Upgrading to Domino 8.5: Notes on the Process

Notes Domino 8.5 STEW

Upgrading to Notes/Domino 8.5

Andrea W augh-Metzger
Consulting I/T Specialist
Lotus Great Lakes Sales

Lotus Worldwide Technical Sales
© 2008 IBM Corporation

Lotus WTS Enablement Notes Domino 8.5 STEW

About Lotus Worldwide Technical Sales

The W orldwide Technical Sales organization provides field enablement
and technical support for the Lotus product set and engages with
customer opportunities in an effort to drive sales.

 Find more information and resources by visiting the W TS portal at http://
wtsportal.lotus.com/wps/portal
 Request W orldwide Technical Sales Assistance at Escalation Central
http://wtsportal.lotus.com/wps/myportal/ec


Agenda

• Notes/Domino 8 Upgrade Path
● Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Upgrades


Upgrading the Client First

● Supported during upgrade process
● Domino 8 Server needed for
Mail Recall
Out of Office enhancements
Unprocessed Meeting Invitations


Install and Upgrade Options

● Upgrades supported from Notes 6.5
Existing bookmarks included in Open button menu
● MSI
Support for scripted, “silent” installs
● Smart Upgrade
Sends configurable upgrade notifications to end users
Allows administrators to establish a grace period
Supports Mail template upgrade as well as client
Tracks client versions


Desktop of the future: Managed Client

Domino 8 Server

Smart Upgrade kits Component updates Composite apps

Component Traditional &
Notes provisioning composite
Smart Upgrade (features) applications
(versions only)
(features)

Notes 8 Client


Compatibility Makes It Easy to Upgrade

● No Rip and Replace because ND8.5 is compatible with previous
versions:
Same proven infrastructure
Same data stores
Same model for customizing the mail template
Same Security infrastructure
Same Directory
Same Admin tools
Same Replication
Same set of application APIs


Notes Client Options
● Notes Client
 Eclipse-based
 Preferred configuration, full-featured
● Basic Configuration
 W indows C++ client
 For less powerful desktops
 Does not support composite applications, plug-ins, or
java views
● Inotes, iNotes light and Ultralight
 Browser-based Access


Notes 8.5 Mail Template
● MAIL85.NTF used for Notes and iNotes
● Some features rely on new template
 Mail header
 Addressing (Recent Contacts)
 Vertical Preview
 Conversations
 Mail Recall
 Out of Office improvements
 New Calendar Views
 Unprocessed Meeting Invitations
 Check Calendar Creating New Meeting
 Uncheck Invitees When Scheduling
 Personal Notes to Meeting


Supported Configuration for Notes & Domino
● “Supported”, “Supported during upgrade only”, and “Unsupported”
Technote Available Online
http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=0&uid=swg21264690
● Needed configurations for new Notes/Domino 8 features to function
Technote Available Online
http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21282123

Client, Server & Template Interoperability:


Applications

● W hile it is not necessary to rewrite your pre-existing applications, we strongly
recommend testing your applications on Domino 8.5 before upgrading your
production application servers.
● Once your application has been tested, and the application server upgraded,
you can consider modifying the application to take advantage of new
application development functionality in Domino 8.5.


Upgrade Process - Components

Communication

Tracking / Reporting

Process Management / Resource Coordination

Mail File Upgrade
Discovery

Training

Client Installation

Help Desk / Support


Upgrade Process – The 5 Principles

Five guiding principles for a successful deployment:

1. Planning
2. Communication
3. Minimization of Labor and Effort (Automation)
4. Maximization of the Bang For The Buck (Bundling)
5. Measurement and Management


Principle #1 - Planning
Know your environment.
● The information you should collect prior to your upgrade should include:
User counts and types of users. (Executives, Desktop, Laptop, Kiosk, DWA, Notes
Multi-user, Roaming, Citrix, and Mobile Device users)
OS, Browser and Lotus software versions
Hardware age and capacity
Domino software upgrade procedures currently used in your organization
Template Customizations
Network Links (LAN/WAN, plus capacity)
Backup and storage topology
Other data stores, such as Websphere Portal servers, db2 servers, and WAS servers
VPNs, DMZs, firewalls
Third-party software (Virus Scanning, Spam Blocking, Backup, Monitoring, Mobile
Device Support)
anything else that’s relevant
Support Information for BES
http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21266138



Anticipate future needs.
● Future capacity requirements – and how they might be reduced with 8.5
● Things you want to change (Do first before upgrading)
Implementing quotas – or review disk space savings with DAOS
Implementing a local replica model
Implementing transaction logging (required for DAOS)
Consolidating Servers
 Move to new hardware BEFORE or AFTER the upgrade, not recommended at the
same time.
● New features you want to deploy (some are enabled by default)
Message Recall
Direct Deposit of Admin Requests onto the target server
Activity Logging (Billing feature only included in Domino 8 for legacy support)
Domino 7 features, if upgrading from Domino 6.5..x
Policies
DAOS, DCT, Notes ID Vault, etc.



