bp101 - 10 things to consider when developing & deploying applications in large scale environments

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10 Things to Consider when Developing & Deploying Applications in Large Scale Environments

Martijn de Jong | ilionx

BP101

Agenda

Speaker Introduction

Examples of Large Scale Environment Applications

Characteristics of a Large Scale Environment

10 Things to Consider...

Wrap-up

Q & A

Speaker Introduction

So who am I?

M.Sc. Electrical Engineering at the University of Delft, The Netherlands

Psychology & Ergonomics at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

Advanced Certified IBM Lotus Notes & Domino 8 Application Developer & System Administrator and a Certified Lotus Instructor

2000: Lotus Notes trainer at IBM

2002: Started with Domino Development yet moved to System Administration job

2004: Lotus Consultant at ilionx

2006: Application Developer for the ABN AMRO Bank Messaging & Groupware Architecture Team

500+ Domino servers

135.000+ Notes users

Single domain

I blog at http://www.socialsoftwareblog.nl

Contact me at: [email protected] / [email protected]


System to maintain & shape the Mail Infrastructure

User'sMail filesDominoDirectoryHRMSystemsInformation Store

UsersAdminsMessagingPortal

Mail file Tooling

Mail file UpgradeTool

ServerLogs


System for requesting, monitoring & maintaining mobile devices

UsersProvidersSupportSQLDatabaseServersCollector

Front

Central

ExternalParties

InternalSupport

Characteristics of a Large Scale Environment

Many servers

Many users Large Domino Directory

Large number of applications

Large amounts of documents in some applications

Many daily updates in some applications

Strict procedures

Separation between Developer & Infrastructure Teams

Some connections between servers have limited bandwidth

What does this mean for a developer?

Compared to developing for smaller environments, developers have to give extra consideration to:

System Administration costs

Efficient usage of system resources (disk space, cpu time, memory usage)

Network load

Security requirements



1. Consider the Deployment Effort

Avoid multiple unique copies of the same database for one application

Replication Settings don't replicate. If you need them to be different from the default, set them with an agent

Example code to set the Deletion Stub Cutoff Period
Set repinfo = thisdb.ReplicationInfo
' Grab the preferred deletion stub cutoff date from a profile document
CutoffPeriod = Clng(profdoc.GetItemValue("prfDelStubCutoff")(0))
If repinfo.CutoffInterval CutoffPeriod Then
repinfo.CutoffInterval = CutoffPeriod
repinfo.Save
End If

Don't allow simple search also doesn't replicate

Call thisdb.SetOption(76, True)' sets don't allow simple search

1. Consider the Deployment Effort (2)

It's easier to deploy an application on all servers than on 60% of the servers

It should be possible to deploy a new version of your application by replacing the design on the administration server. If this is not the case, think of a way to make it so

Deploying a replica of your application on a new server should just be a matter of creating a new replica. If any other actions are necessary, consider building extra code to automate them

Remember: The more time it takes for the administrators to deploy your application, the more time it will take you to verify their work!

2. Design Flexibility

Deploying design changes can be a lengthy process in larger organisations. Minimize the need by keeping your designs as flexible as possible

Examples

Don't hard code mails in your design. Keep content in profile documents or use special memo documents

2. Design Flexibility

Deploying design changes can be a lengthy process in larger organisations. Minimize the need by keeping your designs as flexible as possible

Examples

Don't hard code mails in your design. Keep content in profile documents or use special memo documents

Don't use the Style Sheets design element. Keep your CSS code in documents

Run agents on -Any Server- and use profile documents to define the server(s) they should run on

3. How to run your agent where and when you'd want them to run

Run agents on -Any Server- . Let them run as often as needed

Use a profile document for selection

Can be expanded by adding time slots for the agents

3. How to run your agent where and when you'd want them to run

Code example:
Set profdoc = thisdb.GetProfileDocument("prfDb")
' Don't run the agent on servers that it shouldn't run on
arrRunServerGroups = profdoc.GetItemValue("prfAgentServerGroups")
[..]
For i = 0 To Ubound(arrRunServerGroups)
If Not Isnull(Arraygetindex(ExpandGroup(arrRunServerGroups(i), False), thisdb.Server)) Then
blnServerMatched = True
Exit For
End If
Next
' Exit if it's not in any of the groups
If Not blnServerMatched Then Exit Sub

' Check if the server is in the exclude list
NotRunServers = profdoc.GetItemValue("prfNonMFIServers")
If Isnull(Arraygetindex(NotRunServers, thisdb.Server)) Then
' Next check if the agent should run today
Call htoday.SetNow
collectdays = profdoc.GetItemValue("prfMTCollectDays")
If Not Isnull(Arraygetindex(collectdays,Weekday(htoday.DateOnly))) Then

