How can I enable <deployment retail="true" /> by default on Windows Azure?

Question

It seems that using <deployment retail="true" /> is an accepted best practice for ASP.NET applications, but it does not seem to be enabled by default on Windows Azure. Is it possible to enable by default on Web Roles and/or Web Sites?

Answer 1

I think you would do this with a startup task. See @smarx's answer here: Modifying machine.config on Azure compute instances

A batch file running appcmd is probably the easiest way to do it for IIS settings.

Some resources:

MSDN: How to Define Startup Tasks for a Role

Azure: How to execute startup tasks for each site entry at webrole?

Utilizing the Power of Startup Tasks in Your Windows Azure Web Role

And, specific to managing machine.config from a startup task:

https://github.com/Aaronontheweb/azure-webroleperformance-scripts