Understand Co-existence Issues if going from Domino 6.5 to Domino 8.x
Encryption Key length and large key support was changed in 8
Support for Flat Certification for Notes IDs was removed in ND 7
Mixed version clustered environments are supported but…
Resource Reservations (upgrade the RR Database to new design immediately)
Smart Upgrade (For Notes 6.5.2 or earlier, Smart Upgrade download will not occur as
a background task)
Don’t upgrade the template before the client. An 8.x mail template with a Notes 6.5
client will cause issues.
For users who delegate mail access to others, upgrade both clients to 8.x before
either mail template is upgraded.
Out of Office. Notes 6.5 mail template users cannot utilize the new Out of Office
router service on the Domino 8.x server
Domino 7 and 8 Policies will be ignored by Notes 6.5.x clients
Domino 6 and 7 clients will not recognize DAOS



Understand the Prerequisites
● Things to consider at this stage include:
 Does your operating system meet the minimum requirements?
 Does your hardware meet the minimum requirements?
 Do you need to upgrade existing server hardware?
 Do you need to add or replace server hardware?
 Do you need to add more network bandwidth?
 Do you need to add more storage capacity?
 Does it make sense to consolidate?
Does your backup system need updated?



Out-of-the-Box Mail Template size comparison

Mail 7 Template Mail 8 Template Mail 8 Template
ODS 43 ODS 48 with
Design note
Compression
Template Only 17 MB 25 MB 11 MB

Template in 1,000 17 GB 25 GB 11 GB
Mail Files

Net change per +8 GB -6 GB
1,000 mail files

Note: Additional savings will be seen with DAOS – see the DAOS presentation for more
details.



Assemble the Stakeholders
● People and groups who need to be involved:
CTO/CIO
Users
 Client/Desktop Software team
Deployment Team
Domino Admin/Operations Team
Help Desk/Support Team
Network Admin
Storage Admin
Other Admins (Portal, WAS, DB2, Web Servers)


Upgrade Admin Server and System Databases
Ensure the integrity of existing backups
● Clean up system files
● Review Notes.ini settings
● Back up system files
Notes.ini, names.nsf, log.nsf, da.nsf, directory catalog, customized templates, third
party add-ins, server.id
● Verify recent backups taken and retrievable
● Review Pre-Upgrade Checklist
● Review the Post-upgrade checklist


Principle #2 - Communication
● Things should be done in moderation, EXCEPT COMMUNICATION
Its almost impossible to over-communicate with the user population.

● The 70/30 rule
Ratio that has been determined through experience and not a variant of Pareto's
80/20 rule
Indicates that 70% of end-users will successfully complete an automated installation
process without generating even a phone call for the support staff
Provided the users are given proper communication of the roll-out plan as well as
clearly written instructions on how the actual installation process if to be carried out.

● Any reduction in communication makes this ratio fall quickly.

● Communication is an investment from a project point of view


Principle #3 – Minimize Labor / Effort
● Engineering is a small portion of the project costs, compared to the labor and effort
required to deploy the client software.
● It is thus crucial to automate whenever and wherever possible.
● Benefits:
Labor savings
Guaranteeing a consistent environment.
● The 90/10 rule
If the automation efforts deal with a population or scenario that represents less than
10% of the base there’s a good chance that the point of diminishing returns has been
reached.
● For client deployments, leverage software tools.
Generic distribution products (e.g., ZenWorks, Tivoli, SMS, etc...).
Products architected specifically for Lotus Notes client deployment (e.g., InstallShield,
Automated Deployment Toolkit (ADT), InstallPump, Server Admin Plus, etc...)
Built-In Tools (SmartUpgrade)


Principle #4 – Maximize the Bang for the Buck
● An automated deployment is your opportunity to correct the sins of the past. This would
include, but not be limited to:
Relocating client code on the desktop;
Set/Reset mail quotas;
Tweak configuration settings;
Enforce consistency (i.e., bookmarks, preferences, certification schemes and
hierarchies, etc...).
Look at local replicas

● Ensure a long-term return on investment resulting from reduced amounts of help desk
costs, take advantage of:
Policies to improve consistency of the environment
DDM improvements (modular correction actions, event clearing, etc.)

