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Administering
This documentation provides information about the administration tools for managing and monitoring servers and databases.
Managing databases
Topics in this section describe how to set up and manage Domino® databases.
Domino on-disk structure (ODS)
Domino on-disk structure (ODS) refers to the file format of a database. Each release of HCL Domino® and Notes has a default ODS version for databases. A new release may offer a new ODS version that provides database enhancements not available with earlier ODS versions.

Administering
This documentation provides information about the administration tools for managing and monitoring servers and databases.
- Administration tools
  Topics in this section describe the tools you can use to administer a Domino® server.
- Managing users
  The Administration Process helps you manage users by automating many of the associated administrative tasks. For example, if you rename a user, the Administration Process automates changing the name throughout databases in the Notes® domain by generating and carrying out a series of requests, which are posted in the Administration Requests database.
- Monitoring servers
  This section describes how to use the tools and features that help you monitor a Domino® system.
- Managing servers
  Manage Domino® servers by performing any of these tasks.
- Managing databases
  Topics in this section describe how to set up and manage Domino® databases.
  - Database design, management, and administration
    The tasks involved with application design, database design, database management, and Domino® system administration may overlap, depending on the size of your organization and the structure of job responsibilities. In some organizations, an application developer may be responsible for both application and database design, while in others, a database manager may handle all database design and management tasks. In addition, database management overlaps with Domino system administration.
  - Domino on-disk structure (ODS)
    Domino on-disk structure (ODS) refers to the file format of a database. Each release of HCL Domino® and Notes has a default ODS version for databases. A new release may offer a new ODS version that provides database enhancements not available with earlier ODS versions.
    - Enhancements introduced in ODS 55 in Domino 12
      HCL Domino® 12 introduces on-disk structure (ODS) 55 file format for databases.
    - Controlling the ODS version of client-based databases
      There are several ways to control the on-disk structure (ODS) versions of client-based databases.
    - Controlling the ODS versions of server-based databases
      There are several ways to control the on-disk structure (ODS) version of server-based databases.
  - Increase the document summary data limit to 16 MB
    Starting with Domino 9.0.1 FP8, you can increase the document summary data limit on databases to 16 MB. Databases must be at ODS 52 or higher.
  - Organizing databases on a server
    You can organize databases in folders.
  - Backup and restore
    As of Domino 12, functionality to back up and restore Notes databases and their associated transaction logs is provided with Domino servers.
  - Attachment consolidation
    The Domino® server employs the Domino Attachment and Object Service (DAOS) to save significant space at the file level by sharing data identified as identical between databases (applications) on the same server.
  - Full-text indexes for single databases
    You can create full-text indexes to allow users to quickly search for information in databases. To search in a database, users enter a word or phrase in the search bar of the database to locate all documents containing the word or phrase.
  - Controlling attachment indexing on servers
    Use the notes.ini setting FT_INDEX_ATTACHMENTS on a server to control full-text indexing of attachments for all databases on a server.
  - Database libraries
    You can create a database library that contains databases that pertain to a specific collection of users or to a specific topic. For example, a corporate database library might include all databases that deal with corporate policies and procedures, and a marketing database library might include databases that are useful to the marketing staff.
  - Database catalogs
    A database catalog provides a list of all databases on a server. You use the server Catalog task to create a database catalog. The Catalog task bases the catalog file (CATALOG.NSF) on the CATALOG.NTF template and adds the appropriate entries to the catalog's ACL.
  - The Files tab in the Domino® Administrator
    The Files tab in the Domino® Administrator provides an easy way for you to manage files in the Domino data folder.
  - Replicating unread marks
    Unread marks can be replicated for selected databases, most notably mail databases, by using the advanced database properties from the Domino® Administrator or from the database properties box. When you enable the replication of unread marks on mail databases, users can read their mail from a workstation on ServerA, and after replication, can read their mail from a workstation on ServerB, with unread mail clearly delineated from mail that has previously been read.
  - Using indirect files to run database maintenance tasks
    You can use indirect files to run the same maintenance task multiple times, resulting in significant time savings. The fixup, compact, updall, design, convert, and replicate tasks support using indirect files. You can also create batch files or scripts that run several maintenance tasks serially against different indirect files to help complete them quickly. If you have multiple CPUs, you can run the same maintenance tasks against multiple indirect files so they run concurrently. It is recommended you only run as many concurrent maintenance tasks as you have CPUs, otherwise they will start competing for CPU resources and can take longer to complete.
  - Updating database indexes and views
    A view index is an internal filing system that Notes® uses to build the list of documents to display in a database view or folder.
  - Synchronizing databases with master templates
    To use a consistent design for multiple databases, database designers can associate databases or elements within databases with a master template.
  - Fixing corrupted databases
    Corrupted databases don't occur frequently when you use transaction logging. When you use transaction logging to log changes to databases, a server automatically uses the transaction log to restore and recover databases after a system failure -- for example, after server failures or power failures. If a disk failure occurs, you use the transaction log along with a certified backup utility to restore and recover the databases.
  - Moving databases
    It may be necessary to move a database from one server to another -- for example, to distribute databases evenly among servers. If there are replicas of the database, the server to which you move the database should have the appropriate Connection documents to replicate the database to other servers that store replicas. If you're moving a database to a server in a cluster, replication between the server and other servers in the cluster that have replicas of the database occurs without Connection documents.
  - Using load convert to convert non-mail databases
    You can use the server's mail convert utility to convert non-mail databases to another type of non-mail database. Non-mail databases are all databases that do not have a $Inbox folder.
  - Redirecting client references to databases
    You can redirect Notes® client references from deleted or moved databases to a database replica that you specify.
  - Running a database analysis
    A database analysis reveals changes in documents, user activity, and other details such as replication data.

Domino on-disk structure (ODS)

Domino on-disk structure (ODS) refers to the file format of a database. Each release of HCL Domino® and Notes has a default ODS version for databases. A new release may offer a new ODS version that provides database enhancements not available with earlier ODS versions.

For each recent Domino and Notes release, the following table lists the default ODS version, any new ODS version offered, and the notes.ini setting to enable the new version.


Notes/Domino Release	Default ODS	New ODS	notes.ini to enable new ODS
9	43	52	Create_R9_Databases=1
10	52	53	Create_R10_Databases=1
11	52	None	N/A
12	52	55	Create_R12_Databases=1

Note: As of Notes 12.0.2, upgrading a Notes client upgrades databases in the data directory to the latest ODS format, superceding any client notes.ini settings used to control ODS format. Although not recommended, you can use the client notes.ini setting NSF_AlwaysUpgradeODS=0 before starting an upgraded client to disable the automatic ODS upgrade.

If you do not use a Create_Rx_Databases=1 setting, new databases use the default ODS version for the release. For example, a new database created in Domino 12 uses ODS 52. Existing databases that do not use the default ODS version for the release are upgraded to that version if they are compacted using copy-style compacting.

If you do use a Create_Rx_Databases=1 setting, new databases are created with the ODS version of the release specified in the setting. For example, if you use Create_R12_Databases=1, new databases use ODS 55. Existing databases are upgraded to that ODS if they are compacted using copy-style compacting.

The ODS version for a database is shown in the i tab of the database properties box:
ODS version 53 shown in database properties box

ODS version 53 shown in database properties box

Database ODS versions are also shown in the File Format column of the Files tab of the Domino Administrator client:
ODS versions of databases shown in the File Format column of the Files tab

ODS versions of databases shown in the File Format column of the Files tab