Domino 8 includes a number of new features designed to enhance its performance. The focus of these enhancements is on reducing server overhead and load from functions within the environment.
This section will focus on the following new and enhanced features:
- Streaming cluster replication
- New ODS (design note compression, on-demand collations) (ODS 51 is required for DAOS)
- Simple search controls
The cluster replication process moves information between the cluster member servers to ensure that in case of a server outage, users maintain access to the most up-to-date information. As a new item is received on one server, the cluster replication process - pushes the information to the other server. A typical configuration of the cluster replication task is to have one instance enabled on each server. You can increase the number of cluster replication tasks within the environment, but doing so increases disk I/O requirements, and this may have an effect on performance.
Domino 8 introduces a new feature for the cluster replication process—streaming replication. Streaming replication allows for the immediate transfer of information from one server to its cluster mate, without requiring the server to write to disk. The replication process occurs within the memory, thereby reducing I/O requirements. Cluster replication works closely with the normal replication process to ensure that the impact on the environment is reduced. Streaming replication is a server-based feature that does not require Notes 8 or the Notes 8 mail template.
Domino 8 includes a new On-Disk Structure (ODS) that will allow the implementation of new features to increase performance and reduce the amount of overhead required to maintain and manage the environment. The new ODS 48 is not a requirement when moving to Domino 8. Instead, it is an option that takes advantage of the design note compression and on-demand collation features. To upgrade the databases, add the line Create_R8_Databases=1 to your server's Notes.ini file. To upgrade databases to the new ODS and compress the design, run a copy-style compaction. (The design note compression and view collation features require ODS 48.) Now with 8.5 you can use ODS 51—this is required for DAOS. You will need to use a different Notes.ini variable for this to work correctly— Create_R85_Databases=1
Design note compression is a new feature provided in Domino 8 to assist in reducing the space required by the database templates. The compression feature allows design elements to be compressed, thereby reducing disk requirements. Based on preliminary testing, database size could be reduced by up to 55% to 60%. Design note compression does not require Notes 8 or the Notes 8 mail template, but since this is a server feature, the Domino 8 server is required.
A new Domino 8 feature is the ability to allow application developers to leave the creation of indexes until the end user leverages the sorting feature within the database. This option will reduce unnecessary overheads for the Domino server. To enable this feature, Notes 8 and the Notes 8 mail template are not required. But since this is a server-based feature, the Domino 8 server is required. To enable this feature, add the following line to Notes.ini: ENABLE_ON_DEMAND_COLLATIONS=1.
The Notes/Domino environment allows for feature-rich searching capabilities. These capabilities leverage the full text index created for a database. If a full text index has not been created when the user searches for the information, the server attempts to locate the information within the database. The process of searching the database without a full text index can have a significant impact on the performance of the server. In Domino 8, a new enhancement is introduced so as to eliminate the use of simple searches and thus increase server performance.
By checking the Don't allow simple search checkbox within the database properties tab, you can significantly enhance performance. If the database does not have a full text index and this feature is enabled, the end user will receive an error and the search will not be completed for the database.
There are a number of other new performance-related features and enhancements in Domino 8. These include improved server availability in a cluster and critical request scheduling.