DanNotes 2014 - A Performance Boost for your IBM Notes Client

A Performance Boost for your IBM Notes Client
DanNotes 2014

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Christoph Adler
Technical Account Manager – panagenda
IBM (Lotus) Notes / Domino since 2001
Consulting for projects
 Administration
 Migration / Consolidation
 Client Management
 Application Management
Since 2012 TAM at panagenda with core competence in
 Notes Client Management
 ICS Infrastructure Analysis and Optimizations
[...]
 Frequent traveler
 Projects with many different companies in different
countries

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Agenda
Your IBM Notes Client: Version 9.0.1
What makes your Notes Client START slow
What makes your Notes Client PERFORM slow
Performance Tips and Tricks

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Before we start ...
I love Notes.

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Your IBM Notes Client: Version 9.0.1 FP2
> 20.000 41.000 files (Notes 6/7 | 8/9 Basic used to have ~550) = +7.400%
 17.000 21.800 files in Notes Programframework in 1.800 2.150 subdirectories
 7.500 8.800 (largely undocumented) .properties files
 1.500 1.600 jar files
 1.200 1.300 HTML files
 3.000 1.182 files in Notes Dataworkspace in 2.400subdirectories, out of which 1,850 are empty 700 subdirectories
 900 180 (largely undocumented) XML files
 100+ 80 (largely undocumented) .properties files
 Which is
 20.000 41.000 files in 4.600 4.860 subdirectories
 8.500+ 9.000+ largely undocumented files
 Many (many many) subdirectories are plain empty, especially in Dataworkspace
 ... and around 100 NSFs/NTFs (=0.5 0.2 %)
 ... and the good old notes.ini file

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Your IBM Notes Client: Version 9.0.1 FP2 - Continued
Add over 80 preference/dialog boxes
• Each dialog has ~15 settings at average
For a total of 1,200+ settings sprayed across
• address book (very few)
• notes.ini (few)
• and XML files (lots)
Plus any plugins, widgets,
add-ons, etc. “you“ or the user
may have added to the Notes
client install

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Search
Sidebar
Shortcut
Buttons
Toolbars
Bookmarkbar

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Workspace
(nsf)
Physical nsfs 1, 2, 3, … n

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Agenda

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If you‘re not on at least 9.0.1 yet  9.0.1 is a significant improvement
 Pre-loading the client might also be recommended
EOM of IBM Lotus products
 http://www-01.ibm.com/software/lotus/support/lifecycle/

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What makes your Notes Client START slow - Continued
~50% of the entire data volume in the Data
directory changes on a DAILY basis in
most setups
 5 - 10% in Dataworkspace ( up to 300 files)
 DISABLE Antivirus scanning for at least
*.ns*
*.ndk
*.xml
*.properties
in Data Directory.

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Client crashes/database fixups
 especially bad for network based data directories clients
Outdated Hardware
 You need >1-2 GB memory if you want to use Notes AND something else
 Old fixed disks with fragmentation
 Fun Exercise: Buy a small Solid State Disk and make Notes boot off of that ;-)
Tons of startup programs/scripts launching during the “boot storm”
 if the disk is unable to keep up, it‘s not Notes' fault
 Again, see http://bit.ly/ACzO6Z

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Outdated Data directories
 Virtually 100% of all NTFs (Laptops: 90%) can be removed by
 Cleaning up old Notes 4+5+6 templates
 using ini:SharedDataDirectory= (also with Single User install!)
Operating System
 Windows 7 boots ~40% faster than XP
 Windows 8 ~55% faster than XP
 ~20% faster than Windows 7, supposedly

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What makes your Notes Client START slow - ODS
ODS = On Disk Structure
 ODS 16 = Notes 2
 ODS 20 = Notes 4 (oder Templates)
 ODS 43 = Notes 6 & 7
 ODS 51 = Notes 8.5 & 9
 ODS 52 = Notes 9.0.1
The difference between ODS 43 and 51 = up to 80% LESS FILE I/O
This helps with ANY client AND server hardware

