Domino Blog News, views and directions on IBM Lotus Domino http://www.dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/ en-us Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:18:52 -0400 A New Way to Manage Notes User IDs and Passwords Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:18:52 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/a-new-way-to-manage-notes-user-ids-and-passwords Domino Andrea Waugh-Metzger http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/a-new-way-to-manage-notes-user-ids-and-passwords?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/a-new-way-to-manage-notes-user-ids-and-passwords
When you create a Notes ID for an end user, where do you put it?  Do you keep a copy of it somewhere so that you have access to it in the future?  What about the password?  Do you use a generic password so that if a user forgets it you have a copy with a known password to give them?  And when a user requires that original copy (because of a lost password or such) how do you deal with any changes that occurred from the time the id was created until the time they requested a new one?  Things like name changes, certificate changes, encryption keys, etc?  And what about users with multiple versions of the ID file - on shared computers or such?

A lot of questions, I know.  But these are also questions I get asked all the time by my customers wondering how to handle things like this.

Over time, many customers have dealt with this issue in many ways - from using a file server to implementing a complex and expensive 3rd party tool to manage Notes IDs.  Unfortunately, you usually have to compromise one thing for another - security vs. usability.  It's easy to place the ID file on a file server or in a Notes database and use generic passwords - but it's not very secure.  Or, some of the 3rd party tools make it very secure, but they aren't particularly easy to use or manage.  We're often left with a solution that is cumbersome and/or expensive to manage.  

It's pretty much been the only thing you can do to manage those id files and provide some level of password or id file recovery for your end users.  Is it easy?  NO.  Is it secure?  Not usually.  Is it a pain in the administrative you-know-what?  YES!  This has led many of you to ask "Why can't we just get rid of the id file?"   But then, you stop and think about the security infrastructure the id file gives you and you wonder - "Well, maybe there's a better way."  THERE IS!

Domino Administrators Rejoice!

There's a new feature in Domino 8.5 that will help to ease your Notes ID file woes.  It's called the Notes ID vault.  The Notes ID vault is meant to help you manage and maintain Notes ID files without compromising the security of the ID file itself.  Imagine if you will, a world where:
  • During registration, the Notes ID file is automatically stored in a secure database
  • End users can recover their password on their own
  • Multiple copies of the Notes ID file are automatically synchronized
  • Specified auditors have access to encrypted data for litigation and other purposes

Shouldn't you be able to manage those ID files without compromising the security of them?  Shouldn't end-users be able to recover their password on their own - maybe without even having Notes Administrator intervention?  And what about during those messy litigation efforts when you need access to someone's encrypted mail file without knowing their password..shouldn't you be able to do that easily too?  Anyone who's been a Domino Administrator has got to be saying "Yes, Yes, Yes and YES!"

That, and much more is what Notes ID vault provides.  Essentially, Notes ID vault is implemented with your certification hierarchy and policies.  When you register a new user ID (you can even get all your existing IDs, so don't worry), you have a new option to place the ID file in the vault.  Then, using the Domino Administrator client, you can configure the vault settings like password recovery, setup vault auditors, configure vault security or extract the ID from the vault when needed.  And, once everything is configured, end-users can now access the recovery configured in the vault and get it back themselves.  Then, through the beauty of policies, those multiple copies of ID files, etc. is synchronized and very nicely managed.  How much cooler can you get??!!

So there you have it, folks!  I think ID vault is going to make life a lot easier for many people!  Watch this space for upcoming posts on more details like security and implementation.  And..I'm hoping to get a nice case study for you from IBM's own implementation of ID vault!  Stay tuned!
]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/a-new-way-to-manage-notes-user-ids-and-passwords http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/a-new-way-to-manage-notes-user-ids-and-passwords?opendocument&comments Conduct Your Own Health Check Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:33:44 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/conduct-your-own-health-check Domino Andrea Waugh-Metzger http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/conduct-your-own-health-check?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/conduct-your-own-health-check
Often, questions like these result in discussions with consulting groups like IBM's Software Services for Lotus (ISSL) or the Lotus Field Support organization (FSS).  These organizations focus on best practices and do a great job of coming on-site and giving you a detailed, thorough review of your environment and a nice report on what you could do better.

While these detailed reports are great, and should be performed on a regular basis, what about those in-between times when you just want to get an idea of where you are?  What if you are a self-service kind of organization who wants to make sure you have done everything you possibly could before bringing in the experts??

Well, Domino Configuration Tuner is for you!!

In a nutshell, Domino Configuration Tuner (DCT) looks at your server settings and compares them to a pre-defined catalog of "best practices".  It then generates reports that explain any differences between your settings and "best practices" and suggests changes you can make, as well as providing you with references to supporting publications that give more details about those settings.

DCT is currently available as part of the Notes/Domino 8.5 Public Beta program and is implemented as a template that is included with the Domino Administrator client install.  The first "official" release of DCT will ship with Notes/Domino 8.5 and is designed to evaluate Domino 7.0 and later.  

How Does it Work?
First off, DCT is a template.  It's implemented as part of the Domino Administration client and does not run on the Domino server itself.  On the "Server/Analysis" tab of the client, you will see the option for "Domino Configuration Tuner" in the left-hand selection outline.  When you choose that, a local copy of dct.nsf will be created.  Then, simply click "Run New Scan" and you are off!  DCT will look at settings in server documents, the notes.ini and database advanced properties.  Individual configuration settings are flagged when their values are known to cause problems.  Out-of-range and unexpected values are also reported so that undefined behavior can be prevented.

