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 (WC_installdir) and includes basic information that WebSphere Commerce tools and utilities need 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, a WebSphere Commerce instance is not created automatically. That is, no WebSphere Commerce EAR is deployed to WebSphere Application Server and no database is created until you create an instance by using the provided tools. The instance creation tools, such as the Configuration Manager, provide flexibility and configuration options for the new WebSphere Commerce instance.

You can 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 more 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.

There are four different types of instances,
Production
A production instance is required to build a WebSphere Commerce production server. A production instance includes the capabilities that are needed for a running WebSphere Commerce site and serve customer traffic.
To create a production instance,
  • Using the GUI: On the Staging page of the instance creation wizard, ensure that you select Production in the Environment option.
  • Silently: Ensure that you set the isStaging property to false in the createInstance.properties file.
Note: For information about the different default property settings between a production instance and a testing instance, see WebSphere Commerce default tunables.
Testing
A testing instance can be used to strictly test your production environment. For example, you might want to use a testing instance to run quality assurance tests or functional tests.
To create a testing instance,
  • Interactively by using the GUI: On the Staging page of the instance creation wizard, ensure that you select Test with non-staging database in the Environment option. A non-staging database is a test database where you can update the database but cannot propagate any changes to the production database.
  • Silently by using a response file: Ensure that you set the isStaging and isProduction properties to false in the createInstance.properties file.
Staging
A staging instance is required to build a WebSphere Commerce staging server. A staging instance includes extra capabilities beyond the capabilities of a production instance. With a staging instance, the Site Administrator can update the data on the staging server, test the changes, and then propagate the changes to the production server. For more information about staging servers, see Staging server.
Authoring
An authoring instance is required to build an authoring server. An authoring server is a staging server with workspaces enabled, which allows business users to control site changes before the changes are propagated to your production site. For more information about authoring servers, see Authoring server.

To create an authoring instance, see Creating an authoring server.