Get an overview of parameters of the website configuration

You can find WebsiteConfiguration.xml in a website container.

[blob_storage]/[website_container]/Configuration/WebsiteConfiguration.xml

You use this file to configure a website before publishing (down-syncing) it from the website container to a deployed web role.

Example:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Configuration>
  <Runtime writeback="false" websiteType="composite-c1" downSyncMode="mirror"/>
  <Bindings>
    <Binding port="80" hostname="contoso.com" />
  </Bindings>
</Configuration>

The following are parameters available for configuration in this file:

Runtime

Parameter	Description	Value
writeback	Indicates whether changes on the website must be up-synced from the web role back to the blob storage. Should be set to 'false' (disabled) for a scaled-out website in a staging site / live site setup. Disabling write-backs also disables the CMS Console for the live websites in web roles.	['false' or 'true']
websiteType	Indicates whether the website is C1 CMS based. When set to 'composite-c1', it will be treated as a C1 CMS site and some files and folders (temporary, cache) will not be down-synced from the blob storage to the web role.	composite-c1
downSyncMode	Indicates whether to delete the files on the server if the files have been deleted in the blob (on the "source" website): When set to 'mirror', the files deleted in the blob will be also deleted on the server. When set to 'copy', the files deleted in the blob will be kept on the server. Other changes (new or modified files) will be completely synchronized regardless of the setting.	['mirror' or 'copy']

Example:

<Runtime writeback="false" websiteType="composite-c1" downSyncMode="mirror" />

Bindings

When configuring a website, you should provide at least one binding with a <Binding/> element.

Parameter	Description	Value
hostname	The hostname of the website. If not specified, the default name assigned by Microsoft Azure is used instead, e.g. '[cloud-service-name].cloudapp.net'	[e.g. 'contoso.com']
port	The port number to access the website at. 80 by default. For SSL support the port (even the default 443) should be set explicitly.	[e.g. 80]
certificateHash	The thumbprint (hash) of the certificate used for SSL support. Should be set only for a HTTPS binding.	[e.g. 'F182190033077DC6785CFE87FFCA1CD69346DAAA']
sni	Indicates whether Server Name Indication option is enabled on IIS, which allows hosting mutliple SSL websites on the same server. Should be set to 'true" and only for a HTTPS binding.	true

Example:

<Bindings>
	<Binding />
	<Binding hostname="contoso.com" port="80" />
	<Binding hostname="contoso.com" port="443" 
certificateHash="F182190033077DC6785CFE87FFCA1CD69346DAAA" sni="true" />
</Bindings>

Note. Using <Binding /> without any parameters set defaults to an HTTP binding with the default hostname (assigned by Microsoft Azure) and default port number (80).