Terminology and Component Overview

Riva for IBM Notes accesses and incorporates a number of different components and software packages, which are provided by various vendors.

Following are definitions, details, and statements to help guide the discussion describing the functionality and relationships of the different components related to Riva for IBM Notes.

• Domino: the underlying server software that hosts the Lotus Domino databases/applications/security. This is the server software that is installed on top of the operating system.

• Notes: the software solution built on top of Domino that enables the end-user client interaction that can send and receive mail, schedule meetings and tasks, etc.

  • Technically, Notes is an application built to run on the Domino server.

  • For the purposes of drawing a parallel, think of Domino as a database server and Notes as an application that stores data in a Domino database.

• Notes Mail Template: the database schema that is currently used for a mail file / database.

  • Mail file / database: the per-user database that provides structured storage of email, meetings, contacts, etc. in a Domino database. It includes the default views, forms, and structure required for the mail application to display what an email looks like, versus a meeting, versus an appointment.

  • There is not always a direct link between the Notes mail file template version and the Domino server software version.

• Riva Connector: the software component that MUST be installed on at least one Windows Server that has Domino 8.5.3 (recommend FP4) installed. This can be a new or existing Windows Server.

  • The Riva Connector does NOT need to be installed on the Domino server that hosts the mail files.

  • Even though the Riva Connector is installed on a single server, the underlying technology allows communication with databases hosted on different Domino servers (with different Domino versions). The databases can be accessed, read, and modified based on Domino security access controls.

  • If the Riva Connector software component is installed on multiple servers, a fail-over strategy can be configured on the Riva Sync Service.

  • For the purposes of drawing a parallel, consider the Riva Connector to be an API Gateway, ADO, or OLEDB provider. This component is used to allow Riva to access data from the various Domino databases (by making Lotus Script API calls) in a SOAP/XML format that is understood by the Riva Sync Service.

• The Riva Sync Service is a separate software component that must be installed on a supported Windows Server. This server does not require a Domino database.

  • The Riva Sync Service is responsible for configuring, synchronizing, scheduling, and applying the sync policies.

  • The Riva Sync Service can be installed on the same Windows Server on which the Riva Connector is installed. This is the recommended best practice if there are no scalability or disaster recovery requirements.

  • The Riva Sync Service has mappings to support the Notes Mail Template 8.5. To support alternate versions of Notes mail templates, additional template mappings are required.