Abstract
On a Domino 8.5.1 or later server, the contents of the Domino data
directory can be deleted during shutdown if the following two conditions
are true:
1) The temp directory points to the Domino data directory
2) The ~notetmp.reg file contains a null string
This does not happen frequently or on all Domino servers. However, if
this does happen, a backup restore of the data will be necessary.
This is known to happen on UNIX (AIX, Linux, Solaris) and IBM i (i5/OS)
platforms. It is suspected this could happen in very rare cases on
Windows if the TEMP environment variable on that system has been deleted
(on Windows this variable is set by default and would have to have been
deleted for this problem to occur).
Content
This issue has been reported to Quality Engineering as SPR# DWON8FVMYS and will be fixed in Notes/Domino 8.5.2 FP3 and 8.5.3.
Are you impacted?
This issue only occurs if the Domino temp directory points to your
Domino data directory. IBM recommends ensuring the temp directory is
not the data directory.
To determine if your Lotus Domino server is impacted, check the following conditions:
A. A TEMP or TMP environment value does not exist
-or-
B. A Notes_TempDir value in the notes.ini does not exist or it points to the Domino data directory
-or-
C. A ~notetp2.reg file exists in your Lotus Domino data directory while the Lotus Domino server is running
The ~notetp2.reg file is always located in the Domino temporary
directory. If the file exists in your data directory, this indicates
that your Domino data directory is set as your temporary directory. If a
data directory path has not been specified in either an environment
variable or notes.ini variable, the Domino data directory will be set as
the temporary directory by default.
What causes the problem?
The Domino temporary directory is cleaned out at server shutdown. The ~notetmp.reg
is a file that is generated by Domino every time Domino needs a
temporary file to contain names of temporary files that need to be
removed at server shutdown.
The data loss occurs when the server is shut down if
1) the Domino data directory is set as the temporary directory, and
2) the ~notetmp.reg is located in the Domino data directory, and
3) the ~notetmp.reg is in a bad state, for example, if it contains a filename with a null string
Note: These files are in binary format and cannot be read in any text editor
Solution:
Perform these steps BEFORE you shut down your Domino server to avoid unexpected file deletion:
Step 1: Set a temporary directory
A) Set a temporary directory in an environment variable
Specify a Domino temporary directory path by setting the TEMP or TMP environment value. For example, export TEMP=/tmp/domino. If you use a shell file to start/stop Domino, include this command in your startup script.
On IBM i, the following authorities are required:
Data --Object Authorities-- | Opt User | Authority | Exist | Mgt | Alter | Ref |
| *PUBLIC | *RWX | X | X | X | X |
| QSYS | *RWX | X | X | X | X |
| QDIRSRV | *RWX | X | X | X | X |
| QNOTES | *RWX | X | X | X | X |
-OR-
B) Set a temporary directory in a notes.ini variable
Specify the Domino temporary file path by setting a Notes_TempDir=/tmp/domino value in your Domino server's notes.ini file. The /tmp/domino directory should exist and have proper rights to be accessed.
Step 2: Delete the ~notetmp.reg file if it exists in the Domino data directory
If the
~notetmp.reg file has been created and exists in your Domino data directory, delete this file before shutting down your server.
Notes: - Delete the ~notetmp.reg file, NOT the ~notetp2.reg file
- You may be left with other temp files that do not get removed from the data directory. These will have to be removed manually.
