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This section describes the deployment process of Lotus Domino in general terms.
In this section we primarily describe deployment on Windows.
Pre Upgrade Checklist
Before starting to deploy Lotus Domino 8.5, please make sure the following checkpoints have been verified:
- Is the latest version of the Domino server installation package available?
- Is the public Domino Directory template (pubnames.ntf) available locally?
- If you are currently using a customized Domino Directory template, are these customizations included in the new Domino Directory template?
- Server downtime was communicated and is approved in your change management system.
- All administration tools used in this Domino domain are compatible with Domino R8.5.
- Are all system tools (for example, backup programs) R8.5 compliant?
If not upgrade your server hardware before you upgrade Domino.
- Do you have sufficient disk space available?
Note: You need to plan additional space as all view indices will be built-up and therefore a database can become larger than before. A minimum of 1.5 GByte of storage is required for upgrading a server. On the Domino data drives, you also require as much free space as the size of the largets Domino databases located on that drive in order to perform a successful compact.
- Are all customized templates R8.5 ready? This means are they tested and, if necessary, adapted?
Please especially be aware of customized templates that are based on Lotus system templates such as directories, directory catalog, and so on. These templates have to be upgraded so that they use the latest R8.5 version of the Lotus template as a base, otherwise errors might occur later
- Is the access to the Domino server console available and guaranteed to be working during the maintenance window (local or via a remote control tool)?
- Local hands and eye support is available during the deployment.
- Helpdesk is informed about the upgrade activities.
- Downtime has been estimated and is approved?
- If you have a system management tool installed (like Tivoli Intelliwatch) make sure that you do not have an automatism in place which restarts add-in tasks automatically which should not be started on the server if it is upgraded to R8.5.
- If you have other automated tasks running (for example, System Agents) make sure that all automated tasks are disabled during the upgrade (for example, automatic server restart procedures) or disabled permanently (for example, deleting of NTF files).
- If you have configuration documents with an “*” as server name (valid for all servers) make sure that you create a separate configuration document for every single server to be upgraded with the appropriate settings before starting the upgrade.
- If you have program documents with an “*” as server name (valid for all servers) make sure that you create a separate program document for every single server to be upgraded with the appropriate settings before starting the upgrade.
- If you have mixed connection documents for mail and replication it’s recommended to split them up and create separate connection documents for mail routing and replication.
If you are upgrading an existing environment, the following additional items apply:
- Did you perform a successful full backup of the existing Domino environment?
- Have all applications successfully been tested for compatibility with Domino 8.5?
- Does the server hardware and software correspond to the minimum R8.5 requirements?
- Before starting the upgrade of a clustered server you have to make sure that you copy the template files to all cluster members. Make sure that all older templates with the same template design name are removed from all cluster members before starting the migration.
- Are all cluster replicas of mail files and applications synchronized?
Administration Client
In order to become familiar with the new Notes 8 client, the Domino administration team should install the Notes 8 All Client version, making sure to install both the Domino Administrator and Domino Designer client options. Install additional client features as required.
- Download and unpack the installation package to a temporary folder on your hard disk.
- Start the setup and follow the installation process
- Make sure to install the remote server setup feature in order to remotely connect to and configure your first Domino server for new Domino deployments or subsequent servers for existing Domino deployments.
Note: Starting with Domino 8.5, the Admininstration and Designer client is no longer available as a basic version.
System Databases
This section describes how to upgrade the design of your system databases in advance to a server upgrade. If you are installing a new server / domain from scratch, you can skip skip this chapter.
The Domino directory (Names.nsf) and the Administration Requests database (Admin4.nsf) are the most critical system databases that must be upgraded before (or as soon as) the Administration Server of the Domain is upgraded.
Please note that customizations (if any) need to be added to your new templates before applying them.
Prerequisites
All servers of the Domino domain should be available when upgrading the Domino Directory template and other system database. In order for new design elements to replicate properly within the domain, make sure no maintenance is scheduled of any spoke server.
- For any system database, the following elements should be verified
- Replication must be enabled on each spoke server of the domain
- Replication of design elements must be possible from the administration server to all spoke servers.
- ACL for the databases must be set accordingly to allow successful design replication
Domino Directory Design Upgrade
To upgrade the Domino directory you have to perform the following steps on the administration server of the Domino directory of the domain:
- Make sure that no design elements of the Domino directory have set the property “Prohibit design refresh or replace to modify”. If necessary disable this setting for all design elements before starting the upgrade.
- Temporally disable the replication for the Domino directory (NAMES.NSF).
