SA114 - Virtual Notesiality! - How the Notes client and Browser Plugin can excite on virtual...

#MWLUG2016

SA114 - Virtual Notesiality! - How the Notes client and Browser Plugin can excite on virtual platforms

Daniel Reimann - @panareimapanagenda

@panareima#MWLUG2016

Introduction• Daniel Reimann – Director Technical Account Management

panagenda Inc.– Over 15 years of experience in Notes / Domino– Focus on IBM Notes Client optimization and

general infrastructure analysis– German, lives in Boston, MA– there will be an accent …


Agenda• Getting started

– What can you expect from this session?– What we typically SEE at customers– What we typically DO at customers

• To roam or not to roam: that is the question– IBM Notes in virtual environments (recommended)

• Best practices• Installing IBM Notes | ICAA in virtual environments

(a recipe)• Summary


What can you expect from this session? • Best Practices for deploying IBM Notes in virtual environments

• Giving an overview on the ideal IBM Notes architecture in virtual environments

• A recipe to set up and pre-configure the perfect IBM Notes Client | ICAA installation in a virtual environment


What we typically SEE at customers• Administrators that cannot invest much time in

troubleshooting IBM Notes issues because of– too many responsibilities for other IT systems– steadily increasing complexity of IT systems– missing or unknown knowledge sources– “wrong“ or missing tools/solutions

• Administrators agree to set up IT systems when requested but rarely have time to adequately maintain them going forward


What we typically SEE at customers• Aged IBM Notes installations in virtual environments that are

working “somehow”– Mostly Notes data directories on network drives which cause

• long startup times of IBM Notes (up to 60 sec)• hangs and wait times due to interruptions and poor network latency• high network traffic as IBM Notes is constantly reading / writing data• frequently corrupted local applications• permanently occupied disk space on file servers / SAN / NAS

– 120MB on average per user– often because of old and outdated files, even templates


What we typically DO at customers• Sparking their enthusiasm for IBM Notes

– Especially in virtual environments, IBM Notes can be optimized to start up fast, run smooth and contribute to a positive end user IT experience by

• switching to local Multi-user installations• frequently maintaining contents of IBM Notes data folders• relieving network, file servers and / or SAN / NAS systems

• Encouraging administrators to spend a little more time on troubleshooting and analyzing IBM Notes– Solve root causes, not symptoms!


To roam or not to roam: that is the question• Given the previous reasons why IBM Notes in virtual

environments should not have any files in the network, the following logical questions arise– How can personal IBM Notes data folders of end users be maintained

locally on the virtual environment servers?• Think of having N servers in the farm where personal end user data

potentially needs to be on every single server– How do end users get their most recent IBM Notes configuration no

matter on which server in the farm they log on?– How to ensure that disk space used by IBM Notes data folders is

cleared after log off?– How to avoid transfers of large IBM Notes data folders per user during

log on and log off which increase wait times and cause network traffic?


To roam or not to roam: that is the question• The answer is: Roaming!

– To provide end users with their latest IBM Notes configuration, their data needs to be roamed onto the server they log on to start their session

– Roaming can be achieved through own procedures (e. g. logon script),Domino Roaming or third-party solutions


IBM Notes in virtual environmentsLog on to

virtual session

Roam data

StartIBM Notes

Log on toIBM Notes

(happens here:logon script,

3rd-party solutions)

Roam data

(or here: 3rd-party,i. e. panagenda MarvelClient)

Work withIBM Notes

Roam data

(or here:IBM Roaming)

ShutdownIBM Notes

Log off from virtual session

Backup data

Backup data

(happens here)(or here)

Clear data


• Use default setups for– IBM Notes Client 9.0.1 (Standard)

– Client Application Access 1.0.1 (ICAA)formerly known as IBM Notes Browser Plugin

• No need to make changes to MSI package (scripts can help here)

• Use default paths for Program, Data and SharedData folders

BP: IBM Notes & ICAA installation


BP: IBM Notes & ICAA install command lines• IBM Notes Client 9.0.1 (Standard) install command line

– setup.exe /s /v"SETMULTIUSER=1 MULTIUSERBASEDIR=C:\Users\!USERNAME!\AppData\Local MULTIUSERCOMMONDIR=C:\ProgramData CITRIX=1 /l*v "C:\Temp\NOTES901_msiinst.log" /qn"

