BACKGROUND
We have a scenario where we have two Domino servers - One for our internal
users, and one for our outbound users.
The external server is accessible thru the Internet, and is hosted in another location.
As an additional security measure, that server is also in a different Notes Domain.
For redundancy sake, we maintain replicas of ALL mail databases on both servers.
However, the “Person” documents for our internal users point to the mailboxes
on our internal server, and vica versa for our external users.
I would like our internal users to continue to receive messages on the external
server if the internal server becomes unavailable.
I know there are many other considerations as well (i.e. client connectivity,
routing SMTP mail to the internal server should the external server become
unavailable, etc.), but I really want to focus on this one particular issue.
ISSUE
If the internal server becomes unavailable, mail received by the external
server bound for internal users is held in the server’s mail.box (because it
cannot on-route it to the user’s mail server).
Those messages, rather than being delivered to the user’s mail database replica
on the external server, sit in “limbo” on the external server until it can
finally re-establish connectivity with the internal server.
Keep in mind that these two servers are NOT clustered.
SOLUTION?
I wonder if anyone has developed a solution to this predicament?
The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is to create an agent in
the Dom Dir which you can run against selected “Person” documents (presumably,
you would select all users whose mail server is the internal server). That
agent would…
… Set the value of a hidden field to the value of the current mail server; then
… Set the value of the mail server to the external server
The second agent, to be executed once the internal server was once again
available, would essentially reverse that operation by…
… Identifying all “Person” documents which contain the unique hidden field; then
… Set the value of the mail server to the internal server; and finally
… Remove the hidden field
Has anyone developed anything a little more elegant/automated?
Have I missed something that already exists?
IDEALLY…
What would be GREAT would be to have (in the “Person” documents) both "Primary
mail server/filename" and “Secondary mail server/filename” fields.
That’s probably “pie in the sky” kinda stuff, but thought I’d voice my opinion
here.
Cheers!
Terry.