We occasionally notice errors in the server log of our Domino servers stating Domino cannot write to its ID file or to the notes.ini. Here is an example of what we see:
05/15/2008 10:22:08 PM ERROR: Unable to access Notes.ini. Determine what application or hardware fault is preventing access. Previous cache values used
I can correlate this with BRMS backing up non-Lotus server online items. How do you configure BRMS to backup INI and ID files without locking them from Domino?
I have excluded ID files from the backups which solved the ID file errors and now I am about to exclude the INI files. I would like to have a backup of the INI.
-Kevin
Subject: BRMS setup for Domino on iSeries
How are you performing the backup now? I’m assuming that you’re manually creating either a control group or policy to back up the Domino server - BRMS has built-in support for not locking these files - and has a default control group already set up.
There are various ways to backup a Domino server; you could call the built-in control group this way:
STRBKUBRM CTLGRP(QLTSSVR) SBMJOB(*NO)
(reference: IT Infrastructure Solutions | IBM )
…or you can add an ‘Exit’ to your own control group - which is what I’m doing; the exit command is in this format:
QNOTES/SAVDOMBRM SERVER(‘’) CTLGRP(‘’)
Take a look at page 264 (all of Chapter 15) in this Redbook:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/iseries/v5r4/topic/books/sc415345.pdf
I will add - this process works - I’ve restored a Domino server during a disaster-recovery test; the Domino Server comes right up.
It’s amazing anyone uses Windows when backuing up/restoring a 400 is so darn easy!
-(added)
Just thought of something; if you’re backup up the IFS (or portions of the IFS) with the Domino Server running; you’ll want to exclude the Domino directory from the IFS backup and back up the Domino Server via one of the methods above - maybe THAT’S what’s happening to you.
Subject: RE: BRMS setup for Domino on iSeries
Thanks for the info Mark. I think we are running into the issue of the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. Our Midrange Engineer handles the backups for the OS and I manage the Domino servers. I’ll go over this stuff with him.
-Kevin