● Look at the architecture,
Improve hardware
Improve topology
Re-balance or reduce loads (possibly consolidate)


Principle #5 – Measurement and Management
● Take client and server benchmarks before upgrade, during pilot and during upgrade
Understand current environment
Identify and address issues before they become BIG issues
Set and manage expectations

● Tracking and reporting during and after the deployment will ensure the success of the
roll-out. It will permit to see:
Any worrying trends and will also
Proactively address any issues that may come up, sometimes even before the users
are aware of them.

● Will quantify the value and benefits of the migration project and help get support from
upper management for subsequent projects of this nature.


Best Practices for Upgrading
Traditional approach
● Upgrade the Notes clients that the administrators will use to edit and
operate on the Domino Directory
● Upgrade the Administration Server of the Domino Directory design
● Replicate the Domino Directory to the other servers
● Upgrade the Hub Servers
● Upgrade the Mail servers
● Upgrade the SMTP servers
● Upgrade the Application / W eb Servers
● Upgrade 3 rd Party/Companion Product Servers
● Upgrade the Notes clients of Users
● Replace the design of mail files with MAIL85.NTF
● Upgrade to ODS 51


Upgrading Domino Servers
Traditional approach continued
● Shutdown the Domino Server to be upgraded “cleanly”
● Install Release 8.5 of Domino
● Copy Customized Templates into place
● Run Design Task which refreshes design of system databases
● Run Updall Task
Rebuilds views with design or collation changes
● Restart the Domino Server
● Proceed to “Next” Server


Alternate approach – possible long timeframe
● Many weeks or even months to upgrade all the servers
● Domino 8.5 Directory Template
 Two critical views utilized when a Notes Client or another Domino Server attempts to
authenticate with any given server are the ($USERS) and ($SERVERACCESS) views
 The design upgrade will result in views modified being rebuilt from scratch when first
opened
 Authentication attempts will be blocked from completing until these two views are
finished rebuilding
● For Minimal Impact
 Configure Domino Directory ACL so design flows in a single direction
 Admin Server of Domino Directory flows to
 Hub Servers flows to
 Spoke Servers
 No backflow of Directory Changes as you upgrade in Reverse Order


Alternate approach
● Upgrade the Notes clients that the administrators will use to edit and
operate on the Domino Directory
● Upgrade the SMTP servers
● Upgrade the Mail servers
● Upgrade the Notes clients of Users
● Replace the design of mail files with MAIL8.NTF or MAIL85.NTF
● Upgrade the Application / W eb Servers
● Upgrade 3 rd Party/Companion Product Servers
● Upgrade the Hub Servers
● Upgrade the Administration Server of the Domino Directory


Alternate approach
● W hen upgrading the first “spoke” server
Install Domino 8 or 8.5
Copy customized templates in place
 Run Design Task (updates design of system databases)
Run Updall Task (rebuilds existing views)
Copy upgraded Domino Directory to network Share
Remove Domino Directory Template(PUBNAMES.NTF)
Restart the server
Proceed to “Next” Server (schedule time to swap the in the Domino Directory from the
network share)


Upgrading Domino Servers
Alternate approach
● W hen upgrading the first “next” server
Shutdown the Domino Server to be upgraded “cleanly”
Install Release 8 or 8.5 of Domino
 Copy Customized Templates into place
Upgrade Domino Directory
– Copy already upgraded Domino Directory from Network Share
– Run Design Task which refreshes design of system databases
Run Updall Task
 Rebuilds views with design or collation changes
Remove Domino Directory Template
Restart the Domino Server
Proceed to “Next” Server


Release 8.0.1 64-Bit Domino for AIX and Windows
● 32 Bit Domino to 64 Bit Domino Upgrade
All existing full-text indexes will be discarded and rebuilt
● W indows Only
All existing views currently built will be discarded and rebuilt
● Best Practices just recommended for upgrading a Domino server to 64 bit
Domino still hold true
Updall process will take longer to run
See Appendix for how to use indirect files to have multiple processes running at once


Domino 8.5 Feature Upgrade Considerations
 Notes ID Vault
– Ensure all clients are upgraded prior to enabling
– Determine how the vault will be implemented, will you use policies with it, what the
configuration will be, etc.
– Validate client types (not supported for iNotes at this time)
– Ensure id files are backed up (or harvested) prior to implementation

 DAOS
– Requires transaction logging and ODS51 – validate environment updates
– Validate backup solutions with DAOS repository and transaction logs
– Review backup best practices and restore options prior to implementation
– Validate estimates of disk space reclaimed prior to allocating disk for other options,
etc.

