By default, the Commvault software is installed on Instance001. You can install additional Commvault packages on a separate instance by enabling the multi-instancing feature.
You can have multiple Commvault instances running on the same computer. Each instance can operate simultaneously, independent of the other, because every instance has its own set of software binaries, services, and updates.
The multi-instancing feature is useful in the following environments:
32-Bit and 64-Bit Mixed Environments
You can use the multi-instancing feature to install the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of an agent in separate instances.
Suppose you have a 64-bit Windows computer with a mix of 32-bit and 64-bit applications. By default, a regular Commvault installation installs 64-bit agents to protect the application data. To protect the 32-bit applications, you must install the 32-bit version of the agent in a different instance.
Different CommCells
You can use the multi-instancing feature to make a computer a client of multiple CommCells. This is useful if you want to load-balance backup operations between two CommCells.
Suppose you have a CommCell environment with two CommServe computers (A and B), and you want to protect a computer that has a large file system data as well as Microsoft SQL Server and Exchange Server applications. You can install the SQL Server Agent and Exchange Agent on an instance that points to CommServe A, and install the Windows File System Agent on a different instance that points to CommServe B. The backup jobs are handled separately by CommServe A and B.
To install multiple instances on a computer, see Enabling Multi-Instance Installations.