Below are two news stories I've heard about today. These two stories should upset every single American regardless of political persuasion!
1) Here is the latest fallout from the Eminent Domain case Kelo v. City of New London:
USA Today Article - It seems that the 7 homeowners who are having their land confiscated so that Pfizer can have more land are now really getting hit. First of all, they will get fair market value for their home. But the FMV they will get is not from 2005 but from 2000 (the time the city decided they wanted to confiscate the property). So they are being forced to sell their homes and lose 5 years worth of increases in property value. Secondly, they will likely be forced to pay backrent for the past five years they have been living on the "condemned" property. This is really ugly! But at least the city will be getting some more tax dollars...
2) ILLegal Immigrants win a ranch!
NY Times Article - Two illegal (that's the keyword!) immigrants came through Arizona and a citizen held them on his ranch for a couple of hours (from what I gather). These illegal immigrants sued the owner and won the 70 acre ranch from the lawsuit. Wow...
Friday, August 19, 2005
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Out of Commission...
Since I've been here at Comporium (May 2000), we have had some IBM Content Manager OnDemand data archived on an IBM 3995 Optical Library. This has two optical drives and stores 50 5.2 GB optical platters. We were using about 35 of these slots. It is LAN attached to our iSeries and runs off of an OS/2 controller.
We installed some disks last month for our iSeries as we had begun to migrate our data from optical to disk. We finished that migration and have now decommissioned the OS/2 controller and 3995 Optical Library. Not sure what we're going to do with it - if you're interested let me know...
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
iSeries i5 Woes
It is my understanding from speaking with an IBM hardware guy that the new iSeries i5 models (not certain of exact model #'s - could be all of them) are having some fairly consistent issues with the DASD Controller cards related to the cache. Seems that the cards are just dropping out and wiping out the cache. This is not good.
The "fix" is that now you will need to have a mirrored cache card. This will take up a full PCI slot and you will need one of these for every DASD Controller IOP. I also understand that new systems will default with these installed on the order form. Rumor has it that a large bank has lost a system because of this...
The "fix" is that now you will need to have a mirrored cache card. This will take up a full PCI slot and you will need one of these for every DASD Controller IOP. I also understand that new systems will default with these installed on the order form. Rumor has it that a large bank has lost a system because of this...
Monday, August 15, 2005
"AMGR Lost Its Mind"
To quote Jerry (more on him when he opens his blog soon...), this is apparently what happened to my amgr today. I was getting some freaky "cannot find external name: CONVERTTEXTDATE" errors with some agents. It wasn't just happening with a particular custom workflow database. It was happening with a CRM db and several Lotus Workflow databases. Well, I initially thought that if I recompiled all LotusScript that it would fix it. Nope! After that didn't work, I decided to just TELL AMGR QUIT and then LOAD AMGR. Seems the errors went away after that. After I told Jerry he just said that "amgr lost its mind".
I think he was right on that one!
I think he was right on that one!
Notes people, why does this happen?
Here lately, I've been getting some "certificate has expired" errors from certain users. Since I have generally been the one doing renames in the past, I know that all of these users getting the error have gone through the rename process sometime in the past. Any idea why this is happening? When I just certify their ID file with cert.id all is well. Also, the ID file does reflect the correct name.
Anyone else seen this?
Anyone else seen this?
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
Somehow it seems they still aren't getting security right
While I'll concede that it's still in Beta, there is already a virus targeting Windows Vista's command shell.
From Symantec:
Written in July, the viruses take advantage of a new command shell, code-named Monad, that's included in the Windows Vista beta code.
The viruses were published last month in a virus-writing tutorial written for an underground hacker group calling itself the Ready Ranger Liberation Front, and take advantage of security vulnerabilities in the new command shell.
However, it appears that the shell may not even be included in an actual release of the OS. See report here.
From Symantec:
Written in July, the viruses take advantage of a new command shell, code-named Monad, that's included in the Windows Vista beta code.
The viruses were published last month in a virus-writing tutorial written for an underground hacker group calling itself the Ready Ranger Liberation Front, and take advantage of security vulnerabilities in the new command shell.
However, it appears that the shell may not even be included in an actual release of the OS. See report here.
Welcome Home!
A welcome home to our astronauts!
ETA was 8:12 ET and the landing gear hit the runway at 8:11 ET - not bad.
ETA was 8:12 ET and the landing gear hit the runway at 8:11 ET - not bad.
Monday, August 8, 2005
Lotus Notes 6.5.4 Rollout Update
We've been doing some more Smart Upgrades, and I have an update on my previous client rollout figures.
6.5.4 - 70.1%
6.5.3 - 17.6%
6.5.2 - 4.5%
6.5.1 - 6.2%
6.5.4 - 70.1%
6.5.3 - 17.6%
6.5.2 - 4.5%
6.5.1 - 6.2%
Domino 6.5.4 and Sametime 6.5.1 Fixpack 1 Updates
Domino 6.5.4 FP1
Well, since I loaded the Domino 6.5.4 FP1, I haven't had a mail server hang (yet...). It's been over two weeks - which is longer than prior uptime! I'm actually feeling pretty good about this one.
Sametime 6.5.1 FP1
Since loading ST 6.5.1 FP1 just over a week ago, I have still had a hang. As mentioned previously, this is a problem with my STMUX task just ending. From talking with Lotus Support again today, I was told that they are receiving more reports of this happening. Lotus is going to be sending me a debug hotfix that will have some more tracing code in it. Maybe we can find out what's happening.
Well, since I loaded the Domino 6.5.4 FP1, I haven't had a mail server hang (yet...). It's been over two weeks - which is longer than prior uptime! I'm actually feeling pretty good about this one.
Sametime 6.5.1 FP1
Since loading ST 6.5.1 FP1 just over a week ago, I have still had a hang. As mentioned previously, this is a problem with my STMUX task just ending. From talking with Lotus Support again today, I was told that they are receiving more reports of this happening. Lotus is going to be sending me a debug hotfix that will have some more tracing code in it. Maybe we can find out what's happening.
Saturday, August 6, 2005
Happy Birthday Ed, You'll always be our Lotus Ranger!
Consider Aug 6, 2005 to be Birthday Spam day for Mr. Ed Brill!
Happy Birthday to a Lotus Ranger who is pressing IBM and the Lotus community forward beyond the checkered history of the competition! I guess this is the kickoff to Lotus' Ranger initiative? =)
Happy Birthday to a Lotus Ranger who is pressing IBM and the Lotus community forward beyond the checkered history of the competition! I guess this is the kickoff to Lotus' Ranger initiative? =)
Friday, August 5, 2005
5 Years Ago Today...
I was walking down the aisle with my beautiful wife!
Here is a picture of Jen and I back in the day:
And here I am with my boys:
L -> R:
Chris, Joe, David (Dad), Me, Stephen (Bro), Bill(y)
Here is a picture of Jen and I back in the day:
And here I am with my boys:
L -> R:
Chris, Joe, David (Dad), Me, Stephen (Bro), Bill(y)
Monday, August 1, 2005
Domino Web Admin Logo
This logo is looking more like the Star Trek logo with each release!
By the way, if you haven't seen the new 7.0 Web Admin client, it's a great improvement. Way to go Lotus - loads much faster and seems to have the same feel as the lite UI used for 6.5.4+ DWA.
By the way, if you haven't seen the new 7.0 Web Admin client, it's a great improvement. Way to go Lotus - loads much faster and seems to have the same feel as the lite UI used for 6.5.4+ DWA.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Installed Fixpack 1 for Sametime 6.5.1
Just installed FP1 for Sametime 6.5.1 on iSeries. After having uploaded the 500MB PTF save file, I just had to run 4 commands:
1) End IM server
2) Load PTF
3) Apply PTF
4) Start IM server
Want to know how long it took me?
1) 7:31 - 7:35 PM
2) 7:36 - 7:37 PM
3) 7:38 - 7:41 PM
4) Server back online at 7:44 PM
Not bad 10 minute total downtime to load a big fixpack. Has anyone else upgraded?
1) End IM server
2) Load PTF
3) Apply PTF
4) Start IM server
Want to know how long it took me?
1) 7:31 - 7:35 PM
2) 7:36 - 7:37 PM
3) 7:38 - 7:41 PM
4) Server back online at 7:44 PM
Not bad 10 minute total downtime to load a big fixpack. Has anyone else upgraded?
Debugging for Domino
Before proceeding, let me say that starting debugging should only be done per instructions from IBM. Also note that debugging can, by it's very nature, impact system performance. Although, I have not noticed any performance impacts when I have enabled debugging. This post will only deal with configuring the server for debug mode and not with the analysis of debug data. Many of these commands are also useful for the Notes Client. I will update this document from time to time. As I do so, I will maintain a change log at the bottom of this document. See also this Lotus Technote for information on debugging.
Let's begin with some of the DEBUG_* options by describing their usage along with some information on how to enable them.
1.) DEBUG_THREADID=1
Per Lotus Technote 1089976, "This prefixes the console output with the process and threadid information in the format [ProcessID:Virtual Thread ID-Native Thread ID]. This can be helpful in identifying the process or thread holding a semaphore."
2.) DEBUG_NTI_DRVR=1 I cannot find any information on this via technotes. My understanding is that this will enable debugging of the TCP/IP NTI Driver.
3.) DEBUG_TCP_ALL=1 This turns on debugging for all TCP functions.
4.) DEBUG_TCP_ERRORS=1 This turns on debugging for TCP errors.
5.) DEBUG_DBSERVER=1 This turns on debugging for the DB Server calls that may be made.
6.) DEBUG_SHOW_TIMEOUT=1 This turns on debugging for semaphores. See this Lotus Technote 1094630 for general information on semaphores.
7.) DEBUG_CAPTURE_TIMEOUT=10 This adds timestamps to the semaphore debugging.
8.) Debug_outfile=debug.txt This option specifies the location of the debug file. As a side note, I have noticed that after a couple of days on my iSeries that this file stops growing at 4GB. Lotus could not confirm this, but it appears that at 4GB this file becomes circular just like transaction logging. The following information is from the Lotus Administrator help database:
9.) DEBUG_HTTP_DBCLOSE=1 Anytime there is an http close of an NSF file it dumps to the console.
10.) DEBUG_TRACK_FREEHANDLE=1 I could not find anything specific to Domino debugging. From this DB2 page it "frees resources associated with a specific environment, connection, statement, or descriptor handle." Information on the freehandles in your Domino environment can be seen through the SHOW STAT DATABASE.FREEHANDLE*:
> Database.FreeHandleStack.FreeHandleStackHits = 3352913
> Database.FreeHandleStack.HandleAllocations = 3356284
> Database.FreeHandleStack.MissRate = 0
> 3 statistics found
11.) DEBUG_CHECKMARKERS=1 - This will debug memory checkmarkers and can be used with value #12 below to add this information to the NSD.
12.) NSD_RUN_MEMCHECK=1 - Per Lotus Technote 1086330, "Memcheck runs a scan of all shared memory segments in use by Notes processes, as well as the individual stack memory allocated to each process. Memcheck determines if the memory segment format matches the expected format for the memory segment. If Memcheck does not find what it expects in the memory segment, it dumps the appropriate memory segment pool into a file with the following syntax:
memcheck.__mm_dd@hh_mm.dump"
13.) DEBUG_NOTEOPEN=5 - This will log open activities for databases. In researching this, I found Lotus Technote 1086649 on how to use to track deletions in databases. The information logged will be in the following format:
Server Note Open:
Database Path: /local/notesdata/log.nsf,log.nsf
User: CN=Chris Whisonant/O=ORG
Title: tpdomino1's Log
#2StdNotesLog
From my understanding, these are all dynamic options (except for #8, 11, and 12) - meaning that you can type "set config DEBUG_THREADID=1" (or any of the others) at the console and begin seeing this output. If you have the debug outfile or console logging active (see below), then the will be reflected in those files as well. Please see this Lotus Technote for more information on setting this dynamically.
Syntax: Debug_Outfile=filename
Description: Specifies the file name for the Console Log file. If both this setting and the LogFile_Dir setting exist and Debug_Outfile contains a fully qualified path name, then LogFile_Dir is not used.
If only the Debug_Outfile setting exists and it contains only a file name, then the default path \DATADIRECTORY\IBM_TECHNICAL_SUPPORT is used. If neither Debug_Outfile or LogFile_Dir exist, then the default path is \DATADIRECTORY\IBM_TECHNICAL_SUPPORT and the default path is CONSOLE.LOG.
A side note on analysis, with options such as DEBUG_THREADID, you will be able to see a Process ID number along with Thread ID's. You can then, by possibly having agent print statements, be able to associate the Process/Thread ID with a particular agent, task, or user. This can potentially go a long way in helping to determine the cause of an issue.
Change Log:
05/16/2006: Added debug parameters, numbers 11 and 12 regarding technote 1086330.
Added debug parameter, number 13.
Shifted some information around and removed the section containing the debug parameters I had in my notes.ini for Domino 7.0 troubleshooting at one point.
Added link to my detailed Show-n-Tell post about how DEBUG_THREADID can assist in finding the problematic thread.
Let's begin with some of the DEBUG_* options by describing their usage along with some information on how to enable them.
1.) DEBUG_THREADID=1
Per Lotus Technote 1089976, "This prefixes the console output with the process and threadid information in the format [ProcessID:Virtual Thread ID-Native Thread ID]. This can be helpful in identifying the process or thread holding a semaphore."
2.) DEBUG_NTI_DRVR=1 I cannot find any information on this via technotes. My understanding is that this will enable debugging of the TCP/IP NTI Driver.
3.) DEBUG_TCP_ALL=1 This turns on debugging for all TCP functions.
4.) DEBUG_TCP_ERRORS=1 This turns on debugging for TCP errors.
5.) DEBUG_DBSERVER=1 This turns on debugging for the DB Server calls that may be made.
6.) DEBUG_SHOW_TIMEOUT=1 This turns on debugging for semaphores. See this Lotus Technote 1094630 for general information on semaphores.
7.) DEBUG_CAPTURE_TIMEOUT=10 This adds timestamps to the semaphore debugging.
8.) Debug_outfile=debug.txt This option specifies the location of the debug file. As a side note, I have noticed that after a couple of days on my iSeries that this file stops growing at 4GB. Lotus could not confirm this, but it appears that at 4GB this file becomes circular just like transaction logging. The following information is from the Lotus Administrator help database:
9.) DEBUG_HTTP_DBCLOSE=1 Anytime there is an http close of an NSF file it dumps to the console.
10.) DEBUG_TRACK_FREEHANDLE=1 I could not find anything specific to Domino debugging. From this DB2 page it "frees resources associated with a specific environment, connection, statement, or descriptor handle." Information on the freehandles in your Domino environment can be seen through the SHOW STAT DATABASE.FREEHANDLE*:
> Database.FreeHandleStack.FreeHandleStackHits = 3352913
> Database.FreeHandleStack.HandleAllocations = 3356284
> Database.FreeHandleStack.MissRate = 0
> 3 statistics found
11.) DEBUG_CHECKMARKERS=1 - This will debug memory checkmarkers and can be used with value #12 below to add this information to the NSD.
