If your Azure project targets the .NET framework 4.0 you can utilize IntelliTrace to help debug your application. This post briefly covers how to enable and retrieve your IntelliTrace log.  The issue I was debugging in this scenario was a service I was deploying and ASP .NET MVC website it was initializing /stopping / initializing / stopping repeatedly during the deploy to Azure.

1. When publishing your service select the Enable IntelliTrace for .NET 4 roles checkbox


Enable IntelliTrace

2. Let the instance deploy and cycle through the initializing and stopping states
3. Then to download your IntelliTrace log.  In Server Explorer expand your windows Azure hosted service node, right click on your hosting account and select View IntelliTrace log.  This will be downloaded Async.


View Intellitrace

4. Once the log is retrieved you can review the exceptions


IntelliTrace

5.  In this case I had not set the System.Web.MVC assembly to copy local and re-deployed.  Job done.

Nick