Lotus Notes Traveler 8.5.3 Upgrade Pack 1 High ...

Logging in HA Environment

● Log location is local only – set in notes.ini
● All other log settings are global and should be set using tell commands.

tell traveler log level finest
tell traveler log adduser finest username
tell traveler log fields *

● Log level is always finest during startup, then switches to defined level.
● log collect, log clear, systemdump and pmr commands all run locally, use

-s to run on other servers.

tell traveler -s * systemdump
tell traveler -s * pmr 12345,999,744
tell traveler -s myserver/myco log collect

● For complete list of options:

tell traveler log help

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Traveler Server Status

● Traveler Server Status can be green, yellow, or red.
● Thresholds are configurable (see NTS_STATUS_* properties) in doc.
● Status conditions include:

­ Java and native memory
­ CPU utilization
­ Threads
­ Error counts
­ DB errors and connections
­ IPC delays
­ Disk free space
­ SSL certificate expiration (Traveler server not HTTP)
­ Logging set on FINEST

© 2012 IBM Corporation

Availability Index

● Availability Index (AI) used by Traveler servers in the pool to balance
load.

● The AI range can be from 100 to -200

­ 100 to 0 Normal processing range (base AI 100)
­ 0 to -100 Traveler server is in constrained state (base AI 0)

• Constrained state is when the server recognizes it is overloaded and starts send 503 server
busy responses in attempt to recover.

­ -100 to -200 Traveler server is unavailable (base AI -100)

• Administrator has marked server as unavailable using tell command.

● The AI is computed by subtracting the larger of the memory usage and
CPU usage from the Base AI.

­ Native memory is the percentage of Native memory use vs physical memory
­ Average CPU percentage over last 15 minutes.

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Isolating a Server or User in a Pool

● Have ability to temporarily remove a server from the pool.

­ tell traveler available on|off
­ This sets the AI to -100
­ All traffic except bound users will be off-loaded to other servers.

● Ability to bind a user to a particular server

­ tell traveler bind enable <user>
­ tell traveler bind disable <user>
­ Binds the user to this server
­ Useful for isolating a user to reproduce a problem or prevent the user from

crashing other servers.
­ Not recommended for long term usage as effectively

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Tips-

Q:- Is it mandatory to use DB2 or MS-SQL if we want to use Traveler server in HA mode ? Can
we use old “ntsdb” in HA mode with some reduced functionality ?

Ans:- You must use either DB2 or MS-SQL if you want HA mode. Traditional “ntsdb” does not
support HA mode.

Q:- If we are using Upgrade Pack 1, then it is mandatory to use HA ? & Can we use Traveler
Upgrade Pack 1 server in stand-alone mode ?

Ans:- The main intention of Upgrade Pack 1 is providing HA, however it can also work in stand-
alone mode. If you use stand-alone mode server, then you don't need use DB2 or MS-SQL

Q:- Once we migrate our data to DB2, then can we go back to old “ntsdb” if we ever want to
switch from HA to stand-alone mode ?

Ans:- Yes you can go back to old “ntsdb” if you do not want to continue in HA mode. However
Traveler server will create a fresh “ntsdb” folder rather than migrating data back from DB2 to
“ntsdb”. Use “travelerutil db remove” command to discontinue using DB2.

Q:- Can I install latest Traveler 8.5.3.3 on top of Upgrade Pack 1 ? What is difference between
them exactly ?

Ans:- Don't install Traveler 8.5.3.3 on top of Upgrade Pack 1. Traveler 8.5.3.3 is only stand-
alone mode server. Later separate Maintenance Release will provided for Upgrade Pack 1.

© 2012 IBM Corporation

Tips-

Q:- Earlier we used to run “Load Traveler -defrag” to defrag our “ntsdb” database. Now since the
database is moved to DB2, so do we still need to run this command for maintenance ?

Ans:- This command will send commands to DB2 server to “Reorg” every table in DB2 database

and thereby performing maintenance on DB2 database.

Q:- Is it must to have the DB2 server also in HA for a true HA?

Ans:- For a true HA, especially if you have large number of users, then you should ideally be
having DB2 server also in HA, so if one DB2 server fails then it can use another DB2 server.

DB2 databases are extremely reliable and normally they won't fail, so initially you can have only
single DB2 server and run it for 2-3 months and then decide if you really want to have DB2
server in HA.

Q:- Can Traveler HA work without load balancer just on DNS based failover ?

Ans:- Traveler HA must have the load balancer. It will not work just based on DNS failover. Load
balancers have ability to redirect the traffic to another host if they don't get response from a
particular host. DNS based failover can't do this.

Q:- For a true HA, is it mandatory to have to load balancers also in HA ?

Ans:- Normally there is nothing in the load balancer to fail as they just redirect the traffic and
don't keep any data with them, so load balancer will not normally fail unless there is a network or
ISP line failure. You can configure multiple load balancers if you want failover protection in them.

© 2012 IBM Corporation

Tips-

Q:- If I face any problems in connection with DB2, then how should I check the connection from
Traveler server to DB2 server ?
Ans:- You can use the command “travelerutil db check” by going to “data\traveler\util” folder from
command prompt and it will show you, if the connection to DB2 is successful.
Q:- How do I mark a particular Traveler server as “Out of Service” ?
Ans:- If you want to perform any maintenance on specific Traveler server, then you can mark it
as “Out of Service” by giving the command “Tell Traveler available off” and once you finish the
maintenance of that server, then you can bring it “In Service” by giving command “Tell Traveler
available on”.
Q:- Do we need to have additional license for DB2 server for Traveler HA configuration ?
Ans:- Each entitlement to Lotus Traveler UP1 also entitles the customer to one license of DB2
Workgroup server 9.7. The DB2 download will be available under the Lotus Traveler Upgrade
Pack listing on Passport Advantage.

© 2012 IBM Corporation