• IBM Client Application Access 1.0.1 (ICAA) install command line– setup.exe /s /v"SETMULTIUSER=1 MULTIUSERBASEDIR=C:\Users\!USERNAME!\AppData\

Local MULTIUSERCOMMONDIR=C:\ProgramData CITRIX=1 /l*v "C:\Temp\ICAA101_msiinst.log" /qn"


• The ODS of local IBM Notes applications and templates should always be the native one according to the used IBM Notes release (see next slide)

• Although any IBM Notes version can deal with older ODS versions it causes the need of internal conversion during usage

• That causes unnecessary file I/O operations on disk• While most administrators take care of upgrading the ODS of

applications, templates are often not taken into account– However templates are also touched by IBM Notes quite often and

should be optimized as well to gain a performance boost

BP: ODS (templates)


ODS = On Disk Structure• ODS 16 = Notes 2• ODS 17 = Notes 3• ODS 20 = Notes 4 (or templates)• ODS 41 = Notes 5• ODS 43 = Notes 6 & 7• ODS 48 = Notes 8.0• ODS 51 = Notes 8.5 / 9.0• ODS 52 = Notes 9.0.1The difference between ODS 43 and 52 = up to 80% LESS FILE I/O; 50% less on average

BP: ODS (templates)


• To upgrade the ODS of all shared templates in a virtual IBM Notes Multi-user installation the administrator can follow these steps

• Add the following line to the shared notes.ini in %ProgramData%\IBM\Notes\Data– CREATE_R9_DATABASES=1

• Make sure that the Administrator account used to log on to the virtual server does not have a personal IBM Notes Data directory yet (in %LocalAppData%)

• From a command prompt type the following commands– cd “%ProgramData%\IBM\Notes\Data\Shared”– “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\IBM\Notes\ncompact” -ODS -*

• Copy all upgraded templates over to other servers if needed

BP: ODS (templates)


BP: notes.ini• A properly configured shared notes.ini can be essential for

smooth running virtual IBM Notes environments• The shared notes.ini is used by every IBM Notes client session

for which there’s no personal IBM Notes data folder yet• It is located in %ProgramData%\IBM\Notes\Data• It is used as a template notes.ini out of which all parameters

are transferred into a users personal notes.ini upon the very first IBM Notes start

• Find some useful shared notes.ini parameters on the next slide (additionally to the standard entries)


BP: notes.ini• Ports=TCPIP• TCPIP=TCP,0,15,0

– Note that this sets port compression to OFF, which is appropriate in virtual environments; Port compression adds 5% CPU overhead and with 60 concurrent sessions this would result in needing 3 dedicated CPUs for just port compression

• DISABLE_CLIENTRECORD=1– This disables logging of client information back into the public address

book as all virtual environment users share the same servers in the farm anyway


BP: notes.ini• CREATE_R9_DATABASES=1

– Enables IBM Notes 9.0.1 to use the latest ODS version for newly created local applications. Make sure to not use CREATE_R8_DATABASES (Lotus Notes 8.0) or CREATE_R85_DATABASES (IBM Notes 8.5 / 9.0) to avoid the use of an older ODS in IBM Notes 9.0.1

• Log=,1,0,7,40000– This disables logging, which is optional but gains a slight performance

improvement• ConfigFile=H:\NotesConfig\config.txt

– For ConfigFile details see next topic


BP: notes.ini• All parameters for copy & paste

Ports=TCPIPTCPIP=TCP,0,15,0DISABLE_CLIENTRECORD=1CREATE_R9_DATABASES=1Log=,1,0,7,40000ConfigFile=H:\NotesConfig\config.txt[always keep a blank line at the bottom!]


BP: ConfigFile• IBM Notes can be set up unattended by using a so called

ConfigFile – often referred to as config.txt or setup.txt• The ConfigFile needs to be referenced in the shared notes.ini

using the parameter ConfigFile=Drive: or UNC\folder\filename.txt (see previous topic)

• For more details the following IBM technote provides some very good examples on how to create a ConfigFile as generic as possible– https://www-304.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21112835

https://www-304.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21112835


BP: Frequent maintenance• IBM Notes data folders need frequent maintenance to reduce

the probability of local database corruption and damage• At least the following local databases should get periodical

treatment– Compact desktop8.ndk– Compact names.nsf– Compact bookmark.nsf– Compact log.nsf (in case you keep it)

• Quite frankly, that’s a bit of a challenge (needs scripting / third-party solutions)


