GateIn is deployed in the form of gatein.ear standard Jave EE deployment archive placed in the same deployments directory used for user applications.

Optional GateIn extensions archives if deployed have to integrate into GateIn's 'extensions mechanism' which requires listing deployment archive names in standalone.xml under gatein subsystem configuration in the <deployment-archives> section.

By placing gatein.ear, and all GateIn extensions archives into a separate deployment directory (gatein/deployments) we can enumerate them automatically without performing any inspections of the archives themselves, and avoid having to listing them in standalone.xml. We also move these archives out of the default deployments directory - 'out of sight' so to speak, and provides clean separation between portal, and user applications.

All of that provides better ergonomics.

Keep supporting current way of GateIn deployment for cases when a separate gatein/deployments directory is not desired.