The client decided to implement Domino 8 on IBM System p servers running AIX. This facilitated large scale server consolidation, with the goal of reduced
hardware and administration costs, higher reliability, and greater scalability than Windows servers. A factor that also influenced this decision was that the client was already using System p servers for other applications, and had personnel skilled in the operating system-level administration of these servers. Domino servers were implemented in Domino partitions on the System p servers, and then clustered for failover purposes. A multi-data center configuration was also employed for disaster recovery purposes.
Mail server co-existence during migration
Mature Exchange mail servers operated alongside the Domino environment, supporting users that had not yet been migrated and Exchange public folders and applications that get migrated in the future.
A gateway solution was implemented to support cross-platform mail routing, calendaring and scheduling, and address lookups during the migration period.
IBM Services to support planning, pilot, and production deployment
The client’s management team recognized the importance of partnering with the IBM Software Services group to help ensure a successful outcome for this effort. At a high level, the primary benefits of this strategic partnership were:
The ability to use the knowledge of IBM architects who had successfully implemented large Notes and Domino 8.x environments for other clients
The benefits of IBM software deployment methodology and best practices
The ability to use the experience of IBM project managers to help ensure critical milestones were reached on schedule
IBM technical staff supplementation to accelerate implementation and configuration of Domino servers and deployment of Notes client software
The IBM services organization recommended or provided, proven third party applications to support interoperability and data migration
IBM consultants provided best practices advice on help desk support programs, user education plans, and corporate information campaign development
Multiple teams within IBM were engaged early in the project to help ensure a successful deployment. IBM provided support throughout all phases of the deployment and subsequent upgrades of the Domino server and Notes clients.
The technical sales organization initially worked with the client to provide:
Business and technical requirements analysis
Solution visioning
Integrated product capability demonstrations
Technical documentation for planning purposes
Deployment best practices reference materials
Product strategy and roadmap information
Engagement with the IBM services organization
The IBM Software Services solution architects and advanced technology services IT specialists then provided assistance with:
– High level planning of Notes and Domino 8 upgrades and migration – Domino architecture design considerations
– Server platform and operating system selection – Initial server sizing recommendations
These planning activities were crucial because they laid the groundwork that helped to ensure the success of the deployment and provided a solid platform for growth.
The client then engaged IBM Software Services to provide consultative services including implementation of a Notes and Domino 8 lab environment:
Co-development of a server and client upgrade and migration plan
Migration and co-existence tools selection and configuration
Notes Client deployment planning and installation package design
Design of Domino server configuration templates
Assistance with initial server and client deployments
Expanded IBM involvement in deployment
It was originally envisioned that the client provide overall project management followed by ongoing production Domino server deployments and Notes 8 client upgrades and migrations, including data migration. As the project progressed, a strategy change was required. It was determined that, to meet milestone dates, additional IBM assistance was required. IBM provided dedicated project management resources and technical resources for implementation. A jointly staffed, dedicated workgroup was established to focus on Notes 8 client deployment, and the results were positive.
Notes deployment package Quality Assurance testing with IBM
One of the client’s priorities was to deploy the latest versions of Notes with a minimum of disruption to the business. To ensure that upgrades went smoothly from a technical and usability perspective, the team instituted a quality assurance testing initiative.
The Notes quality assurance (QA) testing process included these focus areas:
New Notes functionality
New Notes code fixes
Performance and stability testing
Determine if code “regression issues” were introduced using hot fixes or fix packs
Mail template customizations
Notes 8.x plug-in functionality, including user authentication
QA testing was also performed on the installation scripts that were used to deploy the Notes client and Notes upgrades to users’ desktops using electronic software distribution tools. The development of scripts needed to take into account several variables with respect to workstation hardware and software configuration, such as geography and language, operating system version, system memory, free disk space, existing versions of Notes to be upgraded, and whether a local mail replica existed.
An additional consideration was that many Notes users were using custom developed roaming user functionality. This functionality copied Notes desktop configuration data from the user’s workstation to a file server at the close of each work session. This process made it possible for a traveling user to access their personalized Notes client configuration from another workstation. The Notes upgrade installer needed to work in this environment, which required additional QA testing.
The deployment tool needed to provide programmatic feedback to the deployment team on various error conditions, for example, why an installation cannot be completed. These different failure scenarios needed to be tested. Another consideration was the network bandwidth utilization when pushing new or updated Notes client code down to desktops for installation. From a quality assurance perspective, performance benchmarking needed to be performed to determine how long an installation or upgrade would take, and whether network performance would be impacted.
A QA test lab environment was set up to facilitate the testing process.
Workstations with a variety of configurations were configured in a test network environment. Detailed test scripts were developed so that QA testers can follow a consistent process.
At a high level, our best practices recommendations included:
A QA test process that would encompass features, fixes, performance, and stability
Sufficient time for testing, evaluation of results, and issue remediation
A dedicated test environment that would accurately model production client configurations (and servers and networks)
A test script for technical resources to follow
The availability of sufficient technical personnel to perform QA testing and remediation in the time frame required
Test the software deployment methodology, in addition to the code
9.5 Technical challenges
Several of the technical challenges, from an infrastructure perspective, included multiple mail and PIM platforms (IBM Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange):
The Notes environment was not current, as the latest user interface design, features, and platform capabilities were not available to administrators, application developers, or end-users
Multiple directories, including Domino Directory and Active Directory
Multiple email archiving platforms
Multiple server hardware platforms and operating systems
Lack of standardization of mail and application server versions and configurations
Large and small office locations across the United States, in Europe, and in Asia, connected by a network infrastructure of varying bandwidth and capacity
Multiple heritage data centers, with planned new data center construction, and associated server consolidations and relocations)
Deployment challenges related to the upgrade of existing Notes users to Notes 8 and the migration of Outlook users to Notes, included infrastructure and
server-side challenges:
Directory consolidation and data normalization
Develop directory hierarchy for the consolidated enterprise
Select the optimum server hardware and operating system platform
Develop the optimum server infrastructure, including provisions for disaster recovery
Define a process to migrate Exchange mail, PIM data, and public folders to Notes
Convert Notes mail and PIM data to the latest version format
Optimize mail routing for temporary co-existence of old and new mail platforms
Upgrade existing Notes application servers and ensure compatibility
Migrate or re-write existing MS Exchange-based applications
Validate compatibility or implement compatible versions of third party
applications for archiving, anti-virus, and mobile device support (for example, Blackberry)
Make tools available to monitor server performance and availability and reporting capabilities
Client-side challenges:
Select a specific build and configuration of Notes 8 client to be deployed
Determine Notes feature set for deployment, including plug-ins
Develop client upgrade packaging and deployment scripts
Develop client migration process (Outlook to Notes)
9.6 Organizational challenges
Challenges from an organizational perspective included the need to:
Provide strong project management to meet milestones and limit risks
Obtain a sufficient quantity and types of skilled technical resources to accomplish goals
Develop a corporate communications plan to keep users informed about the upgrade and migration timetable and potential impact to the business
Develop tactics to foster user acceptance and adoption of new applications
Develop an education plan to provide effective enablement to 42,000 users
Develop more effective operational procedures for server administration
Train multiple levels of support personnel on new products
Train developers to effectively use the Notes Domino 8 platform
Determine how to survey users to gauge their level of acceptance and identify usability issues
Provide support to subsidiary companies with independent IT organizations
Effectively interface with IBM to obtain technical support and provide feedback on feature requirements