What Does it Look For?
During the scan, DCT leverages a set of Rules that are based on accumulated knowledge about Domino Configuration collected from Lotus Support documents and known customer issues.  In the current beta release of DCT, there are 90+ rules that are evaluated.   Also, you can disable individual rules if they don't apply to you or your environment.  In addition, all details about Domino, the O/S and hardware variations that apply to a configuration option are posted and the DCT rule will honor those variations.  For example, the absence of an ini parameter that does not apply to Windows will not be reported when DCT is run on a Windows server.  And...the great part about these rules is that they will be updated by Development and Support on a regular basis and can be "downloaded" into your client.

What Do You Do With the Report?
After DCT runs, you will receive a report that outlines any discrepancies between the rules and your configured settings.  The report will outline the current setting, what server(s) it is on, and an explanation of the setting and associated "best practice".  Most of the rules that are evaluated have a wiki post in the Notes/Domino wiki and DCT will point to that wiki posting in your report.  In addition, the report will outline any additional references for the setting such as links to relevant documents and on-line reference material.

I think DCT is a great tool for every customer and should help answer those little "nagging" questions about your environment.  There's much more to tell (like some details about some of the rules), but I'll save that for another blog post!  So - what do you think?  Think it could be helpful??? ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/conduct-your-own-health-check http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/conduct-your-own-health-check?opendocument&comments What about the 8.0x Server? Thu, 4 Sep 2008 18:47:26 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/what-about-the-8.0x-server 8.0 Andrea Waugh-Metzger http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/what-about-the-8.0x-server?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/what-about-the-8.0x-server
What about the server you can deploy NOW?  What does that give you?  We all know that the ".0" releases are typically for clients, so we often forget to mention the server things that get done then too.  Well, thanks to Domino product management, developerworks and some great articles out there, the Domino 8.0x server is finally getting it's due!

Did you know about the server performance enhancements in Domino 8.0x?  Even better, did you know you can get those performance improvements incrementally - even if you didn't deploy BOTH the 8.0.x client and server at the same time?  Tests show that even with the 7 mail template, a 7 ODS and a 7 client on an 8 server, you should see improved CPU and disk I/O.  And, of course, those numbers only get better when as you add in some V8 variables  In fact...


From the measurements reported in this article, upgrading to Lotus Domino 8 and the new Lotus Notes 8 client should be a very positive experience. We see CPU reductions across the board as well as I/O reductions on most platforms when compared to Lotus Notes and Domino 7. We see some increase in network and memory utilization, so installations that are sensitive to those parameters should plan accordingly. We showed the incremental improvement in performance as you upgrade Lotus Domino 7 and Notes 7 to a Lotus Domino 8 and Notes 8 infrastructure on the Microsoft Windows platform.


Now, some of you may say that benchmark results don't really represent the facts - the workloads aren't high enough - they don't simulate what "real" users do - and that's been taken into account!  In fact, NotesBench and Server.Load workloads were modified recently to be more like what "real" users do!  So, while your mileage may vary, it might not be by that much!

But...don't take my word for it.  Check out these great articles that show all the technical details!  I promise, the Domino 8.0.x server will deliver - NOW, Today, without delay!

The case for upgrading to IBM Lotus Domino 8 for better server performance
IBM Lotus Domino V8 Server with the IBM Lotus Notes V8 client: Performance
IBM Lotus Notes V8 workloads: Taking performance to a new level
]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/what-about-the-8.0x-server http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/what-about-the-8.0x-server?opendocument&comments Which Version of ND8 "should" you deploy? Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:22:18 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/which-version-of-nd8-should-you-deploy 8.0 Andrea Waugh-Metzger http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/which-version-of-nd8-should-you-deploy?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/which-version-of-nd8-should-you-deploy Ed Brill blogged today that Notes 8.0.2 is scheduled for eGA release on August 26, 2008 in English.  This is certainly a long-awaited release, as we've seen phenomenal numbers on increased performance enhancements, etc.  Plus, this brings the long-awaited release of iNotes Ultralite, which provides support for Safari on the iPhone.

So now we have 8.0, 8.01, 8.02 and 8.5 is around the corner.  You may be asking yourself (at least, many of you have asked me) "Which version should I deploy??".  GREAT QUESTION!  While everyone is different, and each of you should certainly perform your own tests and validations prior to upgrade (read...regular caveats and disclaimers apply), hopefully I can give you a little bit more information about each release to help get you thinking about which is right for you.

UPDATE - Matt Babaian shares the details on the performance improvements in 8.0.2 and how they are applied to 8.5 here!

First, let's talk about the major features in each release:

Notes/Domino 8.0.1
This version is available NOW and has been for some time.  It was the first point release, which as we all know usually translates to added stability over the .0 version.  Many of you who are early adopters have probably been testing with this version and you may be near completion of your testing.

Notes/Domino 8.0.2
This comes out next week, but provides the MAJOR performance improvements on the client side for the Eclipse configuration.  
On the client side:
  • Those of you concerned about the load time for the Eclipse client, the amount of memory used when it's running, etc. are happy about this release  
  • In addition, this brings Office 2007 viewers and
  • The all-important iPhone browser support.
On the server side:
  • There are a number of bug fixes in this version that many of you 7.x users have been waiting for before testing your 8.0.x server upgrade

Notes/Domino 8.5
While there will be some client-side enhancements for this version, for all intents and purposes this release is ALL about the server.
On the client side:
  • Same features as 8.0.2
  • Roaming user support for the Eclipse client
  • Calendar federation (iCal subscriptions, teamroom calendars, activities/to-do's)
  • Notes Share Logon
  • Citrix 64-bit support
  • Macintosh support
  • Ubuntu Linux support
  • Eclipse-based Designer client and Xpages!
On the server side:
  • Domino Attachment and Object Storage (DAOS)
  • Domino Configuration Tuner (DCT)
  • Web Application templates
  • Dynamic Policies
  • and much, much more!