 Roaming users
– Validate policies and configuration
– Determine roaming file locations and user access to possible new locations


More Server Upgrade Considerations

 Citrix and O/S updates
– 64-bit vs 32-bit and backup options for each
– Client requirements and configurations for each

 Review use of Policies
– Many new policies implemented and available in 8.0 and 8.5
– New support for dynamic group policies
– Review policy hierarchy and how would apply to end-users

 Shared Login
– Internet password sync does not apply
– Not compatible with roaming id's or ID files on file shares and many other “gotchas”

 Domino Configuration Tuner (DCT)
– Determine what recommendations should/should not be implemented at same time
as upgrade – be careful what you undertake!


Upgrade the Notes Clients
● Notes 8 provides the following choices for deploying the client:
Manual Installation
Smart upgrade:
 Users receive a notification to upgrade their client.
 Can specify deadline for upgrade
 Can specify groups of users to upgrade
 Built-in tracking capability
 Can use with Seamless Mail Upgrade
 Software located on server
 A native process to the client
 Implemented through a background client process
 Further defined with the use of a Desktop Policy
 Available for Linux desktop with Release 8.0
3 rd Party
● You may customize the installation so that users install only the features they
need


Upgrade the Notes mail file and application designs
● Can use the Domino convert task or Seamless Mail upgrade (in conjunction
with Smart Upgrade)
● If you do not want to automatically enable design note compression for mail
files, deselect the option in the Notes 8.x mail template (mail8.ntf or
mail85.ntf) before using it for new and existing mail files.


Upgrade the ODS (optional)
● Provides potential improvements for I/O and folder optimization
● Requirement for new features
Database names list for user renames
Design compression
 DAOS
Document compression
● Highly recommended you ensure Domino server is stable at the new Domino
8.x code level before upgrading the ODS of your database.


On Disk Structure Change
● Release 6 and Release 7 both utilize ODS 43
Admins loved this and found upgrades from 6 to 7 a snap
● Prior to Release 8, an ODS upgrade occurred the first time a database was
compacted following an upgrade
● Domino 8.0 is ODS48; Domino 8.5 is ODS51
● W ith Release 8.0, an upgrade to ODS48 or ODS51 is optional
CREATE_R8_DATABASES=1 in notes.ini
A copy-style compaction of database is done.
 e.g. (n)compact –c names.nsf
● Although optional, ODS48 or ODS51 is required to enable some new
features and performance improvements in Release 8 or 8.5


Features Requiring ODS48 or higher
● Enhanced User Activity Logging
Reads & Writes become Reads, Adds, Updates & Deletes


Features Requiring ODS48 or higher
● Optimized User Renames and Deletes
Major improvement in AdminP processing time
● I/O Reduction and Performance Improvements
On-Demand collation builds (MAIL8.NTF and ODS48 takes advantage)
● Database Design compression
New databases created from mail8.ntf are 11 mb with Design Compression compared
to 27 mb without
● Document Data Compression (Release 8.0.1)
Tests have shown anywhere from 25% - 40% size reduction when data compression
has been enabled
Not recommended on databases that have a high read to write ratio e.g. names.nsf

● DAOS (Domino Attachment and Object Service) requires ODS51


Best Practice Upgrading to ODS48 or higher
● Shutdown the Domino 8 Server “Cleanly”
● Set CREATE_R8_DATABASE=1 in notes.ini
● Optionally enable Database Design and/or Document Data compression
prior to doing initial conversion from ODS43 to ODS48 so only a single copy-
style compaction is needed
(n)compact –n –v mail
● Run compact task using copy-style switch
(n)Compact –c
● Determine if you should add other switches into the compact command to
enable DAOS, etc.
● Restart the Domino 8.x Server


Deployment Experiences - Design & Document Data
Compression or DAOS, etc.
● When inheritance is enabled on mail file
Design Task may disable property on down-level server
Disabled property will then replicate to Release 8 Server
● Workarounds
Disable Design Task on down-level servers
Disable Inheritance on replicas on down-level servers
Set Inheritance to StdR8Mail on all replicas
Upgrade all servers to Release 8.x

Upgrading to Domino 8.5: Notes on the Process

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