by Derek Du

Windows Azure websites allow quick deployment of web applications, but troubleshooting it is quite limited. So, here is a quick reference for remote debugging Windows Azure applications.

1. First enable remote debugging on the Windows Azure website in Configure -> Site Diagnostics -> Remote Debugging. Set it to ON. Also, make sure you select the correct version of Visual Studio.

2. In Visual Studio, open Server Explorer, there should be a Windows Azure node. Expand and you should see all you Azure websites listed. If you can’t see the sites, that means you are not logged in to Windows Azure yet.

3. Select Debug->Attach to Process

4. In the window that appears, enter the URL of the site to debug WITHOUT HTTP:// or HTTPS://. Also select Show processes from all users. There is no need to click the Find.. button.

5. It will ask you for the credentials to the site. Provide the first set of credentials from the published profile of the site.

6. The Available Process list may show more than one process. Select the one that says w3wp.exe and then click Attach.

This is a start on the easiest way to debug and troubleshoot Windows Azure websites.