- To backup the current Domino Directory, stop the server and copy the Domino Directory database to a place outside the Domino data directory.
Afterwards restart the server.
- Be sure, that the Domino directory template is stored on the server. If not, copy the template to the data directory of the server.
- Attention if you are using the PUBNAMES.NTF template: The template is provided in the format of R8.5 ODS and cannot be used to replace the design locally on an R8 server. You need to change the ODS before copying the file.
- If your Domino Directory is full-text indexed, be sure to delete the full text index before starting your upgrade (disable full text index in the database properties, do not just delete the full text index files on the disk!)
- Upgrade:
- Stop the Domino server
- Use the local server client (“d:\notes\nlnotes.exe”) to start the design replace locally and wait for the process to finish.
- Restart the server again after the design replace has been finished.
The design upgrade cannot be performed from a remote administrator client.
Because the server automatically starts rebuilding the views it leads to a network timeout after about 60% completion (that is when the $ServerAccess view will be rebuilt and the client can not connect to the server during that time).
- After start up, the server starts to rebuild all views. This step may be time-consuming, depending on the size of the Domino directory. During that time you may not be able to access the server or server access may be slow.
- Disable the setting “Inherit design from master template” in the database properties.
- Check that your server is working properly by accessing it with your client.
- If exist, edit + save any existing Domino Policy Setting document by using an R8.5 client.
Important: DO NOT use @Command([ToolsRefreshSelectedDocs]), nor any other kind of agent, otherwise you will run into the issues described in IBM Technote #1299046
- Enable replication of the directory again and observe the replication to your other servers in the domain. As view updates of the Domino directory will happen on all servers immediately after the design changes have been replicated, the servers may not be accessible for some time until the view updates have been finished.
- Check if you can open the Domino directory and if the new design has been successfully replicated on the other servers of the domain (make at least some spot tests)
Administration Request Design Upgrade
To upgrade the Administration Requests database (Admin4.nsf) you have to perform the following steps on the administration server of the Domino directory of the domain:
- Disable the setting “Inherit design from master template” in the database properties.
- Stop the Domino server and copy the administration request database to a place outside the Domino data directory. Afterwards restart the server.
- Store the new administration request template (“ADMIN4.NTF”) to your local client.
Note: If you are upgrading from R7 to 8.5 be sure that you update the design from your local client. The ADMIN4.NTF provided in the template package has R8.5 ODS and cannot be read locally by an R7 server.
- Temporally disable the replication for the administration request database (ADMIN4.NSF)
- Make sure that no design elements of the ADMIN4.NSF have set the property “Prohibit design refresh or replace to modify”. If necessary disable this setting for all design elements before starting the upgrade.
- Replace the database design (File -> Database -> Replace design) with the template which you have stored locally in the first step. Be sure that you use the replica on the administration server of the ADMIN4.NSF.
- Check that your can open the administration request database with your client.
- Enable replication of the administration request database again and observe the replication to your other servers in the domain.
Once completed, check if you can open the ADMIN4.NSF and if the new design has been successfully replicated on the other servers of the domain by making at least some spot tests.
Install the Lotus Domino Server
This section details the steps required to perform the actual Domino 8.5 code installation with focus on upgrading an existing server.
Pre Upgrade Checklist
The following items should be verified before upgrading an existing server to a newer release of Domino.
Please note: this checklist is to be used in combination with the checklist for a new server.
- Have all system databases been upgraded as described above.
- Have all third party administrative tools running on this server been verified to be R8.5 compliant?
- Are all change requests regarding the upgrade created and approved?
- Are all system tools (for example, backup software) R8.5 compliant?
If not upgrade them before you start the migration process.
- Did you perform a successful full backup of the Domino environment?
- Have application tests been finished, or has application compatibility been confirmed by the customer?
- Before starting the upgrade of a clustered server you have to make sure that you copy the template files to all cluster members. Make sure that all older templates with the same template design name are removed from all cluster members before starting the migration.
- If exists, are all cluster replicas of mail files and applications synchronized?
- Is the Helpdesk informed about the upgrade activities?
- Is the time schedule estimated and approved by the customers responsible?
- If you have a system management tool installed (like Tivoli Intelliwatch) make sure that you do not have an automatism in place which restarts add-in tasks automatically which should not be started on the server if it is upgraded to R8.5
- If you have other automated tasks running (for example, System Agents) make sure that all automated tasks are disabled during the upgrade (for example, automatic server restart procedures) or disabled permanently (for example, deleting of NTF files).
