Converting users from OOO agent to OOO service

Converting from Agent to Service Out Of Office ( OOO ) is pretty simple on the configuration side. A few things to remember before you change your mail server to Out of Office Service:

1. All mail users need to have Lotus Notes 8.x or above installed
2. All mail users need to have Lotus Notes 8.x or above mail templates
3. The Lotus Domino directory on the mail servers must have the new 8.x or above design template applied
4. All servers in a domino domain that are mail servers, included clustered servers, must have steps 2 and 3 complete
5. All servers in a domino domain that are mail servers, included clustered servers, must have their configuration documents setup for Out of Office Service. After this is configured, the server must be restarted for the OOO Service to work.


To setup the Out of Office Service on a server, open the server configuration document, go to Router/SMTP > Advanced > Controls. Under the Miscellaneous Controls heading and Out-of-Office type: change from Agent to Service

After this setting is configured, the server must be restarted for the Out of Office Service to work.

In one instance, after the server was configured and restarted, I had issues with existing OOO agents still running. I figured out that before the OOO Service was turned on, the users already enabled their OOO using the agent. Also, the users didn't have manager access to their mail files so when they enable and disable their OOO, an adminp request was generated. Here are the following steps I took to convert them to the OOO Service

First I opened the user's mail file ACL. I explicitly put my name in the ACL and gave myself manager access. Then I made myself the mail file owner through mail preferences. Close the mail file ( you might have to close all Lotus Notes windows ) and re-open

Next I opened the user's OOO preferences. I made a note of when they left and when they are coming back. This is important because we will disable their OOO and re-enable it.

Next I disabled the user's OOO.

Then using my admin client I opened the user's home server ( just so happens the user's home server is the administration server too ) and submitted a console command:
tell adminp process new

I waited a few minutes and went back to the user's mail file. Then I enabled their OOO using the dates I recorded before I disabled it.

Next I checked the admin client under Server > Status > Schedules > Agents, to see if the agent is still scheduled ( Also doing a tell amgr schedule to see the OOO schedule and see who is still running the agent OOO ). The status should show the OOO agent still running.

Next I disable that same user's OOO

Next I waited for agent to disappear from the Agents view in the admin client ( or from the amgr schedule )

Finally I enabled the user's OOO again. You can submit the command "tell router O" to display the active OOO users using the OOO Service. Verify that you see that user's OOO. At this point I changed the mail file owner back to the user, and removed myself from the ACL as manager of the mail file.


It might seem like a lot of disabling and enabling of the OOO but I had to do this for 12 people and this was the only process that worked for me.

References:

The IBM Lotus Notes and Domino Out of Office service: Best practices

Designating the Out of Office service type

Android Traveler 8.5.2.1 folder rename issue

Yesterday I tried to move 6 sub folders to make them root folders. Using my Lotus Notes client, I clicked and dragged them to the root. Then I noticed that the folders did not change on my Android Traveler "show folders" option. I didn't think much about it and went ahead and subscribed to those 6 root folders that were showing as sub folders in Traveler. Next thing I know I get a security execution alert when opening them in my Lotus Notes client and it is signed by my traveler server! After closing my notes and re-opening I found that my traveler server moved my root folders back to sub folders!

This actually makes some sense to me ( well not the moving of the folders back to sub folders ) but each folder is a design element with a unique ID. So when those folders are moved Traveler must not have the ability to recognize it ( at least in the 8.5.2.1 version ). I'm going to try and upgrade to 8.5.2.2 and see if the issue still exists.

As a work around I just created new folders and moved all my mail over and deleted the old folders.

Notes.ini file for this server is invalid

While installing and configuring another partition on a Lotus Domino server that already had 2 I ran into an interesting error. While configuring the new partition and clicked on finish I got the following error:

After some google searching I found a technote 1472522 explaining this issue for Lotus Domino 8.5.1 and 8.5.2 versions. It says to check the c:\windows directory for a notes.ini file and delete it. My server didn't have a notes.ini in the c:\windows directory. I did find one in the d:\lotus\domino program directory though. The way partition servers work is they have a notes.ini in their data folder. So I moved the notes.ini out of the program directory and the server setup completed without any more issues.


Update:  I just tried adding another partition to an existing domino server ( 8.5.2 32 bit ) and loaded the FP1 and there was the NOTES.INI in the domino program directory. The contents:


[Notes]
CFP_LP_BASE_VERSION=Release 8.5.2|August 10, 2010
CFP_LP_CURRENT=Release 8.5.2FP1|November 29, 2010            
CFP_LP_PREV=Release 8.5.2|August 10, 2010

So fyi it seems this will happen each time you install an additional partition

Managed Replica - Not checking mail automatically

I recently had an issue where someone else had a managed replica, converted from a local replica. That person had 8.5.2 FP2 installed and everything looked good. However that person wasn't getting emails automatically. When I force a replication and sync using the "Start Now" button it works.

Then I noticed a status message in the status bar saying "Unable to encrypt saved mail because the mailfile specified in your current location ( ServerName/Org mail\tuser-replica.nsf ) is not on your workspace or available on the network"

So I looked at the managed replica database properties and found the file name and path mail\tuser-replica.nsf is the managed replica on the local machine. So I looked at the current location document under the "Mail" tab and Mail file location was set to server ( for managed replica this is the correct setting ) and the mail file was mail\tuser-replica.nsf. So I figured that had to be the issue. The mail file on the server was mail\tuser.nsf.

I closed lotus notes, renamed the database mail\tuser-replica.nsf to mail\tuser.nsf, launched notes, edit the current location document and changed the mail file field to mail\tuser.nsf. Then I opened the managed replica, sent and email and it automatically showed up in the inbox without hitting "Start now" on the replication and Sync page.

missing nlnotes.exe on Lotus Domino 8.5.2?

I was on a Lotus Domino server 8.5.2 FP2 (64bit) server this morning and found the nlnotes.exe missing in the domino program directory. At first I thought it was deleted by mistake however, I found nlnotes.exe missing on 8.5.2 FP1 (64bit) too. I know nlnotes.exe is horrible to use on a server with all the issues associated but sometimes it's necessary. A quick Google search found some other people noticing it gone but no reason as to why.

So I just did a fresh install of Lotus Domino 8.5.2 (32bit) with no fix pack and nlnotes.exe is in the program directory. Also I looked at another Lotus Domino 8.5.2 FP1 (32bit) server and nlnotes.exe was there. So it looks like IBM didn't include nlnotes.exe with the Windows Lotus Domino 64bit server.