ND8 Upgrade Step 2 - Upgrading the first server

With the upgrade of the design of the Domino Directory behind me, it was time to take the next big step of upgrading my Admin server to Domino 8.0.1.
Upgrading a server is never a task one takes lightly. No matter how many tests you make in a lab environment, there is the chance that something will go wrong. So before beginning my task, a quick backup was made of all the important files, including the updated pubnames.ntf template that was used in the directory design upgrade, I was ready to begin.
My plan on upgrading the admin server was derived from two things. First, information obtained during Admin2008 at the upgrade sessions and secondly, from this technote which contains a step by step upgrade guide. With that information and testing in place, I launched the setup.exe and ran through the installation screens. My anxiety mounted as files were copied. The last thing I wanted to do was try and troubleshoot a failed installation. Been there, done that. When the setup was complete, I copied back over the new pubnames.ntf and launched the server. With the .ini parameter in place to not have the Domino Directory design replaced on first launch after an upgrade, (Server_Upgrade_No_Directory_ReDesign=1), all I had to do was sit back and watch the console fly by. And it did. And all ran smoothly. No bubbles, no troubles. Sure, it's a small server that I upgraded, but upgrading to 8.0.1 was probably the easiest upgrade I've done so far. I may not be singing that tune when I have to upgrade the application server and LEI, but so far, so good.

ND8 Upgrade Step 1 - Upgrade the design of the Domino Directory

Today I made the first leap into my ND8 upgrade project by upgrading the design of the Domino Directory to the 8.0.1 design. It went well for the most part except I missed a pubnames.ntf on a test server and it replicated the 7 design back to all the servers before I knew it. Opps. But in the end, it was an easy enough fix. So for those that have not yet made the jump to the ND8 design, here's what I did:
**When doing any project of this level, it of course is important to make sure that you have good backups**
1. Shut down all the Domino servers in the domain.
2. On the Administration server, I copied the 8.0.1 pubnames.ntf, (the new one that was released to fix desktop policies issues that Andy Pedisich had discovered and blogged about), overwriting the current version that was there.
3. I then ran a batch file I had created during testing and placed it in the program folder of the Domino server with the following commands in it.

ncompact -c -d -i names.nsf
nupdall -r names.nsf
nfixup -f -j names.nsf
ndesign -f names.nsf
nfixup -f -j names.nsf
ncompact -c names.nsf
nupdall names.nsf -t "($ServerAccess)" -r
nupdall names.nsf -t "($Users)" -r

This may seem like overkill to some, but how often do you have a chance to REALLY do a deep clean of your Domino Directory?
4. I then renamed the log.nsf so a new one would be created and make it easier to monitor
5. Once complete, I then launched the Domino server and watched for any problems.
6. No problems were found so I then began to copy the pubnames.ntf and the names.nsf, via the OS, to each of the downed servers in the domain. When the copy was complete, I brought the server up and tested replication, iNotes login, mail flow, etc.
7. After all of the servers are updated and brought back up, continued to monitor for issues.

Except for the one $&*@&#$$@ server that I overlooked, it is a pretty straight forward process. So if you haven't started your upgrade yet, get movin!

Create_R8_Databases=1: Not just a server setting!

Today I started taking my first baby-steps into the wonderful world of the R8 upgrade. One of the most popular topics of interest for the upgrade that I have seen so far is the space savings you can realize using the design element and document compression in the R8 mail template. But what to do if you don't yet have an R8 server up and running in your environment and you feel like playing with the new features? Simple. With the Standard client and the Admin client loaded on your machine, you really have all the tools you need to do some testing. Now, your mileage my vary, but I was able to shave 40MB off of my mail file by following these steps:
1. Using the Domino Administrator client, locate the mail8.ntf template on your workstation
2. Right click on the file and select Properties.
3. In the database properties window, click on the Advanced tab and check the options for compress database design and compress document data.4. Now create a copy of your mail database locally. Make sure to give it a unique name and to use the New Copy option, not New Replica. That way, no changes can replicate back up to the server. Once the copy is complete, take note of it's size. You'll want that for later comparison.
5. Add the line Create_R8_Databases=1 to your notes.ini file and restart the client. This command tells Notes that any time you create a new database, like when your doing a copy-style compact, to create it in the Notes 8 ODS of 48, which allows for the compression tools to work.
6. At a command prompt of C:\Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes\ , (of whatever path you are using for the Notes client on your workstation), use the following commands

• nconvert -u mailfilename.nsf * mail8.ntf (This will upgrade your mail file to the R8 mail template)
• ncompact -c mailfilename.nsf (This will convert the mail file to the new ODS of 48 and also compress the design elements as well as documents inside the mail file)

Tada! Take a look at the properties of the database now and compare the size with before you completed these steps. Pretty neat, huh!
Okay, I know it's not all that spectacular, but this can at least give you a quick and easy idea of how things have changed and can be improved with the new functionality of Lotus Notes 8. It's also nice to be able to show something off to the boss too!

It so it begins again

Another upgrade project. I can officially say that as of today I taken my first step of the journey down the ND8 upgrade path. Might as well strike while the Lotusphere iron is hot! I've put in a request for a new server VM that will act as my Admin hub during the upgrade process. Upgrade that puppy first, then the rest of the environment behind it. That is of course after Domino 8.0.1 comes out.
For now, I'll install Domino 7.0.3 to at least get the server up and running.

Stay tuned!