Once the bundle is up and running you can start using Liferay Portal, but before opening the service to general public some configuration is recommended. This configuration will allow an optimized performance when multiple concurrent uses access the portal and activates all of Liferay Portal features by integration with external systems
In the following instructions, Liferay Portal uses an embeded database. While this is a good method to have it up and running fast for reviewing or developing, it has several drawbacks:
Only one user can access it at a time. This is because the data is stored on a file on disk and HSQL locks it when doing changes.
The data is stored inside the application server and might be lost on redeployment.
Fortunately, Liferay has great support for a good number of production-ready databases, and it is easy to configure Liferay to use them. The exact instructions will depend on the application server and database. Refer to the detailed installation for instructions on how to configure MySQL or other databases.
The bundled configuration connects to a mail SMTP and IMAP server installed in the same machine as the application server (refered to as localhost in the configuration). It also assumes that certain paths are present in the system.
Refer to chapters 4 and 5 for more information on how to change the system defaults. Also read Liferay Portal 4 - Customization Guide for a complete reference of the configuration options provided by Liferay Portal.