Downloading, distributing, and installing software using AutoUpdate

AutoUpdate notifies you of the latest HCL Domino and Domino product family available on the Domino server, and allows you to download the software. You can also use it to distribute, and optionally, install, software to groups or selected Domino servers.

Requirements:
  • Windows, Linux and AIX servers are supported to run the AutoUpdate task.
  • Windows and Linux servers support all AutoUpdate features.
  • AIX servers are supported as download or designated servers, and as Target servers for distributed downloads.
  • AIX servers are not supported as Target servers for installations.

In Domino 14.5, only Windows, Linux, and AIX servers are supported to run the AutoUpdate task. Administrators can still download software for other Domino platforms.

The AutoUpdate task is disabled by default and has the following modes:
  • Disabled: The feature is turned off.
  • Notify Only (also known as AutoNotify): Displays the latest available software in the Domino Directory and in the Domino Administrator client, in a new view in Configuration > Product Info. Additionally, it will print a message upon Domino server startup that indicates when new software is available.
  • Notify and Download: Provides the same features as Notify Only and adds a software catalog database. Administrators can view available software and download software automatically, which is saved to the autoupdate.nsf. This feature also enables administrators to distribute software downloads to target servers in the same Domino Domain.
  • Notify, Download and Update: Provides the same features as Notify and Download and adds the ability to automatically update Domino servers in the domain that are currently running version 14.5 or later.

See the sections that follow for some concepts to get familiar with how the AutoUpdate feature works.

Software catalog

The software catalog (autoupdate.nsf) is updated daily with new versions, releases, fix packs and interim fixes of HCL Software available in the My HCLSoftware Portal. Administrators can select software from the catalog to be downloaded to the autoupdate.nsf database.

Note: Each software document in the catalog defines what capabilities are enabled for that software. It might support downloading only, both downloading and distributing, or downloading, distributing, and installing.

Downloads

When downloads are enabled, one server is selected to be a download server for this purpose. It is the only server in the Domino domain that interacts with the My HCLSoftware Portal.

The software catalog contains the expected SHA-256 hash of each software available for download. While downloading, Domino computes the hash of the received content. If it doesn't match with the expected hash, the download is rejected.

Domino, Traveler, and the Notes client are supported.

Note: Starting with Domino 14.0 Fixpack 1, AutoUpdate is integrated with the Notes Auto Update (AUT) Catalog (autcat.nsf). Once you enable this integration feature in autoupdate.nsf, when you use AutoUpdate to download Notes software for Windows, the software image is automatically pushed to the AUT Catalog server that you designate. For information on this feature, see Pushing Notes installs to the AUT Catalog using Domino AutoUpdate.
The AutoUpdate catalog also includes information about each Domino 14.0 or later server in the domain. The servers in the domain are known as Target servers. Each Target server creates a new document in the autoupdate.nsf that contains information about the server, including:
  • Current Domino server version
  • Operating System version
  • Software deployment status (values can be Unscheduled, Scheduled, Pending, Distributed, Waiting for Install, Installing, or Error)
  • Deployment group name
  • Deployment order
  • Cluster name
  • Platform and operating system version
  • Server capabilities. Can be None, Distribute, or Install.
  • Domino service name (this only appears if Domino runs as a service)
  • Domino server type
  • Data directory
  • Program directory
  • Notes.ini path
  • Deploy directory
Note: The download server is also a Target server. It will create a document in the autoupdate.nsf as well.

Distribution of server software

Administrators can distribute downloaded software to Target servers directly from the autoupdate.nsf. This allows convenient delivery of software, allowing administrators to manually upgrade servers at their convenience. For more information, see Distributing software to target Domino servers or deployment groups.

Deployment groups

Target servers can be added to deployment groups, which enables administrators to distribute, and optionally, install, the software to the group instead of an individual server. When configured, the administrator simply schedules a software distribution or install, and the software is copied to each server in the group and installed if that option was chosen. For more information, see Creating deployment groups for software distributions or updates.

Network connectivity

The download server will connect to the My HCLSoftware Portal to download the software catalog as well as optionally download software. It must support an outbound connection using HTTPS on port 443. The download server can be configured to connect to HCL using a proxy.

The Domino 14 Target servers must be able to communicate directly with the download server over port 1352.

What to do next

Enabling AutoUpdate