WOW!  Lots of great stuff there!  So now that you know the highlights, which is right for you?  Well, let's jump to 8.0.2 vs. 8.5.  The reason I want do do that is this - if you are already testing 8.0.1, chances are you are not going to change your test plans for 8.0.2 - especially if you are almost done with your testing.  If you still have time for 8.0.2 in your test plans (read, you are early in testing), then read on!

Deploy Notes/Domino 8.0.2 if...
Let's face it - if you haven't started your Notes client deployment yet, are still fairly early in testing and want to get started or done by the end of the year, you should probably deploy 8.0.2!  The performance enhancements alone are SUCH a difference that it's well worth the additional week or so wait to continue (or begin) your testing.  We have seen that the amount of time to load Notes has been decreased by 50% - yes, 50%  that's AMAZING!  And, the amount of RAM used has been decreased by 20-25%.  Also, if you have iPhone users or are using Office 2007, this is the release for you!

Deploy Notes/Domino 8.5 if...
If you haven't started your testing of ND8 or are planning on starting later in the year/first of next year, think hard about waiting for 8.5.  While this is mostly a server release, there are some show-stoppers on the client side like...Roaming user support!  That's a BIG one for my clients who want to roll out a single configuration but use roaming user - and it's there in 8.5.  Also, Mac or Ubuntu users - yup - gotta wait for 8.5.  

For the most part though, 8.5 is very server focused, and you probably don't need to wait for this release to start your client rollout.  I would ask yourself though, about upgrading your servers to 8.0.x before this release.  Is it worth it?  Remember..8.5 has a different ODS from 8.0.x, and most of the big server features in 8.0.x came with an ODS update - do you really want to go through an ODS update TWICE??  If not, but keeping the server on the same version is compelling to you..upgrade the server, but not the ODS until 8.5 - then do both!

So, think about the following:
  • What about deploying Notes 8.0.x clients now with 8.5 server later??

THAT's what is very compelling!  You may want to leave your servers where they are, deploy the 8.0.2 client, and then upgrade your servers to 8.5 when it's available.  There are 3 main features on the client that require an 8.x server and so won't work (ghosted meetings, message recall and enhanced out of office), but otherwise, you'll get a BIG bang for your buck if you move the clients sooner!

Like I said...a LOT of choices, but that's the great thing about it.  You can pick and choose what works best for you and your organization - and make everyone happy!!


Credits
Special thanks go to Dwight Morse for pulling this information together!
]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/which-version-of-nd8-should-you-deploy http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/which-version-of-nd8-should-you-deploy?opendocument&comments DAOS Part3 - Restores, Admin and Misc Info Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:09:33 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/daos-part3 Domino Andrea Waugh-Metzger http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/daos-part3?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/daos-part3
So - as I mentioned before, DAOS is server-enabled.  Therefore, in a cluster situation, each Domino server or partition would have to be DAOS enabled.  Also, each server in the cluster set would have its own data store - sharing is not allowed.  There is really no way to share DAOS stores across servers, as the current configuration of the feature has specific ways it stores things.  If you used the same share across servers, DAOS would get confused, so to speak.  So, please don't do it - bad things will happen!

Because of this, it's also not a good idea for you to restore a DAOS store from one server with the DAOS store on its cluster mate.  While in theory, this should "work", as a rule it's not supported and again, "bad things can happen".  To restore a DAOS store, do it from backup.  There will be tools that will, in conjunction with backups from the transaction logs, restore and resync the DOAS store with its DAOS catalog and .nsf files.  One such tool is the DAOS manager which will determine which attachments for a given .nsf will need restored.  In essence, it will provide a list of missing attachments so you know what to pull from your backups and transaction logs.

Also, you might ask, why can't I just do an O/S level copy/paste of the .NSF files across clusters that are DAOS-enabled and not have to worry about restore procedures?  Well, even though you can think of DAOS as just another storage device, you need to understand the "rules" of how it works.  Because there are pointers to the .NLO files in more than one place, the best thing to do is to procedurally "repack" the attachments with the .nsf file.  There is a compact command switch for this that will put the .nsf back into native form (putting the attachments back in).  If you don't repack it and you move it to another DAOS server that is a replica or cluster mate, you can in fact run the resync tools to sync with the attachments on that cluster mate, but for 8.5 this will be a very long process.  So if you need to restore an .NSF file, one way to do it is to repack it on the cluster mate and then create a new replica on the missing server.

I'm not sure if that explains the DAOS store very well, but we really don't have the "dirty details" to give right now about exactly how it works - "it just works"!   As for your backup, well - the .NLO files will be treated like any other file on the file system, so as long as your backup program can backup transaction logs, you should be fine - no additional backup utilities needed.  Please note that development is in process of writing a very good and thorough white paper on backups and restores that will describe best practices and procedures, more details on pruning, how you should do your backups, etc.  As soon as I get the latest copy, I will provide more information.  Again, suffice it to say, development will make sure that you can backup the files correctly and restore them without issue!

Also, I want to point out that DAOS should not interfere with all your 3rd party add-ins.  At this point, DAOS works at a level below the add-ins, so they should not be impacted.  So, all Domino applications on the server can use DAOS (including web apps) and not have an issue.

