Lotus Domino 6 Enterprise Server
IBM's Lotus Domino 6 Enterprise Server and Lotus Notes 6 is an impressive collaboration product that is packed with features and now a lot easier to administer and use as a client.
We had a specialist from IBM install the Lotus Domino server component on Windows 2000 Server SP3. Lotus Domino Server was installed on a Xenon machine with an Intel Pentium 4 3.0Ghz processor and 1GB of RAM. We also supplied two of our own servers to install QuickPlace and Sametime. QuickPlace was installed on an Acer Xeon-based server with 1GB of RAM and Sametime was installed on an Acer Dual Pentium III with 1GB of RAM.
The reason for using three servers is in fact for architectural reasons and not performance issues. QuickPlace and Sametime currently run on specific versions of Lotus Domino V5, so they won't work on Lotus Domino 6 server (IBM told us these products will run on Lotus Domino 6 in the coming months). Also QuickPlace and Sametime should not run on the same box. They can be bunged together, but this is not usual practice and the administration guides tell you to run these products on separate servers. The key point here is that the products are architected in this way because in the real world you would run these products separately to maximise scalability and resiliency. We also plugged each of these servers to a D-Link Fast Ethernet switch and connected two client PCs up to the switch. The installation went quite smoothly and we were able to get everything working with the latest service packs in a bit over one hour.
One of the great features of Lotus Domino is the Administrator tool. It allows you to create and manage people, groups, and servers. You can establish and maintain standard settings and configurations and create policies so you can automate redundant administrative tasks. For example you can create and modify the set of rules that define how documents are archived. You can create policies to dynamically update the desktop settings and configurations of users. It can track the number of Lotus Notes users you have as well as the number of client licenses you have. The Administrator tool however did appear a little cluttered. There are quite a few tabs that run horizontally and icons that run vertically, which can make you feel a bit lost.
The sign-on process has come a long way. You can theoretically only have to sign in once and be able to access multiple resources. In other words you should be able to log into Windows and then be able to access Notes or iNotes. And when you change your Windows password, Domino will be able to synchronise and change your other passwords.
The Lotus Notes 6 client is available for most versions of Windows. However, it's not available for Windows Server 2003, nor will Lotus Notes R5 client and Lotus Domino R5 server run on Windows Server 2003. IBM indicated to us that support for Windows 2003 would begin in Lotus Domino versions 6.0.3 and 6.5.
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The mail has been enhanced to include several new features like being able to drag and drop files to and from your desktop. Another useful view feature is the Auto Inbox Refresh. This enables Notes to check for new mail by automatically refreshing your inbox.
With Calendar and Scheduling, you can customise the colours of your calendar and choose from the many different daily, weekly, and monthly views. You can also assign someone like your PA to have full access of your calendar so they can create notifications for you.
Lotus Domino now offers a new network compression feature that reduces the amount of data exchanged between Lotus Notes clients and Lotus Domino servers. This feature would significantly reduce the traffic on your network or over a slow WAN or dialup link. What the compression feature actually does is compress data at the source, transmit the data to the destination, then uncompress it at the destination.
Lotus Domino has a streaming feature that speeds up replication. For example, smaller documents are replicated first so users can begin working with these documents while larger documents are still replicating. Users can also define locations for example home or office and can configure the replication settings for specific locations.
Lotus Domino also allows for you to read your e-mail online by using iNotes, which is designed for Web-based users. Since the user settings are stored on the server, you will be able have access to all your e-mails and all the features of the standard Notes online.
Lotus Domino also gives you the ability to lock and unlock files. Users are now able to lock files preventing others with the same access from modifying them. The general performance of Lotus Domino has also improved now that it makes use of multitasking by allowing the user to do other things while Lotus Domino is checking for new e-mail, replicating, or running background applications.
QuickPlace
QuickPlace is an application that allows you to create a team workspace so users that are apart of the team can share information. QuickPlace has to be installed onto a server by an administrator. Users can then create their own team workspace.
QuickPlace features a discussion area where users can post messages that can be viewed by all the other users in the same workspace. Users can then reply to messages as well as edit messages.
There is a calendar, which allows you to view scheduled meetings, for example. There is also a workspace that allows you to publish certain tasks that you would like completed by users that are a part of the workspace. You can also view a list of members who are a part of your workspace. QuickPlace features a search function that allows you to quickly find information in any workspace that you may be a member of.
Users can also customise their workspace. QuickPlace will allow you to decorate the way you want your place to look like. You can choose from a myriad of visual themes and you can set the background colours, textures, and fonts and you can create your own custom themes if you want. You can also show and hide various items, create custom forms for your workspace, and even extend your place by creating private spaces for selected members to work in.
Another feature of QuickPlace is that it allows team members to take information with them offline after they disconnect from the network.
Sametime
We didn't have much time to test Sametime this issue. We can basically tell you that Sametime is an instant messaging and Web conferencing solution. It includes three components: the Sametime server, Sametime client, and developer toolkits. The server provides the platform for managing the flow of information between all the clients. Users run the client software to message other clients through instant messaging and the developer toolkits give you the ability to embed real-time collaboration into Web and Windows-based applications.
There are three other additional components you can buy to expand the capabilities of Sametime. With Sametime Everyplace, you will be able to send instant messages to Sametime users with mobile phones and wireless PDAs. Check out the May issue of Technology & Business if you would like to learn more about e-mail to mobile and Everyplace. Sametime IM Gateway will let you connect to other instant messaging communities, while Enterprise Meeting Server will allow you to host and administer enterprise-wide Web conference environments.
| Product: | Lotus Domino 6 Enterprise Server |
| Price: | Domino Enterprise Server AU$5395 per CPU, Notes Desktop Client $228. See Pricing and support table on page 82 for more details. |
| Vendor: | IBM |
| Phone: | 132 426 |
| Web: | www.ibm.com.au |
| Interoperability: |
Excellent cross-platform support. |
| Futureproofing: |
Tightly integrated collaboration system that can grow with you. |
| ROI: |
½Excellent ROI for organisations already running Notes/ Domino. |
| Service: |
Wide range of support available. |
| Rating: |
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