12.) NSD_RUN_MEMCHECK=1 - Per Lotus Technote 1086330, "Memcheck runs a scan of all shared memory segments in use by Notes processes, as well as the individual stack memory allocated to each process. Memcheck determines if the memory segment format matches the expected format for the memory segment. If Memcheck does not find what it expects in the memory segment, it dumps the appropriate memory segment pool into a file with the following syntax:
memcheck.
13.) DEBUG_NOTEOPEN=5 - This will log open activities for databases. In researching this, I found Lotus Technote 1086649 on how to use to track deletions in databases. The information logged will be in the following format:
Server Note Open:
Database Path: /local/notesdata/log.nsf,log.nsf
User: CN=Chris Whisonant/O=ORG
Title: tpdomino1's Log
#2StdNotesLog
From my understanding, these are all dynamic options (except for #8, 11, and 12) - meaning that you can type "set config DEBUG_THREADID=1" (or any of the others) at the console and begin seeing this output. If you have the debug outfile or console logging active (see below), then the will be reflected in those files as well. Please see this Lotus Technote for more information on setting this dynamically.
Syntax: Debug_Outfile=filename
Description: Specifies the file name for the Console Log file. If both this setting and the LogFile_Dir setting exist and Debug_Outfile contains a fully qualified path name, then LogFile_Dir is not used.
If only the Debug_Outfile setting exists and it contains only a file name, then the default path \DATADIRECTORY\IBM_TECHNICAL_SUPPORT is used. If neither Debug_Outfile or LogFile_Dir exist, then the default path is \DATADIRECTORY\IBM_TECHNICAL_SUPPORT and the default path is CONSOLE.LOG.
A side note on analysis, with options such as DEBUG_THREADID, you will be able to see a Process ID number along with Thread ID's. You can then, by possibly having agent print statements, be able to associate the Process/Thread ID with a particular agent, task, or user. This can potentially go a long way in helping to determine the cause of an issue.
Change Log:
05/16/2006: Added debug parameters, numbers 11 and 12 regarding technote 1086330.
Added debug parameter, number 13.
Shifted some information around and removed the section containing the debug parameters I had in my notes.ini for Domino 7.0 troubleshooting at one point.
Added link to my detailed Show-n-Tell post about how DEBUG_THREADID can assist in finding the problematic thread.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Installing Fixpack 1 for Sametime 6.5.1
For all you waiting with baited breath for this to happen, I was just informed by IBM that I need to install the Sametime 6.5.1 Fixpack 1 to try and fix my problems I've been having with Sametime 6.5.1 on iSeries.
I plan on installing it between now and Monday sometime. The installer save file is 500MB (actually only 50MB less than the original 6.5.1 installer...). Will post with my results!
I plan on installing it between now and Monday sometime. The installer save file is 500MB (actually only 50MB less than the original 6.5.1 installer...). Will post with my results!
Monday, July 25, 2005
Installed: Lotus Domino 6.5.4 Fix Pack 1
This past Friday night I installed FP1 on my production iSeries. I had loaded it last Wednesday on my cluster iSeries. With both cases, the install was a breeze. It was just a matter of getting the file to the box (FTP) and then using the LODPTF and APYPTF commmands after ending my servers.
The servers came up without a problem and have been OK since Friday. Once I've ran it for about 2 weeks without having a problem I will be apt to think that it has corrected my stability issues with 6.5.4 that I have previously blogged about.
If this doesn't appear to correct the problem I will likely be applying the Sametime 6.5.1 Fixpack 1 since the issues possibly appear to be with integration between Notes Integrated IM and Sametime server.
The servers came up without a problem and have been OK since Friday. Once I've ran it for about 2 weeks without having a problem I will be apt to think that it has corrected my stability issues with 6.5.4 that I have previously blogged about.
If this doesn't appear to correct the problem I will likely be applying the Sametime 6.5.1 Fixpack 1 since the issues possibly appear to be with integration between Notes Integrated IM and Sametime server.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Foot In Mouth?
Just finished loading 6.5.4 FP1 and came across this news article about Howard Dean before I was getting off my system.
Dean states:
"I think that we must be absolutely firm in being the party of individual freedom and personal freedom, which means that in the end the government doesn't get to decide, we do."
I haven't seen him crying out against the "individual freedom and personal freedom" that the left has supported being taken from us via the Supreme Court's case on Eminent Domain. That case means that in the end the government does get to decide, we don't!
Dean states:
"I think that we must be absolutely firm in being the party of individual freedom and personal freedom, which means that in the end the government doesn't get to decide, we do."
I haven't seen him crying out against the "individual freedom and personal freedom" that the left has supported being taken from us via the Supreme Court's case on Eminent Domain. That case means that in the end the government does get to decide, we don't!
NSD Troubleshooting
This is another one from my internal FAQ. I've been dealing with some tough NSD issues with Lotus Notes crashes. The following suggestions are from Lotus support. One or all of them may need to be done and it still may not correct the problem.
- Delete the temporary folder c.lotus.notes.data in Windows Temporary drive
- Rename cache.ndk, bookmark.nsf, and/or desktop6.ndk
- Try to narrow it down to what database is causing the Client to crash. Work in one database at a time and see what database might be causing the crash.
- Is the user sending encrypted mail to anyone at the time of the crash?
- Please bring another Users ID file to this users machine and do the same actions the user did to cause the crash, and see if the crash still occurs.
- Create a local replica of the database(s) suspected to be causing the problem
- Reinstall Notes
- Get the default ID file from the server
- Run nightly utilities on the database(s) - fixup, updall, compact
- Is there one customized database that is in common that crashes for both users or are these 6 different databases?
- Do other users have access to this database, and do other users also click on the "Match invoice" button in these databases? Do those users workstations crash as well?
- What happens if you bring one of these two user ID's to your own local workstation, and try to access these customized databases on your OWN machine. Will it cause your client to crash? If so please go ahead and send me the NSD's.
- Please give yourself access to all 6 (?) of these customized databases and click on the same button that forces the Client to crash. Does Notes crash when using your own ID?
- Check to see if Sign mail and Encrypt mail is checked off for this user.
- Remove printer/scanner drivers from the system
- Delete the temporary folder c.lotus.notes.data in Windows Temporary drive
- Rename cache.ndk, bookmark.nsf, and/or desktop6.ndk
- Try to narrow it down to what database is causing the Client to crash. Work in one database at a time and see what database might be causing the crash.
- Is the user sending encrypted mail to anyone at the time of the crash?
- Please bring another Users ID file to this users machine and do the same actions the user did to cause the crash, and see if the crash still occurs.
- Create a local replica of the database(s) suspected to be causing the problem
- Reinstall Notes
- Get the default ID file from the server
- Run nightly utilities on the database(s) - fixup, updall, compact
- Is there one customized database that is in common that crashes for both users or are these 6 different databases?
- Do other users have access to this database, and do other users also click on the "Match invoice" button in these databases? Do those users workstations crash as well?
- What happens if you bring one of these two user ID's to your own local workstation, and try to access these customized databases on your OWN machine. Will it cause your client to crash? If so please go ahead and send me the NSD's.
- Please give yourself access to all 6 (?) of these customized databases and click on the same button that forces the Client to crash. Does Notes crash when using your own ID?
- Check to see if Sign mail and Encrypt mail is checked off for this user.
- Remove printer/scanner drivers from the system
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Lotus Domino 6.5.4 Fix Pack 1 Released
Here's a link to the downloads for the various server platforms:
Lotus Domino 6.5.4 Fix Pack 1 Installers
With all the iSeries connection issues I've been having, I'm going to put this fix on my cluster box to make sure things seem to work alright...
The Windows installer is 13MB and the iSeries installer is 142MB - what a difference!
Lotus Domino 6.5.4 Fix Pack 1 Installers
With all the iSeries connection issues I've been having, I'm going to put this fix on my cluster box to make sure things seem to work alright...
The Windows installer is 13MB and the iSeries installer is 142MB - what a difference!
5 Words Developers Like To Hear
Paul and I are finishing up a project to replace a database application (Access backend) being used by our HR department. Paul has done a great job with this and I'm just lending a helping hand as needed and will probably be doing the data import next week.
Anyway, we were demoing it to some HR folks today and one of the ladies said:
"That is cool as crap!"
Always good to hear those words!!
Anyway, we were demoing it to some HR folks today and one of the ladies said:
"That is cool as crap!"
Always good to hear those words!!
Friday, July 15, 2005
Domino 6.5.4 Fixpack 1
I was just informed by Lotus Support today that FP1 of Domino 6.5.4 should be released early next week. Hopefully this will be correcting some of my issues.
6.5.4 FP1 Fix List Status
SPRs fixed
6.5.4 FP1 Fix List Status
SPRs fixed
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Lotus Notes and Domino 7.0 Beta 4
I have a test mule PC (600 MHz PIII) running RedHat Linux 9 (Shrike) and Domino 6.5.4. I downloaded the 7.0 Beta 4 today and attempted a straight upgrade (didn't read instructions...). It went fairly well, and I noticed that the installer now has a text-based "status bar" showing the completion percent - which was a pretty handy addition.
I was told by the installer that Domino does not support Shrike. Guess I'll have to peruse the readme and see what distro I need. Hopefully it's at LinuxISO.org.
As a side note, I had G Simmons (not gene!) upgrade from Notes 6.5.4 to 7.0 Beta 4. He instantly noticed a performance improvement in navigating his 6.5.4 mail file. Hopefully we'll see others giving the same feedback. I'm considering SmartUpgrading our IT department although I can't personally upgrade because of Development. I'm curious to see if I get any more positive feedback. Just today our PC Support manager was asking me if there had been improvements made to the DWA client in 6.5.4. I told him that there were many improvements and he said that he could definitely tell when accessing via his cable modem.
Scalability and ROI is what we've been seeing with the latest releases of Notes and Domino. There are supposed to be some performance enhancements with the 7.0 Domino iSeries code as well. I love a product that will allow you to leverage current hardware and software investments. I won't mention Exchange upgrades (they call it Exchange because you exchange out your current server and OS platforms for a newer investment...)
I was told by the installer that Domino does not support Shrike. Guess I'll have to peruse the readme and see what distro I need. Hopefully it's at LinuxISO.org.
As a side note, I had G Simmons (not gene!) upgrade from Notes 6.5.4 to 7.0 Beta 4. He instantly noticed a performance improvement in navigating his 6.5.4 mail file. Hopefully we'll see others giving the same feedback. I'm considering SmartUpgrading our IT department although I can't personally upgrade because of Development. I'm curious to see if I get any more positive feedback. Just today our PC Support manager was asking me if there had been improvements made to the DWA client in 6.5.4. I told him that there were many improvements and he said that he could definitely tell when accessing via his cable modem.
Scalability and ROI is what we've been seeing with the latest releases of Notes and Domino. There are supposed to be some performance enhancements with the 7.0 Domino iSeries code as well. I love a product that will allow you to leverage current hardware and software investments. I won't mention Exchange upgrades (they call it Exchange because you exchange out your current server and OS platforms for a newer investment...)
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Just Hanging Out
OK, so it's Sunday morning, 9:30, and my team has been at work since 5. We're doing a system save on our production iSeries, loading fixes, adding a controller card for shared tape drive with our Domino iSeries (the NEXT save should be really fast!), and installing about 175 GB more disk storage.
Over the past few months Chris Moody has been migrating data from our IBM 3995 Optical Library to disk. We have about 150 GB of archived customer bills, financials, etc... on about 35 5.2GB Optical Platters. So, we're adding the disk drives to compensate for that new data.
Storing the data on the drives will definitely help performance and we will also be able to end maintenance on that 3995. The 3995 is driven by an attached workstation that runs OS/2! We will be glad to get rid of this dog because even though IBM still supports the hardware, we're out of luck if we have any OS/2 issues!
Over the past few months Chris Moody has been migrating data from our IBM 3995 Optical Library to disk. We have about 150 GB of archived customer bills, financials, etc... on about 35 5.2GB Optical Platters. So, we're adding the disk drives to compensate for that new data.
Storing the data on the drives will definitely help performance and we will also be able to end maintenance on that 3995. The 3995 is driven by an attached workstation that runs OS/2! We will be glad to get rid of this dog because even though IBM still supports the hardware, we're out of luck if we have any OS/2 issues!
Is Sametime 6.5.1 FP1 NOW Ready for Primetime?
Saw that the FP1 for Sametime 6.5.1 is available again. IBM had previously pulled it from the download area due to issues.
Has anyone upgraded? Should we even upgrade since Sametime 7.0 may be coming out within the next 6 months (this is just a guess because I know a 7.0 release will be out after ND7 is released)?
Has anyone upgraded? Should we even upgrade since Sametime 7.0 may be coming out within the next 6 months (this is just a guess because I know a 7.0 release will be out after ND7 is released)?
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Continued 6.5.4 for iSeries Issues
If you've been keeping up with my blog, we've had our share of issues with Domino 6.5.4 on iSeries. We've been experiencing hangs on our mail subsystem and we've also seen some issues with our Sametime subsystem as well. We have loaded two sets of iSeries fixes for those along with 2 system restarts (IPL). On 6/24/05, we performed an IPL.
For the Sametime issue, we have loaded not one, but two hotfixes that did not correct the problem. We finally determined that the Sametime issue was with the way the Notes 6.5.2+ Clients handle integrated presence awareness. We haven't had a Sametime problem (yet) since our IPL on 6/24, so it may turn out that one of the fixes may correct this issue yet... but I won't hold my breath.
We also went nearly 2 weeks without a problem with our mail server. But on Wednesday we had another hang on our mail subsystem and then we had another today. I've sent IBM more sets of debug data just for them to tell me again that it's just a network problem.
On the upside, I have learned a lot over the past month(s) in regards to some system troubleshooting. I have learned that Sametime for iSeries creates some pretty slick trace files that can be sent to IBM without having to collect the data yourself. I've worked a good bit with notes.ini settings for enabling debug parameters for TCP as well. I think one of the biggest lessons may be that it might not be so wise to stay on top of things so much. At the same time, though, some of my other Domino for iSeries colleagues have not been experiencing any issues with 6.5.4. I guess it goes to show that each shop is really unique and you never know if you'll have a good or bad experience with an upgrade. I still believe my philosophy is that you should try to stay really current because even though strange things can break, there are still many other fixes that can be helpful with upgrades!
For the Sametime issue, we have loaded not one, but two hotfixes that did not correct the problem. We finally determined that the Sametime issue was with the way the Notes 6.5.2+ Clients handle integrated presence awareness. We haven't had a Sametime problem (yet) since our IPL on 6/24, so it may turn out that one of the fixes may correct this issue yet... but I won't hold my breath.
