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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.
Deploying
The topics in this section describe how to publish stores to either a test or production environment, and how to deploy customized code.
Publishing a store archive
Publishing a store archive to a WebSphere Commerce Server allows you to create a running store. You have two options for publishing a store archive: Publishing a store archive using the Publish wizard, Publishing a store archive using the publishstore utility.

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.
- 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.
  - 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 your database, web server, application server, and WebSphere Commerce server. Manual customization can be 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 your build and deployment processes in a standardized, controlled manner.
  - Managed asset deployment
    Managed assets are files that are uploaded by business users to be used for store marketing, or to supplement products. They are added to WebSphere Commerce through the Assets tool or the Marketing tool in Management Center. By default, managed assets are extracted and deployed through the WebSphere Commerce EAR. To maintain performance in a large-scale production environment, site administrators must switch to alternative extraction and deployment methods for managed assets.
  - Deploying customized assets
    When you deploy customized assets for WebSphere Commerce, consider the two stages: packaging and deploying.
  - Minimizing downtime during deployment
    Your WebSphere Commerce site is an integral part of your 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.
  - How to increase your success with WebSphere Commerce deployment
    Use these tips and best practices to help you successfully deploy 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.
  - Publishing a store archive
    Publishing a store archive to a WebSphere Commerce Server allows you to create a running store. You have two options for publishing a store archive: Publishing a store archive using the Publish wizard, Publishing a store archive using the publishstore utility.
    - Starter store archives
      A starter store archive provides a fully functional sample online store. Starter stores are samples that are designed to be used as a base from which a customized online store can be created. Starter stores are translated into several languages and are accessible.
    - … by using the Publish wizard
      Use the Publish wizard to create stores and store-related components.
    - … publish store utility
      Although the primary method of publishing a store archive is through the Administration Console, you can also publish a store archive by using the command line. Only one store can be published at a time.
    - Deleting a published store
      When you publish a store using WebSphere Commerce, store assets and database objects are saved within the WebSphere Commerce Server. If you want to delete the store, you must ensure that it is cleaned from the WebSphere Commerce system. You might want to delete a store if you encountered problems when you tried to publish the store, or you have a corrupted store. Once the store is cleaned from the WebSphere Commerce system, you can republish it.
    - Store publish process
      In order to create a functioning store, the storefront Web assets must be published to the WebSphere Commerce Server, and the store data must be published to the WebSphere Commerce database. In order to publish a store, you must have Site Administrator authority. Site Administrators can initiate the publish process by using either of the following methods: Publish wizard, publishstore utility.
    - Publish wizard configuration parameters
      You can change the behavior of the Publish wizard by modifying some configuration parameters in the WebSphere Commerce configuration file.
    - Publish wizard publish parameters
      The publish parameters used by the Publish wizard are defined by the store-refs.xml file in each store archive. Publishing parameters are only available through the Publish wizard. If you publish a store archive through the command line, you cannot specify parameter values. The default values contained in the store archive file are used.
    - Displaying additional stores in the Publish wizard
      Certain store archive (SAR) files are not displayed in the Publish wizard in the Administration Console. For example, store archives for deprecated stores are not displayed. If you want to publish these stores using the Publish wizard, you can move them to a location that makes them available for selection in the Publish wizard.
- 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

Publishing a store archive

Publishing a store archive to a WebSphere Commerce Server allows you to create a running store. You have two options for publishing a store archive: Publishing a store archive using the Publish wizard, Publishing a store archive using the publishstore utility.

Important:

Do not publish a store archive and load catalog data at the same time. Before publishing a store archive, ensure that no catalog-upload job is running.
In a clustered environment, make sure that commerce instances on all nodes are running.