Azure developers running Windows 7 (and Vista should be similar) will want to enable IIS 7.5 on the desktop. This will make it possible to run the local development environment known as the Azure Dev Fabric.

Five easy steps to Enable IIS 7.5 for Windows 7 Developers

1. Open Control Panel. From the Search Control Panel search box in the top right, type in “turn windows features on or off” to show just this option. Click on the “Turn Windows features on or off” link underneath the “Programs and Features” heading.

This launches the Control Panel applet you will need.

Here are the Control Panel screens you will now see:

(If the graphics are too small for you, click on them to bring up a larger version.)

Eventually it loads.

2. Once loaded, scroll down to Internet Information Services as shown below, and check the desired boxes (the one I chose are shown in the next two screen shots):

(If the graphics are too small for you, click on them to bring up a larger version.)

3. The hit okay and wait …

4. Once complete, you will see this browser window – note the yellow bar:

5. You may want to select “Enable Intranet Settings” as shown below:

Done!