ColdFusion provides a powerful and flexible installation and upgrade process. The ColdFusion installation process includes the following phases:

1. Plan the installation by determining your installation, configuration, and upgrade options.
2. Run the ColdFusion installer.
3. (J2EE configuration only) Deploy and configure ColdFusion on your J2EE application server.

The ColdFusion installation process supports the following scenarios:

New installation

Install ColdFusion on a computer with no earlier ColdFusion installation.

Upgrade installation

You can upgrade from ColdFusion MX, ColdFusion MX 6.1, and ColdFusion MX 7. When upgrading from ColdFusion MX, ColdFusion MX 6.1, or ColdFusion MX 7, the installer preserves the existing settings and installs in a new directory, automatically assigning ports that do not conflict with the existing installation.

You can install ColdFusion 8 in any of the following configurations:

Server configuration

Lets you install one instance of ColdFusion 8 with an embedded J2EE server. This configuration most closely resembles the ColdFusion MX base release and other releases prior to ColdFusion MX, such as ColdFusion 5 and ColdFusion 4.5. This was formerly known as the stand-alone configuration. For information on installing the server configuration, see Installing the Server Configuration.

Multiserver configuration (Enterprise Edition only)

Installs Macromedia® JRun™ from Adobe and automatically deploys ColdFusion 8 in a separate JRun server instance. This configuration supports server instance creation and ColdFusion deployment in the ColdFusion Administrator and lets you manage ColdFusion 8 deployments on multiple JRun servers. For information on installing the multiserver configuration, see Installing the Multiserver Configuration.

J2EE configuration (Enterprise Edition only)

Lets you deploy ColdFusion 8 as a Java application running on a Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) application server, using the bundled license of JRun or a third-party J2EE server, such as IBM WebSphere or BEA WebLogic. When you use the J2EE configuration, you can deploy ColdFusion 8 multiple times on a single computer. For information on installing the J2EE configuration, see Installing the J2EE Configuration.