Prepare for a Riva IBM® Notes® Connection

Article ID: 906

Last updated: 12 May, 2016

System requirements and preparations include:

Supported Domino versions.
- Deciding on which server to install the Riva Connector.
Supported Notes versions.
Firewall requirements.
Prepare the Riva connection user.
Confirm connectivity from the Riva server to the Domino system.
Prepare the target user IBM (Lotus) Notes mailboxes.

Supported Domino Versions

Riva uses Web Services to connect to the Domino databases used by IBM Notes email. The web services connection is made using a specific Domino database that is installed and configured during the installation of the Riva Sync Connector for IBM® Notes®.

The Domino database on which the Riva Sync Connector is installed requires a minimum version of Domino 8.5 and fully supports Domino 9.x.

The Domino server that is hosting the Riva Sync Connector for IBM® Notes® must have the HTTP Web server component installed. This component is installed by default when you install your Domino server.

We recommend always running the latest Domino service packs, feature packs, and upgraded versions.

No changes are required to the Notes mail databases or the Domino servers on which the Notes mail databases are stored. The local Domino database on which the Riva Sync Connector is installed serves as an API gateway to access other Notes mail databases and other Domino databases running on all supported Domino platforms.

Deciding on which server to install the Riva Sync Connector

The workloads of the Riva Connector are similar to the types of workloads performed by an IBM Traveler Domino server. As a general guideline, the server sizing recommended by IBM Traveler can be used as a guide for sizing the Domino server used by the Riva Sync Connector. The following document can be used as a sizing guide where "1 device" on a Traveler server would be similar to "1 user" being synchronized by Riva.

IBM Domino Server Sizing Guide: http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSYRPW_9.0.1/capacityplanning.dita?lang=en

It is recommended that the Riva Connector for IBM® Notes® be installed on a Domino server within the same “data center” as the Domino servers hosting the Notes mail files. The connector does not need to be installed, and it is preferred not to be installed, on the actual Domino mail servers. This, of course, is is not an option for SmartCloud Notes, for which all mail files will be remote. In the following sections, "IBM Traveler" and "Riva Sync Connector" are synonymous.

From the IBM documentation:

Back-end network speed (IBM Traveler and the Riva Sync Connector have similar requirements)

The bandwidth and speed of the network connection between the IBM Traveler server and the back-end Domino mail servers impacts the response time of synchronization with mobile devices. It is recommended that back-end mail servers be co-located with the IBM Traveler server or be accessible through a high bandwidth connection. Often this means providing IBM Traveler servers in each geography around the world where you have also positioned clusters of mail servers. In general, ping response times of 50 m/s or greater between IBM Traveler and a mail server will result in significant throughput delays with sync. Having a large number of users on a slow mail server can impact the performance of other users on the server as threads spend most of their time waiting on high-latency requests with the mail servers.

For larger deployments, it is recommended that a dedicated Domino server be made available for the Riva Sync Connector.

For mid-sized or smaller deployments, an ideal candidate server would be an existing IBM Traveler Domino server. For small deployments, it is possible to install the Riva Connector on the Domino mail server.

Server sizing recommendations from the IBM documentation:

Processor capacity

IBM Traveler and the Riva Sync Connector are multi-threaded applications which make use of multiple processor cores available in modern servers. It is recommended that any IBM Traveler server be equipped with at least four processor cores. Larger installations with more than 1000 devices should be running at least eight cores. IBM Traveler makes extensive use of the processor as it converts data from Domino formats to those that are acceptable on mobile devices.

Physical memory

It is recommended that a minimum of 8GB physical memory be installed with any system using a 64-bit operating system. (The latest version of Riva requires 64-bit operating systems). If a 32-bit operating system is being used for a smaller device population, 4 GB of physical memory should be installed. For servers supporting more than 1000 devices, 16 GB is recommended. In these environments, the Maximum Java Memory allocated to the IBM Traveler server should be increased from 1 GB to 4 GB in systems where 16 GB of physical memory has been deployed on the server. If you are running a 32-bit operating system, it is not recommended to increase the maximum amount of java memory beyond the default 512MB. Higher values could cause the system to run out of memory. If you require more memory, then you should move to a 64-bit operating environment.

Sample system deployments (stand alone)

The following configurations are recommended for dedicated IBM Traveler (and Riva Sync Connector) deployments. They should be used as a general guideline, and if more specific information is required, please contact IBM Techline through your IBM Sales Representative for system sizing, or contact the Riva Success Team to set up a sizing session. Note that it is strongly recommended to choose 64-bit operating system for all deployment cases. Often the deployment population will expand rapidly beyond what was originally planned. Initially installing a 64-bit system can save a lot of rework time in the future.