- If you have configuration documents with an “*” as server name (valid for all servers) make sure that you create a separate configuration document for every single server to be upgraded with the appropriate settings before starting the upgrade.
- If you have program documents with an “*” as server name (valid for all servers) make sure that you create a separate program document for every single server to be upgraded with the appropriate settings before starting the upgrade.
- If you have mixed connection documents for mail and replication it’s recommended to split them up and create separate connection documents for mail routing and replication.
Continue with checklist for a new server.
New Server Checklist
For installing new servers verify the following items:
- Is the latest version of the server installation package available?
- Does the Domino server hardware and software infrastructure meet the minimum requirements for Domino R8.5? See the section above on evaluating server readiness.
- Is sufficient disk space available for the upgrade? You need about 1500 MB on the drive where the installation files will be copied. On the Domino data drives, you also as much free space as the size of the biggest Domino databases located on that drive in order to perform a successful compact. You need to plan additional space as all view indices will be build-up and therefore a database can become bigger than before.
- If you are installing a server remotely, do you have “local hands” or “on call” support during the upgrade?
- Is the access to the Domino server console available and guaranteed to be working during the maintenance window (local or via a remote control tool)?
Upgrade an existing server to Lotus Domino 85
This section describes how to upgrade an existing server to Lotus Domino 8.5 – if you are installing a server from scratch, please skip this chapter.
- Using your Domino Administrator client, delete the full text index of NAMES.NSF (if any) as well as any full text indices of all databases where a full text index is not absolutely needed. This step is to minimize the time the updall will need later on to rebuild all Full Text Indices.
Note: Full text indices of the databases any Mobile Directories and MTSTORE.NSF (Message Tracking) are required and must not be deleted.
Perform a full backup of the Domino server preferably in the night before starting the upgrade.
Performing a backup prior to upgrading is strongly recommended in the rare case you will need to back out an upgrade or you experience any database corruption or data loss. We recommend performing a full backup of your Domino server before starting the server upgrade process. If you are unable to perform a full backup of all your Domino servers, we suggest backing up at least the following elements:
- *.ID
- notes.ini
- names.nsf
- admin4.nsf
- events4.nsf
- ddm.nsf
- all files in the directory DOMINO\HTML
- All other directory databases such as the directory assistance, extended directory catalog, condensed directory catalog, and schema database
- Any third-party add-ins binaries or executables and extension managers
- Temporarily disable all program and replication (not mail routing!) documents for that server
Change the appropriate documents in NAMES.NSF of that server to “Disabled”. If you are applying these changes on a different server, please ensure to replicate your changes top the server you’re upgrading. Be aware of wildcard program documents which apply to all servers ( * ).
Attention: Make sure to document which documents were already disabled in the past so that you don’t re-enable them by accident later on.
- Add new Notes.ini variables either to the Notes.ini directory, or by using a server configuration document:
SERVER_UPGRADE_NO_DIRECTORY_REDESIGN=1
Add this setting if you have already upgraded the design of your Domino directory and do not want to be prompted to upgrade your design when the Domino server starts up on Domino 8.5
SetupLeaveServerTasks=1
will keep the Domino installation from changing the ServerTasks lines back to their defaults (that is, ServerTasksat1=Catalog, Design). This is especially useful for keeping the Design task out, and should be helpful during upgrades.
CREATE_R85_DATABASES=1
While we do not suggest upgrading the ODS during the upgrade process itself, you can add this notes.ini parameter prior to upgrading to Domino 8.5. pre-Domino 8.5 servers ignore this setting, so it is safe to set this parameter even in a mixed version environment
CREATE_R85_LOG=1
With Domino 8.5 the format of transaction logs can be optimized for Domino servers that use a block size different than the default block size of 512 bytes.
Additional Notes.ini variables may further optimize your Domino server configuration in R8.5.
- Remove obsolete Notes.ini Variables. For a detailed list, please refer to chapter ý15.1.2
Make sure to update the server configuration document where obsolete NOTES.INI variables are used.
Tip: The following IBM Lotus Web site provides a great reference for common Notes.ini parameters:
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/documentation/notes-ini/index.html
- (Optional) Disable Domino directory replication.
- Immediately before the upgrade, disable user access to the the server by restricting server usage by using the following console command:
>set conf server_restricted=2
- As soon as this command has been issued, Domino will not accept any new Open Database requests by users. Administrators are still allowed to access the server.
- (Optional) Purge all administrative requests.
