WebSphere Commerce instance

Every WebSphere Commerce installation requires at least one instance to function, and each WebSphere Commerce instance can contain one or more stores.

WebSphere Commerce is a Java Platform, Enterprise Edition application that gets deployed and installed in the IBM Java Platform, Enterprise Edition WebSphere Application Server. The WebSphere Commerce instance consists of four main parts:
  • A Java Platform, Enterprise Edition Archive (EAR) deployed to and running in the WebSphere Application Server.
  • A relational database and schema that runs in your chosen database management system.
  • Metadata about the deployed EAR and database. This metadata is stored in the WebSphere Commerce installation directory and includes basic information that WebSphere Commerce tools and utilities require to locate and access the EAR and database.
  • A web Server configuration. Each instance has a separate web server process.

When you install WebSphere Commerce using the quick installation option, the installation process automatically creates a WebSphere Commerce instance for you. The quick installation assembles the Java Platform, Enterprise Edition EAR and deploys that EAR to WebSphere Application Server using some default options. It creates and populates a local DB2 database and schema. Metadata describing the EAR and database is kept in the WebSphere Commerce installation directory.

When you install WebSphere Commerce using the custom installation, a WebSphere Commerce instance is not created automatically at that time. That is, no WebSphere Commerce EAR is deployed to WebSphere Application Server and no database is created until you create an instance using the provided tools. The instance creation tools provide flexibility and configuration options for the new WebSphere Commerce instance that are not available when performing a quick installation.

WebSphere Commerce allows you to create and use more than one WebSphere Commerce instance. You can have multiple distinct and independent copies of the WebSphere Commerce Java Platform, Enterprise Edition application, each with its own EAR, database, and metadata. When you create additional instances, a separate EAR is assembled and deployed into a separate WebSphere Application Server profile. A separate database and schema are created, and metadata for the additional WebSphere Commerce instance is stored in the WebSphere Commerce installation directory.