Leadership By Numbers

Category Administration Sametime
Here is my how-to for creating Sametime IM fail-over architecture. I'm running my Sametime 8.01 cluster on RedHat 4.4 servers with Lotus Domino 7.03. I've Been very pleased with the response time and low use of system resources.

However, it's tough to configure a Sametime 8 cluster when relying on round-robin DNS (rather than an IP Sprayer) to handle the TCP/IP connection redirects. This documentation should clarify all the details that tend to go missing in the official documentation.

You're going to save weeks of troubleshooting.


Technorati Tags: Lotus Sametime, Instant Messaging, IBM/Lotus Domino, Linux

Posted by Jack Dausman At 12:30 AM Location Washington, DC | Permalink | Comments (2)

Category IBM/Lotus Domino


Volker Weber has set up a wiki to settle up on the debate to which of the top, global corporations are using Lotus Notes.

I thought it would make a nice wordle, so I took the Notes entries and created a tag cloud.



Technorati Tags: IBM/Lotus Notes

Posted by Jack Dausman At 1:59 AM Location Washington, DC | Permalink | Comments (0)

Category Management Open Source


In January, The Burton Group released their analysis which strongly favored OOXML over ODF. It caught many people by surprise, and had me re-thinking many assumptions which I had taken at face value. Now, Stuart McKee, a Microsoft national technology officer, has announced that "ODF has clearly won."


The pronouncement couldn't have been presented at a more non-Microsoft venue: the Red Hat Summit Panel. It's big enough news to be slashdotted and has yet to be adjusted or re-spun by Microsoft (it would be naive to expect this statement to linger in cyberspace without some sort of official Microsoft softening).


It appears that the statement is real, valid, and is going to stick. Peter O'Kelly points out the Stuart is a "person of profiled authority to speak about public administrations."


So, I'd really like to know what The Burton Group is going to say about OOXML, today?


Technorati Tags: ODF, OOXML

Posted by Jack Dausman At 3:56 AM Location Washington, DC | Permalink | Comments (1)

Category Administration IBM/Lotus Domino ND8 Linux
Now that the Sametime 8.0.1 installation is in place, I've been able to turn my attention to some other matters: what's the best way to support our executives with their iPhones? I really don't want to go with IMAP: no fail-over, no calendaring, etc. What about the UltraLite iNotes ? Is it really viable ? YES !

Today, I set up Linux CentOS 5.1 and then installed Domino 8.5 Beta 1. I'm using CentOS because this is a test server, and I don't want to mess with our RedHat licensing (and I want to test the waters for a FOSS server). The set up went quite easily, and I was glad to have access to webadmin.nsf with the Firefox 1.5 client that is standard on 5.1.

Everything worked fine with webadmin, but it's a little peculiar to be running Domino on Linux and see that the icon for the server operating system is a Windows 95 flag (not sure what that means).

Then I accessed the iNotes mail file. Very clean. Very fast. It's clearly designed for micro-screens. I'm quite impressed by it. It's easy to read the mail entries, browse contacts, and send e-mail. It's going to work as a mobile solution.

Funny thing. I expect that by the time there is a Traveler plug-in for the iPhone, there is going to be a lot of people who are satisfied enough with the Ultralite version. And, of course, there is a bonus to being limited to on-line http access.

In the sad circumstance of someone losing their iPhone, with Ultra Lite there won't be any storage of local data. I don't need to be worrying about how to remotely wipe the client.


Technorati Tags: Lotus Notes, iPhone, Domino 8.5

Posted by Jack Dausman At 6:51 AM Location Washington, DC | Permalink | Comments (0)

Category IBM/Lotus Sametime
Finally, I've completed the build for Sametime 8, on Linux with round-robin DNS for failover. It's very, very cool. The new audio codec is amazing clear (I'd better be attentive to when my laptop's microphone is open).

There are lots of little touches that make all the difference: the push-to-talk walkie-talkie mode or the support for twin-head video output.

I'll give more details later, but it's such a relief to be able to deploy these servers into production. The testing crew has been giving it rave reviews.

I had actually hoped to get the servers working when they they released the Linux edition of ST 7.51. However, it was a little rough, and IBM/Lotus kept coming out with successive upgrades until the pieces all fit together with ST 8.0.1. Domino LDAP, Notes, iNotes, and our BES servers are all humming nicely.

The tough part was untangling the byzantine process required in creating a fail-over environment. I'll document it in a forthcoming post. It was so confusing, that I'm confident not many ST8 Linux servers are running in the wild, outside of IBM's server farms.

So right now, I'll enjoy having the only clustered Sametime Linux installation in two hemispheres.


