Enterprise deployment sequence: upgrade the administration server first

Here is a deployment sequence in which you upgrade the administration server for the Domino domain first.

About this task

This is provided as an example for you to consider and adapt for your environment. For example, although the steps suggest ordering upgrades by server function, in some environments you may want to factor in geographic location.
Note: In addition to these steps, keep in mind the information in Mitigating the time required to rebuild Domino directory views.

Procedure

  1. Remove all instances of the Domino directory template (pubnames.ntf) from your domain(s).
  2. Upgrade the Domino Administrator clients that you use to administer Domino.
  3. Prohibit Domino directory design elements from replicating. From the Domino directory on the administration server:
    1. Select File -> Replication -> Options for this Application.
    2. Select the Advanced tab.
    3. In the Receive these elements from other replicas section, disable Design elements.
    4. Replicate the directory to other servers.
      Note: After you upgrade each Domino server in the following steps, enable the Design elements setting again for the Domino directory replica on the server so that it can receive design changes again.
  4. Upgrade the Domino administration server of the Domino domain, including upgrading the Domino directory design.
  5. Upgrade Domino hub servers.
  6. Upgrade Domino Resource and Reservations (R&R) servers.
  7. Upgrade Domino mail servers.
  8. Upgrade Domino SMTP servers.
  9. Upgrade Domino application and web servers.
  10. Upgrade third-party and companion product servers.
  11. If you use Notes, upgrade the general population to the new Notes version.
  12. Replace the design of mail files with mail<ver>.ntf for the new version.
  13. Upgrade the On-Disk Structure (ODS) of Domino applications to the latest ODS format.

What to do next

Note: Steps 11 - 13 are important for taking advantage of the new features in the release. Depending on the size of your Notes client base, communication needed, training required, etc. these steps are often carried out weeks after the server upgrades. This approach allows time for production testing before rolling out to hundreds or thousands of users.