We've also had questions on if there is a CPU impact to running DAOS and the answer is yes - but a minimal one.  For example, suppose you have an application that is used by a ton of users and has very large attachments.  One of our readers pointed out that DAOS would have to compute a checksum against the attachment (thus reading it entirely).  And, it's true that checksums are computed as the object is being written, so there will be a small CPU hit as that is done.  However, it has not been shown to be significant at this time - and development has tested with some very large (and plentiful) attachments!  Also, since it's all done in memory, there is no I/O hit to the server either.   Oh - and the same goes for if you encrypt the DAOS store - memory and CPU hit, but no I/O hit.  Let's face it - CPU and memory hits are usually not an issue to most of you out there!

That's it for today!  Hope this has answered some of the other questions about DAOS!  I think this also concludes my DAOS rant!  Hopefully, next up in the lineup will be Configuration Tuner!! ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/daos-part3 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/daos-part3?opendocument&comments Developer Works Article on DAOS Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:59:27 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/developer-works-article-on-daos Andrea Waugh-Metzger http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/developer-works-article-on-daos?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/developer-works-article-on-daos here for more information. ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/developer-works-article-on-daos http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/developer-works-article-on-daos?opendocument&comments DAOS How it Works and Security Mon, 7 Jul 2008 13:22:45 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/daos-how-it-works-and-security Domino Andrea Waugh-Metzger http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/daos-how-it-works-and-security?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/daos-how-it-works-and-security initial post on DOAS in 8.5, so I think I need to add some more information for everyone out there!  I had an absolutely AMAZING discussion with one of the developers today about DAOS, and I have to say I'm getting more and more impressed about the feature the more I know about it.  I have a TON of information on this now, so I'll try to give you the highlights and not the fire hose!  Of course, if fire hose is what you want, let me know and I'm happy to have a more in-depth discussion with you offline.

In the meantime, I'm going to break this up into various sections that answer the questions from my previous post and to make it easier to digest (and to write!!).  In this section, we'll talk about how DAOS works and how it is secured.


So, first of all, DAOS will work on ANY database that resides on a DAOS-enabled server.  There is a property selection box in the database properties, and if enabled, the database will use DAOS for all it's attachments.  Basically, what happens is this:

When a document is saved (or emailed, or whatever), Domino sees it as essentially
ddddddXXXXXXXXXddddddddddddXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXdddddddddddddXXXX
where "d" represents the body and "X" represents one or more attachments.

DAOS "rewrites" that so that Domino now sees the document as
ddddddTddddddddddddTdddddddddddddT
where "T" is the "small ticket" information for DAOS

Then, DAOS puts the attachments in the file system and also puts a counter/reference to those attachments in a DAOS Catalog nsf file (more on that feature in a moment).  You would have an NLO file for each attachment in the document (as long as the attachments are DIFFERENT).

There you have it!  Now, you have a bunch of .NLO files on the file system of your Domino server.  Then, when a user opens the document and double-clicks on the attachment icon, Domino knows to go to the DAOS store and retrieves the attachment.

But WAIT, you say...How do I secure it?  Can't anyone just get into those .NLO files and manipulate them?

Well, yes and no.  First of all, they are on the file system of your Domino server, and a user can't access those files in any way other than through the file structure.  So let's take a moment and talk about how secure your Domino server is.  In theory, if people have access to the file structure of your Domino server, you have more to worry about than them looking at those .NLO files and reading attachments!  They have access to EVERYTHING!  The keys to the kingdom, so to speak!  They can access id files, .ini files not to mention EVERY single database on the server.  So..I'm going to assume that your Domino server is locked down so that Joe user can't just map a drive to it and get at the files.

Secondly, in the next beta drop of 8.5, we will be providing an encryption mechanism for the DAOS store.  Therefore, all the files will be encrypted.  So, if Joe user does happen to have access, well, now they can be encrypted!

Now, back to how counts work and that comment above about attachments only being stored if they are different..

There is a database, the DAOS Catalog, that keeps track of all the counts for an attachment and where the "tickets" for the attachment are referenced.  It knows every .NLO created, how many references for each of them and maintains a list of every .NSF file using the attachments.  And, being a Notes database, if it becomes corrupted, DAOS will detect that corruption and attempt to remain operable.  But, if for some reason the corruption is such that DAOS can't continue to function, there will be some commands an administrator can run that will resync everything.  

Suffice to say, the developers will ensure you can get at your attachments!  There will be many tools you can leverage that will allow you to restore NLOs, fixup the stores and keep the store up to date.  Having said that however, you can't really manipulate the DAOS counts on your own.  Administratively, it's a no-no.

We also had some great questions about the fact that if you got spammed or did a copy/paste of an attachment, wouldn't there be a million files out in the DAOS store?  Now, here's where it gets really cool.

When you do a copy/paste of an attachment or if an attachment is the same across multiple messages, the DAOS code recognizes that! DAOS will then only store one version of the attachment, and create a ton of reference counts for each document!

So, while we can't keep you from getting spammed or copying attachments a bunch of times, we can make it easier by saving you a lot of disk space when that occurs!  Too cool!

WHEW!  That's a LOT of information!!!

Next topic... How does DAOS work with replication, clustering and archives! ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/daos-how-it-works-and-security http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/daos-how-it-works-and-security?opendocument&comments Reduce Storage Costs with Domino 8.5 Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:58:47 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/reduce-storage-costs-with-domino-8.5 Domino Andrea Waugh-Metzger http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/reduce-storage-costs-with-domino-8.5?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/reduce-storage-costs-with-domino-8.5
With DAOS you can consolidate the storage of attachments for all users of a Domino server.  Common content is stored only once (outside the Notes database) and DAOS manages reference counts on the shared content.  For example, in the "old way", when a user sends an attachment to a group of people, each person receives a copy of that attachment in his/her mail file.  

