The term server can be confusing due to its multiple meanings. In this guide, server refers to an Oracle ATG Web Commerce application instance that is deployed to your application server in the form of an EAR file. Each server can (and usually does) include multiple Oracle ATG Web Commerce products and a variety of modules depending on the server’s purpose. Conversely, one product may require multiple servers.

You can create any number of server instances based on a single physical installation of Oracle ATG Web Commerce. Server instances are a way to provide server-specific configuration information without undue duplication; see the ATG Installation and Configuration Guide for information if you are not familiar with this feature.

To reduce confusion, application servers and Oracle ATG Web Commerce servers are always specified as such in this guide, and the term server never refers to hardware.