Important: The following data is based on performance benchmark tests executed against version 8.5.3. This data will likely change as new releases are developed. For more specific information and hardware specifications that apply to your release of IBM Traveler, contact your IBM Sales Representative and ask them to connect you with a system sizing available through IBM Techline.

Table 3.
Maximum Devices	Minimum Operating System	Minimum Physical Memory	Minimum CPU Cores
100	Win32	4 GB	2
300	Win32/Linux32	4 GB	4
1000	Win64/Linux64	8 GB	4
2000	Linux 64-bit	16 GB	8
2000	Windows 64-bit server	16 GB	8

If the Riva synchronization service is installed on the same server as the Domino instance that is hosting the Riva Connector, the server needs to be sized to support both workloads: the Riva Sync Connector (Domino API gateway) and the Riva Sync Service (communication with the CRM). IBM only recommends co-locating IBM Domino servers with other applications for small deployments with fewer than 100 users.

In all cases, a virtual server on any virtualization platform that is supported by Domino is recommended.

Supported Notes Versions

Riva supports all Notes email clients for IBM Notes/Domino installed on-premises and IBM SmartCloud Notes (in Hybrid Mode - requires Domino on-premises). This includes all PC, Citrix, Mac, web, and mobile email clients including full support for IBM Verse and IBM Verse mobile.

By default, Riva supports the default Notes 9.x and 8.5 mail template. Riva does not require changes be made to your mail templates. For environments with previous mail templates, we recommend carrying out a proof of technology evaluation against the default Notes 8.5 template. Upon completion of a successful proof of technology, we will review the process to modify the Riva Sync Connector field mappings to reflect the previous email template. The worst case scenario for environments with previous versions of Notes is that the CRM information is read-only. For additional information regarding backwards compatibility, contact the Riva Success Team.

Firewall Requirements

For the Domino server hosting the Riva Sync Connector for IBM Notes application, ensure that internal and external firewalls are configured to allow Riva access to and from the Domino database on the configured ports (by default, ports 80 and 443). In some deployments, it is possible to use an HTTP Proxy in order to ensure access to resources.

For Riva On-Premise, see Firewall settings for Riva.
For Riva Cloud, contact the Riva Success Team for a whitelist.

Domino HTTP Web Services

To adjust the configuration of the Domino server hosting the Riva Sync Connector for IBM Notes:

Read and record the previous settings and/or back up the Notes.ini file. — To read the values from the Notes.ini file, issue the command

show conf [notes.ini variable]

Example:

show conf JavaUse64BitJVM
Ensure that the Domino server has the HTTP Web Engine enabled.
Ensure that the "Concurrent Web Services" are enabled.
Increase the number of active HTTP threads to represent 1.5 times the number of Riva concurrent threads.
- To change the number of active HTTP threads: In the Server document, select the Internet Protocols > HTTP tab, and edit the Number of active threads field.
- Important: Allow a sufficient number of concurrent connections. To do so: In the Server document, select the Internet Protocols > HTTP tab, and edit the Maximum number of concurrent network sessions field. Ensure that this value is equal to or greater than the number of active threads defined.
Ensure that the HTTP JVM Max Heap Size has been set or increased to the appropriate recommended scaled value:
- 32-bit system, up to 200 users: 256 M
- 64-bit system, up to 500 users: 1 G
- 64-bit system, up to 1,000 users: 2 G
- 64-bit system, up to 2,000 users: 4 G
- set conf HTTPJVMMaxHeapSize=1G (or edit Notes.ini)
For 64-bit servers, enable Java 64-bit.
- set conf JavaUse64BitJVM=1 (or edit Notes.ini)
- Use server console command to confirm JVM version: show jvm
Reduce the default session timeouts to conserve memory usage.
- set conf Server_session_timeout=10 (or edit Notes.ini)
After updating the server document or Notes.ini file, restart the Domino server.

Prepare the Riva Connection User

The Riva application connection to Domino must be configured to use the credentials of a user with access to read from and write to the target user mail databases.

Confirm Connectivity from the Riva Server to the Domino System

This section applies only to Riva On-Premise.

For Riva Cloud, you will create and test a connection from Riva to the Domino system later. For now, continue with the instructions in Prepare the IBM Notes database that will be synchronized by Riva.

For Riva On-Premise, after preparing the Domino service account that will be used by Riva On-Premise, confirm that you can log in from the Riva On-Premise server to the Domino web client using the service account user credentials.

The Domino Client does not need to be installed on the Riva On-Premise server.

If the Riva Sync Service is being provided by a remote system, ensure that firewall and networking access is granted to the HTTP/HTTPS ports required for access to the Domino Web Services. If direct access is not available, the use of an HTTP Proxy service may be required.