- Drop existing user session from the server by issuing the following console command
> drop all
- Stop SMTP mail routing by issuing the following console command
>tell SMTP quit
- Verify that all server mail box files (mail.box, mail1.box .. mailn.box) are empty and any existing mail as been routed properly by issuing the following console command:
> tell router show queue
If there are still messages in one of the mailboxes, you may route them manually.
- If running Domino as a service on Windows, change the startup type to manual and restart the operating system to clean up shared memory elements.
Note: If the Domino server task is not shutting down completely run the following operating system command from the Domino data directory:
> d:\notes\nfixup “dummydb.nsf”
The NSF file used as an argument does not need to exist. It is just a dummy parameter. The recovery manager will then flush all parts of the transaction log, which are still in memory, to disk.
After the Server Software has been installed, continue with…
- (Optional) Cnvert to new On-Disk-Structure (ODS) 51. For a detailed description of how to enable the new ODS please refer to chapter ý4.6.5
- Start the domino server and check if it is starting without any errors.
- Install customized templates and continue with enabling additional features.
Lotus Domino Server Software Installation
This section details the steps required to perform the actual Domino 8.5 code installation.
IBM Lotus provides several different installation types, including full, silent, and express installations. For the purposes of this wiki, we focus on the full setup installation, which we performed on the Windows 2003 operating system in our ITSO lab environment.
For details on the silent and express installations or other operating systems installations, see the Lotus Domino Administrator 8.5 help documentation.
For a Domino full setup installation, perform the following steps:
- After invoking the setup.exe file to launch the Domino 8 installation program, the Java™-based InstallShield Wizard dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 3-3.
- After accepting the license agreement, you will be prompted to select a folder for the Domino executable and data files, as shown below.
By default, the installation program installs the new files to the same location where your current Domino server is installed. You will also be asked whether you want to install a partitioned server, which means that the same binaries folder and directory are used by several Domino servers on the same physical machine or on the same logical OS partition, known as an LPAR on UNIX-based machines. We do not install partitioned servers, so we leave this setting unchecked.
- After specifying a location for the Domino 8.5 installation, the dialog box shown in figure opens, offering selections for the server types and features to install.
- After verifying the installation settings, shown below, click Next to launch the Domino 8.5 server installation.
- After the installation completes, click Finish, as shown below.
Post upgrade checklist
Once Lotus Domino has been installed, the following steps should be performed prior to starting the Domino 8.5 servers for the first time:
- Verify your template management, as discussed in Domino Server Deployment Best Practices.
Replace the out-of-the-box templates and remove unused templates, as necessary.
- Edit the server Notes.ini file, per the recommendations above.
- Perform compact –c , fixup on the system databases names.nsf and admin4.nsf
Note : To upgrade these files to the latest ODS, make sure if the Create_R85_Databases=1 variable was added to the notes.ini a copy style compact was issued on names.nsf or admin4.nsf, the ODS is upgraded to ODS 51. For more information on upgrading all databases to the new ODS, please refer the ODS Upgrade section below.
- Rebuild view of names.nsf offline, using the updall -R command.
If working with a large names.nsf, it is ideal to replace the names.nsf database with a replica that already has the new Domino 8.5 design with updated views.
- If you have upgraded the Domino Directory design already make sure the variable “Server_Upgrade_No_Directory_ReDesign=1” has been added to your Notes.ini prior to starting your server after the Domino 8.5 upgrade. If not present you will be prompted to upgrade the design of your Domino directory. As with prior releases of the Domino server, after starting the server for the first time on Domino 8.5, the design of many of the system databases is automatically upgraded as well, including events4.nsf and ddm.nsf.
- For Windows servers, reset your Domino server as a Windows service.
For UNIX servers, re-enable any cron jobs that automatically restart Domino.
- Test your Domino server:
a. Access the Domino server from a remote Notes client.
b. Access a database on the Domino server from a Web browser if http is enabled.
c. Ensure that the major Domino server functions like replication, mail routing, and any third-party applications are running successfully.
- After upgrading the administration server, make sure that you upgrade the design of your administration requests database (admin4.nsf) based on the new admin4.ntf template.
- Prepare the next Domino sever for upgrade.
Repeat the upgrade steps in this section for each of your Domino servers: administration, hub, directory, mail, application, and Web servers. Once all Domino servers are upgraded, your Domino server deployment is complete.
You are now ready to perform the optional ODS upgrade and enable additional Domino features such as DAOS.