We also went nearly 2 weeks without a problem with our mail server. But on Wednesday we had another hang on our mail subsystem and then we had another today. I've sent IBM more sets of debug data just for them to tell me again that it's just a network problem.
On the upside, I have learned a lot over the past month(s) in regards to some system troubleshooting. I have learned that Sametime for iSeries creates some pretty slick trace files that can be sent to IBM without having to collect the data yourself. I've worked a good bit with notes.ini settings for enabling debug parameters for TCP as well. I think one of the biggest lessons may be that it might not be so wise to stay on top of things so much. At the same time, though, some of my other Domino for iSeries colleagues have not been experiencing any issues with 6.5.4. I guess it goes to show that each shop is really unique and you never know if you'll have a good or bad experience with an upgrade. I still believe my philosophy is that you should try to stay really current because even though strange things can break, there are still many other fixes that can be helpful with upgrades!
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Mensa
Feeling pretty good about myself - "Your score was 23 out of 30. That is a very good score, you would have a good chance of passing the Mensa test."
How would you do?
http://www.mensa.org/workout2.php
Mensa Website: "Mensa was founded in England in 1946 by Roland Berrill, a barrister, and Dr. Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer. They had the idea of forming a society for bright people, the only qualification for membership of which was a high IQ. The original aims were, as they are today, to create a society that is non-political and free from all racial or religious distinctions. The society welcomes people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top 2% of the population, with the objective of enjoying each other"s company and participating in a wide range of social and cultural activities."
How would you do?
http://www.mensa.org/workout2.php
Mensa Website: "Mensa was founded in England in 1946 by Roland Berrill, a barrister, and Dr. Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer. They had the idea of forming a society for bright people, the only qualification for membership of which was a high IQ. The original aims were, as they are today, to create a society that is non-political and free from all racial or religious distinctions. The society welcomes people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top 2% of the population, with the objective of enjoying each other"s company and participating in a wide range of social and cultural activities."
Friday, July 1, 2005
Another Reason to Like Firefox
OK, so my coworker is putting up a form on our Intranet. Since our corporate supported browser is IE, that's where he was going. He kept getting the following error:
"The page cannot be displayed
There is a problem with the page you are trying to reach and it cannot be displayed.
Please try the following:
Open the hqapp01.comporium.com home page, and then look for links to the information you want.
Click the Refresh button, or try again later.
Click Search to look for information on the Internet.
You can also see a list of related sites.
HTTP 500 - Internal server error
Internet Explorer"
He sent me the link and my default browser (FF) opened it and I get:
"Error 500
HTTP Web Server: Lotus Notes Exception - Incorrect data type for operator or @Function: Number expected"
We could have spent hours trying to find the problem in IE but FF just told me the actual error! I say we could have spent hours, but my next reasonable step would probably be to try opening it and then looking at Notes log where this error is logged.
Pretty cool that the error is passed to FF!
"The page cannot be displayed
There is a problem with the page you are trying to reach and it cannot be displayed.
Please try the following:
Open the hqapp01.comporium.com home page, and then look for links to the information you want.
Click the Refresh button, or try again later.
Click Search to look for information on the Internet.
You can also see a list of related sites.
HTTP 500 - Internal server error
Internet Explorer"
He sent me the link and my default browser (FF) opened it and I get:
"Error 500
HTTP Web Server: Lotus Notes Exception - Incorrect data type for operator or @Function: Number expected"
We could have spent hours trying to find the problem in IE but FF just told me the actual error! I say we could have spent hours, but my next reasonable step would probably be to try opening it and then looking at Notes log where this error is logged.
Pretty cool that the error is passed to FF!
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Curt Schilling Too Big For His Breeches!
What a hack! First of all, know that this post is about a Red Sox pitcher by a Yankees fan. Take it as you will.
Mr. Schilling is on injured reserve and the big to-do in our town is that he was pitching tonight for his farm team - the Charlotte Knights. The team, by the way, is actually not even in Charlotte or even in North Carolina for that matter! It's in Fort Mill, SC, the town between Rock Hill, SC and Charlotte, NC.
Anyway, I asked my buddy Chris Moody to get me an autograph on my Yankees baseball cap. I figured Schilling would like that. =) Anyway, the guy wasn't even signing autographs. The dude gets demoted to the farm squad in small-town America and he can't even sign some autographs. My old roomie even drove a whole hour to see him!
Check out Moody's blog for some pics...
Mr. Schilling is on injured reserve and the big to-do in our town is that he was pitching tonight for his farm team - the Charlotte Knights. The team, by the way, is actually not even in Charlotte or even in North Carolina for that matter! It's in Fort Mill, SC, the town between Rock Hill, SC and Charlotte, NC.
Anyway, I asked my buddy Chris Moody to get me an autograph on my Yankees baseball cap. I figured Schilling would like that. =) Anyway, the guy wasn't even signing autographs. The dude gets demoted to the farm squad in small-town America and he can't even sign some autographs. My old roomie even drove a whole hour to see him!
Check out Moody's blog for some pics...
Friday, June 24, 2005
Slip the LIC
You iSeries guys know what this is about... Was doing an IPL to load PTFs (CUME, Hipers, DB, etc...) on my backup iSeries 820 today when I got an SRC B6000901. I looked this up and the book said I would have to reload the Licensed Internal Code. I didn't like the sounds of that, but after speaking with support I'm starting that process now.
FYI, we generally don't apply the PTFs permanently before we load new fixes. IBM told me that we should start doing that. This will verify the link loader (which is what our specific issue is), clean up orphaned objects, verify indexes on products, and gain a small amount of disk space back.
I'm coming up to load LIC from the CD now and then loading all the fixes.
FYI, we generally don't apply the PTFs permanently before we load new fixes. IBM told me that we should start doing that. This will verify the link loader (which is what our specific issue is), clean up orphaned objects, verify indexes on products, and gain a small amount of disk space back.
I'm coming up to load LIC from the CD now and then loading all the fixes.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Sametime 6.5.1 for iSeries is OK
So I'm told...
I love the Lotus Support Services RSS Feeds. I got a "Flash" hit today that appears to be related to my prior Sametime for iSeries problems I wrote about here and here.
The "Flash" regarding Sametime is here. The workaround is to (a) Remove awareness functionality for Names and (b) to add the following line to each Client notes.ini: IM_SHOW_STATUS=0. After I sent the Lotus Support tech the question if this is our problem, I was told that it appears to be. Now that 90+% of my Notes Clients are at 6.5.2 or higher because Lotus wants us to use integrated IM in the Client, I see that this can actually cause the server to hang. This is wonderful! Below is the text of the Flash:
Abstract
Interaction between Notes client 6.5.2 and higher instant messaging (IM) and the IBM Lotus Instant Messaging and Web Conferencing (Sametime) server causes the CPU on both the Sametime server (STMux and STCommunity processes) and the Notes client (nlnotes process) to spike.
Symptoms of this problem include:
--The nlnotes process on the Notes client spikes to 100%.
--Stmux and StCommuntity processes on the Sametime server are pegged at above normal rates that will eventually reach 100%.
--Logging off from the Notes client instant messaging returns the CPU on the Nlnotes process to normal.
Content
The technote titled "Integrated Awareness on Notes 6.5.2 and Higher Will Result in Server Outages" (#1206369), describes the symptoms, workaround, and fix information for this issue.
I love the Lotus Support Services RSS Feeds. I got a "Flash" hit today that appears to be related to my prior Sametime for iSeries problems I wrote about here and here.
The "Flash" regarding Sametime is here. The workaround is to (a) Remove awareness functionality for Names and (b) to add the following line to each Client notes.ini: IM_SHOW_STATUS=0. After I sent the Lotus Support tech the question if this is our problem, I was told that it appears to be. Now that 90+% of my Notes Clients are at 6.5.2 or higher because Lotus wants us to use integrated IM in the Client, I see that this can actually cause the server to hang. This is wonderful! Below is the text of the Flash:
Abstract
Interaction between Notes client 6.5.2 and higher instant messaging (IM) and the IBM Lotus Instant Messaging and Web Conferencing (Sametime) server causes the CPU on both the Sametime server (STMux and STCommunity processes) and the Notes client (nlnotes process) to spike.
Symptoms of this problem include:
--The nlnotes process on the Notes client spikes to 100%.
--Stmux and StCommuntity processes on the Sametime server are pegged at above normal rates that will eventually reach 100%.
--Logging off from the Notes client instant messaging returns the CPU on the Nlnotes process to normal.
Content
The technote titled "Integrated Awareness on Notes 6.5.2 and Higher Will Result in Server Outages" (#1206369), describes the symptoms, workaround, and fix information for this issue.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Can we bring back the dancing girls?
Well, not sure if I'll get debriefed about this, but it was on the public Lotus FTP site. It's a video titled "storyofnotes.wmv". I found it when looking for the document Ed posted up today. I decided to go up one level and see what else was out there:
ftp://ftp.lotus.com/pub/lotusweb/storyofnotes.wmv
About the Blog title, they have a clip from the Notes R4 release at Lotusphere in 96 with some dancing girls (and guys) on stage - we need that for ND7 in 06!
Anyway, I love the quote when they are showing the video of the Russians with a Lotus Notes Intranet:
"We're Marxists but we gotta make a buck like everybody else."
Another quote:
"We enter the new millenium with 56 million Lotus Notes users"
Interesting that the number has doubled in only 5 years - awesome!
"and it's only the beginning!"
ftp://ftp.lotus.com/pub/lotusweb/storyofnotes.wmv
About the Blog title, they have a clip from the Notes R4 release at Lotusphere in 96 with some dancing girls (and guys) on stage - we need that for ND7 in 06!
Anyway, I love the quote when they are showing the video of the Russians with a Lotus Notes Intranet:
"We're Marxists but we gotta make a buck like everybody else."
Another quote:
"We enter the new millenium with 56 million Lotus Notes users"
Interesting that the number has doubled in only 5 years - awesome!
"and it's only the beginning!"
Monday, June 20, 2005
Domino 6.5.4 for iSeries Issue
As you know, I've been having some issues with my mail server hanging after going to 6.5.4. After loading iSeries PTFs and finally getting some debug logs sent to Lotus (it's been about 2 months dealing with this on about a weekly basis), they told me Friday:
"I used several of my resources at IBM to conclude that this appears to be a network problem."
So, I have a communications trace going right now and am collecting random NETSTAT *CNN logs. They also think I should break out a sniffer.
Will keep you updated...
"I used several of my resources at IBM to conclude that this appears to be a network problem."
So, I have a communications trace going right now and am collecting random NETSTAT *CNN logs. They also think I should break out a sniffer.
Will keep you updated...
Academic Research?
Did anyone else get "selected" for an Academic Research with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY?
I got the following e-mail this morning:
Dear Chris Whisonant:
I am a doctoral student at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY.
This note is to request your participation in an academic research study that I am conducting (with Prof. James Watt of RPI) on online customer/product communities. The goal of this research study is to understand customer experiences in online product communities. Please note that this is an academic study conducted as part of my PhD dissertation work at RPI and is not sponsored by (or affiliated with) any other organization.
As a regular participant in the IBM online customer community, your contribution to this research study will be much appreciated and valued. I would like to invite you to participate in this research by completing the study questionnaire (which will take only 10-12 mminutes) available at the following web site hosted by the Social and Behavioral Research Lab at RPI:
URL
I understand you will have other time commitments. However, I hope you will be able to spare some time to participate and contribute to this research. Thank you much for your time.
I e-mailed him back asking where he got my address and he stated:
I got your email address from the IBM online forum.
I'm assuming he means Notes.net (or LDD or devWorks...) =) Off to take the quiz - what the heck!
I got the following e-mail this morning:
Dear Chris Whisonant:
I am a doctoral student at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY.
This note is to request your participation in an academic research study that I am conducting (with Prof. James Watt of RPI) on online customer/product communities. The goal of this research study is to understand customer experiences in online product communities. Please note that this is an academic study conducted as part of my PhD dissertation work at RPI and is not sponsored by (or affiliated with) any other organization.
As a regular participant in the IBM online customer community, your contribution to this research study will be much appreciated and valued. I would like to invite you to participate in this research by completing the study questionnaire (which will take only 10-12 mminutes) available at the following web site hosted by the Social and Behavioral Research Lab at RPI:
URL
I understand you will have other time commitments. However, I hope you will be able to spare some time to participate and contribute to this research. Thank you much for your time.
I e-mailed him back asking where he got my address and he stated:
I got your email address from the IBM online forum.
I'm assuming he means Notes.net (or LDD or devWorks...) =) Off to take the quiz - what the heck!
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Clay Bar for GTP!
Sadly the pictures didn't turn out good of the results... But I decided to use a clay bar on my '01 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP (LOVE that supercharger!!).
I was having a problem with getting lots of tiny black "dust" particles all over parts of my car.
Basically, I'm getting most of it on the very rear of the car - from bumper up to spoiler. There is also some that gets into the rear door cracks. I've had this car for almost a year now and I've seen it since the first time I washed it. It's got to be an environmental problem.
Well, I took the plunge and got a Mother's Clay Bar kit. I was extremely impressed with the results. The black dust particles would never go away. I could wash off the new stuff, but I still had old particles that seemed to be ground in. So I put the clay bar to work and I was probably able to get rid of 98% of the particles. Then I used the wax that came with the kit to seal it all up. I highly recommend using a clay bar - it's just time consuming. I probably spent 2.5 hours total on the car today between washing, claying, and waxing. But I should be good for a while.
A picture is below. You can see in the left side of the picture that there are not any little black spots but there are still some on the right. The left side was after using the bar and the right side was before. NOTE: Pictures are AFTER just washing the car.
This picture is a before shot - you can see some of the larger particles a little better (there are lots of smaller particles not as visible in the picure that the bar got rid of too!)
This picture is an after shot - MUCH better... =)
I was having a problem with getting lots of tiny black "dust" particles all over parts of my car.
Basically, I'm getting most of it on the very rear of the car - from bumper up to spoiler. There is also some that gets into the rear door cracks. I've had this car for almost a year now and I've seen it since the first time I washed it. It's got to be an environmental problem.
Well, I took the plunge and got a Mother's Clay Bar kit. I was extremely impressed with the results. The black dust particles would never go away. I could wash off the new stuff, but I still had old particles that seemed to be ground in. So I put the clay bar to work and I was probably able to get rid of 98% of the particles. Then I used the wax that came with the kit to seal it all up. I highly recommend using a clay bar - it's just time consuming. I probably spent 2.5 hours total on the car today between washing, claying, and waxing. But I should be good for a while.
A picture is below. You can see in the left side of the picture that there are not any little black spots but there are still some on the right. The left side was after using the bar and the right side was before. NOTE: Pictures are AFTER just washing the car.
This picture is a before shot - you can see some of the larger particles a little better (there are lots of smaller particles not as visible in the picure that the bar got rid of too!)
