5 1 0:HCL Domino Server Configuration

Welcome to the latest SEP sesam documentation version 5.1.0 Apollon. For previous documentation version(s), check documentation archive.

Overview

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Check FAQ to find the answers to most common questions.

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If you are using an older SEP sesam version, refer to Documentation archive.

The Lotus Domino (previously Lotus Notes) corporate brand has been first acquired by IBM and then by HCL Technologies. The Lotus Domino product name is now HCL Domino server; however, SEP sesam documentation update (such as screenshots) to reflect these changes is being done in a phased manner, therefore HCL Domino may still appear under the name Lotus Notes, Lotus Domino or IBM Domino.

SEP sesam Client SBCLN is a program library for backing up HCL Domino (previously IBM Domino) databases. All required components for HCL Domino server backup are already included in the regular SEP sesam Client for Windows and Linux package. Once the extension is present and all the requirements are met, you have to configure your client for the use with SEP sesam environment. For details, see section Configuring HCL Domino server as a SEP sesam Client.

Additionally, to perform HCL Domino database-level backups, you have to enable and set up transaction logging in Archived mode on the HCL Domino server. Note that Domino databases can also be backed up with transaction logging disabled, however, this is not recommended as it only allows for FULL or COPY backups of databases and requires much more frequent full database backups. For details, see section Enabling transaction logging in Archive mode.

Quick setup

Install SEP sesam Client on HCL Domino server.
Add the HCL Domino server as client to the SEP sesam environment.
Set the required variables on Linux or on Windows, including the Path environment variable.
Enable transaction logging in Archive mode on the HCL Domino server.

Requirements

To ensure error-free operation of SEP sesam and improve performance, make sure that the following conditions are met:

Check the support matrix for the list of supported HCL Domino (previously IBM Domino) server versions.
SEP sesam Server v. 4.4.3 or higher. Check Hardware requirements for SEP sesam Server. Currently it is not possible to upgrade HCL Domino (Lotus Notes) on Linux to version 4.4.3.70 Beefalo. Last version with IBM Domino support is 4.4.3.64 SLES11.
Install the SEP sesam Client package on the HCL Domino server. You can download it from SEP Download Center. For details on installing, see SEP sesam Quick Install Guide.
A user account with sufficient privileges to perform backup and restore operations.
SEP sesam HCL Domino backup module requires a license. For details, see Licensing.

Configuring HCL Domino server as a SEP sesam Client

Before proceeding, make sure that the above requirements are met. The configuration procedure is slightly different depending on the operating system type (Linux or Windows).

On Linux

Once you have installed your SEP sesam Linux Client on HCL Domino server, proceed as follows:

Configure your HCL Domino client by adding it to the SEP sesam environment: Main selection -> Components -> Clients -> New client -> add your HCL Domino client. For details, see Configuring Clients.
Check if the library libsbcln.so is already present in the <SESAM_ROOT>/bin/sesam/ directory on your Linux client. If not, download the SEP sesam extension for HCL Domino from SEP Download Center and copy it into the <SESAM_ROOT>/bin/sesam/ directory.
To work with Domino and load the library, add the following variables in the [ENVIRONMENT] section in <SESAM ROOT>/var/ini/sm.ini at the client: LOTUS, NOTES_DATA_DIR, Notes_ExecDirectory and PATH. The LD_LIBRARY_PATH must refer to directories containing the libraries libsbcln.so (located in <SESAM_BIN>/bin/sesam) and libnotes.so (in the Notes binary files installation directory).

 LOTUS=<HCL_Domino_path> 
 NOTES_DATA_DIR=<HCL_Domino_data_path>
 Notes_ExecDirectory=<HCL_Domino_exe_path>
 PATH=$PATH:<HCL_Domino_exe_path>:<HCL_Domino_data_path>
 LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:<HCL_Domino_exe_path>

For example:

  [ENVIRONMENT]
  ...
  LOTUS=/opt/hcl/lotus
  NOTES_DATA_DIR=/srv/notesdata
  Notes_ExecDirectory=$LOTUS/notes/latest/linux
  Notes_Resources=$Notes_ExecDirectory/res
  SESAM_LIB_PATH=/opt/sesam/bin/sesam
  NOTES_LIB_PATH=$NOTES_DATA_DIR:$Notes_ExecDirectory:$Notes_Resources
  PATH=$PATH:$NOTES_DATA_DIR:$Notes_ExecDirectory:$Notes_Resources
  LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:$SESAM_LIB_PATH:$NOTES_LIB_PATH
  ...

If the [ENVIRONMENT] section in the sm.ini file does not exist, you have to create it.

Afterwards, restart the SEP sesam daemon:

  /etc/init.d/sesam restart

For details, see How to Start and Stop SEP sesam.

	Note
	Before proceeding, you should validate that you can backup to SEP sesam. Run a test Path backup manually to ensure that the backups work. For details on typical backup configuration, see Standard Backup Procedure.

On Windows

Once you have installed your SEP sesam Windows Client on the HCL Domino server, proceed as follows:

Configure your HCL Domino client by adding it to the SEP sesam environment: Main selection -> Components -> Clients -> New client -> add your HCL Domino client. For details, see Configuring Clients.
Add the folder path of the nnotes.dll to the Path environment variable. Due to structural change in HCL Domino 14, the notes.ini is now located in the Domino\Data directory and you have to add this path to the system path. Right-click This PC -> Properties -> Advanced system settings -> Environment Variables -> under System variables area select Path and click Edit. Click New and add the path from your HCL Domino Server installation where the nnotes.dll is located, for example:

  C:\Program Files\HCL\Domino;F:\Data

Then click OK to save your changes.

From version Domino 11 FP3 and higher, the Domino server service user and the sesam client service user must be identical. Alternatively, the NTFS permissions of the Domino data directory must be extended by the SEP sesam Client user.
Restart the SEP sesam service. For details, see How to Start and Stop SEP sesam.

	Note
	Before proceeding, you should validate that you can backup to SEP sesam. Run a test Path backup manually to ensure that the backups work. For details on typical backup configuration, see Standard Backup Procedure.

Enabling transaction logging

You have to set up transaction logging in Archive mode on the HCL Domino server to perform database-level backups (DIFF and INCR backups) and enable point-in-time recovery. The main advantage of transaction logging is fast server restart in case of a recovery; since transaction logging keeps a sequential record of every operation that occurs to data, you can roll back the database to a point before it was corrupted and replay the changes from the transaction log.

By default, transaction logging is disabled. You can enable it from Domino Administrator -> Configuration tab -> expand the Server section -> click All Documents -> select the Server document for the Domino server you want to edit -> click Edit Server -> click Transactional Logging tab -> enable the Transactional Logging and select Archive as Logging style.

Domino databases can also be backed up with disabled transaction logging or with circular logging. In these cases, only FULL or COPY backups of databases can be performed.

Once you enable transaction logging, HCL Domino assigns a Database Instance Identifier (DBIID) to each Domino database. When Domino records a transaction in the log, it includes the DBIID. During restore, the DBIID is used to identify the database to which the changes should be applied. If a new DBIID is assigned to a Domino database as a result of some Domino database maintenance activities, such as using fixup (e.g., automatic fixup of corrupt databases) or compact, the changes are logged to the database automatically. In this case, COPY backup is recommended to save your storage space.

For more information on Domino and transaction logging, see the official Domino documentation. This information is version specific. For example, you can find information on transaction logging in the IBM Domino 10.0.1 Administrator Help and HCL Domino 11 Documentation.