Deploy
The topics in this section describe how to publish stores to either a test or production environment, and how to deploy customized code.
Use standardized deployment strategies to deploying custom assets. Improperly deploying custom assets can result in data loss.
When you update to the application either follow the steps to deploy custom J2EE assets, or use a deployment tool, such as the WebSphere Commerce Build and Deployment tool. If you update the WebSphere Commerce application directly on the file system, under the installedApps directory, the changes will be lost any time updates are made to the master copy of the application, which is a collapsed version of the WebSphere Commerce application that is used by the WebSphere Application Server application management utilities.
In addition to the deployment of custom code, a number of other WebSphere Commerce tasks also update the master copy of the application. Some of these tasks are:
- Apply a WebSphere Commerce fix pack
- Apply a WebSphere Commerce APAR
- Enable or disabling a feature
- Publish a store
Therefore, it is important that you make any updates to the WebSphere Commerce application using only the WebSphere Application Server tools provided.
- Overview: WebSphere Commerce Build and Deployment tool
The WebSphere Commerce Build and Deployment tool is designed to address the error-prone and time-consuming nature of customized asset deployment. Manual customized asset deployment involves accessing and updating numerous systems, including the database, Web server, application server, and WebSphere Commerce server. This is problematic, especially for a production environment where downtime has a negative impact on the business. For a customization project with many developers, it is a challenge to ensure that each development environment setup is quick, easy, and repeatable to preserve productivity. The WebSphere Commerce Build and Deployment tool provides a starting point for you to automate the build and deployment processes in a standardized, controlled manner.
- Deploy customized assets
When you deploy customized assets for WebSphere Commerce, consider the two stages: packaging and deploying.
- What's changed for deploying customized assets
In WebSphere Commerce v7, there are changes that you should be aware of when deploying customized assets in WebSphere Commerce version 7.0. The information includes customizing the database, the Enterprise Application (EAR) file, and the Web server. It is intended for users who have experience with previous versions of deployment within WebSphere Commerce.
- Minimize downtime during deployment
Your WebSphere Commerce site is an integral part of the company's revenue flow, so disruptions and any downtime should be minimized. Moreover, taking down a site for long periods of time or frequently, reflects on the store's credibility and impacts the customer's shopping experience with and potential return visits to the site.
- Top 10 tips to ensure a successful deployment of WebSphere Commerce
The top 10 tips are based on lessons learned from deploying WebSphere Commerce-based solutions. The top 10 tips are meant to be thought and discussion provoking
- How to increase the success with WebSphere Commerce deployment
Using best practices will increase the success with deploying WebSphere Commerce.
- WebSphere Commerce deployment checklist
The WebSphere Commerce deployment checklist is based on lessons learned from IBM internal groups, external customers and business partners deploying WebSphere Commerce-based solutions. This checklist is intended to provoke discussion; it is not a detailed set of instructions.