This picture is an after shot - MUCH better... =)
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Comments on Next Notes Client
Thanks to Ed Brill for the great screenshots for "Hannover", the next release of the Lotus Notes Client after 7.0. Personally, I think it's going to be a great release and a huge step forward for Lotus. From other threads at Ed's site, many people have commented on an improved UI. This should silence us for a while.
After sending out a link to the screenshots, here's what some people internally have said:
- Cool - and it is looking more and more like Outlook! Guess they finally caught on!!! :-)
- Very nice! I know what Pat is going to say - kinda looks like the Outlook client we should've been using all along :) Long live Notes! Never had a problem with it and never even had to use Notes Medic. Evidence of a good product!
- Ha windows XP, er I mean Lotus Notes rules! looks liek an XP theme
- Looks like MSN Explorer!!!!
After sending out a link to the screenshots, here's what some people internally have said:
- Cool - and it is looking more and more like Outlook! Guess they finally caught on!!! :-)
- Very nice! I know what Pat is going to say - kinda looks like the Outlook client we should've been using all along :) Long live Notes! Never had a problem with it and never even had to use Notes Medic. Evidence of a good product!
- Ha windows XP, er I mean Lotus Notes rules! looks liek an XP theme
- Looks like MSN Explorer!!!!
Thursday, June 9, 2005
Another Sametime 6.5.1 for iSeries Hotfix
I posted the other day about a PTF Hotfix to hopefully correct an issue with my IM server crashing. According to the Sametime 6.5.1 FP1 Release Notes (I have NOT put on FP1!), this SPR SMAK62VK9B is for:
Community Services multiplexer crashes under heavy workload
This fix addresses an issue that caused the multiplexer (STMux.exe) application to crash when handling simultaneous connections from 20K to 30K users.
SPR# ISCO69SBQ4, ISCO69SBM3, SMAK62VK9B, SMAK63SE55 (ALL PLATFORMS)
While I hope this fixes the issue, I am nowhere near 20k users - currently I have only 266 logins. I'm still sticking with my theory in the previous post that it has to do with some TCP/IP stack PTFs that I applied the day before this all started.
I've sent IBM some joblogs, job stack dumps, and an NSD. Hopefully this STMUX PTF will correct it though.
Community Services multiplexer crashes under heavy workload
This fix addresses an issue that caused the multiplexer (STMux.exe) application to crash when handling simultaneous connections from 20K to 30K users.
SPR# ISCO69SBQ4, ISCO69SBM3, SMAK62VK9B, SMAK63SE55 (ALL PLATFORMS)
While I hope this fixes the issue, I am nowhere near 20k users - currently I have only 266 logins. I'm still sticking with my theory in the previous post that it has to do with some TCP/IP stack PTFs that I applied the day before this all started.
I've sent IBM some joblogs, job stack dumps, and an NSD. Hopefully this STMUX PTF will correct it though.
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
Domino for iSeries Shared Memory Cleanup
We've been waiting for a way to easily clean up shared memory on the iSeries without taking down all active Domino partitions. Well, I've got two commands that IBM sent me (sshhhh, don't tell anyone...).
DLTDOMSMEM - Delete Domino Shared Memory - You specify the server name for it to clean up and run (while that partition is down, of course).
DLTDOMSEM - Delete Domino Semaphores - Same as above.
This is pretty handy if you get shared memory issues and need to clean up just that one server. Thanks to IBM for providing this - hopefully it will start shipping with Domino for iSeries releases in the future.
As with other hotfixes, etc... I post about here, you should probably contact tech support for this. However, you can also e-mail me or reply to this blog and I can get this to you.
DLTDOMSMEM - Delete Domino Shared Memory - You specify the server name for it to clean up and run (while that partition is down, of course).
DLTDOMSEM - Delete Domino Semaphores - Same as above.
This is pretty handy if you get shared memory issues and need to clean up just that one server. Thanks to IBM for providing this - hopefully it will start shipping with Domino for iSeries releases in the future.
As with other hotfixes, etc... I post about here, you should probably contact tech support for this. However, you can also e-mail me or reply to this blog and I can get this to you.
Soft Delete Bug in Notes 6.5.3 and 6.5.4
We've been troubleshooting an issue with Soft Deletions in the mail file where the trash is emptied after just a few minutes or hours instead of our standard 48 hours.
If you're seeing this issue you should call tech support to see if this fix is for your situation. We just received the following from Lotus Tech Support:
A easy programmatic solution is to add the following code to the mail template's Database Script PostOpen event. Note: Simply disabling and re-enabling using the SetOption method does not result in the header entry being updated (probably because db is not closed between) - so the below method is the most efficient programmatic approach:
Dim hours As Integer
Set db=source.Database
If db.getoption(dbopt_softdelete) Then
hours%=db.undeleteexpiretime
db.undeleteexpiretime=hours%+1
db.undeleteexpiretime=hours%
End If
If you're seeing this issue you should call tech support to see if this fix is for your situation. We just received the following from Lotus Tech Support:
A easy programmatic solution is to add the following code to the mail template's Database Script PostOpen event. Note: Simply disabling and re-enabling using the SetOption method does not result in the header entry being updated (probably because db is not closed between) - so the below method is the most efficient programmatic approach:
Dim hours As Integer
Set db=source.Database
If db.getoption(dbopt_softdelete) Then
hours%=db.undeleteexpiretime
db.undeleteexpiretime=hours%+1
db.undeleteexpiretime=hours%
End If
Monday, June 6, 2005
Sametime 6.5.1 for iSeries Hotfix
No, this is not the fixpack FP1 that was pulled because of issues. This is a hotfix for an issue I'm having with my Sametime (I can still call it that, right?) 6.5.1 Server for iSeries.
According to SPR HHAN5XYJDJ I should be seeing issues with my STLOGGER process and it should have been fixed in 3.1. Well, I'm apparently seeing the same call stack issues as some others with the STMUX task. About once a week my Sametime server will hang. I don't get a crash, but we just can't IM - not good with hundreds of users...
This all started after I loaded some TCP/IP stack PTFs (fixes) for my iSeries. These fixes were hopefully supposed to correct a hang I've been having with my mail server. Seems like one of the 7 or 8 fixes I loaded that day may be the culprit for this hang, but IBM hasn't confirmed that. Will load the hotfix tonight and see how it goes.
According to SPR HHAN5XYJDJ I should be seeing issues with my STLOGGER process and it should have been fixed in 3.1. Well, I'm apparently seeing the same call stack issues as some others with the STMUX task. About once a week my Sametime server will hang. I don't get a crash, but we just can't IM - not good with hundreds of users...
This all started after I loaded some TCP/IP stack PTFs (fixes) for my iSeries. These fixes were hopefully supposed to correct a hang I've been having with my mail server. Seems like one of the 7 or 8 fixes I loaded that day may be the culprit for this hang, but IBM hasn't confirmed that. Will load the hotfix tonight and see how it goes.
Alter Ego
To keep this blog on the topic of Tech stuff (generally Lotus/IBM), I will post non-tech stuff to a different blog. I'll try to have some fun there sometimes, but it will mostly be about politics and religion.
Check me out if you wish...
http://vastrightwing.blogdns.com
Check me out if you wish...
http://vastrightwing.blogdns.com
Lotus Notes 6.5.4 Rollout
On May 26 I blogged about Smart Upgrade. Here are some updated stats on my 6.5.4 rollout:
May 26
6.5.4 - 47%
6.5.3 - 26%
6.5.2 - 16%
6.5.1 - 11%
June 6
6.5.4 - 59%
6.5.3 - 21%
6.5.2 - 10%
6.5.1 - 9%
May 26
6.5.4 - 47%
6.5.3 - 26%
6.5.2 - 16%
6.5.1 - 11%
June 6
6.5.4 - 59%
6.5.3 - 21%
6.5.2 - 10%
6.5.1 - 9%
Saturday, June 4, 2005
News Story
"Insurgents in Iraq have detonated a suicide bomb at a mosque, killing 15 and injuring dozens more. On top of that, countless Qurans were burned and the mosque left in shambles."
Sadly, I haven't seen this type of reporting by the media. Instead we read this and this about the American mishandling of the Quran at Gitmo. How many hundreds or thousands of copies of the Quran have the Muslim terrorists destroyed in the wake of missions that they believe that Quran told them to go on?
It's indeed tragic if Americans have mishandled the Quran at Gitmo. What's more tragic is that many of the detainees at Gitmo complaining of this would have no problem blowing up a mosque and destroying Qurans themselves.
Sadly, I haven't seen this type of reporting by the media. Instead we read this and this about the American mishandling of the Quran at Gitmo. How many hundreds or thousands of copies of the Quran have the Muslim terrorists destroyed in the wake of missions that they believe that Quran told them to go on?
It's indeed tragic if Americans have mishandled the Quran at Gitmo. What's more tragic is that many of the detainees at Gitmo complaining of this would have no problem blowing up a mosque and destroying Qurans themselves.
Thursday, June 2, 2005
Website Running Domino
Was looking for some song lyrics today and the first Google hit was to:
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Dream-Theater...
Notice the .nsf in the path? I saw the UNID and thought it looked Notes-ish. So then I looked on to the left and saw the nsf.
According to Netcraft, it's running Domino 5.0.9 on Linux. It's a pretty quick site though - imagine it on 6.5 or even 7 with the Linux improvements 7 will have!
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Dream-Theater...
Notice the .nsf in the path? I saw the UNID and thought it looked Notes-ish. So then I looked on to the left and saw the nsf.
According to Netcraft, it's running Domino 5.0.9 on Linux. It's a pretty quick site though - imagine it on 6.5 or even 7 with the Linux improvements 7 will have!
Wednesday, June 1, 2005
Journal of the Whills 3:12
OK, so only the most die-hard Star Wars fans may know what means. I had no clue until I was watching Deleted Magic last night.
The Prophecy:
"And in time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as : THE SON OF THE SUN. And he shall bring Balance to the Force."
Journal of the Whills, 3:12
Delete Magic "is a non-profit film, which will be made available for free via the internet" about Star Wars that includes "deleted scenes, alternate footage, and a look behind the scenes at what didn't make it to the final cut of the Star Wars trilogy." It contains the 3rd draft of the original opening scroll for A New Hope. The preface to that text is the prophecy regarding the one to bring Balance to the Force. Remember from Episode I that Anakin didn't have a father and would have been "the son of the sun." Well, here is the opening scroll - interesting how different it is from the one from Episode IV as we know it today:
From http://cache.cow.net/~draith/sw/scripts/SW-Starkiller3
The REPUBLIC GALACTICA is dead. Ruthless
trader barons, driven by greed and the
lust for power, have replaced enlighten-
ment with oppression, and "rule by the
people" with the FIRST GALACTIC EMPIRE.
For over a thousand years, generations of
JEDI KNIGHTS were the guardians of peace
and justice in the galaxy. Now these
legendary warriors are all but extinct.
One by one they have been hunted down and
destroyed by the sinister agents of the
Emperor: the DARK LORDS OF THE SITH.
It is a period of civil wars. Rebel
Armies, striking from fortresses hidden
deep within the Great rift, have won a
crushing victory over the powerful Imper-
ial Starfleet. The Emperor knows that
one more such defeat will bring a thou-
sand more solar systems into the rebellion,
and Imperial control of the Outland systems
could be lost forever. To crush the
rebellion once and for all, the Emperor
has sent one of his most ferocious Dark
Lords to find the secret rebel strongholds
and destroy them...
The Prophecy:
"And in time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as : THE SON OF THE SUN. And he shall bring Balance to the Force."
Journal of the Whills, 3:12
Delete Magic "is a non-profit film, which will be made available for free via the internet" about Star Wars that includes "deleted scenes, alternate footage, and a look behind the scenes at what didn't make it to the final cut of the Star Wars trilogy." It contains the 3rd draft of the original opening scroll for A New Hope. The preface to that text is the prophecy regarding the one to bring Balance to the Force. Remember from Episode I that Anakin didn't have a father and would have been "the son of the sun." Well, here is the opening scroll - interesting how different it is from the one from Episode IV as we know it today:
From http://cache.cow.net/~draith/sw/scripts/SW-Starkiller3
trader barons, driven by greed and the
lust for power, have replaced enlighten-
ment with oppression, and "rule by the
people" with the FIRST GALACTIC EMPIRE.
For over a thousand years, generations of
JEDI KNIGHTS were the guardians of peace
and justice in the galaxy. Now these
legendary warriors are all but extinct.
One by one they have been hunted down and
destroyed by the sinister agents of the
Emperor: the DARK LORDS OF THE SITH.
It is a period of civil wars. Rebel
Armies, striking from fortresses hidden
deep within the Great rift, have won a
crushing victory over the powerful Imper-
ial Starfleet. The Emperor knows that
one more such defeat will bring a thou-
sand more solar systems into the rebellion,
and Imperial control of the Outland systems
could be lost forever. To crush the
rebellion once and for all, the Emperor
has sent one of his most ferocious Dark
Lords to find the secret rebel strongholds
and destroy them...
"Insufficient Memory" error Domino 6.5.3 and 6.5.4
Error "Insufficient memory - index pool is full" After NIF Global Pool Grows Very Large
Problem
The error "Insufficient memory - index pool is full" is generated on a Domino 6.5.3 or 6.5.4 server after the NIF Global Pool grows to about 128 MB. Users are not able to connect to the Domino server and the server must be rebooted.
Solution
The issue was reported to Quality Engineering as SPR #JPAS6ALJQE and a fix is being researched. A test fix has been made available for the following releases and platforms:
* Domino/Windows and Domino/AIX Release 6.5.3
* Domino/Windows and Domino/AIX Release 6.5.3 FP1
* Domino/Windows, Domino/AIX and Domin/Solaris Release 6.5.4.
Qualified customers should contact IBM Technical Support to obtain the test fix.
One particular customer collected memory dumps for two days. The first day NIF Global Pool stayed at approximately 1 MB. The second day the memory dump showed the following (the NIF global pool is approximately 2 MB in size):
+17 2 2097164 SHRMEM BLK_NIF_POOL - NIF global pool
Six hours later the memory dump showed the following (the NIF global pool is approximately 86 MB)
+17 86 90178052 SHRMEM BLK_NIF_POOL - NIF global pool
and then the memory in NIF global pool grows to approximately 128 MB:
+17 128 134218496 SHRMEM BLK_NIF_POOL - NIF global pool
Problem
The error "Insufficient memory - index pool is full" is generated on a Domino 6.5.3 or 6.5.4 server after the NIF Global Pool grows to about 128 MB. Users are not able to connect to the Domino server and the server must be rebooted.
Solution
The issue was reported to Quality Engineering as SPR #JPAS6ALJQE and a fix is being researched. A test fix has been made available for the following releases and platforms:
* Domino/Windows and Domino/AIX Release 6.5.3
* Domino/Windows and Domino/AIX Release 6.5.3 FP1
* Domino/Windows, Domino/AIX and Domin/Solaris Release 6.5.4.