Technorati Tags: IBM Lotus Sametime, Linux

Posted by Jack Dausman At 2:51 AM Location Washington, DC | Permalink | Comments (1)

Category Administration Blackberry
So, the news is out about the iPhone 3G and its new SDK. Pretty much everyone in the consumer tech world is fawning over it--including, all the senior IT staff and executive professionals at my company. Sure, there is the cool news about cars.com running with IBM smarts. Or, what about Microsoft Sharepoint being trounced by IBM Lotus Connections ? And yet, iPhone mania continues to attract all the attention for messaging and collaboration.

Ed Brill has done a terrific job explaining the whys and why-nots for Lotus being excluded from Apple's grace.

Maybe the iNotes Ultra Lite will be a stop-gap solution until something better is in place. I haven't tested it, but I'm certainly not excited about IMAP (no wireless contact and calendar synchronization). And, maybe it's just not feasible for IBM to jump to the tempo of every new SDK and programming language. I get it. I can be staid with Blackberry, but not chic with Apple.

What I don't get, though, is what is it between IBM and Apple ? I'm missing something.

It just seems bad chemistry exists between the two. IBM's messaging platform is clearly big enough and important enough that I would consider it a no-brainer that a Microsoft competitor like Apple would include every possible messaging partner with their announcements.

So, here's my prediction. I'm guessing that we'll see Sametime connectivity on the iPhone before true Notes client support equal to the Blackberry or Windows Mobile.

Technorati Tags: iPhone, Lotus Notes

Posted by Jack Dausman At 4:51 AM Location Washington, DC | Permalink | Comments (2)

Category Management

Nicholas Carr is famous for his pronouncements, critical of the value for corporate computing. I usually disagree with his conclusions, but his analysis and insights are always instructive. As something of a technology pessimist, he is right 90% of the time.

It's a rule that I'm sure is recorded by some ancient sage. Pessimists are nearly always right in their prognosis for failure. Practice of their skill has probably made them better at foretelling defeat than what is seen by the average eye.

The irony of pessimists, is that while they are 90% correct for estimating failures, they are 100% wrong in pointing to a solution. I've seen too many decisions tilted by the high average of the naysayer who is adept at finding everything but success.


So, if I need to know where the mortar shells will drop, I'm staying close to the pessimist. But, if I must find safe haven, then I'll have better luck with the optimist.


Technorati Tags: Nicholas Carr

Posted by Jack Dausman At 5:10 AM Location Washington, DC | Permalink | Comments (2)

Category Administration Linux Sametime
Scott Morris has provided a huge list of Linux migrations. Governments, financial institutions, and corporations have all found sound business reasons for their move off of proprietary systems. His listing came to mind during an IT discussion I was having about Sametime integration.

I've been finishing up installing Sametime 8.01 on Linux (it really is as good as you are hearing). Because my company has several subsidiaries, I've been thinking of ways to include them under our Sametime umbrella. Well, Sametime is "Lotus" and so the discussion was led to into an Exchange-vs-Domino conversation. I deferred.

Really, the landscape has changed, the old wars are history. Vast numbers of Exchange accounts are moving into a hosted environment. There just isn't enough substance , in my mind, to justify keeping Exchange local unless it is for compliance reasons. Today's debate is about a much more complex mix of messaging standards than the old client/server model.

In NetworkWorld, John Fontana has an article about Exchange being dumped for Linux-based clone. Moving off of Exchange, a hospital was able to free up storage limitations, and provide improved support for message recovery.

Going to an open-source platform stack proved to be more economical, and flexible. Escaping vendor lock-in allows for future-proofing and because of open source, this can be a better fiscal decision.

So, I'm not really looking at single vendor solutions, as much as what can be built out on a mix of open-source platforms and hosted solutions. Right now, Sametime on Linux can work simultaneously with multiple LDAP sources. Next week, I hope I can connect up with our e-dir admin, and see about making some headway.



Technorati Tags: IBM/Lotus Sametime

Posted by Jack Dausman At 4:23 AM Location | Permalink | Comments (0)

Category IBM/Lotus Domino ND8 Linux Ubuntu

Ahhh. Notes 8.5 beta has been released. Domino Designer in Eclipse. Supported roaming with the Standard install. Google Calendar integration. And, Symphony 1 is out.

Oh, and the Linux Notes client can finally be placed on a Free Open Source Software client platform. I think it was a matter of time, and while RHEL and/or SuSE have FOSS clients, I had my fingers crossed that Ubuntu would get the nod. So, now we have a supported FOSS client with Notes. On Ubuntu. It's just weird looking at a Notes .deb package.

