Upgrading a server using Option 5

This option installs the new version of Domino on new hardware with a new Domino identity.

Before you begin

Before continuing, see Options for upgrading a Domino server.

Procedure

  1. Install and set up the new version of Domino on new hardware with a new identity. Set up the server in the same Domino domain as the current server.
  2. Before starting the new server:
    1. Set the notes.ini to the desired database ODS level. For example, for the V12 ODS level, use Create_R12_Databases=1. For more information, see Domino on-disk structure (ODS) in the Domino documentation.
    2. Upgrade databases to the specified ODS level by running the command dbmt -compactThreads <n> <datadirectory> where <n> is a value less than or equal to the number of CPUs. For example:
      • Windows: ndbmt.exe -ct 4 d:\notefile\
      • AIX and Linux: dbmt -ct 4 /local/notesdata/
      • IBM i: (See article How to run Fixup, Compact, or other command while the Domino iSeries server is down on the Support site.)
    3. Configure the new server to be busy by specifying the notes.ini setting Server_Availability_Threshold=100. This steps helps prevent users from accessing it until you’ve prepared it.
  3. Start the new server.
  4. Evaluate the configuration on the original Domino server and duplicate the configuration on the new Domino server. Examples of directory documents and configurations to duplicate include:
    1. Program documents
    2. Connection documents
    3. Backup configurations
    4. Server document settings (Security, HTTP, DAOS, etc)
    5. notes.ini settings
    6. Transaction logging settings
  5. If you use clusters, add the new server to an existing cluster. If not clustered, add the server to a temporary cluster that also includes the original server.
  6. Create replicas of mail and other database applications from the original server to the new server. Create a Connection document to enable scheduled replication between the original server and new server.
  7. Complete validation of database replication and configuration changes.
  8. On the new server, remove the notes.ini setting Server_Availability_Threshold=100 that you set previously.
  9. Run the Fixup task at some point in the future, for example off-business hours in a maintenance window with the Domino Server down, as described in the Running Fixup section. This step ensures that any updates to the fixup task that have been released in the latest version of the Domino server are applied to your environment.
  10. If the original server functions as a home mail server, use the Administration Process to migrate user mail files from the original server to the new server. See Related information.
  11. Redirect applications from the original server to the new server.
  12. On the original server, set the notes.ini setting Server_Availability_Threshold=100 to mark the server busy so that connections failover to the new server.
  13. Monitor the original server to verify that users are no longer accessing it.
  14. Decommission the original server.
    Note: Keep the original server data offline for a period of time until you know the new server is working correctly.
  15. Implement the features for the new version on the new server.