BP: jvm.shareclasses• In IBM Notes the jvm.shareclasses file (*xpdplat_.jvm_G11) is stored in each

users Data\workspace\.config\org.eclipse.osgi folder and has a size of 64MB• To optimize file I/O, speed up the IBM Notes Client start and save storage

(960MB per server == 15users), this file can be shared across all users of the virtual environment server

1. Create the following folder “C:\Temp\NotesShareClasses“ and set folder rights for “everyone” to read / write access

2. Change the value of this parameter “jvm.shareclasses.loc=“ in %ProgramFiles(x86)%\IBM\Notes\framework\rcp\deploy\jvm.properties• from “${rcp.data}/.config/org.eclipse.osgi“• to “C:/Temp/NotesShareClasses“ it’s important to use “/” instead of “\”


BP: JVM memory allocation• To speed up the IBM Notes JVM it’s useful to optimize memory settings• Open %ProgramFiles(x86)%\IBM\Notes\framework\rcp\deploy\jvm.properties

– Modify vmarg.Xmx from “-Xmx256m” to “-Xmx1024m”– Modify vmarg.Xms from “-Xms64m” to “-Xms256m”

• The implicit rules– Do not change vmarg.Xmx to more than -Xmx1024m regardless of how much memory you have– vmarg.Xms should always be ¼ of what you changed Xmx to

Note: The above defaults have been changed by IBM over the last couple of Notes releases. You might find other values than Xmx256m and Xms64m in your setups.


BP: Workspace improvement• Every IBM Notes Client start in a virtual environment is a first

(setup) start and takes at least 23 sec on average• ~65% - 70% of time during first starts is used to build the

workspace folder (at least 15 sec)• A typical new workspace folder (IBM Notes 9.0.1 FP6)

consists of– >200 files– >150 folders– >85 MB (including 64MB *xpdplat_.jvm_G11 file)

• Building the workspace folder causes lots of file I/O


BP: Workspace improvement• Accelerate the IBM Notes Client start to be >65% faster (with less file I/O)

1. With a non-admin user (Windows + IBM Notes) run an initial setup of IBM Notes2. Start IBM Notes and wait for 2-3minutes3. Exit IBM Notes4. Start IBM Notes again and wait for 2-3minutes5. Exit IBM Notes6. Create the following folder %ProgramData%\IBM\Notes\Data\Common7. Copy the workspace folder from %LocalAppData%\IBM\Notes\Data to

%ProgramData%\IBM\Notes\Data\Common


BP: Workspace improvement6. Delete the following files / folders in %ProgramData%\IBM\Notes\Data\Common\

workspacea. UDMb. Logs all but .prov2installc. .metadata\.plugins\com.ibm.collaboration.*d. .metadata\.plugins\com.ibm.rcp.personality.frameworke. .metadata\.plugins\com.ibm.rcp.security.authf. .metadata\.plugins\com.ibm.rcp.managedsettings

#MWLUG2016

LIVE

IBM Notes Workspace improvement



– What can you expect from this session?– Virtual environments– What we typically SEE at customers– What we typically DO at customers


• Installing IBM Notes | ICAA in virtual environments(a recipe)

• Summary


Installing IBM Notes in virtual environments• A step-by-step recipe for an IBM Notes installation including

other components


Installing IBM Notes in virtual environments• The following components will be considered on the following slides

– IBM Notes 9.0.1 English– IBM Notes 9.0.1 MUI Pack for G1 (add only German and French)– IBM Notes 9.0.1 MUI Pack for G2a (add * but set Danish to be default language)– IBM Notes 9.0.1 MUI Pack for G2b (add *)– IBM Notes 9.0.1 MUI Pack for G3 (add *)– IBM Sametime 9.0.1 (20160620-0133) embedded– IBM Connections Plug-ins for Notes 4.5 (20150921-1143)– IBM Notes 9.0.1 Fix Pack 6


Installing IBM Notes in virtual environments1. Install IBM Notes 9.0.1 english

– IBMNotes901\setup.exe /s /v"SETMULTIUSER=1 MULTIUSERBASEDIR=C:\Users\!USERNAME!\AppData\Local MULTIUSERCOMMONDIR=C:\ProgramData CITRIX=1 /l*v "C:\Temp\Notes901_msiinst.log" /qn"