In the "new way", with DAOS, when an email is sent to multiple recipients with an attachment, one reference of the attachment is stored in DAOS, and the recipients of the message get a"small ticket" or pointer to the DAOS store.  In addition, DAOS keeps a count of how many "links" are provided.  

So, less copies of an attachment in a mail file translates to less I/O on the server, faster database operations such as compact, less network bandwidth used and a significant reduction in the amount of storage used.

How does it work?

DAOS is local to the Domino server and is not cross-server.  Each mail.box on the Domino mail server is DAOS-enabled.  Then, when a message is deposited in the mail.box, any attachments are removed and stored in DAOS.  Only a reference to the attachment is routed for each target database on that mail server.  I've already gotten a couple of questions from customers on how it works, so I thought I'd share some of the more "pressing" things I've been asked:
 
  • If an attachment is edited and re-attached, it is detected as a new file attachment and stored separately
  • If the message is replied to or forwarded, DAOS still only uses the pointer or "small ticket" for the new messages
  • For non-DAOS enabled databases, the entire attachment is copied (so for local replicas, the full attachment will be in the local mail file)
  • The current plan is to allow the administrative client to see DAOS reference counts, attachment sizes, etc. and administer the DAOS store

How do I use it?

DAOS is optional and is a service specific to each Domino server partition.  Also, it requires transaction logging be enabled on the server and the ND8 ODS.  Participation is a per-database property setting that can be enabled via a compact command.  In addition, DAOS objects count against the quota of the mail file and are reported as part of the file size.

And since I'm sure you'll ask -----

DAOS is completely different from and shares No code with Single Copy Object Store (SCOS)!

So - it's pretty cool and something I'm sure you will want to take a look at - either in the beta or once 8.5 goes production later this year.  I'll post more information about it and how it works as we come closer to the release date. ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/reduce-storage-costs-with-domino-8.5 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/reduce-storage-costs-with-domino-8.5?opendocument&comments Are you upgrading to Domino 8? Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:40:56 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/are-you-upgrading-to-domino-8 Andrea Waugh-Metzger http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/are-you-upgrading-to-domino-8?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/are-you-upgrading-to-domino-8
If you are getting started or would like more information, here are some good sites for you:
Upgrade Central
Domino Wiki  
Notes/Domino 8 Deployment Guide

Also, some tidbits of information for you about the upgrade:

Did you know you can upgrade the client first?  That's right!  More than 90% of the new features in the Notes client are contained to the template and so don't require a Domino8 server.  More than that...it's actually SUPPORTED during the upgrade!!  Many of my clients are taking this route, as it will provide a huge amount of value very quickly.   The 3 features that won't work are unprocessed meetings (ghosted meetings), message recall and the out of office enhancements.

You can do a spoke/hub type of upgrade instead of a hub/spoke.  That's where you start with your mail servers instead of your hub.  This is a good option if you are on 6.5, as a hub-first type of upgrade might require some additional planning in terms of resource reservations, etc.  This option is actually outlined in the Deploying Notes/Domino8 redbook.

If all of your client desktops don't have enough memory, don't just install the basic code.  For example - there are 2 "versions" of the installation code for the Notes client - Standard and Basic.  The basic installation set does not have the Eclipse components and is a much smaller installation.  One suggestion is to use the Standard install set for all workstations - even if they can't run the Eclipse components.  Simply modify the desktop icon and add the "-sa" parameter after the notes.exe.  This will open Notes in the "Basic" mode.  Then, when the client gets upgraded, you don't have to install a whole new code set to get the Eclipse components.

Hope those help!  Happy Upgrading!! ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/are-you-upgrading-to-domino-8 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/are-you-upgrading-to-domino-8?opendocument&comments Have you Heard about Lotus Traveler? Mon, 2 Jun 2008 15:07:24 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/have-you-heard-about-lotus-traveler Domino Andrea Waugh-Metzger http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/have-you-heard-about-lotus-traveler?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/have-you-heard-about-lotus-traveler
Traveler provides basic wireless mobile replication for Lotus Domino email/PIM data and runs directly on the Domino server as a server task (or on a separate server that has access to the mail files)!  This provides real-time replication of email (including attachments), calendar, contacts, personal journal and to-do access on mobile devices.  It communicates on SSL with 128-bit encryption and (wait for it) even integrates with Domino administration and policies!

Also, using optional WECM (the product formerly known as Lotus Mobile Connect), you can optionally secure your mobile connection even more over a wide variety of networks.  

Lotus Traveler supports Windows Mobile 5 and 6 (Professional and Smartphone) and is included in the Domino 8.0.1 release (there is a separate install component).

To install - you can download a CAB file to the device via web site, Active Sync via cradle attachment/etc or via memory card.  There is even an option for administrator-configured response file (bootstrap.nts).  The installer puts files in the \Program Files\Lotus Traveler directory, adds shortcuts, then launches and walks the user through the registration wizard.  So, yes, out of the box, the end-user must know their Domino server name (and LMC gateway if WECM is used).  But...with a configured response file, those fields can be pre-filled!

Once installation is complete, Traveler is minimized to the application bar and the client automatically starts whenever the mobile device is reset.

From an end-user standpoint, using it is pretty simple.  Truncated messages have a special icon, synchronization runs in the background, and I can set filters, alarms, which components I want to synchronize, etc.  Word of warning though -- even though your mail folders show up on the device, only Inbox and Drafts are synchronized by default - to get others, you have to select them in the Manage Folders areas.

