Discontinued functionality in WebSphere Commerce Version 9

If we are migrating from an earlier version of WebSphere Commerce, be aware of the various features removed from this release. Most of the discontinued functionality in this release is as a result of architectural changes, when there is a replacement or alternative function available the alternative is described. The following features are discontinued in this release of WebSphere Commerce.


Operating systems and environments

In WebSphere Commerce Version 9 the product available as Docker images. We can run WebSphere Commerce Version 9 on any platform supported by Docker. WebSphere Commerce Version 9 is no longer available for installation on a local machine on these operating systems: AIX, IBM i, and Windows.
Recommended action:Deploy the WebSphere Commerce Version 9 Docker images on a platform that Docker supports.


Web servers

Support for Microsoft Internet Information Server is discontinued.
Recommended action: Use IBM HTTP Server


Database servers

Support for Derby database is discontinued.
Recommended action: Use an IBM Db2, or Oracle database.


Integrations


Sterling Configure, Price, Quote

In previous releases of WebSphere Commerce you could integrate with Sterling Configure, Price, Quote to enable a WebSphere Commerce site to sell complex configurable products (dynamic kits).
Recommended action:

Use the Modular Omni-Configurator solution provided with IBM Sterling Configure, Price, Quote V9.5.0. Modular Omni-Configurator that is lightweight and enabled for multi device support. The new Modular configurator is a component of IBM Sterling Configure, Price, Quote V9.5.0 that is independently deployable and provides a RESTful JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) service for scalability, cost-effective integrations, and seamless use of Sterling Configure, Price, Quote on a mobile devices. See Modularized Omni-Configurator


Features and functions


Managed files and managed directories

Support for managed files and managed directories is discontinued. In previous versions of WebSphere Commerce a managed file was any file uploaded to WebSphere Commerce using the Management Center Assets tool or created using the fileloader utility. The managed file was written to the WebSphere Commerce database then after certain criteria were met, the managed files were copied from the WebSphere Commerce database to the WebSphere Commerce EAR file. In WebSphere Commerce Version 9 storefront assets are separate from the WebSphere Commerce EAR file so this functionality is no longer necessary.
Recommended action: Use Watson Content Hub or a third-party file server to manage file assets. For compatibility with previous releases, static assets can also be served from the Store server or the Transaction server. Regardless of the location of the static asset, Management Center users refer to the assets using the URL.


Struts version 1.x enterprise Java web application features

The following capabilities available with Struts 1.x are no longer available in Version 2. For Struts migration information, see Migrating customized struts assets.

  1. Refreshing the command, view, and URL registries in the WebSphere Commerce Administration Console without a server restart is no longer supported.

    The default Command registry , View registry , and URL registry are loaded from struts configuration files. Beginning with Version 9.0.1.0, refreshing those registries in the WebSphere Commerce Administration Console without a server restart is not supported.

    Recommended action: In version 9, all configuration files including Struts configuration files are deployed to a Docker Commerce server image. This image is then rolled out to the runtime environment. In order for any modifications to a Struts configuration file to take effect, we must deploy the changed customization asset to the Docker instance. See Deploying custom changes to a production environment.

  2. Feed formatting JSP for Atom/custom Web Services Feed

    The WebSphere Commerce RESTful framework uses JSP files to generate the content of an Atom or custom feed. This method is discontinued in version 9.0.1.

    Recommended action: Since the RESTful framework already supports JSON and XML format, we can use JSON and XML formatting for web services. See Web Services for Feed.

  3. IBM Gift Center for the Madisons starter store

    The sample add-on store archive of the IBM Gift Center for the Madisons starter store is discontinued. The store archive includes the JSP pages and server side struts actions.

    Recommended action: We can continue to use the IBM Gift Center with Madison starter store if you migrate the assets to Struts 2. See
    Migrating customized web applications to Struts 2.


Search BOD services

WebSphere Commerce Version 9 supports REST-based search services. Recommended action: Review the following topics to migrate the WebSphere Commerce Search BOD services to REST-based services.


Utilities

WebSphere Commerce Version 8 provided command-line utilities to perform administrative functions. In WebSphere Commerce Version 9 some utilities have been removed and others have been replaced by other functionality.

Functional area V8 utility V9 Replacement
Search configSearchReplication In WebSphere Commerce Version 9 all command-line search operations have been replace by RESTful APIs. See WebSphere Commerce Search index lifecycle.
crawler
setupSearchIndex
Managed files fileloader Support for managed files is removed. Use Watson Content Hub or a third-party file server to manage file assets. Refer to the assets in Management Center by using the URL.
fileprop
Loading data massextract Use the Data Load utility. See Overview of the Data Load utility.
massload
Migrating from previous releases migrateListPrice Used to migrate data from Version 7 to Version 8. No replacement required.
migrateMarketing
migratePromotions
migrateSearchFacet
migrateSolrSearch Not supported in V9. Directions to migrate WebSphere Commerce Search are provided. See Migrating custom assets from a REST-based search deployment.
Publishing a store publishstore A Gradle script replaces the publishstore utility. See Creating our custom store in your programming environment.
Development environment resetdb This utility reset the Derby database. The Derby database is not supported in WebSphere Commerce Version 9. To reset the database, we can use a script, or we can create a new database.
resetstores In WebSphere Commerce Version 9 the Stores web module is replaced by crs-web project. To reset the stores to the default, recover the crs-web project.
restoreDefault In WebSphere Commerce Version 9 recover the workspace to restore it to the default settings.
Configuration Manager config_server The Configuration Manager tool has been removed. The functionality previously performed by the tool is superseded by the continuous delivery pipeline.


Related concepts
Deprecated functionality
What's new in WebSphere Commerce Version 9.0.1.x