2. Install IBM Notes 9.0.1 MUI Packs– IBMNotes901MUI_G1\setup.exe /s /v"ADDLOCAL=German,French /l*v "C:\Temp\

Notes901MUI_G1_msiinst.log" /qn"– IBMNotes901MUI_G2a\setup.exe /s /v"INITIALUILANG=da REPLACELOCALDB=1

LOCALDBLANG=da /l*v "C:\Temp\Notes901MUI_G2a_msiinst.log" /qn"– IBMNotes901MUI_G2b\setup.exe /s /v"/l*v "C:\Temp\Notes901MUI_G2b_msiinst.log"

/qn"– IBMNotes901MUI_G3\setup.exe /s /v"/l*v "C:\Temp\

Notes901MUI_G3_msiinst.log" /qn"


Installing IBM Notes in virtual environments3. Install IBM Sametime 9.0.1 (20160620-0133) embedded

– Sametime901emb\setup.exe /s /v"/l*v "C:\Temp\Sametime901emb_msiinst.log" /qn"

4. Install IBM Connections Plug-ins for Notes 4.5 (20150921-1143)– IC45Plugins\setup.exe /s /v"/l*v "C:\Temp\IC45Plugins_msiinst.log" /qn"

5. Install IBM Notes 9.0.1 Fix Pack 6– Notes901FP6\setup.exe /s /v"/l*v "C:\Temp\Notes901FP6_msiinst.log" /qn"


Installing IBM Notes in virtual environments6. Optimize your IBM Notes 9.0.1 Installation with the following best practices in

this presentation– ODS (templates)– notes.ini– ConfigFile– jvm.shareclasses– JVM memory allocation– Workspace improvement


• A step-by-step recipe for an IBM Client Application Access (ICAA) installation including other components

Installing ICAA in virtual environments


• The following components will be considered on the next slides:– IBM Client Application Access (ICAA) 1.0.1 Multilingual– IBM Client Application Access (ICAA) 1.0.1 MUI Pack for G2a– IBM Client Application Access (ICAA) 1.0.1 MUI Pack for G2b– IBM Client Application Access (ICAA) 1.0.1 MUI Pack for G3

Installing ICAA in virtual environments


Installing ICAA in virtual environments1. IBM Client Application Access (ICAA) 1.0.1 Multilingual

– ICAA101\setup.exe /s /v"SETMULTIUSER=1 MULTIUSERBASEDIR=C:\Users\!USERNAME!\AppData\Local MULTIUSERCOMMONDIR=C:\ProgramData CITRIX=1" /l*v "C:\Temp\ICAA101_msiinst.log" /qn"

2. IBM Client Application Access (ICAA) 1.0.1 additional MUI Packs– ICAA101MUI_G2a\setup.exe /s /v"INITIALUILANG=da REPLACELOCALDB=1 LOCALDBLANG=da

/l*v "C:\Temp\ICAA101MUI_G2a_msiinst.log" /qn"– ICAA101MUI_G2b\setup.exe /s /v"/l*v "C:\Temp\ICAA101MUI_G2b_msiinst.log" /qn"– ICAA101MUI_G3\setup.exe /s /v"/l*v "C:\Temp\ICAA101MUI_G3_msiinst.log" /qn"


Installing ICAA in virtual environments4. Optimize your IBM ICAA 1.0.1 Installation with the following best practices in

this presentation– ODS (templates)– notes.ini– ConfigFile


Summary• It is highly recommendable to run local IBM Notes Multi-user

installations in virtual environments– Users benefit from fast IBM Notes starts, less database corruption,

improved stability– Administrators gain better network quality, free managed storage, less

support incidents, satisfied end users• Invest a bit more time in maintaining your IBM Notes (virtual)

infrastructure


[email protected]

Thank you!

Questions?


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Acknowledgements and Disclaimers cont.© Copyright IBM Corporation 2015. All rights reserved.U.S. Government Users Restricted Rights - Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.• IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, Lotus and IBM Lotus Notes, IBM Notes, IBM Client Application Access, IBM Notes Browser Plugin are trademarks or registered trademarks of

International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. If these and other IBM trademarked terms are marked on their first occurrence in this information with a trademark symbol (® or ™), these symbols indicate U.S. registered or common law trademarks owned by IBM at the time this information was published. Such trademarks may also be registered or common law trademarks in other countries. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml

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SA114 - Virtual Notesiality! - How the Notes client and Browser Plugin can excite on virtual...

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