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What makes your Notes Client START slow – ODS - Continued
CAUTION: The ODS is not automatically updated when upgrading clients
 Except for names.nsf, bookmark.nsf, and desktop*.dsk/ndk – IF – you upgrade properly
(think ini:Setup/TemplateSetup=)
 ODS 48 requires Notes >= 8 and CREATE_R8_DATABASES=1 in notes.ini for NEW db's
 ODS 52 requires Notes >= 9.0.1 and CREATE_R9_DATABASES=1 in notes.ini for NEW db's
Good News for Notes > 8.5
 Use NSF_UpdateODS=1 with CREATE_R85/9_DATABASES=1 for a one-time upgrade of most local databases
 NOTE: USE WITH EXTREME CARE IF YOUR DATA DIRECTORIES ARE ON A NETWORK DRIVE!
 NOTE: End users can't access databases during compact

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What makes your Notes Client START slow – ODS - Continued
Impact examples
 Startup time of a Notes 8.5.2 client with 3 ODS 20 apps in Notes data = 10 seconds
 After ODS upgrade: 2 seconds
 Reduced File I/O of your disks/SAN/NAS after ODS 41 to 51 upgrade by 60%
 Removing 70% of all old files in Data directories on SAN/NAS = 45% less managed storage (backup)
The bad news: There is no way to tell what is “out there”
 3rd party tools or random inspections are highly recommended

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What makes your Notes Client START fast
Speeds up starting the IBM Notes client up to 65 %
ONLY usable in virtual environments (e. g. Citrix XenApp, etc.)
ONLY usable with a IBM Notes Roaming Solution
Eclipse Framework Performance Improvement

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What makes your Notes Client START fast - Continued
Example: Configuration of an IBM Notes 9.0.1 FP2 Client
1. With a non-admin user (OS + Notes) run an initial setup of the Notes client.
2. Start the Notes client 3x and wait then wait for each 2-3minutes
3. Shutdown the Notes client
4. Create the the following directory  c:ProgramDataIBMNotesDataCommon
5. Copy the workspace directory from %LocalAppData%IBMNotesData to
c:ProgramDataIBMNotesDataCommon
6. Delete the following files/directories out of c:ProgramDataIBMNotesDataCommonworkspace
a) UDM
b) Logs  all but .prov2install
c) cache  if available
d) .metadata.pluginscom.ibm.collaboration.*
e) .metadata.pluginscom.ibm.rcp.personality.framework
f) .metadata.pluginscom.ibm.rcp.security.auth
Eclipse Framework Performance Improvement

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Agenda

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ODS of databases (again)
Hardware (again)
Notes.ini
 EXTMGR_ADDINS = (not just) local virus scanners
 Disable Notes “plugins“ like virus scanners etc.
 they increase Network traffic by up to 200 – 250%!
Data directory on the network vs.. fixed disk
 Disk performance is the #1 bottleneck (think SSD vs. normal HDD ; 7.200rpm vs. 5.400rpm ;
network drive vs. local fixed disk = latency/bandwidth limitation)

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What makes your Notes Client PERFORM slow – Port settings
Port settings are included in the notes.ini
 Type / Active / Encryption / Compression / Timeout
Bad idea
 LAN0 / COMx / DisabledPorts  should be removed
Good idea
 Use TCPIP according to the client type
 PORTS = TCPIP
 TCPIP = TCP,0,15,0,,12320,  Desktops
 TCPIP = TCP,0,15,0,,45088,  Laptops
 TCPIP = TCP,0,15,0,,12288,  Citrix / VDI
 Riverbed !?
Don‘t forget your Servers!

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What makes your Notes Client PERFORM slow - Continued
Install types: Basic vs. Standard
 Basic client starts up fast, Standard client, well … not so fast
Roaming Users
 Try replicating 80MB each time you logon to Notes before use!
Connection documents
 Pointing to outdated server names or IP addresses
 Low priority connection documents, which can cause connectivity failures
Location documents
 IP addresses for mailserver  breaks Policies
 Outdated mail and home server information
 Outdated mail file path
 Outdated Catalog server
 In general: catalog.nsf  see next slide

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What makes your Notes Client PERFORM slow – The catalog.nsf problem
User in Hamburg
Sends Doc|DB-Link to user in Frankfurt
Unfortunately, the user in Frankfurt does not
open the database from a local server
but from the one in Hamburg
... or even in Augsburg (Alphatbeth!)