Administratively, there are a few things you should be aware of before installing Lotus Traveler:
  • Authentication uses the same mechanisms used by the Domino web server - so the http password must be filled in for the end-user.
  • Directory Assistance can be used for more advanced authentication
  • Databases MUST grant Manager access to the Lotus Traveler server (easier if the Lotus Traveler server is part of LocalDomainServers
  • Policies are only supported for those users whose mail file is on a Domino 8.0.1 or later server
  • Configuration data is synchronized between the device and the user's mail file - it's stored as a Notes profile within the database
  • Use "Tell traveler showstats" on the Domino server command line to see statistics about Traveler

For more information, see the this document. ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/have-you-heard-about-lotus-traveler http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/have-you-heard-about-lotus-traveler?opendocument&comments Domino as an Update Site! Wed, 14 May 2008 22:09:49 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/domino-as-an-update-site 8.0 Andrea Waugh-Metzger http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/domino-as-an-update-site?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/domino-as-an-update-site
Domino as an Update Site!

Domino as an Update Site???  What is that?  Why should I be looking at it?  Why is it important to my Notes8 rollouts, you ask?  Read on!

As we all know by now, the Notes 8 client is built on an Eclipse framework.  One of the great things this provides us is the ability to do those wonderful side shelf and composite applications.  You saw them at Lotusphere - and you saw all the cool little things you can put out there to help make end-users a little bit more productive.  And, with the introduction of widgets in 8.01, we made it so that end-users can put their own productivity tools on their desktops without any administrative or development intervention.  Pretty cool, huh?!

So let's take this one step further.  Side shelf and composite applications can provide a lot of value in an organization.  I have customers who are creating applications to provide functions such as an employee yellow pages, a skills look-up application and even a way to hook into CRM applications.  These are all great uses!  But as an administrator, you have to wonder - how do I manage all those applications?  In the past, they were just icons on the workspace, and we all know how difficult it was to maintain those for an end-user.  Sure, you could write a script in an email that would add them - but what if you moved the database to another server?  It wasn't easy to maintain those icons on the workspace.  But now - now it's much more than just an icon on the workspace.  It's a composite application with multiple parts or a side shelf that's used every day!  What if there's a new feature?  What if the developer wants to change things?  Now what??

Enter server-based provisioning and Eclipse update sites.  

To add an Eclipse application onto your workspace, you point to an update site that has all the components of the application.  In addition, when an Eclipse application is written, you have the ability to point it to an update site (.xml) where the application will automatically "look to" for any updates.  So this concept of an update site is a powerful thing!

A new template was introduced in 8 called UPDATESITE.NTF.  This template can be used to create an NSF-based update site that can provide site.xml features and plug-ins.  Once you create this database, you can import all your update sites into this database and point your clients to this consolidated site.  It's that simple!   Now, the Domino server can selectively deliver incremental features and applications.  And to top it all off, the Domino server can centrally manage all my update sites for all my eclipse applications -- whether they are in the Notes client, the Sametime client, or any other eclipse-based client!  Your end-users have a single place to go to for user-based installs of applications, and your applications get automated updates!  It couldn't get any simpler!  

But wait..there's more!!  Since it's a Notes database, it can be replicated across the organization for geographical considerations, and you can use Domino security to provide fine-grained access to the applications.  So using Domino as an update site provides:
  • Robust Domino-based security such as ACLs and reader fields for fine-grained access control
  • Easy replication of features and plugins (read: http access from anywhere)
  • Intelligent analysis and meta-data presentation of the entire update site in easy-to-read Notes documents (all plug-ins used by a feature are doc-linked)
  • Built-in tools to import/merge from other update sites and...
  • Globally change embedded URLs inside JARs (hello...globally change URL's??!!! WOW! Developer's don't have to update the apps for URL changes!!)

Like I said...it's a great feature and one that will make any administrator (or developer)'s life happier!  Imagine the possibilities - create an eclipse plug-in, have users access a single, standard site to install it on their machines, and you can automatically provide updates!

For more information, see the following:
  • Domino8 InfoCenter
  • ID103 - Deploying Notes 8 Clients (Lotusphere 2008 presentation)
  • For additional information about NSF-based update sites in conjunction with composite applications, see the composite applications blog at IBM developerWorks, for example, the NSF-based update site posting and the site index .


Oh...and as an aside note....this being my first "real" post... Enough?  Not enough?  Detailed?  Not enough detail? ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/domino-as-an-update-site http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/domino-as-an-update-site?opendocument&comments Domino Blog has a new blogger! Tue, 13 May 2008 22:59:34 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/dominoblog-has-a-new-blogger Andrea Waugh-Metzger http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/dominoblog-has-a-new-blogger?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/dominoblog-has-a-new-blogger
When Rob Ingram started this blog back in 2006 (has it really been that long?), his intent was to provide a place where you could get information about IBM Lotus Domino server infrastructure and administration, written by the team that builds it.   His goal was to help you understand that the future of Domino is Domino, that Domino is not going away, and that it has a great and bright future!  Rob and his team have done a great job of providing buzz around Domino over the last year+, and as many of you know, Rob moved on to bigger things in the IBM family and we all wish him well!  

So, in the spirit of continuing the buzz and continuing to provide you with information on Lotus Domino server infrastructure and administration, the torch has been passed!

My name is Andrea Waugh-Metzger, and while I am not a part of the team that writes Lotus Domino, I am a part of the team that helps to sell, plan, support and implement it for customers like you.  I am a field technical specialist (ITS, if you prefer) and have been working with Lotus Domino for almost 11 years now - the last 8 of them for Lotus.    

