Remember to update your DiagnosticsConnectionString before deploying

In the ServiceConfiguration.cscfg file, you have a DiagnosticsConnectionString which as a default is linked to local storage.

    <Setting name="DiagnosticsConnectionString" value="UseDevelopmentStorage=true" />

When you deploy your package it will never start correctly (stuck in Busy/Initializing), because you could will be trying to log to the local storage, which doesn’t exist in the cloud.

Fixing this is easy:

1. Create a storage account if you don’t already have one.
2. In Visual Studio, bring up the properties of your project, then click settings.
3. Click on the … next to the DiagnosticsConnectionString.
4. Enter your storage details in the dialog.
5. Save then deploy.

THIS POSTING IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITH NO WARRANTIES, AND CONFERS NO RIGHTS