End If
End If

4. Special Signer IDs

Many organisations require a special signer ID for agents that:

Run unrestricted methods and operations

Send Mail

Try to limit the number of these types of agents

Example: Let all agents that need to send mail, create the mail and save it. Use one agent to send the mail


5. Do you really need that view?

In applications with many documents, views can take up big chunks of disk space and processing power of the server

It's better to build a few good user views than many different views which a user might want

Using an extra sortable column is better than building an extra view

99% of the time there's no need for a double sortable column

For lookup views, describe (in the comment field) which design elements use that view

Never use @Now/@Today in a view

Alternative: See AD214: What Every Domino Developer Should Know About Performance

6. Do your agents run out of time?

How long may your agents run:

Agent running in the client: Indefinitely

Agent running on the server: Depends on type, trigger & time

Before new mail arrives: Runs in the Router Task

(Configuration Document)






WebQueryOpen / WebQuerySave Form event: Runs in the HTTP Task

(Server document - Internet Protocols -
Domino Web Engine)







Scheduled / triggered: Runs in the Amgr Task

Simple / Formula Agents
(Server Document - Basics)








LotusScript / Java Agents
(Server Document Server Tasks Agent Manager)








tell amgr run '' : Runs in a separate Amgr Task
Agent can run indefinitely...

Call notesagent.RunOnServer : Server Task
Agent can run indefinitely...


Five ways to deal with agents running out of time

Optimize them

AD214: What Every Domino Developer Should Know About Performance

Split up your agent

For completely separate actions only

Divide the workload in parts and run the agent multiple times

Use a key field to recognize where the agent was cut off last

Run small batches divided on alphabet or DocumentUniqueID

Divide the workload over multiple servers

Make each server responsible for specific documents based on a field value or another key

A combination


7. Do you need all documents in all replicas?

Sometimes a document is only relevant for a specific region, cluster or even a single server

Examples

The Administration Requests database

The Database Catalog

If your applications contains large quantities of these documents consider...

Replication Formulas

7. Do you need all documents in all replicas? (2)

Any Server Any Server replication formula has some problems
(easily gets overruled by a server specific formula)

Better to use Any Server replication formulas

Set these replication formulas with an agent (consider deployment effort)

Use @UserName for the current server

Disable replication of Replication Formulas

Deletion stubs, profile documents &
agent data documents always replicate

Watch out for Domino 6.0.3 / 6.5.0 when using
replication formulas

7. Do you need all documents in all replicas? (3)

Example of agent to set Replication Formula
CreateRepFormula = True
Set repinfo = thisdb.ReplicationInfo
' Check if a proper replication formula entry exists
Set repentry = repinfo.GetEntry("-", thisdb.Server, False)
If Not repentry Is Nothing Then
If repentry.Views = "" Then
If repentry.IsIncludeDocuments Then
If repentry.Formula = | @IsMember(@UserName;Servers)| Then
If repentry.IsIncludeACL Then
If repentry.IsIncludeAgents Then
If repentry.IsIncludeForms Then
If Not repentry.IsIncludeFormulas Then
CreateRepFormula = False
End If
[..]

' If it doesn't, create/modify it
If CreateRepFormula Then
Set repentry = repinfo.GetEntry("-", thisdb.Server, True)
repentry.IsIncludeACL = True
repentry.IsIncludeAgents = True
repentry.IsIncludeDocuments = True
repentry.IsIncludeForms = True
repentry.IsIncludeFormulas = False
repentry.Views = ""
repentry.Formula = | @IsMember(@UserName;Servers)|
repentry.Save
End If

8. Beware of deletion stubs

How do deletion stubs expire:

For default settings (90 days) deletion stubs are removed once every 30 days

On 'expiry day' all deletion stubs older than 90 days are removed


How do deletion stubs expire:

For default settings (90 days) deletion stubs are removed once every 30 days

On 'expiry day' all deletion stubs older than 90 days are removed

8. Beware of deletion stubs (2)

You know you have a problem with deletion stubs when:

Creating a new copy of your database takes less than
a minute and 5 MB of disk space

Creating a new replica of your database takes over an
hour and 125 MB of disk space

Cause: I copy-pasted code from another application which weekly removed all documents and recreated them instead of updating them

8. Beware of deletion stubs (3)

In case your documents have fields that need to be removed for certain cases, this code works:

Sub EmptyDocument(doc As NotesDocument)
Dim Allitems As Variant
Dim i As Integer

Allitems = doc.Items
If Not Isempty(Allitems) Then
For i = 0 To Ubound(Allitems)
' reason for the if then are docs with multiple fields of the same name
If Not Allitems(i) Is Nothing Then Call Allitems(i).Remove
Next
End If
End Sub

(Only for extreme cases)

