Packaging and Deploying PHP Applications for Windows Azure

In order to deploy an application to Windows Azure, you must have two files: a service package (a .cspkg file) and a service definition file (a .cscfg file). The service package is actually a .zip file which contains your entire application and service definition. The service configuration file is an XML file that contains service configuration information.

The tool for packaging an application (for creating the .cspkg file) is a command line tool called CSPack. The community-supported Windows Azure SDK for PHP provides a command line interface that uses CSPack to prepare PHP applications for deployment to Windows Azure. The following articles include step-by-step instructions for using the Windows Azure SDK for PHP to package PHP applications:

• Using Scaffolds
  
  
• Build and Deploy a Windows Azure PHP Application
  
  
• Packaging Applications
  
  
• Support for Worker Roles in the Windows Azure SDK for PHP
  
  

Note
Before packaging and deploying an application, you should test your application using the Windows Azure Compute and Storage Emulators. For more information, see Testing PHP Applications in Windows Azure.

After you have packaged an application, you can deploy it to Windows Azure using the Windows Azure Management Portal or with the command line tools available in the Windows Azure SDK for PHP. The following articles include step-by-step instructions for deploying a PHP application to Windows Azure:

• Deploying Your First Application to Windows Azure
  
  
• Overview of Command Line Deployment and Management with the Windows Azure SDK for PHP
  
  

See Also