Recommended NOTES INI variables for Domino Servers
SERVER_UPGRADE_NO_DIRECTORY_REDESIGN=1
SetupLeaveServerTasks=1
CREATE_R85_DATABASES=1
Create_R85_Log=1
ADMIN_CLIENT_SKIP_DOMINO=1
CATALOG_DISK_USAGE=1
CONSOLE_LOG_ENABLED=1
Recommended NOTES INI variables for 64 bit Domino Servers
Additional to the variables described in the previous chapter, the following variables are recommended for 64 Bit Domino servers.
MEM_FSCachePercentMem=10
ODS Upgrade
Starting with Lotus Domino 8.0, upgrading to a new On Disk Structure(ODS) is optional.
Although you may very well continue to run an older ODS version on an higher release of Domino any extended database feature will not be available.
In short, the new ODS provides potential improvements for I/O and folder optimization. It is also a requirement for the implementation of the following new features:
- Domino Attachment and Object Service
- Document compression
We highly recommend that, if and when you decide to upgrade the ODS of your databases, you ensure that the Domino server is stable at the new Domino 8.5 code level. This includes the testing of all the basic Domino server functionality. Once you are confident that the Domino 8.5 upgrade was a success, you can proceed to upgrading the ODS.
With that said, if you decide that you would like to upgrade to ODS51 immediately or shortly after you upgrade to Domino 8.5, you can add the Create_R85_Databases=1 notes.ini parameter to a Lotus Domino 8.0 (or 7.0) server in preparation for the Domino 8.5 upgrade.
The following two steps are required to enabled the new On Disk Structure:
- Add the Create_R8_Databases=1 parameter to the server notes.ini files (if not already done before)
- Run a compact -c, or other copy-style compact, against your databases.
Note: you may want to enable some of the new ODS features at the same time. Please review the
DAOS pages.
Tip: For most efficient ODS conversion, please review the chapter Efficiently Upgrading the On-Disk-Structure (ODS) section of Domino Server Deployment Best Practices.
Upgrade the Notes Clients
Now its time to plan upgrading your clients - this is described in more detail in Lotus Notes Clients.
Mail file and Application Design
Historically, upgrading a Notes/Domino environment has had minimal impacts on existing Notes applications. While trying to provide improvements based on widely adopted open standards, keeping backward compatibility has always been very important. But just like for the messaging, applications need to be properly planned as well during an upgrade.
First, we can start thinking about applications from the outset. There's a lot of work that can be done prior to the actual upgrade. You will need all the details of your existing applications when discussing requirements and architecture.
You can start by doing an inventory of your applications. Leverage this opportunity to clean up your environment of unused applications. During this process, gather the following information:
- Application owner(s)
- User population using this application (executives, managers, departments or the entire organization)
- Type and level of complexity of the application (template-based, custom, back-end connectivity and integration)
- Importance of applications (mission-critical, company-wide, departmental, financial, data repository, etc)
- Existing Issues – This will avoid any blame on the upgrade if it was already broken
Then, you will need to determine what you will do with them. Some applications might be simple enough to upgrade their design directly, while others might require more testing and fixing their existing issues before the upgrade.
It is strongly recommended to plan your upgrade in small steps:
- Give a higher priority to the applications that must be fixed before the upgrade and assess the resources and efforts necessary for this task.
- Focus your efforts on the issues that are easy to fix, while avoiding the introduction of new features
- Upgrade the application that are based on standard templates, notify the users and assess if training would be necessary for them
It is strongly recommended NOT to upgrade applications and application servers if they are already having issues. Fix the existing issues before you attempt an upgrade.
When you do application testing, the key is to do it intelligently. You do not need to test every single application in your organization. Leverage your application inventory and the information you've gathered earlier, based on complexity, importance, and audience. Then, build a sample list like the following example:
- Mission-critical applications
- Applications used by executives
- Complex/Custom applications relying on backend or third-party software
- Applications based on the same standard template
It is critical to document your findings and to inform the application owners. if possible, leverage existing tools to assist you in your testing.
To guide you in your efforts, use your priorities and test results:
- Find the most important items that must be fixed before the upgrade
- Build a small team to test low-priority applications to identify unforeseen issues after the upgrade
If you have not done it already, install a Domino 8.5 server in your test environment dedicated for application testing. This server will be used for acceptance testing. After every successful application testing, it is recommended to archive copies of new templates.
If possible, it would be good to have a pre-production / quality assurance server where pilot users can actually use the upgraded application, just like in production. Make sure you document and resolve new issues encountered. It is recommended to wait until the upgrade is fully completed to implement new features, in order to avoid too many changes implemented at the same time.
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