So how is a field person qualified to write a Lotus Domino blog started by the Lotus Domino developers, you ask?!  

As a field person, I'm close to you - the customer - the people that matter.  I started my life at Lotus in the ISSL team (Software Services for Lotus, LPS, LCS, etc.), where I worked with customers like you on Domino server infrastructure and administration projects.  I helped you optimize your servers, implement new servers, implement best practices, and migrate off other mail platforms.  I was deep in the trenches, just like you, every day.  A year ago, I moved to the ITS organization, and it's now my responsibility to evangelize the Lotus portfolio to my customers.  

So, as such, it's my responsibility to make sure you know all the great things coming out of Lotus Domino development - and how you can apply them to your organization today.  And let me tell you...there are some GREAT things!!!  There's no end in sight to the excitement about Lotus Notes and Domino and the buzz is only growing!  With the release of Domino 8 and the upcoming release of Domino 8.5, there are a TON of things to update the community on.  I hope to take this blog one step further and help you realize the value you can gain, the tips/tricks you can use, and how to really make use of these great new features!  I think it's going to be a great ride!

Here we go...I'll continue Rob's conversation - but your contributions are critical to the site's success. Let's make this a lively community with its own personality that will be shaped by our readers. Visit often, ask questions, give me your ideas, and please tell your friends, colleagues, boss, or overworked administrators about it!  

Upcoming topics include: (and I hope to get YOUR ideas for topics)
  • Notes as an Update Site - Auto-Provision Your Applications
  • What is TDI and Why Do I Care? (a great new, free, tool to make your Directory life easier)
  • Sneak Peeks at Domino 8.5
  • Many, many more!

Credits
Special thanks go to Ed Brill and the Domino development team for making this happen! ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/dominoblog-has-a-new-blogger http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/dominoblog-has-a-new-blogger?opendocument&comments Introducing Lotus Protector Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:47:30 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/introducing-lotus-protector Arthur Fontaine http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/introducing-lotus-protector?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/introducing-lotus-protector
But over time there has developed a second, separate layer of infrastructure that need to be managed in support of Domino -- in fact, for any e-mail system, not just Domino. For example, connections to the Internet introduce threats that need to be addressed, so the SMTP interface needs to present a locked-down posture, and filter unwanted content such as spam and viruses.  At the same time, continuing growth in sheer e-mail data volume, plus increasing regulation of corporate information, particularly compliance and legal discovery, combine to create pressures to better manage the ever-bigger chunk of an enterprise's data that goes through people's mailboxes.

Most of todays infrastructure on that second layer doesn't have much to do with specific Domino skills, and often may not even the responsibility of the Domino team.  Typically these products/solutions simply sit on the network or out at the edge, treating whatever is inside as the next relay in a generic SMTP stream.  Often that's a sensible strategy for increasing throughput, especially when inspecting for things like spam and viruses, which can comprise over 90% of SMTP e-mail volume.

Of course some vendors integrate with specific Notes/Domino (or Outlook/Exchange or GroupWise) APIs to create extra value, and we're always looking for ways to help our ISV partners improve their products for our mutual customers.  But some things are just hard problems for everyone.  For instance, encryption (popular with Domino customers) always throws a wrench into things when you need to inspect a piece of content.  And the client-server nature of Notes/Domino can often result in data in multiple places.  Since security systems can operate at different points in a network, it's problematic to make everyone's stuff work reliably across different functions and locations.  It is a pain point that our customers have shared with us.

Lotus Protector is the brand for a new family of security products being introduced over the next 12-24 months.  They create solutions for common e-mail security and compliance needs, but do it in a way that's consistent with the way Domino administrators operate.  For example, Lotus Protector products place a premium on being able to interoperate with Domino's  user and security frameworks, and integrating features tightly with Notes clients, presenting the most natural user experience.

The first Lotus Protector release is an antispam/antivirus appliance based on technology from Internet Security Systems (ISS), a company acquired by IBM in 2006.  This top-notch edge server solution is the result of some serious IBM/ISS research, and offers important capabilities like IP reputation filtering, which can drop the worst of the SMTP detritus before you even take receipt.  We're entering beta soon on Lotus Protector for Mail Security 2.1 (it's not 1.0 because of the proven ISS Proventia code base), and expect to have final product in market in 1H 2008.  A second major release is planned around year-end, introducing some pretty interesting Notes/Domino integration.

Going forward there will be Lotus Protector announcements in other security areas.  All offerings will solve specific e-mail related security and/or compliance challenges.  Each will be optimized for the interests of a Lotus Notes/Domino customer.  Stay tuned.  Feel free to  comment here on your  needs and desires regarding email security for the Protector roadmap. ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/introducing-lotus-protector http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/introducing-lotus-protector?opendocument&comments DominoWiki - article on FIPS 140-2 for Domino 8.0.1 Sat, 23 Feb 2008 07:46:52 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/article-on-fips-140-2-for-domino-8.0.1 Rob Ingram http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/article-on-fips-140-2-for-domino-8.0.1?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/article-on-fips-140-2-for-domino-8.0.1 DominoWiki. One recent article that caught my eye was one on FIPS and how to use the new 8.0.1 encryption options.  Hope this adds  another valuable information source to the Domino community. ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/article-on-fips-140-2-for-domino-8.0.1 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/article-on-fips-140-2-for-domino-8.0.1?opendocument&comments Domino 8.0.1 has shipped Sat, 23 Feb 2008 07:29:13 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/domino-8.0.1-has-shipped 8.0 Rob Ingram http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/domino-8.0.1-has-shipped?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/domino-8.0.1-has-shipped announcement letter and this technote for more feature info and of course the release notes. The fix list is also posted here on the support web site.

