The installation process for Kentico CMS and the deployment of a website to Windows Azure consists of the following steps:
 

•Setup (kenticocms.exe) - installs the basic files required to create Kentico CMS web projects and the documentation. This setup is intended for your development machines, since it allows you to run the web installer.

•Web Installer - can be used to create new Kentico CMS projects specifically designed for deployment to the Windows Azure platform.

•Application structure and configuration - once you have an Azure project installed, you can configure it as necessary and start developing your website. At this stage, you can run the application locally on the Windows Azure emulator.

•Deployment to the cloud - there are several ways to deploy a website to Windows Azure. The guide describes the simplest approach, which is to create a deployment package directly in Visual Studio, and then upload it through the Windows Azure Management Portal.

•Database setup - when the website is opened in a browser for the first time, it starts the database installer, which creates the required system tables and other data on a specified database. The target database server can either be hosted on‑premise or on SQL Azure.

 

If you wish to move an existing Kentico CMS website to Windows Azure, please follow the instructions given in the Deploying an existing website to Windows Azure topic.

 

Before you start the installation and deployment, please see the Prerequisites & Limitations topic and make any necessary preparations. It is recommended to read through the limitations and confirm that your website requirements are compatible with the environment.

 

If you wish to learn the details about Kentico CMS operation in the cloud, refer to the Architecture topic.