Considerations for creating multiple WebSphere Commerce instances

WebSphere Commerce supports the creation of multiple WebSphere Commerce instances. That is, with WebSphere Commerce, you can run two or more instances of WebSphere Commerce concurrently by using a different host name for each WebSphere Commerce instance.

In such a case, a customer can access host1.domain and host2.domain. This method involves the use of virtual host names.

Multiple instances are used mainly to have different occurrences of WebSphere Commerce that do not share information. Each instance is unique.

Requirements

If you have an existing instance and you want to add an instance, ensure that the following requirements are met:
  • Each host name for each instance requires its own IP address. The IP address must be valid on the network, with associated host names in the DNS server. The IP address must also be on the same VLAN as the IP address of the original instance. For instructions about adding another IP address to a machine, see your operating system documentation.
  • The host name for each instance must resolve fully to separate IP addresses. For example, to verify that you can run WebSphere Commerce Configuration Manager and create multiple instances, run the nslookup command on both the host name and IP address for each instance. Ensure that the host name resolves to its correct IP address, and the IP address resolves to its correct host name.
  • For each additional WebSphere Commerce instance:
    • Increase the system memory by 1 GB.
    • LinuxAIXIncrease the paging space by 1 GB per processor.
    • Increase the virtual storage by 2 GB.
  • AIXWindowsOracleEach additional WebSphere Commerce instance requires its own data file. The table spaces and Oracle database IDs required by WebSphere Commerce can be created when you create the instances.