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Agenda

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Make Notes faster = 1
Search for the file jvm.properties underneath [LotusNotesProgramDir]frameworkrcp (might
be in subdirectory ...deploy)
 Open it in a text editor
 First line to look for is: vmarg.Xmx=-Xmx256m
 Change it to e.g. vmarg.Xmx=-Xmx1024m (Maximum is ½ of physical memory; do NOT change it to more than 1024m
regardless of how much memory you have)
Change vmarg.Xms=-Xms48m to ¼ of what you changed Xmx to;
e.g. if you changed vmarg.Xmx to -Xmx1024m then use vmarg.Xms=-Xms256m
NOT recommended for production / normal end users; for admins & developers only!
 But in reality, who else counts ;)

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Performance Measuring - Client Clocking
NOTE: All of this should only be done on “ONE” client – slows down client, creates huge log
files!
Use the following to see and measure client performance
CLIENT_CLOCK=1
CONSOLE_LOG_ENABLED=1
Debug_Outfile=c:debug.txt
Debug_Console=1
DEBUG_TCP_ALL=1 (use only if needed)
Fileserver or local disk Performance Debugging is virtually impossible
If on >8.5 try adding DEBUGGINGWCTENABLED=16386 in Notes >= 8.5

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Performance Measuring - Client Clocking - Continued
Client_Clock=1 leads to a debug file of the following format:

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Performance Measuring - Client Clocking - Continued
Link:
http://www.openntf.org/internal/home.nsf/project.xsp?action=openDocument&name=Notes%20RPC%20Parser
Developed by:
Jamie Magee, MartinScott Consulting LLC, US
Andrew Magerman, Magerman Collaborative Software GmbH, Switzerland
OpenNTF – NRPC Parser

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Performance Measuring - Network Latency
Network Latency has a major impact on perceived client performance for users that (try to)
work on server-side databases
For example
• Number of NRPC calls x
(Latency Up + Latency Down) =
how long it takes for a client to
“talk something through”
with the server
• 30 Calls for opening the mailfile x
(60 ms download + 60 ms upload)
= 3.600 ms to talk through what's
necessary to open the mailfile

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Performance Tuning – Understanding cache.ndk
We've all been “advised to”/guilty of deleting the cache.ndk in an effort to cure Notes
performance problems/symptoms
 Some companies even delete cache.ndk on a scheduled basis
HOWEVER, let us explain the impact of that on Notes performance ...
 Increases traffic between client and server by 4,000% (forty times more traffic, yes)
(10,000+% if the data directory is on a network drive)
 The more databases end users use, the worse it gets
 There is always a root cause – deleting cache.ndk only fixes symptoms
(since 1992 I've had to delete my cache.ndk only once(!))
 Let's look at some detailed traffic analysis for just ONE application (the mail file) of ONE user ...

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Performance Tuning – Understanding cache.ndk - Continued
100 users =
150 MB vs. 3,7 MB
1000 users =
1.5 GB vs. 37 MB
Excluding Fileservers!
After deleting cache.ndk Keeping / NOT deleting cache.ndk

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Summary
Update/clean out your ODS, databases and templates and hardware
Standardize whenever and however possible
 This will save you hugely on support time/cost
Keep your users version/fix packs current
 Each release brings performance improvements but also resource demands
Work around your inability to see clients
 Write an inventory agent, login script, get a 3rd party tool
Any challenge can be overcome with Knowledge and Tools
 All client issues are solvable
 Be careful with thinking that removing the client/going to the cloud solves everything

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The end is near ...
Spending 30 minutes on
Performance Improvements can be compared to
a walk on the tip of the iceberg.

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Christoph Adler
Technical Account Manager
panagenda GmbH – Solutions for Infrastructure Analysis and Optimization
● Lahnstraße 17 ● 64646 Heppenheim (Germany)
● Cell: +49 172 494 4141
● Phone: +49 6252 679 39-52 ● Fax: +49 6252 305 2842
● E-Mail: christoph.adler@panagenda.com
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DanNotes 2014 - A Performance Boost for your IBM Notes Client

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