title: service definition vs service configuration in Azure cloud services
body: <p>Does anyone know what the difference is between these two? I've looked and can't seem to find a page that has a clear description of how they are different. The way Microsoft explains the two of them is very vague.</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/ee758711.aspx" rel="nofollow">Definition documentation</a></p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>The file contains the definitions for the roles that are available to
    a cloud service, specifies the service endpoints, and establishes
    configuration settings for the service.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;ved=0CCgQFjAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsdn.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Flibrary%2Fazure%2Fee758710.aspx&amp;ei=BpQqVbWgOoXhoATt2YGAAQ&amp;usg=AFQjCNFlm-F9aOSqT-qnUv_KEaTLdQvlIA&amp;sig2=w18xjj7kRKj_38nfiDegpA&amp;bvm=bv.90491159,d.cGU&amp;cad=rja" rel="nofollow">Configuration documentation</a></p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>specifies the number of role instances to deploy for each role in the
    service, the values of any configuration settings, and the thumbprints
    for any certificates associated with a role</p>
  </blockquote>