Qualified customers should contact IBM Technical Support to obtain the test fix.
One particular customer collected memory dumps for two days. The first day NIF Global Pool stayed at approximately 1 MB. The second day the memory dump showed the following (the NIF global pool is approximately 2 MB in size):
+17 2 2097164 SHRMEM BLK_NIF_POOL - NIF global pool
Six hours later the memory dump showed the following (the NIF global pool is approximately 86 MB)
+17 86 90178052 SHRMEM BLK_NIF_POOL - NIF global pool
and then the memory in NIF global pool grows to approximately 128 MB:
+17 128 134218496 SHRMEM BLK_NIF_POOL - NIF global pool
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
"Do You Want Fries With That"
Ed Brill's post today made me think of a new country song I heard this weekend. Our church praise band went with our youth group to lead a praise and worship service for them before they went on to camp. We went with them to one of Atlanta's suburbs.
My wife and I were hauling drums, guitars, etc... in our Envoy XL and she was getting tired of listening to Liquid Tension Experiment: 2 and Joe Satriani, so we turned on the radio. She said she felt like listening to country. I said "Well, we are in Georgia - wanna bet the first station the seek button finds is country?" Sure enough, I hit the seek button and the NASCAR race was on! Not to outdo myself I hit seek again and there was another country station! Anyway, we heard Tim McGraw's new song "Do You Want Fries With That". Here's part of the chorus:
"Man you took my wife
Man you took my kids
And you took that life I
used to live
My pride, the pool, the boat,
my tools
My dreams, the dog, the cat
Yeah I think that’s everything
Oh yeah, I almost forgot
Do you want fries with that"
My wife and I were hauling drums, guitars, etc... in our Envoy XL and she was getting tired of listening to Liquid Tension Experiment: 2 and Joe Satriani, so we turned on the radio. She said she felt like listening to country. I said "Well, we are in Georgia - wanna bet the first station the seek button finds is country?" Sure enough, I hit the seek button and the NASCAR race was on! Not to outdo myself I hit seek again and there was another country station! Anyway, we heard Tim McGraw's new song "Do You Want Fries With That". Here's part of the chorus:
"Man you took my wife
Man you took my kids
And you took that life I
used to live
My pride, the pool, the boat,
my tools
My dreams, the dog, the cat
Yeah I think that’s everything
Oh yeah, I almost forgot
Do you want fries with that"
Friday, May 27, 2005
More Helpdesk Fun
Two Notes helpdesk calls today for the record:
1. I recently developed a workflow application for a user. She calls me today saying that she received a document with a Word doc attached. When she opened the Word doc it would not print. I tried explaining that this was a Word problem and she would just need to call the PC support helpdesk. Funny how when Word won't print it's because of a new Notes application.
2. Here is the text from the call record: "She had an email from a customer and she cannot find it anywhere. She also had a folder named Comporium and now it is a sub folder under Misc folder." Talked to the user and she vehemently stated that she did not move that folder and she definitely did not delete the e-mail . We kind of went back and forth a little and I tried in the nicest fashion to tell her that she did do it. I ended up telling her that it's possible someone sat at her computer and did this but that e-mails and folders don't just get up and walk away. She said that it could have been that, she could have been delusional, or aliens could have done it. I also showed her to hit F5 when she leaves her workstation to lock out Notes.
More fun than a human being should be allowed to have...
1. I recently developed a workflow application for a user. She calls me today saying that she received a document with a Word doc attached. When she opened the Word doc it would not print. I tried explaining that this was a Word problem and she would just need to call the PC support helpdesk. Funny how when Word won't print it's because of a new Notes application.
2. Here is the text from the call record: "She had an email from a customer and she cannot find it anywhere. She also had a folder named Comporium and now it is a sub folder under Misc folder." Talked to the user and she vehemently stated that she did not move that folder and she definitely did not delete the e-mail . We kind of went back and forth a little and I tried in the nicest fashion to tell her that she did do it. I ended up telling her that it's possible someone sat at her computer and did this but that e-mails and folders don't just get up and walk away. She said that it could have been that, she could have been delusional, or aliens could have done it. I also showed her to hit F5 when she leaves her workstation to lock out Notes.
More fun than a human being should be allowed to have...
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Notes Smart Upgrade
I must admit that this has been a little quirky in the past, but now that we've got all clients at 6.5.1 or higher it's been much better. The Upgrade Tracking database is pretty slick too, but we've only been able to get it working for 6.5.3 Clients or higher.
Notes 6.5.4 has been GA for 2 months now. Here are my client numbers:
- 6.5.4 - 47%
- 6.5.3 - 26%
- 6.5.2 - 16%
- 6.5.1 - 11%
As you can tell, we're doing fairly well with the upgrades.
Notes 6.5.4 has been GA for 2 months now. Here are my client numbers:
- 6.5.4 - 47%
- 6.5.3 - 26%
- 6.5.2 - 16%
- 6.5.1 - 11%
As you can tell, we're doing fairly well with the upgrades.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
More Malware
ZDNet Article
Researchers at Symantec have seen the malicious program used in the ransom attack. The "Trojan.Pgpcoder" searches a victim's hard disk drive for 15 common file types, including images and Microsoft Office file types. It then encrypts the files, removes the originals and drops a note asking $200 for the encryption key, Friedrichs said.
A Websense customer fell victim to the attack. Luckily, in this case the encryption wasn't very sophisticated and Websense was able to decode the customer's files, said Dan Hubbard, senior director of security and research at Websense. "In this case we could help, but every variant can be different," he said.
Websense, however, doesn't see a trend yet. Attackers leave a trail if they ask for money, Hubbard said: "This type of attack is not that difficult to perform. However, in order to collect money the attackers are leaving themselves open to investigation and tracing."
See also: AZCentral Article
Researchers at Symantec have seen the malicious program used in the ransom attack. The "Trojan.Pgpcoder" searches a victim's hard disk drive for 15 common file types, including images and Microsoft Office file types. It then encrypts the files, removes the originals and drops a note asking $200 for the encryption key, Friedrichs said.
A Websense customer fell victim to the attack. Luckily, in this case the encryption wasn't very sophisticated and Websense was able to decode the customer's files, said Dan Hubbard, senior director of security and research at Websense. "In this case we could help, but every variant can be different," he said.
Websense, however, doesn't see a trend yet. Attackers leave a trail if they ask for money, Hubbard said: "This type of attack is not that difficult to perform. However, in order to collect money the attackers are leaving themselves open to investigation and tracing."
See also: AZCentral Article
Lotus SPR DCOE68MQZM
If you are not aware of this, there is an issue with embedded categorized views (at least in the Lotus 6.5.x releases) on a Lotus Notes form. We are seeing the following symptoms when we leave the embedded view open:
(1) the view will just go blank and display nothing, or
(2) the view will show the wrong category.
Closing the document or refreshing the view (F9) is a workaround. Alternatively, there is an auto-refresh feature with this application using the NotesTimer class. We fought some issues with getting that working properly and Lotus fixed it in 6.5.3. Prior to the fix, the client could hang when that NotesTimer was run. In testing the problem with the embedded categorized view, setting the view refresh timer to 3 minutes hasn't helped. We've also set it to 15 seconds without too much success - it will switch to the wrong category or go blank between refreshes in that short of a time period. We're testing it at 10 seconds now to see if that helps.
I spoke with Lotus support again yesterday regarding the SPR DCOE68MQZM. I was told that it "is currently open for investigation in version 7.0." That release of the client will not be out until towards the end of the year. I'm downloading the Notes 7.0 Beta 3 client now to see if it has been resolved.
If you're seeing any of these issues, let Lotus know. This is really annoying for us. Call Lotus and let them know if you're having this issue and refer to this SPR - maybe the squeaky wheel can get the grease. It's good to know that they said 7.0 instead of 7.x.
(1) the view will just go blank and display nothing, or
(2) the view will show the wrong category.
Closing the document or refreshing the view (F9) is a workaround. Alternatively, there is an auto-refresh feature with this application using the NotesTimer class. We fought some issues with getting that working properly and Lotus fixed it in 6.5.3. Prior to the fix, the client could hang when that NotesTimer was run. In testing the problem with the embedded categorized view, setting the view refresh timer to 3 minutes hasn't helped. We've also set it to 15 seconds without too much success - it will switch to the wrong category or go blank between refreshes in that short of a time period. We're testing it at 10 seconds now to see if that helps.
I spoke with Lotus support again yesterday regarding the SPR DCOE68MQZM. I was told that it "is currently open for investigation in version 7.0." That release of the client will not be out until towards the end of the year. I'm downloading the Notes 7.0 Beta 3 client now to see if it has been resolved.
If you're seeing any of these issues, let Lotus know. This is really annoying for us. Call Lotus and let them know if you're having this issue and refer to this SPR - maybe the squeaky wheel can get the grease. It's good to know that they said 7.0 instead of 7.x.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Nuclear Option
The news stories today from AP, etc... are stating that a deal has been struck that "pulls the plug" and "avoids" the nuclear option on Senate judicial filibustering.
Just for the record, the "deal" was struck by 14 "bi-partisan" Senators (7 Libs and 7 RINOs). The nuclear option is still on the table and should be used to give these nominees their up-or-down vote.
Just for the record, the "deal" was struck by 14 "bi-partisan" Senators (7 Libs and 7 RINOs). The nuclear option is still on the table and should be used to give these nominees their up-or-down vote.
Monday, May 23, 2005
Box Office Smash
It's pretty much official that Revenge of the Sith is a box office smash. Over the first 4 days (Thursday-Sunday) it grossed $158,449,700 according to the article above. It grossed over $50,000,000 in its first 24 hours! It also grossed another $144,000,000 worldwide taking it's total 4-day gross to just over $300,000,000.
Thinking back, one of the most hyped movies last year was Fahrenheit 9/11. It's total worldwide gross after all was said and done, according to the above link, was $222,446,320 with $119,194,771 coming domestically bringing in $23,920,637 opening weekend. This movie, hoped to be the "chosen" movie to "bring balance" for the DNC, was hyped as being the highest-grossing documentary ever with the highest grossing opening weekend (though it's possible that Jackass: The Movie [a TRUE documentary] grossed more than Fahrenheit).
All that said, a measly sci-fi flick doubled the FH's opening weekend in just 12 hours and has far surpassed FH's worldwide final talley in the Sith's opening weekend.
Funny how insignificant Fahrenheit 9/11 was in retrospect...
Thinking back, one of the most hyped movies last year was Fahrenheit 9/11. It's total worldwide gross after all was said and done, according to the above link, was $222,446,320 with $119,194,771 coming domestically bringing in $23,920,637 opening weekend. This movie, hoped to be the "chosen" movie to "bring balance" for the DNC, was hyped as being the highest-grossing documentary ever with the highest grossing opening weekend (though it's possible that Jackass: The Movie [a TRUE documentary] grossed more than Fahrenheit).
All that said, a measly sci-fi flick doubled the FH's opening weekend in just 12 hours and has far surpassed FH's worldwide final talley in the Sith's opening weekend.
Funny how insignificant Fahrenheit 9/11 was in retrospect...
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Revenge of the Sith - Best Yet?
Personally, I think George Lucas saved the best for last. My wife and I went to the 12:01 AM show this morning, and I've been meaning to blog about it all day, but I took the day off. From the opening skyfight scene to the final scene with the Skywalkers holding Luke gazing at the double sunset, this movie was amazing. We got to see Kashyyk, the Wookie planet and many other landscapes. Stop reading here if you don't want any spoilers...
This movie, as we all know, is the final Star Wars movie that George Lucas is saying he will make. There were many loose ends that he needed to tie up in this movie. The main things involved Anakin's turn to the Dark Side, the betrayal and murder of the Jedi, the end of the Clone Wars, and the birth of the twin Skywalkers.
You could truly see the anger that Anakin possesses right from the beginning - especially in the duel with Count Dooku and in how Anakin killed him out of rage and revenge. I thought that Hayden really pulled off the part of Anakin in this movie. There were several sappy scenes between Padme and Anakin, but I thought that they were really necessary in telling the story of his love for her. Ultimately, though, that love is what separated them and turned him to the Dark Side. Anakin, in Episode II, stated that he would one day be able to stop death, pain, and suffering. The Emperor knew this and really played off of it to turn Anakin.
At first, Anakin was reluctant. However, it all changed when he betrayed the Jedi order and told Mace Windu to let the Chancellor live. Mace had him beat, but hesitated. It was after Palpatine killed Mace that Anakin pledged his allegiance to the Dark Side for three reasons - (a) to save Padme's life, (b) to bring peace to the Galaxy, and (c) to eventually gain absolute power for himself. We see this third one in Episodes III, V, and VI. Anakin tells Padme in this movie that he will kill Palpatine and they could rule together. In V and VI he is trying to turn his son to the Dark Side to rule together.
The saddest part of the movie was seeing the "betrayal and murder" of all the Jedi except for Yoda and Obi-Wan (who are forced into exile). Anakin (now Darth Vader) was relentless in killing the Jedi including the pre-adolescent younglings. This was really gut-wrenching. It was also sad to hear Yoda exclaim, after a brilliant battle with Darth Sidious (Emperor/Chancellor Palpatine) that he had failed.
Beyond this, Obi-Wan was amazed that "the Chosen One" would turn to the Dark Side. Anakin was the One who was to "bring balance to the force" by destroying all of the Sith. Yoda alluded that this prophecy may have been misread and I take the prophecy to mean either that Anakin's offspring would bring balance (Luke killing Sidious and Vader) or Anakin returning to the Jedi order by killing Sidious.
Well, I've rambled enough tonight...going to have to see this again!
This movie, as we all know, is the final Star Wars movie that George Lucas is saying he will make. There were many loose ends that he needed to tie up in this movie. The main things involved Anakin's turn to the Dark Side, the betrayal and murder of the Jedi, the end of the Clone Wars, and the birth of the twin Skywalkers.
You could truly see the anger that Anakin possesses right from the beginning - especially in the duel with Count Dooku and in how Anakin killed him out of rage and revenge. I thought that Hayden really pulled off the part of Anakin in this movie. There were several sappy scenes between Padme and Anakin, but I thought that they were really necessary in telling the story of his love for her. Ultimately, though, that love is what separated them and turned him to the Dark Side. Anakin, in Episode II, stated that he would one day be able to stop death, pain, and suffering. The Emperor knew this and really played off of it to turn Anakin.
At first, Anakin was reluctant. However, it all changed when he betrayed the Jedi order and told Mace Windu to let the Chancellor live. Mace had him beat, but hesitated. It was after Palpatine killed Mace that Anakin pledged his allegiance to the Dark Side for three reasons - (a) to save Padme's life, (b) to bring peace to the Galaxy, and (c) to eventually gain absolute power for himself. We see this third one in Episodes III, V, and VI. Anakin tells Padme in this movie that he will kill Palpatine and they could rule together. In V and VI he is trying to turn his son to the Dark Side to rule together.
