Configuration Manager - Commerce - Staging

Use the Staging page of the Configuration Manager to configure the WebSphere Commerce instance as a staging server or authoring server.

Important: When you enable workspaces, if you are using an existing database, a warning is displayed when you click Finish. This warning provides important installation instructions that you must complete after installation. If you do not follow the instructions, workspaces does not enable successfully.

Complete the fields as follows:

Use staging server

Select this check box if you want the new WebSphere Commerce instance you are creating to be a staging server instance with a staging database.

Enable workspaces (recommended if Use staging server is selected)

Select this check box by default, unless you have a reason not to enable workspaces on the staging server instance. Enabling workspaces makes it possible to convert a staging environment into an authoring environment at a later date, and has no negative impact. Enabling workspaces ensures that the requisite quick publish connection will be generated. This is used to potentially connect to the production DB in the future. This check box is only enabled if the Use staging server check box is selected. This option creates an authoring server instance.

If you select this check box, the following fields are displayed:

Read schema prefix

Enter a unique prefix for the read schema that is used for workspaces. The default value is WCR.

If you have multiple authoring server instances, ensure that you specify unique values in the Read schema prefix field. Ensure that the schema does not exist. The schemas that are created are named:

READ_PREFIX baseNumber+workspaceNumber

Where

READ_PREFIX is the prefix that you specify in this field (default WCR)
baseNumber is 100
workspaceNumber is the number that is specified in the Workspaces field

For example, WCR101 and WCR102.

Write schema prefix

Enter a unique prefix for the write schema that is used for workspaces. The default value is WCW.

If you have multiple authoring server instances, ensure that you specify unique values in the Write schema prefix field. Ensure that the schema does not exist. The schemas that are created are named:

WRITE_PREFIX baseNumber+workspaceNumber

Where

WRITE_PREFIX is the prefix that you specific in this field (default WCW)
baseNumber is 100
workspaceNumber is the number that is specified in the Workspaces field

For example, WCW103 and WCW104.

Workspaces

Enter the maximum number of workspaces you want on the authoring server. Ensure that the number of workspaces that are allocated is sufficient to handle the number of concurrent workspace activities that might occur.

The maximum number of workspaces is the maximum number of simultaneous activities that require data isolation. Multiple stores that are managed by the same organization can share a workspace. For example, if you plan to work on two future events simultaneously while also providing regular updates and providing a data-isolated area in which to complete emergency fixes, you need four workspaces per organization that manages stores.

The maximum number of workspaces specifies the number of database schemas that are allocated for workspaces. The number of allocated database schemas remains fixed. If a Workspace Manager creates more workspaces than the number of workspace database schemas available, task groups without an available database schema cannot be activated until another workspace is completed or canceled.

For more information, see Workspaces data model.

Production application name

Enter the name of the WebSphere Commerce Enterprise application on the production server. The Enterprise application name is WC_ instance_name. For example, given the instance_name demo, the value of WC_enterprise_application is WC_demo.

If you do not have this information available, enter the name of the WebSphere Commerce Enterprise application on the authoring server.

You can change this information later by following the instructions in Updating the quick publish target.

DataSource name

Enter the data source name to use to set up the connection pool for access to the production database to which updates from workspaces are published.

The following sample is the default value for this field.


WebSphere Commerce 
DBMS_name Publish DataSource 
instance_name

Where

DBMS_name is the name of the database management system you are using with WebSphere Commerce.
instance_name is the name of the WebSphere Commerce authoring server instance.

If you do not have this information available, enter a meaningful name. You can change this information later by following the instructions in Updating the quick publish target.

Use an existing production database

By default, the Commerce Instance Creation Wizard uses the authoring server database information. If you want to use an existing production database, select this check box, which enables the following fields. You can change this information later by following the instructions in Updating the quick publish target.

Database name

Enter the name of the database on the production server to which you want to publish. This name must be the name of the database as cataloged on the local machine.

DB2 The database name must contain 8 characters or fewer.

If you do not have this information available, enter the name of your authoring server database that you entered on the Database page of this wizard.

Database user name

DB2 Enter an existing operating system user ID to use for the production database. The user ID must be defined on the system on which DB2 Universal Database is installed.

If DB2 Universal Database is installed on a separate machine from WebSphere Commerce, the same user ID must be defined on both the DB2 Universal Database machine and the WebSphere Commerce machine.

Oracle Enter the Oracle user ID for the production database.

If you do not have this information available, enter the database user name that you entered on the Schema page of this wizard.

Database user password

Enter the password that is associated with the user name for this database.

If you do not have this information available, enter the database user password that you entered on the Schema page of this wizard.

Confirm database user password

Confirm the password to be used for the database user name.

If you do not have this information available, enter the database user password that you entered on the Schema page of this wizard.

Database server hostname

Enter the fully qualified hostname of the production database server system.

If you do not have this information available, enter the fully qualified host name of the authoring server.

Database server port

Enter the port that is used for communication with the production database.

If you do not have this information available, enter the port available for database communication available on the authoring server.

You can change this information later by following the instructions in Updating the quick publish target.

Environment

Select the type of environment to create.

Test with non-staging database: Creates an environment that you can use to test your production environment. For example, you might want to use a testing instance to run performance tests.
Note: If you want to create a test environment with a staging database, then select the Use staging server check box.

Production: Creates an instance for your production environment.

Generate properties file only

This check box displays in the Instance Creation wizard only.

Select this check box if you do not want to create an instance but you want to populate a properties file. The properties file can be used with the CreateInstance Ant target to create a WebSphere Commerce instance.

The properties file is found in the following directory:

WC_installdir/instances/instance_name/properties/createInstance.properties.
WC_userdir/instances/instance_name/properties/createInstance.properties.