At the infrastructure level AEM provides the following:

Web Application Server: AEM can be deployed in standalone mode (it includes an intergated Jetty web server) or as a web application within a third-party application server (WebLogic, WebSphere, etc).
Web Application Framework: AEM incorporates the Sling Web Application Framework that simplifies the writing of RESTful, content-oriented web applications.
Content Repository: AEM includes a Java Content Repository (JCR), a type of hierarchical database designed specifically for unstructured and semi-structured data. The repository stores not only the user-facing content but also all code, templates and internal data used by the application.

The AEM software package is available in two forms:

cq-quickstart-6.1.0.jar: A standalone executable jar file that includes everything needed to get up and running.
cq-quickstart-6.1.0.war: A war file for deployment in a third-party application server.

In addition you will also need a license code (to be entered on start-up) or a license.properties file, holding a valid code.

Setting up author and publish instance AEM

This procedure describes how to set up a default Author instance on port 4502 of the desired host.

To install an author instance:

1. On the host file system, create a directory and name it author.

2. Copy the CQ5 cq-wcm-quickstart-<version>.jar file into author/.

3. Rename cq-wcm-quickstart-<version>.jar to aem65-author-p4502.jar. If you need a different port this can be set in the filename.

4. Copy a valid license.properties file into author/ as well (the same directory as the aem65-author-p4502.jar file).

5. Start CQ WCM Quickstart:

       java -jar aem65-author-p4502.jar

Additional cmds:

a. For a 32-bit Java VM enter the following:

       java -Xmx1024M -jar aem65-author-p4502.jar

b. For a 64-bit VM, enter:

       java -jar aem65-author-p4502.jar -XX:MaxPermSize=256m -Xmx1024M

Similarly, for publish- just use port 4503.

Running aem in debug mode