The saddest part of the movie was seeing the "betrayal and murder" of all the Jedi except for Yoda and Obi-Wan (who are forced into exile). Anakin (now Darth Vader) was relentless in killing the Jedi including the pre-adolescent younglings. This was really gut-wrenching. It was also sad to hear Yoda exclaim, after a brilliant battle with Darth Sidious (Emperor/Chancellor Palpatine) that he had failed.
Beyond this, Obi-Wan was amazed that "the Chosen One" would turn to the Dark Side. Anakin was the One who was to "bring balance to the force" by destroying all of the Sith. Yoda alluded that this prophecy may have been misread and I take the prophecy to mean either that Anakin's offspring would bring balance (Luke killing Sidious and Vader) or Anakin returning to the Jedi order by killing Sidious.
Well, I've rambled enough tonight...going to have to see this again!
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Firefox 1.0.4 Issue?
In lieu of IBM's recent announcements to support Firefox internally, I find this ironic that this just started happening for me when I try to submit a new Lotus Support ticket online with Firefox 1.0.4 (Sorry for poor image quality - I really need to get Gimp or something...):
And here it is in IE and a copy of Firefox 1.0 I have on another PC:
And here it is in IE and a copy of Firefox 1.0 I have on another PC:
Friday, May 13, 2005
BlackBerry as Sys Admin Tool
We've been having some issues with hangs on our Mail server. The other morning I noticed that I didn't have any e-mails on my BlackBerry. I generally will get an overnight spam/vendor e-mail or two, so I knew this was odd. Tried sending an e-mail to myself and it failed. So, I went upstairs and found that the mail server was hung. This was about 7:15 and I was able to restart my mail partition and avert users coming in and having a DOA mail server and receiving a call from my EVP...
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
MS Windows XP Commercials
Is it just me or does it seem crazy that Microsoft is running a TV ad campaign aimed at home users to get them to use Windows XP?
Several thoughts come to mind:
1) XP is a 3.5 year old OS released around October of 2001 - why market something that archaic in the computer industry?
2) "IDC estimates that of the roughly 514 mln paid-for copies of Windows on desktops and laptops worldwide at the end of 2004, almost 21% were the aging Win 95, 98 and Millennium Edition releases." (link) I guess it's possible that they would like to get those people upgraded.
3) Feeling pressure from Mac OS and *nix systems being installed and gaining market share. "5% of all PCs in 2004 shipped with Linux"
Just my random thoughts before I leave work for the day...
Several thoughts come to mind:
1) XP is a 3.5 year old OS released around October of 2001 - why market something that archaic in the computer industry?
2) "IDC estimates that of the roughly 514 mln paid-for copies of Windows on desktops and laptops worldwide at the end of 2004, almost 21% were the aging Win 95, 98 and Millennium Edition releases." (link) I guess it's possible that they would like to get those people upgraded.
3) Feeling pressure from Mac OS and *nix systems being installed and gaining market share. "5% of all PCs in 2004 shipped with Linux"
Just my random thoughts before I leave work for the day...
Congrats Kelly & Ron!
Well, last night was the only night I watched Amazing Race. I had to see if Kelly and Ron would win. They finished 3rd - couldn't quite catch that flight in San Juan. I went to North Greenville College with Kelly. I'm not going to be one of those people who says "I knew her before she was 'famous'" but I did...
Anyway, congrats to both of them for their efforts and Bronze finish!
Anyway, congrats to both of them for their efforts and Bronze finish!
Monday, May 9, 2005
Talk to me!
An anonymous blogroller got me thinking about adding Sametime awareness to web pages. I tinkered with it a bit this afternoon and got it working internally. So I thought I would test it on my blog too. If you haven't noticed, there is now an "Online Status" section on the toolbar to your right. I'm usually only online between 8 and 5 EST. Got a few minor UI tweaks I want to look into, but it's working. So chat with me if you wish...
Sunday, May 8, 2005
05/19/2005 00:01 EST
At 1 minute past midnight EST (in about 10 days and 2.5 hours) I will be sitting beside my wife (who volunteered to go - awesome wife!) watching the last new Star Wars movie to ever grace theaters. It's going to be awesome - so much so that Steven Spielburg even weeped at a pre-screening!
We will see the following scroll for the last time:
We will see the following scroll for the last time:
Revenge of the Sithncellor...
Episode III
War! The Republic is crumbling under the attacks by the ruthless Sith Lord, Count Dooku. There are heroes on both sides. Evil is everywhere.
In a stunning move, the fiendish droid leader, General Grievous, has swept into the republic capital and kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine, leader of the Galactic Senate.
As the Separatist Droid Army attempts to flee the besieged capital with their valuable hostage, two Jedi Knights lead a desperate mission to rescue the captive Cha
Tuesday, May 3, 2005
Domino 6 Easter Egg
Trackback to Ed Brill's blog today
Someone posted:
- Open the webadmin DB on any R6 box using the web browser.
- Switch to the quick console.
- Type "about:" and press enter.
Well, here's the output - it's hilarious because the console automatically types all of this in slowly. It was a great little break today. Sorry if the graphic isn't so hot - I'm just a sysadmin... Remember to set the image to full size if your browser resizes it.
Someone posted:
- Open the webadmin DB on any R6 box using the web browser.
- Switch to the quick console.
- Type "about:" and press enter.
Well, here's the output - it's hilarious because the console automatically types all of this in slowly. It was a great little break today. Sorry if the graphic isn't so hot - I'm just a sysadmin... Remember to set the image to full size if your browser resizes it.
Nice Try Ms. Spammer! - Redux
Well, I sort of won a round with this spammer. Remember my previous blog about how I received an email and I replied telling her that she did not comply with the CAN-SPAM act by not having her company's physical address listed?
Well, I did receive another message. But it wasn't a reply, thank-you, or anything. It was another UCE! But now, at the bottom of the message we have an actual mailing address. This lets me know that (a) they received my complaint about not complying with CAN-SPAM (b) they don't care and (c) they weren't smart enough to see my complaint to them as a request to remove me from their mailing list. Instead, the new UCE I received states:
Dear Chris,
Thank you for taking the time to let us introduce our company.
Wow, I'm sure this will be fun for me to get taken off their list. I will complain again. This time making sure that I put REMOVE in the subject line...
Well, I did receive another message. But it wasn't a reply, thank-you, or anything. It was another UCE! But now, at the bottom of the message we have an actual mailing address. This lets me know that (a) they received my complaint about not complying with CAN-SPAM (b) they don't care and (c) they weren't smart enough to see my complaint to them as a request to remove me from their mailing list. Instead, the new UCE I received states:
Dear Chris,
Thank you for taking the time to let us introduce our company.
Wow, I'm sure this will be fun for me to get taken off their list. I will complain again. This time making sure that I put REMOVE in the subject line...
Newsflash - Microsoft Into 64-bit Computing
Saw the following blurb on an RSS feed for a Computerworld article:
"it could take years for 64-bit computing to become pervasive in their companies."
I just thought that was ironic since our main business applications have been running 64-bit for years. In fact, I thought I would get out an old book I have here at the office titled Inside the AS/400 by Frank G. Soltis. I have the edition from way back in 1997:
"The AS/400 is the first and only system in the world to have completed the transition to 64-bit computing.... The challenge for the computer industry is how to enable existing software to take advantage of the new hardware designs. The AS/400 is the only system to have met this software challenge - all AS/400 applications are fully 64-bit enabled. No one else is even close.... In contrast, the AS/400's technology-independent architecture protects the system's customers and ISVs from such disruptions as they move to the new 64-bit RISC processors. Existing application software can immediately use the full capabilities of the new hardware." (Inside the AS/400, pp. 1-2)
Then on page 206 we find this: "Our original RISC processor that we started to design in 1990, which we called C-RISC (the C was for commercial), had a 96-bit address. We had the room for this large address in the pointers and decided to go all the way. When we decided to use the PowerPC architecture in 1991, we scaled the address back to 64 bits."
Even new applications to our company such as Lotus Domino (we switched from mostly Outlook POP mail in 2002) now running on our iSeries (formerly AS/400 currently i5) are 64-bit. One interesting quote in that article from Computerworld was:
"One application that will not be supported on x64 Windows is Exchange Server 2003, according to John Borozan, a senior product manager in the Windows Server group. He said a portion of the application runs as a kernel mode driver and any code touching the Windows kernel must be 64-bit."
So, from recent quotes from Microsoft, they will not be updating Exchange 2003 until probably the late 2006 timeframe. This means two things - (1) Exchange 2003 will not be able to take advantage of the benefits of 64-bit hardware, and (2) Microsoft will not have a 64-bit corporate mail platform for about 2 more years. I know that Microsoft is sometimes an easy target, but it is true that the blame doesn't lie with them. To their credit they could only move their CISC-based software and OS to 64-bit when the processors would support 64-bit.
Since Microsoft's direction is 64-bit in 2005, I'm happy to say that we have been ahead of the Microsoft curve for nearly a decade by going with IBM! That's one good thing when dealing with a company that not only produces the software but the hardware and processors.
"it could take years for 64-bit computing to become pervasive in their companies."
I just thought that was ironic since our main business applications have been running 64-bit for years. In fact, I thought I would get out an old book I have here at the office titled Inside the AS/400 by Frank G. Soltis. I have the edition from way back in 1997:
"The AS/400 is the first and only system in the world to have completed the transition to 64-bit computing.... The challenge for the computer industry is how to enable existing software to take advantage of the new hardware designs. The AS/400 is the only system to have met this software challenge - all AS/400 applications are fully 64-bit enabled. No one else is even close.... In contrast, the AS/400's technology-independent architecture protects the system's customers and ISVs from such disruptions as they move to the new 64-bit RISC processors. Existing application software can immediately use the full capabilities of the new hardware." (Inside the AS/400, pp. 1-2)
Then on page 206 we find this: "Our original RISC processor that we started to design in 1990, which we called C-RISC (the C was for commercial), had a 96-bit address. We had the room for this large address in the pointers and decided to go all the way. When we decided to use the PowerPC architecture in 1991, we scaled the address back to 64 bits."
Even new applications to our company such as Lotus Domino (we switched from mostly Outlook POP mail in 2002) now running on our iSeries (formerly AS/400 currently i5) are 64-bit. One interesting quote in that article from Computerworld was:
"One application that will not be supported on x64 Windows is Exchange Server 2003, according to John Borozan, a senior product manager in the Windows Server group. He said a portion of the application runs as a kernel mode driver and any code touching the Windows kernel must be 64-bit."
So, from recent quotes from Microsoft, they will not be updating Exchange 2003 until probably the late 2006 timeframe. This means two things - (1) Exchange 2003 will not be able to take advantage of the benefits of 64-bit hardware, and (2) Microsoft will not have a 64-bit corporate mail platform for about 2 more years. I know that Microsoft is sometimes an easy target, but it is true that the blame doesn't lie with them. To their credit they could only move their CISC-based software and OS to 64-bit when the processors would support 64-bit.
Since Microsoft's direction is 64-bit in 2005, I'm happy to say that we have been ahead of the Microsoft curve for nearly a decade by going with IBM! That's one good thing when dealing with a company that not only produces the software but the hardware and processors.
Friday, April 29, 2005
Interesting Quote About Priest Scandal
I try to keep this blog free from "personal" things like Religion or politics, but I stumbled across this quote in some reading I was doing a couple of years ago. With all the focus now on the new pope, I thought it would be good to share it. This, by the way, should be one of the first things this new pope should resolve. You don't just slap a cardinal on the wrist and then invite him to speak at a funeral mass and expect people to take you seriously... Anyway, here's the quote:
"The bishops have forbidden marriage and burdened the godly estate of priests with perpetual celibacy... With this, they have given the occasion for all kinds of horrible, enormous, innumerable sins of unchastity. They are still stuck in these things."
Some people could read that and think that it's from a 21st Century American speaking of the pedophile priests we seem to have more of than other countries. However, that quote is from:
Article 11 of Martin Luther's The Schmalkald Articles from 1538!
Like Forrest Gump said "That's all I have to say about that."
"The bishops have forbidden marriage and burdened the godly estate of priests with perpetual celibacy... With this, they have given the occasion for all kinds of horrible, enormous, innumerable sins of unchastity. They are still stuck in these things."
Some people could read that and think that it's from a 21st Century American speaking of the pedophile priests we seem to have more of than other countries. However, that quote is from:
Article 11 of Martin Luther's The Schmalkald Articles from 1538!
Like Forrest Gump said "That's all I have to say about that."
Thursday, April 28, 2005
The life of tech support
Do people just not believe Tech Support staff?
I got a voice mail this morning from a Palm PDA user. He was thinking of switching to a BlackBerry to have a single device. He asked if we could sync his Palm data (using Palm Desktop) with the BB. I left him a voice mail stating that we could do some importing/exporting but that he would have to use Lotus Notes to sync with the BB. He sent me the following e-mail:
> > I may not want to use a Blackberry after what you told me about
> > syncing to Lotus - I do not like nor want to use Lotus with my pda.
> > My current pda, a Sony Clie, is working beautifully with palm
> > software, which I greatly prefer to Lotus; also I cannot sync on
> > weekends to Lotus, so that's not an option.
> > Does the BB software not have a similar desktop program like Palm
> > software I can use and sync to even away from the LAN ?
To that I replied:
>> Blackberry can only sync to either MS Outlook or Lotus Notes. It
>> doesn't have it's own desktop application. It sounds like you may do
>> best to stick to the Palm platform.
Then I get the following:
>> Do you know for a fact that it will not sync to my current Palm
>> desktop software?
The final word from me was simply:
>> It will not sync with Palm Desktop
So I believe I told him in two voice mails and two e-mails that the BB would not sync with the Palm Desktop.
I got a voice mail this morning from a Palm PDA user. He was thinking of switching to a BlackBerry to have a single device. He asked if we could sync his Palm data (using Palm Desktop) with the BB. I left him a voice mail stating that we could do some importing/exporting but that he would have to use Lotus Notes to sync with the BB. He sent me the following e-mail:
> > I may not want to use a Blackberry after what you told me about
> > syncing to Lotus - I do not like nor want to use Lotus with my pda.
> > My current pda, a Sony Clie, is working beautifully with palm
> > software, which I greatly prefer to Lotus; also I cannot sync on
> > weekends to Lotus, so that's not an option.
> > Does the BB software not have a similar desktop program like Palm
> > software I can use and sync to even away from the LAN ?
To that I replied:
>> Blackberry can only sync to either MS Outlook or Lotus Notes. It
>> doesn't have it's own desktop application. It sounds like you may do
>> best to stick to the Palm platform.
Then I get the following:
>> Do you know for a fact that it will not sync to my current Palm
>> desktop software?