No excuses  now for not moving to Domino 8.0.1 with its compelling cost saving advantages like database compression or native 64 bit Windows support. This is on on top of the many improvements that were added previously in 8.0 (and 7.0 if you never moved from 6.x). ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/domino-8.0.1-has-shipped http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/domino-8.0.1-has-shipped?opendocument&comments Whats new in 8.0.1 brochure Fri, 25 Jan 2008 10:02:27 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/whats-new-in-8.0.1-brochure 8.0 Rob Ingram http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/whats-new-in-8.0.1-brochure?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/whats-new-in-8.0.1-brochure Notes and Domino 8.0.1 brochure which includes listing on Domino 8.0.1 new features. For those not attending Lotusphere this week, we also communicated that 8.0.1 is expected to be available next month. For Domino 8.0.1, improvements include database compression, native 64 bit and FIPS 140-2 support. ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/whats-new-in-8.0.1-brochure http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/whats-new-in-8.0.1-brochure?opendocument&comments Completed Redbook for Notes & Domino 8 Deployment Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:08:32 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/final-notes-domino-8-deployment-redbook Rob Ingram http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/final-notes-domino-8-deployment-redbook?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/final-notes-domino-8-deployment-redbook here.

The download numbers for the draft have been impressive at over 10,000 total since it was released as an internet draft on August 2 - including being the #1 most downloaded Redbook of any IBM  brand during August !   It has also received great feedback for many of you

Here is the table of contents :-
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Planning the Notes and Domino 8 Deployment
Chapter 3. Deploying the Domino 8 server
Chapter 4. Deploying the Notes 8 client
Chapter 5. Coexistence: Domino/Domino and Domino/Microsoft Exchange
Chapter 6. Lotus Notes 8 client features
Chapter 7. Productivity tools
Chapter 8. Domino Web Access
Chapter 9. New administration features
Chapter 10. New concepts in administration: Eclipse, composite applications, and provisioning
Chapter 11. IBM WebSphere Portal integration
Chapter 12. New application development features
Appendix A. Considerations for upgrading from Notes and Domino 6.5.x to 8
Appendix B. Lotus Notes and Domino client feature comparison ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/final-notes-domino-8-deployment-redbook http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/final-notes-domino-8-deployment-redbook?opendocument&comments Nov 14 webcast on Domino and System i Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:44:11 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/common-webinar-on-domino-and-iseries Domino Rob Ingram http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/common-webinar-on-domino-and-iseries?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/common-webinar-on-domino-and-iseries
See this link for details and signup form:
http://www.common.org/webcasts/index.html#domino ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/common-webinar-on-domino-and-iseries http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/common-webinar-on-domino-and-iseries?opendocument&comments Notes & Domino 7.0.3 are available Tue, 16 Oct 2007 10:11:17 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/notes-domino-7.0.3-available Domino Rob Ingram http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/notes-domino-7.0.3-available?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/notes-domino-7.0.3-available announcement letter for 7.0.3.

The key availability dates are:-
  • October 16, 2007: English
  • December 19, 2007: French, Spanish, Italian, German, Catalan, Portuguese-Brazilian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese-Traditional and Simplified,
  • February 29, 2008: Portuguese, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Hungarian, Greek, Turkish, Czech, Polish, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Finnish, Slovenian, Thai

Noteworthy platform support additions in 7.0.3 include Windows Vista support for Notes, Designer, Admin clients and RHEL 5 Linux support for Domino server. The 7.0.3 fix list is already posted  here.

Update  - link to 7.0.3 product page ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/notes-domino-7.0.3-available http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/notes-domino-7.0.3-available?opendocument&comments Domino 8 performance advantages - report published Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:30:43 -0400 http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/domino-8-performance-advantages 8.0 Rob Ingram http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/domino-8-performance-advantages?opendocument&comments http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/domino-8-performance-advantages Domino 8 performance report on Developerworks. It reveals very significant reductions in I/O utilization compared to Domino 7, and at the same time shows no other significant performance tradeoffs  e.g: similar CPU usage compared to Domino 7. To sum up the report conclusions in one line.

"Lotus Domino 8 not only equals, but outperforms the previous release!"

Remember that all of this  an be achieved with no changes in your current Domino 7 hardware. This is a very compelling TCO reduction for the cost of a server upgrade. Many of these I/O performance gains are made possible by tuning done within the Notes 8 mail template and by enabling ODS 48 on the server databases.

All the Domino platforms are covered in the report.  Actual I/O savings will vary by platform, but here is one quote related to the Windows 2003 platform.

"This test confirms that Lotus Domino 8 improves on the performance and total cost of ownership (TCO) when compared to Lotus Domino 7. Upgrading to Lotus Domino 8 and the Notes 8 mail template showed a reduction of I/O usage in our tests with a decrease of more than 50% total disks reads and writes. "

The reported  data is based on the use of a new Notes 8 Notesbench test workload which is described in this new report. IBM Lotus Notes 8 workloads: Taking performance to a new level. This heavier and more realistic workload uses larger mail files and document sizes and adds in loads from other common Domino server tasks such as transaction logging, journaling, Domino Domain Monitoring and more. These new workloads are also now part of the server.load test suite that is available with Domino 8 should you wish to run your own benchmark tests for sizing. ]]> http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dxcomments/domino-8-performance-advantages http://dominoblog.com/dominoblog/dblog.nsf/dx/domino-8-performance-advantages?opendocument&comments