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User Guide
The information contained in this section applies to WebSphere Commerce Version 8. The documentation also applies to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in a newer section.WebSphere Commerce is a single, unified e-commerce platform that offers the ability to do business directly with consumers (B2C), directly with businesses (B2B), and indirectly through channel partners (indirect business models). WebSphere Commerce is designed to be a customizable, scalable, and high availability solution that is built to leverage open standards. It provides easy-to-use tools for business users to centrally manage a cross-channel strategy. Business users can create and manage precision marketing campaigns, promotions, catalog, and merchandising across all sales channels.
Installing
Review the following sections for information about installing the WebSphere Commerce product, associated maintenance, and WebSphere Commerce enhancements.
Installing WebSphere Commerce
The following roadmap provides a guide to installing WebSphere Commerce.
Planning to install WebSphere Commerce
The following section provides information to help you plan your configuration of WebSphere Commerce.
Support for SoftLayer Cloud Computing Instances
IBM WebSphere Commerce supports usage or defect-related service requests for the following WebSphere Commerceeditions that are running under supported Operating Systems within Softlayer Cloud Computing Instances (CCI).

User Guide
The information contained in this section applies to WebSphere Commerce Version 8. The documentation also applies to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in a newer section.WebSphere Commerce is a single, unified e-commerce platform that offers the ability to do business directly with consumers (B2C), directly with businesses (B2B), and indirectly through channel partners (indirect business models). WebSphere Commerce is designed to be a customizable, scalable, and high availability solution that is built to leverage open standards. It provides easy-to-use tools for business users to centrally manage a cross-channel strategy. Business users can create and manage precision marketing campaigns, promotions, catalog, and merchandising across all sales channels.
- Planning
  Creating a custom implementation of a WebSphere Commerce store requires a significant amount of planning. From gathering client needs, to deploying the live solution, much work is needed to successfully deploy a custom client store. Use the resources in here to help you plan every phase of store creation.
- Installing
  Review the following sections for information about installing the WebSphere Commerce product, associated maintenance, and WebSphere Commerce enhancements.
  - Downloading WebSphere Commerce media images
    To install WebSphere Commerce, you require the product package. Follow these steps to successfully download the required media.
  - Installing WebSphere Commerce Developer
    This section describes how to install and configure WebSphere Commerce Developer. WebSphere Commerce Developer is a test environment for developers or system administrators to develop stores and WebSphere Commerce application code.
  - Installing WebSphere Commerce
    The following roadmap provides a guide to installing WebSphere Commerce.
    - Planning to install WebSphere Commerce
      The following section provides information to help you plan your configuration of WebSphere Commerce.
      - Common topologies
        Review this information that describes common topologies for WebSphere Commerce components and the supporting software, such as the database server and the Web server.
      - WebSphere Commerce environments
        WebSphere Commerce has different environments that must be accounted for when you plan your WebSphere Commerce site architecture. These environments include your production, staging, authoring, and development environments. These environments can all be on the same, or different, operating systems.
      - Default port numbers
        Review this information for the default port numbers that are used by WebSphere Commerce or its component products.
      - Installation components
        You can choose to install separate components when you use the WebSphere Commerce installation wizard. Review the following descriptions to help you decide which components you need to install.
      - Support for SoftLayer Cloud Computing Instances
        IBM WebSphere Commerce supports usage or defect-related service requests for the following WebSphere Commerceeditions that are running under supported Operating Systems within Softlayer Cloud Computing Instances (CCI).
      - Programming specifications used by WebSphere Commerce
        WebSphere Commerce uses a number of programming specifications.
      - Verify hardware, software, and operating system requirements
        Verify that your system satisfies the software, and operating system requirements for your WebSphere Commerce edition.
      - WebSphere Commerce Developer requirements
        Ensure that the machine on which you want to install WebSphere Commerce Developer meets the operating system requirements listed in this topic.
      - WebSphere Commerce requirements
        Before you install WebSphere Commerce, ensure that your operating system meets all listed requirements.
      - Installation worksheet
        Use this worksheet to record information that you must supply during the installation process.
    - Installing WebSphere Commerce on different operating systems
      Each operating system has its own unique steps for installing WebSphere Commerce. Throughout the installation topics, there are tags that determine steps or notes that are specific to a platform.
    - Verifying a WebSphere Commerce installation
      After you install WebSphere Commerce, start the WebSphere Commerce server and the required components in a specific order.
    - Taking your first steps after a WebSphere Commerce installation
      After you install WebSphere Commerce, you can install other software, or you can perform advanced configuration.
    - Uninstalling WebSphere Commerce
      WebSphere Commerce and the software stack components must be uninstalled in the reverse order from which they were installed.
  - Installing or enabling other software
    The following software programs need extra installation or enablement steps if you want to use them with WebSphere Commerce.
  - Installing maintenance
    WebSphere Commerce updates include fixes to code or functionality through fix packs and include additions of new features or enhancements through mod packs.
- Migrating
  Before you migrate to WebSphere Commerce Version 8.0, review this information to help plan and execute your migration.
- Deploying
  The topics in this section describe how to publish stores to either a test or production environment, and how to deploy customized code.
- Operating
- Integrating
  Topics in the Integrating category highlight the tasks that are commonly performed for using WebSphere Commerce in combination with other products.
- Administering
- Tutorials
  WebSphere Commerce provides many tutorials to help you customize and understand your WebSphere Commerce instance and stores.
- Samples
- Developing
  The topics in the Developing section describe tasks performed by an application developer.
- Compliance
  The following section describes how you can leverage WebSphere Commerce features and functionality to help your site be compliant with different privacy and security standards.
- Securing
  These topics describe the security features of WebSphere Commerce and how to configure these features.
- Performance
- Troubleshooting

Support for SoftLayer Cloud Computing Instances

IBM WebSphere Commerce supports usage or defect-related service requests for the following WebSphere Commerceeditions that are running under supported Operating Systems within Softlayer Cloud Computing Instances (CCI).

IBM WebSphere Commerce Professional
IBM WebSphere Commerce Enterprise

This support statement applies to IBM WebSphere Commerce Version 8.0. Under this support statement, IBM does not require customers to re-create the problem in a non-CCI environment.

The additional software stack products might have their own unique support requirements and they must be honored as well.

Performance and capacity consideration

Partitioning of hardware into multiple virtual servers can have a dramatic effect on performance. Application Servers can be sensitive to processor caching and overall memory constraints. Moreover, software virtualization resource availability for Application Servers can be unpredictable. IBM WebSphere Commerce cannot guarantee performance or scalability in a virtualized environment. Furthermore, part of your system capacity is used by the virtualization software to manage and service resource requests. Depending on your virtualization configuration and use case scenarios, the cost of operating in virtualized environments could be more than 30% of your overall native, non-CCI IBM WebSphere Commerce available capacity.

Before you deploy to production on the virtualized environment ensure that your site meets your business requirements, such as response time and throughput. Ensure that you perform adequate performance, scalability, and capacity testing.