The final word from me was simply:
>> It will not sync with Palm Desktop
So I believe I told him in two voice mails and two e-mails that the BB would not sync with the Palm Desktop.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Linguistic Profile
Your Linguistic Profile: |
55% General American English |
40% Dixie |
5% Yankee |
0% Midwestern |
0% Upper Midwestern |
That 5% Yankee must have come from my wife's family....
Nice Try Ms. Spammer!
Got an unsolicited e-mail today to buy iSeries disk and memory. Lovely, more junk mail. Well, this email had a footer:
"This email is in compliance with the anti-spam legislation known as the Can-Spam Act of 2003 (S.877). According to this federal legislation (which super cedes all state legislation) a commercial email is not "spam" (even if it is unsolicited) as long as it meets Federal requirements. http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/summ108.html#s877
If you wish to stop receiving our offers please reply with "remove" in the subject line. It is not our intention to inconvenience or annoy anyone. This email is intended to reach technology dealers who might profit from our offers to sell as well as our requirements to purchase."
So, I checked out the SpamLaws website to find this about the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003:
CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Pub. L. 108-187, S. 877)
"The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act requires unsolicited commercial e-mail messages to be labeled (though not by a standard method) and to include opt-out instructions and the sender's physical address. It prohibits the use of deceptive subject lines and false headers in such messages. The FTC is authorized (but not required) to establish a "do-not-email" registry. State laws that require labels on unsolicited commercial e-mail or prohibit such messages entirely are pre-empted, although provisions merely addressing falsity and deception would remain in place. The CAN-SPAM Act took effect on January 1, 2004."
Note the section I bolded above. I'm sorry Amy at Workstation Hardware Services, but your spam is not "in compliance with the anti-spam legislation" because you did not provide your physical address. I will be telling her this in my reply to opt-out.
"This email is in compliance with the anti-spam legislation known as the Can-Spam Act of 2003 (S.877). According to this federal legislation (which super cedes all state legislation) a commercial email is not "spam" (even if it is unsolicited) as long as it meets Federal requirements. http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/summ108.html#s877
If you wish to stop receiving our offers please reply with "remove" in the subject line. It is not our intention to inconvenience or annoy anyone. This email is intended to reach technology dealers who might profit from our offers to sell as well as our requirements to purchase."
So, I checked out the SpamLaws website to find this about the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003:
CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Pub. L. 108-187, S. 877)
"The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act requires unsolicited commercial e-mail messages to be labeled (though not by a standard method) and to include opt-out instructions and the sender's physical address. It prohibits the use of deceptive subject lines and false headers in such messages. The FTC is authorized (but not required) to establish a "do-not-email" registry. State laws that require labels on unsolicited commercial e-mail or prohibit such messages entirely are pre-empted, although provisions merely addressing falsity and deception would remain in place. The CAN-SPAM Act took effect on January 1, 2004."
Note the section I bolded above. I'm sorry Amy at Workstation Hardware Services, but your spam is not "in compliance with the anti-spam legislation" because you did not provide your physical address. I will be telling her this in my reply to opt-out.
Monday, April 18, 2005
One Month To Go!
Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
For those who don't know, exactly one month from today the final chapter of the Star Wars saga will be released in theaters. If you're completely in a fog, go here for trailers.
I wasn't yet born when Episode IV was released, but by the time Episode VI was released I was at the ripe age to want all of the Star Wars toys. I believe I still have a lot of the action figures and some other items at my parents' house. Though there are a couple of items I really wish I still had - like the Millenium Falcon!
According to Lucas, this will indeed be the final chapter. Although there are rumors that he may release all 6 of the films in 3-D around 2007. This final chapter is purported to be "Titanic in space" and is supposed to be a tearjerker at some points. If you're a follower, you know that many things must take place in this film: the betrayal of Obi-Wan by Anakin, Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader, Anakin and Padme being separated and Padme's loss of their twins because they must be placed into hiding.
From some of the spoilers, story boards, and/or screen shots of the film I have found online, this movie will be very intense and it will be the first episode to be rated PG-13.
Let the countdown begin...
For those who don't know, exactly one month from today the final chapter of the Star Wars saga will be released in theaters. If you're completely in a fog, go here for trailers.
I wasn't yet born when Episode IV was released, but by the time Episode VI was released I was at the ripe age to want all of the Star Wars toys. I believe I still have a lot of the action figures and some other items at my parents' house. Though there are a couple of items I really wish I still had - like the Millenium Falcon!
According to Lucas, this will indeed be the final chapter. Although there are rumors that he may release all 6 of the films in 3-D around 2007. This final chapter is purported to be "Titanic in space" and is supposed to be a tearjerker at some points. If you're a follower, you know that many things must take place in this film: the betrayal of Obi-Wan by Anakin, Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader, Anakin and Padme being separated and Padme's loss of their twins because they must be placed into hiding.
From some of the spoilers, story boards, and/or screen shots of the film I have found online, this movie will be very intense and it will be the first episode to be rated PG-13.
Let the countdown begin...
Thursday, April 14, 2005
DWA Bug With Domino 6.5.4
I just found a bug in 6.5.4 Domino Web Access (DWA). One of our PC techs noticed that setting DWA to be the default mail client wasn't working. I called in to Lotus support today and got the following response after the technician researched:
"I have determined that the problem seems to lie with the 6.5.4 versions ActiveX Control. I am creating an SPR (Software Problem Report) to alert development to this issue and adding your PMR to the SPR."
I guess this will probably be addressed in 6.5.5, though it is too early to tell if it will be included in a hotfix or fixpack.
"I have determined that the problem seems to lie with the 6.5.4 versions ActiveX Control. I am creating an SPR (Software Problem Report) to alert development to this issue and adding your PMR to the SPR."
I guess this will probably be addressed in 6.5.5, though it is too early to tell if it will be included in a hotfix or fixpack.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
When A Coworker Is Out
Well, here's what some people in my office decided to do for a coworker who was out this week (sorry Dale...):
Saturday, April 9, 2005
Upgraded Production Servers to 6.5.4
Last night I upgraded my production Domino servers to Notes/Domino Release 6.5.4. I blogged about this release the other day after having upgraded my client (and about 20 others) to Notes 6.5.4 and upgrading my cluster and archive servers (on iSeries and Linux, respectively).
I upgraded my Blackberry Domino server (Windows 2000 Server) to 6.5.4. This upgrade went without a problem.
Then I upgraded my production mail, application and Lotus Instant Messaging servers (all running on a single iSeries) from Domino 6.5.3FP1 to Domino 6.5.4. The only problem after coming back up was that the IM integration with Domino Web Access would not work. I was receiving Domino Web Access (DWA) warnings and after restarting the DWA server with IM disabled there were no errors logging in. So, I figured there was a problem with the DWA/IM configuration from the upgrade. I called Lotus support and was informed that I would have to reinstall the IM software. Since I keep the current install files on the server, all I did was restore the licensed program. After doing so, I restarted the IM server and the DWA server with the setting changed to enable IM. The integration worked after that with no problems. Now all of our Domino servers have been upgraded to the latest release within 1 week´s time.
This was about 10:45 PM EST and the Domino for iSeries technician was extremely helpful and called me back within about 10 minutes (I was promised a call-back within 2 hours, so I was glad it was really fast). He immediately told me that there was a technote discussing the need to reinstall the Domino "Companion Products" (like Lotus Team Workplace and Lotus IM & Web Conferencing) when upgrading the Domino release. I've never had to do this before, but it worked. However, I told him that the release notes should state this. The release notes did mention needing a hotfix to make Team Workplace 6.5.1 work with Domino 6.5.4, but there was no mention of having to do anything for IM.
Regardless, the technician's solution to just reinstall the code (taking about 5 minutes) worked. However, while I was on the phone he was unable to even find the technote. I asked him to forward that to me when he does find it. If it's public I will post a blog link to it.
Oh, the mail server did crash when I brought it up the first time. The call stack from the NSD (crash log) showed that it was on the IMAP task. So I quickly removed the task from the Notes.ini file and the server started up well on it's on. When I reloaded the IMAP task the server hasn't crashed since. I'll chalk that up as a little install glitch unless it crashes again from IMAP.
I upgraded my Blackberry Domino server (Windows 2000 Server) to 6.5.4. This upgrade went without a problem.
Then I upgraded my production mail, application and Lotus Instant Messaging servers (all running on a single iSeries) from Domino 6.5.3FP1 to Domino 6.5.4. The only problem after coming back up was that the IM integration with Domino Web Access would not work. I was receiving Domino Web Access (DWA) warnings and after restarting the DWA server with IM disabled there were no errors logging in. So, I figured there was a problem with the DWA/IM configuration from the upgrade. I called Lotus support and was informed that I would have to reinstall the IM software. Since I keep the current install files on the server, all I did was restore the licensed program. After doing so, I restarted the IM server and the DWA server with the setting changed to enable IM. The integration worked after that with no problems. Now all of our Domino servers have been upgraded to the latest release within 1 week´s time.
This was about 10:45 PM EST and the Domino for iSeries technician was extremely helpful and called me back within about 10 minutes (I was promised a call-back within 2 hours, so I was glad it was really fast). He immediately told me that there was a technote discussing the need to reinstall the Domino "Companion Products" (like Lotus Team Workplace and Lotus IM & Web Conferencing) when upgrading the Domino release. I've never had to do this before, but it worked. However, I told him that the release notes should state this. The release notes did mention needing a hotfix to make Team Workplace 6.5.1 work with Domino 6.5.4, but there was no mention of having to do anything for IM.
Regardless, the technician's solution to just reinstall the code (taking about 5 minutes) worked. However, while I was on the phone he was unable to even find the technote. I asked him to forward that to me when he does find it. If it's public I will post a blog link to it.
Oh, the mail server did crash when I brought it up the first time. The call stack from the NSD (crash log) showed that it was on the IMAP task. So I quickly removed the task from the Notes.ini file and the server started up well on it's on. When I reloaded the IMAP task the server hasn't crashed since. I'll chalk that up as a little install glitch unless it crashes again from IMAP.
Friday, April 8, 2005
Importing Data for Notes Project
Working on a project now to replace a 3rd-party application with a Lotus Notes database. My coworker built the database and we're working on the import of old data into Notes. The backend for the old app is MS Access. So this is good because I can dump that data into Excel. Then I have to match up the column headers with the proper Notes field names and run an Excel function to calculate some of the other fields. After getting that prep work done I have to save it as a Lotus 1-2-3 WK4 file. It's not a painless process!
Thankfully we only have to import 19 of the 121 Access tables! I've been doing a lot of work up front testing before we get the final refresh of the data. There are two categories of data. One has about 1200 records and the other has about 5400 records. Some of the tables are joined, so for the 5400 records there are over 32000 records associated with those that are in another table. Looks like I just got the main 5400 records imported. But it's 5:00 on Friday and I'm going to have to resume this on Monday.
Until then I will be upgrading our Mail Server, Application Server, and IM Server (all 3 on one iSeries) to Domino 6.5.4. It was painless on my cluster box, so I'm looking forward to a quick upgrade.
Thankfully we only have to import 19 of the 121 Access tables! I've been doing a lot of work up front testing before we get the final refresh of the data. There are two categories of data. One has about 1200 records and the other has about 5400 records. Some of the tables are joined, so for the 5400 records there are over 32000 records associated with those that are in another table. Looks like I just got the main 5400 records imported. But it's 5:00 on Friday and I'm going to have to resume this on Monday.
Until then I will be upgrading our Mail Server, Application Server, and IM Server (all 3 on one iSeries) to Domino 6.5.4. It was painless on my cluster box, so I'm looking forward to a quick upgrade.
Wednesday, April 6, 2005
Lotus Notes & Domino Release 6.5.4 and 6.0.5
This week IBM released version 6.5.4/6.0.5 of the Lotus Notes & Domino (LND) software. For those of you who are not familiar with LND, this is one of the most versatile software products in existence. For instance, you can run the server on 8 different server platforms (AIX, Linux for Intel, Linux for zSeries, Solaris/Sparc, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows 2003, or iSeries). LND is the world's leading e-mail platform right above Microsoft Exchange. One thing to note is that LND can STILL run on Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000. However, the latest version of Microsoft Exchange can ONLY run on Microsoft Windows 2003. But LND is not limited to running in a 32-bit Windows environment, the other platforms allow companies to host their e-mail on the latest 64-bit Operating Systems. This will suffice for my raving about the Domino server's usability for now.
Regarding the latest release - LND 6.5.4 and 6.0.5, IBM really listened to her customers with improvements to the client and server. Use the following links to view the full Release Notes:
Lotus Notes/Domino 6.0.5
Lotus Notes/Domino 6.5.4
One thorn in IBM's side for years has been HTML-formatted e-mail support. They have stepped up to the plate and made numerous improvements to the way the Notes Client handles HTML e-mail. For a list of these, see this fix list. I have noticed immediate results with these fixes. Oh, and for backwards-compatibility's sake, IBM allows users to turn this setting off via a client Notes.ini setting: "Use60HTMLCode=1".
One other improvement was general improvements for Domino Web Access performance. First of all, they have reduced the minimum Windows system requirements by 50% (you can now use a 400Mhz/128MB RAM PC). They cite an over 40% performance improvement. Secondly a new "lightweight UI" is available for DWA users: "By removing as many GIF images as possible from the default skin, the differences in the resulting lightweight skin are mainly cosmetic and only slightly less esthetically pleasing to the discerning user." I have tested these improvements and I have seen that on a 500MHz PC wtih 192MB RAM that I get the same performance from my cluster DWA server running 6.5.4 (iSeries 270 2-way) as that of my production DWA server still running 6.5.3FP1 (iSeries 820 4-way). I am anxious to see the improvements when I can load 6.5.4 on my production server!
For those of you who would still prefer to use MS Outlook, IBM has made some enhancements to Domino Access for Microsoft Outlook (DAMO). According to Ed Brill the enhancements to DAMO are significant enough that at least a dozen pilot customers trust DAMO enough to use it for production. I tested DAMO back in versions 5.0.11 and 6.0.0. I definitely did not feel that it was production-ready then and IBM even told me that it was just meant to be a catalyst to move users from Outlook to Notes.
Some other enhancements I have seen include many Instant Messaging fixes My favorites are the ones that will retain the last-used state. (Here and here...).
I am really looking forward to the release of LND Version 7.0 later this year (hopefully). Mega dittos to IBM for listening to us customers and continuing to support this platform!
Regarding the latest release - LND 6.5.4 and 6.0.5, IBM really listened to her customers with improvements to the client and server. Use the following links to view the full Release Notes:
Lotus Notes/Domino 6.0.5
Lotus Notes/Domino 6.5.4
One thorn in IBM's side for years has been HTML-formatted e-mail support. They have stepped up to the plate and made numerous improvements to the way the Notes Client handles HTML e-mail. For a list of these, see this fix list. I have noticed immediate results with these fixes. Oh, and for backwards-compatibility's sake, IBM allows users to turn this setting off via a client Notes.ini setting: "Use60HTMLCode=1".
