Notes on the Multi-User Install method
At this time, there appears to be a bug in the R6 client install that prevents the Multi-User Install from working properly “out of the box” in a Terminal Server environment. According to several unofficial reports, this may be corrected in R6.02? This document describes how to manually correct the Notes client installation’s failures in order to allow the Multi-User Install to function as IBM/Lotus apparently intended it to in a Terminal Services/MetaFrame environment.
One thing to consider however is if this method will work for your environment. Although this method works great for a single Terminal Server install, IBM/Lotus apparently did not take into consideration how this method would affect load balanced server farms. Common and Shared data amongst all users are stored in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Lotus\Notes\Data. Some user-specific information is stored in the profile of each user at C:\Documents and Settings<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Lotus\Notes\Data. As far as I have determined this user information store is not location-configurable which means that a user may not end up with the same data if the next time they log in they are routed to a different server in the farm. This of course could be remedied by a roaming profile but considering the content of the this information store, do you really want to push this data to each server every time a user logs into a server? Perhaps someone else with more knowledge of Lotus Notes can think of a workaround for this? Or perhaps even tell me if this really matters even…
Client Installation Procedure
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As an administrator, change the server to Install Mode (Change User /Install) and begin the install process by running X:\CLIENTS\W32INTEL\SETUP.EXE from the Lotus Notes client CD.
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Accept the license agreement.
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Use the company name in the Name field instead of a person’s name so that an individual’s name does not appear on every client run by various users.
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Choose the For all users of this computer (Multi-User Install) option.
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Install the Program Files in a local directory on the server.
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Leave the default components selected (unless additional components are necessary, i.e. administrative client install).
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After completing the installation click Finish. Change the server back to Execute mode. (Change User /Execute).
DO NOT launch the Notes Client at this time!
- Edit the NOTES.INI file in the %SystemRoot% directory to look like this:
[Notes]
KitType=1
SharedDataDirectory=C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Lotus\Notes\Data\Shared
InstallType=6
- Move (Cut/Paste) the edited %SystemRoot%\NOTES.INI to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Lotus\Notes\Data. The actual destination here may vary depending on the server setup. To find the actual destination for your server, check the value of the VDIR_INI string at HKCU\Sotware\Lotus\Notes\Installer in the registry of the administrative usercode used to install the Notes client.
NOTE: Due to the manner in which the NOTES.INI is located, having a “blank” one present in the %SystemRoot% location (or any location that exists in the windows PATH statement) may cause the client to appear as if it has not been configured under certain circumstances (e.g. 3rd party integration via the C+ API).
- Enter the Registry Editor and go to HKLM\Software\Lotus\Notes. Delete any value present for the DataPath string. Change the MultiUser DWORD to 1. Repeat this for the same variables also found under HKLM\Software\Lotus\Notes\6.0. NOTE: Do not delete or modify the DataPath or MulitUser variables themselves, just their values.
Now when you log into Terminal Services/MetaFrame as a user, the client config will appear and work as if it were a Windows 2000 Professional station. The only issues remaining are how to distribute the Notes ID files and migrate the existing Lotus Notes user settings. However, being a standard Lotus Notes administration issue I’ll leave that to you the Lotus Notes Administrator.