If you don't know where to start with Ubuntu, Yaser Sulaiman's Best Ubuntu Resources is current and recommended ! !

Technorati Tags: Ubuntu, Lotus Notes 8.5

Posted by Jack Dausman At 4:36 AM Location Washington, DC | Permalink | Comments (2)

Category

Ray Ozzie has defined open source as "much more potentially disruptive" than Google for Microsoft's business model. I think it's obvious that open source contributed to the Microsoft-Yahoo merger break-up.

Sadly, the sharks are already circling Yahoo, and I expect that eventually it will be broken up and sold piecemeal to satiate the stockholders. Microsoft can then be free to bid on the parts that fit more easily into its corporate vision. I guess instead of a Microhoo, it'll be something more like a Microminihoo. Sounds like a small victory, to me.

Posted by Jack Dausman At 7:28 AM Location Washington, DC | Permalink | Comments (2)

Category IBM/Lotus Domino ND8

If your business community lacks Domino training, there are some solid alternatives to the brick-and-mortar choices. LEOnline is in Philadelphia, and provides a mix of classroom and on-line training. TLCC has been used with good reviews.

Kent Kurchak, of waresourc.com has just released an 8.01 update to their Domino training material.

I'm familiar with all three. They are all good people. These are well-established companies these have proven themselves dedicated to IBM/Lotus technology with well-written documentation.

Posted by Jack Dausman At 6:30 AM Location Washington, DC | Permalink | Comments (0)

Category IBM/Lotus Domino
Michelle Savage, of Systems Management, has written about Sharepoint as the "New Lotus Notes?" Well, I think there is a point to be made that Sharepoint has more in common with the old Notes , than the current version.

In addition, CMS Watch said that large enterprises face various challenges with SharePoint, as the controls that enterprises would want to see simply don't exist natively within the platform. "Whether it's the lack of a workflow-based provisioning process, or enterprise-level administration, or the ability to effectively categorize large numbers of documents or PowerPoint slides, SharePoint remains ill-suited to enterprise-wide collaboration and knowledge management," said CMS Watch analyst Alan Pelz-Sharpe.

She does go on to criticize Lotus Notes, as well, and ties up with the promise of Google Docs. But, I do think that the allure of Sharepoint is reminiscent of the early generations of Lotus Notes. I also think that IBM has moved on, embraced open standards, and Notes today is a much more capable and cost effective solution than a Sharepoint platform.

My first Notes installation was 3.x on a Novell Netware 3.12 server. It was LAN mail with some neat-o, but simple, applications. And, it was life in a bubble, where we all talked to ourselves. Doing something complex usually required expensive consultants.

Now, I'm using Notes on Linux, Windows, AIX. I'm running Lotus Sametime IM (Network World rated #1) and it's capable of supporting our Notes clients, connecting to public IM networks (for free), and our subsidiaries that rely on Outlook.

When I weigh out Sharepoint against Lotus Notes, I'm really comparing platform stacks, just like I would with JBoss and BEA. I just don't find the Sharepoint platform stack providing the same flexibility, security, stability or scalability that I find in Notes.

I'm interested to see what Savage will think of Notes 8.5.

Technorati Tags: IBM/Lotus Domino

Posted by Jack Dausman At 9:32 AM Location | Permalink | Comments (5)

Category Diversion

It's always a pick-me-up to find that your employer makes a "best of" list. PCWorld has their Top 100 Best Products of 2008. My company made #45.


Technorati Tags: Washington Post

Posted by Jack Dausman At 5:55 AM Location Washington, DC | Permalink | Comments (1)

Category Management

The CEO of Mashery, Oren Michels, has a wonderfully detailed description of an Amazon EC2 outage.

Although the root cause of this particular issue was a resource contention issue between instances, things like that are going to continue to happen. There may now be a fix for this particular edge case, but there are undoubtedly others that will crop up over time.

The real failure here was a failure of monitoring, and a failure of transparency.

Technorati Tags: cloud computing, Amazon EC2

Posted by Jack Dausman At 8:42 AM Location | Permalink | Comments (0)

Category
Linux Blog Online has some very impressive collections for Linux learning resources. There are some hidden (literally) gems in this listing:

• Java Application Development on Linux by Carl Albing and Michael Schwarz
• Self-Service Linux: Mastering the Art of Problem Determination by Dan Behman and Mark Wilding

These two texts are published by Bruce Peren's Open Series, so you can purchase them from Amazon, or download them as PDF from the PHPTR site.

Posted by Jack Dausman At 8:32 AM Location Washington, DC | Permalink | Comments (0)