One other improvement was general improvements for Domino Web Access performance. First of all, they have reduced the minimum Windows system requirements by 50% (you can now use a 400Mhz/128MB RAM PC). They cite an over 40% performance improvement. Secondly a new "lightweight UI" is available for DWA users: "By removing as many GIF images as possible from the default skin, the differences in the resulting lightweight skin are mainly cosmetic and only slightly less esthetically pleasing to the discerning user." I have tested these improvements and I have seen that on a 500MHz PC wtih 192MB RAM that I get the same performance from my cluster DWA server running 6.5.4 (iSeries 270 2-way) as that of my production DWA server still running 6.5.3FP1 (iSeries 820 4-way). I am anxious to see the improvements when I can load 6.5.4 on my production server!
For those of you who would still prefer to use MS Outlook, IBM has made some enhancements to Domino Access for Microsoft Outlook (DAMO). According to Ed Brill the enhancements to DAMO are significant enough that at least a dozen pilot customers trust DAMO enough to use it for production. I tested DAMO back in versions 5.0.11 and 6.0.0. I definitely did not feel that it was production-ready then and IBM even told me that it was just meant to be a catalyst to move users from Outlook to Notes.
Some other enhancements I have seen include many Instant Messaging fixes My favorites are the ones that will retain the last-used state. (Here and here...).
I am really looking forward to the release of LND Version 7.0 later this year (hopefully). Mega dittos to IBM for listening to us customers and continuing to support this platform!
Friday, April 1, 2005
Nightmare Is Coming True
Well, in a turn of events late yesterday, I am now able to confirm the inevitable. My company will be making the transition to M$ Exchange. Apparently the powers that be have a desire for a few things:
1) Standardize on Microsoft OS and WIntel hardware.
2) Pay outrageous fees to upgrade every few years.
3) Buy multiple servers to perform the same tasks that one iSeries can do with just a couple of Lotus products loaded.
4) Retrain our Lotus dev team to code in .Not.
5) Open security holes with the Outlook client.
6) Trade in stable systems for systems that cause many nightmares.
7) Force VPs to be without their mail because we have to restore Joe Schmoe's mail file because he deleted everything.
Not sure what's going on, but we are being assimilated...
1) Standardize on Microsoft OS and WIntel hardware.
2) Pay outrageous fees to upgrade every few years.
3) Buy multiple servers to perform the same tasks that one iSeries can do with just a couple of Lotus products loaded.
4) Retrain our Lotus dev team to code in .Not.
5) Open security holes with the Outlook client.
6) Trade in stable systems for systems that cause many nightmares.
7) Force VPs to be without their mail because we have to restore Joe Schmoe's mail file because he deleted everything.
Not sure what's going on, but we are being assimilated...
Friday, March 25, 2005
BlackBerry 7100G
It's nice to be the BES Administrator sometimes - especially when that means getting a new BlackBerry to "test". I just acquired the Blackberry 7100G yesterday. I upgraded from the BlackBerry 7280.
Other than the aesthetic overhaul (the 7100G is a nice-looking SmartPhone), the major differences between the two are: screen type, GUI, bluetooth, polyphonic support, and keyboard layout. There are pros and cons with each, so let's go through what I've seen so far.
Screen Type
While both screens support "over 65,000 colors" (65,536 = 64k), the new LCD screen on the 7100G is much more clear than the "color reflective display technology" used on the 7280. The 7100G also has a better/brighter backlight than the 7280. While the LCD screen is far superior, it can have drawbacks (partly due to having the glossy plastic cover). The main drawback is glare in the sun or other bright lights. If I can say one good thing about the 7280 it was that the screen was very readable in the sun. Also, the 7100G's screen is laid out in portrait instead of landscape like its predecessors.
GUI
The 7100G also has a text-based, menu-driven GUI as opposed to the icon menus on the 7280. There is software available for those who would prefer the icons. I am indifferent to either GUI, so this is not a problem for me.
Bluetooth
The 7100G is the second-generation Bluetooth device from BlackBerry (the first being the 7290). While this is a wonderful enhancement to allow you to use a wireless headset, the drawback is that its only use is for a headset. With polyphonic support it would have been nice to see software to allow you to send midis/ADPCM files via Bluetooth.
Polyphonic Support
This is one of the best features of the 7100G - actually having decent ringtones! The ringtones on the 7280 sounded harsh and Atari-like. While polyphonic midis are great, there is the ability to add ADPCM (MP3-like) tones to the phone as well.
Keyboard Layout
While the 7100G still has a QWERTY keyboard, it is now using BlackBerry's Suretype technology. It is somewhat like the T9 predictive text used by other mobile phones. This is the first qualm that people have when they see the 7100G - "That keypad is strange, I don't like it." Well, after using it some, it is not really difficult to work with. I actually rather like it - having two letters on most of the keys is great because it allows the phone to be slimmer and makes thumb-typing drastically easier than on previous BlackBerries. Speaking of that, now that the phone is slimmer it doesn't feel like you're holding a calculator to your head when talking on it.
Misc.
Other than that, there are some other nice features. Most of the minor enhancements have revolved around making the BlackBerry a better phone. They have actually added "place call" and "hangup" buttons. This is great because on the previous phones you would have to click the scroll wheel to answer (sometimes causing you to scroll down to "Ignore" before clicking - thus dropping the call!). There is also a speakerphone option that can come in handy. One strange option is the standby mode. After the backlight shuts down the screen just turns off. This is good for the battery, but it's just a strange quirk with the device.
Overall, I really like what BlackBerry has done with the 7100G. I have even noticed better phone reception when driving along a stretch of road on which my 7280 would lose the signal completely.
Other than the aesthetic overhaul (the 7100G is a nice-looking SmartPhone), the major differences between the two are: screen type, GUI, bluetooth, polyphonic support, and keyboard layout. There are pros and cons with each, so let's go through what I've seen so far.
Screen Type
While both screens support "over 65,000 colors" (65,536 = 64k), the new LCD screen on the 7100G is much more clear than the "color reflective display technology" used on the 7280. The 7100G also has a better/brighter backlight than the 7280. While the LCD screen is far superior, it can have drawbacks (partly due to having the glossy plastic cover). The main drawback is glare in the sun or other bright lights. If I can say one good thing about the 7280 it was that the screen was very readable in the sun. Also, the 7100G's screen is laid out in portrait instead of landscape like its predecessors.
GUI
The 7100G also has a text-based, menu-driven GUI as opposed to the icon menus on the 7280. There is software available for those who would prefer the icons. I am indifferent to either GUI, so this is not a problem for me.
Bluetooth
The 7100G is the second-generation Bluetooth device from BlackBerry (the first being the 7290). While this is a wonderful enhancement to allow you to use a wireless headset, the drawback is that its only use is for a headset. With polyphonic support it would have been nice to see software to allow you to send midis/ADPCM files via Bluetooth.
Polyphonic Support
This is one of the best features of the 7100G - actually having decent ringtones! The ringtones on the 7280 sounded harsh and Atari-like. While polyphonic midis are great, there is the ability to add ADPCM (MP3-like) tones to the phone as well.
Keyboard Layout
While the 7100G still has a QWERTY keyboard, it is now using BlackBerry's Suretype technology. It is somewhat like the T9 predictive text used by other mobile phones. This is the first qualm that people have when they see the 7100G - "That keypad is strange, I don't like it." Well, after using it some, it is not really difficult to work with. I actually rather like it - having two letters on most of the keys is great because it allows the phone to be slimmer and makes thumb-typing drastically easier than on previous BlackBerries. Speaking of that, now that the phone is slimmer it doesn't feel like you're holding a calculator to your head when talking on it.
Misc.
Other than that, there are some other nice features. Most of the minor enhancements have revolved around making the BlackBerry a better phone. They have actually added "place call" and "hangup" buttons. This is great because on the previous phones you would have to click the scroll wheel to answer (sometimes causing you to scroll down to "Ignore" before clicking - thus dropping the call!). There is also a speakerphone option that can come in handy. One strange option is the standby mode. After the backlight shuts down the screen just turns off. This is good for the battery, but it's just a strange quirk with the device.
Overall, I really like what BlackBerry has done with the 7100G. I have even noticed better phone reception when driving along a stretch of road on which my 7280 would lose the signal completely.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
How Much Better Is Dyson?
We've had our Dyson for a couple of months and I always have people ask me if it is worth the money. Up until today I had never performed a side-by-side test with our Hoover Wind Tunnel V2. It's a couple of years old and it was a little over $200 when we bought it. So, it's not a shabby vacuum at all. It also has the "powered hand tool" that spins a brush which is useful for getting animal hair up (we have two cats). This worked pretty good, but it was nowhere near the effectiveness of the normal Dyson attachment meant for upholstery. There is no reason for us to buy the Dyson rotating hand tool.
The Test
We have a bonus room over the garage that we have never used the Dyson in. I decided to use our Hoover and then try the Dyson. We have an almost brand new filter in the Hoover and the bagless collection area was nearly clean when I performed this test. The Dyson's collection chamber was completely cleaned out. Notice the amount of fur/dirt it picked up after vacuuming with the Hoover - and the floor looked clean after using the Hoover!
Results With Hoover
Results With Dyson
The Test
We have a bonus room over the garage that we have never used the Dyson in. I decided to use our Hoover and then try the Dyson. We have an almost brand new filter in the Hoover and the bagless collection area was nearly clean when I performed this test. The Dyson's collection chamber was completely cleaned out. Notice the amount of fur/dirt it picked up after vacuuming with the Hoover - and the floor looked clean after using the Hoover!
Results With Hoover
Results With Dyson
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
IBM In Cahoots With Dyson
Maybe we all remember the image at DominoZone about IBM and Teletubbies:
When I was vacuuming last night with my Yellow Dyson (GREAT vacuum by the way!!!) I recalled that there are nearly as many Dyson colors as IBM brands, so I whipped up the following graphic in MS Paint - need I say more?
When I was vacuuming last night with my Yellow Dyson (GREAT vacuum by the way!!!) I recalled that there are nearly as many Dyson colors as IBM brands, so I whipped up the following graphic in MS Paint - need I say more?
Tuesday, March 8, 2005
They're Back!!
I had some time last night to search around some Christian music sites, and I found out some awesome information. Three of my favorite bands from high school and college appear to be making a comeback.
Holy Soldier
I still listen to all these bands, but Holy Soldier definitely gets more playtime currently. Check out HolySoldierFan.com for some info as well as a bulletin board (are they still called that?). On that site one gets the following info: "Plans are in the works for a Holy Soldier Reunion, with a reunion/benefit show on the horizon, and possibly even a new record! Keep the guys in your prayers and let's talk it up!"
From what I've read, the reunion will be with the original 5 members. While I love the newer album with Eric Wayne on vocals, Steven Patrick was an awesome metal vocalist and needs to be heard again.
Holy Soldier official site
Guardian
It also appears that Guardian may be doing some touring and possibly a new album. Here are some quotes from an interview with vocalist Jamie Rowe from December 2004.
"Guardian is planning to reunite for some studio work. Nothing live is planned at this point, but you never know. Everyone, including myself, has their own things going so it would have to fit in somewhere...We are throwing around ideas right now. But I think Velvet Revolver would be a good gauge. We are doing it with John and Dino Elefante through their 3.1 productions company"
Whitecross
Yes, the Christian version of Ratt may also be making a comeback. After some differences, guitarist Rex Carroll and vocalist Scott Wenzel are talking again. From an interview this year we find out that they are hoping to do some touring an a studio album.
Scott Wenzell had the following to say:
"In December (2004) Rex sent me a CD of some unbelievable music that we are going to record as a new White Cross album! Pray for me as I am starting to write lyrics now. The style of music is in the vein of "Hammer And Nail" with a more modern, hard-edged sound."
In a press release on their Official Site we read: "Whitecross will perform a few selected live dates in 2005 as well as begin working on a new full length Whitecross album featuring both Rex Carroll and Scott Wenzel."
What a year this will be - it's like I'm in high school again!
Holy Soldier
I still listen to all these bands, but Holy Soldier definitely gets more playtime currently. Check out HolySoldierFan.com for some info as well as a bulletin board (are they still called that?). On that site one gets the following info: "Plans are in the works for a Holy Soldier Reunion, with a reunion/benefit show on the horizon, and possibly even a new record! Keep the guys in your prayers and let's talk it up!"
From what I've read, the reunion will be with the original 5 members. While I love the newer album with Eric Wayne on vocals, Steven Patrick was an awesome metal vocalist and needs to be heard again.
Holy Soldier official site
Guardian
It also appears that Guardian may be doing some touring and possibly a new album. Here are some quotes from an interview with vocalist Jamie Rowe from December 2004.
"Guardian is planning to reunite for some studio work. Nothing live is planned at this point, but you never know. Everyone, including myself, has their own things going so it would have to fit in somewhere...We are throwing around ideas right now. But I think Velvet Revolver would be a good gauge. We are doing it with John and Dino Elefante through their 3.1 productions company"
Whitecross
Yes, the Christian version of Ratt may also be making a comeback. After some differences, guitarist Rex Carroll and vocalist Scott Wenzel are talking again. From an interview this year we find out that they are hoping to do some touring an a studio album.
Scott Wenzell had the following to say:
"In December (2004) Rex sent me a CD of some unbelievable music that we are going to record as a new White Cross album! Pray for me as I am starting to write lyrics now. The style of music is in the vein of "Hammer And Nail" with a more modern, hard-edged sound."
In a press release on their Official Site we read: "Whitecross will perform a few selected live dates in 2005 as well as begin working on a new full length Whitecross album featuring both Rex Carroll and Scott Wenzel."
What a year this will be - it's like I'm in high school again!
Saturday, March 5, 2005
OS/2 Still Around
OS/2, an IBM-proprietary operating system first released in 1987, is still being widely used. A ComputerWorld article relates to us that Wells Fargo has just completed the replacement of their OS/2-based ATMs with a Windows-based platform. A Gartner analyst states that this move will "not great news for the security of the system. I'm sure there's a lot of holes that will be created because of this."
I recall that last year we had some major power outages in my town. If you happened to drive up to an ATM that was restarting you could actually see the OS/2 startup screen. Also, at my company we still run some core applications on OS/2 machines. It's a really stable operating system and one can see why the banking industry would choose to run it for all these years. Only problem is that it's a royal pain to get support from IBM...
I recall that last year we had some major power outages in my town. If you happened to drive up to an ATM that was restarting you could actually see the OS/2 startup screen. Also, at my company we still run some core applications on OS/2 machines. It's a really stable operating system and one can see why the banking industry would choose to run it for all these years. Only problem is that it's a royal pain to get support from IBM...
Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Best Lotus Notes Error Message So Far...
I'm not joking - we actually had this error message in Lotus Notes yesterday.
The error actually has something to do with sending an email from another Windows application as an email when using Notes as the default mail client.
The error actually has something to do with sending an email from another Windows application as an email when using Notes as the default mail client.
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