Exploring Windows Azure Package contents

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As you may know when you finally package the Windows Azure application the final product you get is a package (CSPKG) file and your original service configuration (CSCFG) file. Starting from Windows Azure SDK 1.5, CSPKG file is unencrypted and actually a ZIP package, which you can just unzip and visualize its contents. 

 

Let’s dig inside the CSPKG:

 

This package file contains all the files belong to your application along with other configuration files, which are added to be used on cloud to configure your application. This CSPKG is a ZIP file, which you can open using any ZIP viewer or unzip utility. To view the package contents just rename the CSPKG file to ZIP or RAR, depend on your Unzip application. You will see the package contents similar to as below:

 

Now you will see a CSSX file inside the ZIP, CSSX file is where all of your application related files are packaged. Extracting the CSSX file from the main package ZIP file and then rename the CSSX file to ZIP now. Now unziping the CSSX you will see the package contents exactly same as in your Application folder.

Your Visual Studio Application Folder look like as below:

 

Now if you RDP to Azure VM and look for drive E:\ you will see the same folder setup because everything in your CSSX file is used to create a drive (Mostly E:\) in Azure VM: