtual machine for this role is recycled, select the Clean on role recycle check box.

To edit an existing local storage entry, choose the row that you need to update. Then you can edit the fields, as described in the previous steps.

To delete a local storage entry, choose the storage entry in the list and then choose the Remove Local Storage button.

To save these changes to the service configuration files, choose the Save icon in the toolbar.

To access the local storage that you have added in the service configuration file, you must get the value of the local resource configuration setting. Use the following lines of code to access this value and create a file called MyStorageTest.txt and write a line of test data into that file. You can add this code into the button click method that you used in the previous procedures:

You need to make sure that the following using statements are added to Default.aspx.cs:

using System.IO;
using System.Text;

Add the following code to the Button1_Click method. This creates the file in the local storage and writes test data into that file.

// Retrieve an object that points to the local storage resource
LocalResource localResource = RoleEnvironment.GetLocalResource("LocalStorage1");

//Define the file name and path
string[] paths = { localResource.RootPath, "MyStorageTest.txt" };
String filePath = Path.Combine(paths);

using (FileStream writeStream = File.Create(filePath))
{
      Byte[] textToWrite = new UTF8Encoding(true).GetBytes("Testing Web role storage");
      writeStream.Write(textToWrite, 0, textToWrite.Length);
}

(Optional) To view this file that you created when you run your application locally, use the following steps:

1. In the notification area, open the shortcut menu for the Windows Azure icon and choose Show Compute Emulator UI.

   The Windows Azure Compute Emulator dialog box is displayed.

2. On the menu bar, choose Tools, Open local store.

   A Windows Explorer window is displayed.

3. On the menu bar, type MyStorageTest.txt into the Search text box and then press Enter to start the search.

   The file is displayed in the search results.

4. To view the contents of the file, open the shortcut menu for the file and choose Open.

Choose the Configuration tab.

In the Service Configuration list, choose the service configuration that you want to update or choose All Configurations.

Note
You can update the storage account for a specific service configuration, but if you want to enable or disable diagnostics you must choose All Configurations.

To enable diagnostics, select the Enable Diagnostics check box.

To change the value for the storage account, choose the ellipsis button.

The Storage Account Connection String dialog box is displayed.

To use a local connection string, choose Use the Windows Azure storage emulator radio button and then choose the OK button.

To use a storage account for the local connection string, choose the Enter storage account details radio button.

For more information about how to create a storage account and how to enter the details for the storage account in the Storage Account Connection String dialog box, see Create a Storage Account.

Type the name of your storage account in Account name.

Note
The name of your storage account is displayed in the Storage Accounts view in the Management Portal. To copy this name, highlight the name in the Properties window of this view and press Ctrl+C. To paste the name into Visual Studio, choose Account name and then press Ctrl+V.

You can copy or type your primary key in Account key. This key can be copied from the Management Portal. To copy this key, following these steps from the Storage Accounts view in the Management Portal:

1. Select the storage account that you want to use for your application.

2. The primary key for this storage account is displayed in the Properties view. Choose the View button located next to the key.

   The View Storage Access Keys dialog box is displayed.

3. To copy the access key, choose the Copy to clipboard button. You can now paste this key into the Account key field.

To use the storage account that you provide, as the connection string for diagnostics when you publish your application to Windows Azure, select the Use publish storage account as connection string when you publish to Windows Azure check box.

Choose the Save icon in the toolbar to save these changes to the service configuration file.

Choose the Configuration tab.

In the Service Configuration list, choose All Configurations.

To enable full access to Windows Azure native libraries and resources and to access diagnostics, choose the Full trust radio button. This is the default setting.

To restrict access for your Windows Azure application to native libraries and resources, choose the Windows Azure partial trust radio button.

Choose the Save icon in the toolbar to save these changes to the service configuration file.

Choose the Configuration tab.

In the Service Configuration list, choose All Configurations.

To select the size for the virtual machine for this role, choose the appropriate size from the VM size list.

Choose the Save icon in the toolbar to save these changes to the service configuration file.

Choose the Virtual Network tab.

In the Service Configuration list, choose All Configurations.

To activate Windows Azure Connect for this role, select the Activate Windows Azure Connect check box.

To add or change a token for all configurations or a specific configuration, choose the configuration from the Service Configuration list and then paste the activation token from the Management Portal into the text box.

Choose the Save icon in the toolbar to save these changes to the service configuration files.

Choose the Certificates tab.

In the Service Configuration list, choose All Configurations.

Note
To add or remove certificates, you must select All Configurations. You can update the name and the thumbprint for a specific service configuration if it is required.

To add a certificate for this role, choose the Add Certificate button.

A new entry is added to the list.

In the Name text box, type the name for the certificate.

In the Store Location list, choose the location for the certificate that you want to add.

In the Store Name list, choose the store that you want to use to select the certificate.

To add the certificate, choose the ellipsis button.

The Windows Security dialog box is displayed.

Choose the certificate that you want to use from the list and then choose the OK button.

Note
When you add a certificate from the certificate store, any intermediate certificates are added automatically to the configuration settings for you. These intermediate certificates must also be uploaded to Windows Azure in order to correctly configure your service for SSL.

To delete a certificate, choose the certificate and then choose the Remove Certificate button.

Choose the Save icon in the toolbar to save these changes to the service configuration files.

Choose the Endpoints tab.

In the Service Configuration list, choose All Configurations.

To add an endpoint, choose the Add Endpoint button.

A new entry is added to the list.

In the Name text box, type the name that you want to use for this endpoint.

Choose the type of endpoint that you need from the Type list.

Choose the protocol for the endpoint that you need from the Protocol list.

If it is an input endpoint, in the Public Port text box type the public port to use.

In the Private Port text box type the private port to use.

If the endpoint requires the https protocol, in the SSL Certificate Name list choose a certificate to use.

Note
This list shows the certificates that you have added for this role in the Certificates tab.

Choose the Save icon in the toolbar to save these changes to the service configuration files.