Differences between WAR files and predeployed EAR files of Portal Application

Affected portal area	WAR file	Predeployed EAR file
Portlet application	The portlet application is provided as WAR file. The portal configuration is read directly from the file stream. The WAR file is deployed into the application server by the portal.	The portlet application is already extracted and deployed into the application server as part of the EAR file. The portal server reads the available portal configuration information (portlet.xml, etc.) from the location where the contained WAR file was extracted to.
Context Root	The context root is assigned by the portal during WAR deployment.	The context root is assigned by the EAR developer and stored in the fileapplication.xml. You must ensure that the context root that you specify when you register the portlet matches the one specified in the EAR application.xml.
Display name	The display name is assigned by Portal during WAR deployment.	The display name is assigned by the EAR developer and stored in the fileapplication.xml.
WebSphere Application Server policy for portlet applications	The policy is stored in the WAR file and promoted to the EAR file by the portal during WAR deployment	The policy is stored in the EAR file.
Portlet administration	You administer WAR files using the XML configuration interface and the administration portlets.	You can register EAR files only by using an XML script with predeployed mode. You can remove EAR files by using either the administration portlet or an XML script.