9. Replication vs Mail vs Data Copy Agent

To process documents on a specific server you can use either mail, replication or a Data Copy Agent to get it there

10. Try to limit your replication traffic

Replication Formulas can help

Don't save documents unless you have to
Set doc = vw.GetFirstDocument
While Not doc Is Nothing
Set ndoc = vw.GetNextDocument(doc)
' Pick out the mail documents. Leave the rest for the process action agent
If doc.GetItemValue("Form")(0) = "Memo" Then
Call doc.ReplaceItemValue("Form", "Action")
Else
If doc.GetItemValue("Form")(0) = "Reply" Then
Call SendRejectMail(doc.GetItemValue("From")(0))
Call doc.ReplaceItemValue("Processed", "1")
End If
End If
Call doc.Save(False, False)
Set doc = ndoc
Wend

Bad


Replication Formulas can help

Don't save documents unless you have to
Dim ShouldSave As Boolean
Set doc = vw.GetFirstDocument
While Not doc Is Nothing
Set ndoc = vw.GetNextDocument(doc)
ShouldSave = False
' Pick out the mail documents. Leave the rest for the process action agent
If doc.GetItemValue("Form")(0) = "Memo" Then
Call doc.ReplaceItemValue("Form", "Action")
ShouldSave = True
Else
If doc.GetItemValue("Form")(0) = "Reply" Then
Call SendRejectMail(doc.GetItemValue("From")(0))
Call doc.ReplaceItemValue("Processed", "1")
ShouldSave = True
End If
End If
If ShouldSave Then Call doc.Save(False, False)
Set doc = ndoc
Wend

10. Try to limit your replication traffic (2)

Don't flag documents as a workaround for @Today view selection formulas

During the design phase of your application, try to make a good estimate of the expected number of daily document additions/updates of each type of document in your application


Wrap-Up (2)

When administrators and developers cooperate they can make better performing applications

Recommended Presentations

AD214 - What Every Domino Developer Should Know About Performance

AD210 - Built to Last: IBM Lotus Domino Development Strategies

BP102 - A New Approach to Internationalizing IBM Lotus Domino Applications

Code example database can be downloaded from:
http://www.martdj.nl/martijn/bp101.zip

You can contact me at: [email protected] / [email protected]

Q & A

Q?

Thank You!

Please remember the session survey

Legal disclaimer

IBM Corporation 2008. All Rights Reserved.

The information contained in this publication is provided for informational purposes only. While efforts were made to verify the completeness and accuracy of the information contained in this publication, it is provided AS IS without warranty of any kind, express or implied. In addition, this information is based on IBMs current product plans and strategy, which are subject to change by IBM without notice. IBM shall not be responsible for any damages arising out of the use of, or otherwise related to, this publication or any other materials. Nothing contained in this publication is intended to, nor shall have the effect of, creating any warranties or representations from IBM or its suppliers or licensors, or altering the terms and conditions of the applicable license agreement governing the use of IBM software.

References in this presentation to IBM products, programs, or services do not imply that they will be available in all countries in which IBM operates. Product release dates and/or capabilities referenced in this presentation may change at any time at IBMs sole discretion based on market opportunities or other factors, and are not intended to be a commitment to future product or feature availability in any way. Nothing contained in these materials is intended to, nor shall have the effect of, stating or implying that any activities undertaken by you will result in any specific sales, revenue growth or other results.

All customer examples described are presented as illustrations of how those customers have used IBM products and the results they may have achieved. Actual environmental costs and performance characteristics may vary by customer.

IBM, the IBM logo, Lotus, Lotus Notes, Notes, Domino and Lotusphere are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both.

ReplicationMailData Copy Agent

Pro

Secure

Reliable

All information available

Pro

Fast

No replica needed on processing server

More workflow oriented

Specific information available

Pro

Secure

Reliable

When needed



Con

Needs a replica on the processing server

Can take relatively long to reach processing server

Con

Need extra checks to reject bogus mails

Less reliable (Enq/Ack)

Con

CPU intensive

If db on different server, the initiating server needs to be trusted

ReplicationMailData Copy Agent

Pro

Secure

Reliable

All information available

Pro

Fast


More workflow oriented


Pro

Secure

Reliable

When needed



Con

Needs a replica on the processing server

Can take relatively long to reach processing server

Con

Needs extra checks to reject bogus mails

Less reliable (Enq/Ack)

Con

CPU intensive

If db on different server, the initiating server needs to be trusted

Destination must be available

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ThingsSA CostsSystemNetworkSecurity

1. Consider the deployment effort

2. Design flexibility

3. How to run your agents where and when you'd want them to run





































7. Do you need all documents in all replica's?















bp101 - 10 things to consider when developing & deploying applications in large scale environments

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