How to set up Database Maintenance Tool (DBMT) Optimisation 1-2-3

Follow these 3 steps below (or just 2 if you already have Defrag.NSF) and you will have:

Server I/O = Less
Compacting = Less
DBIID Changes = Less
Fragmentation = Less
Backup requirements = Less
Backup times = Less
Server restart time when TXN Log or Consistency Checking required = Less
View Rebuild times = Less
To-Do List items for the Administrator = Less

Interested?

Read On.....

Step 1. Install Defrag.NSF - it's a Notes database, easy as pie! (If you already have Defrag.NSF go directly to the next step).

Step 2. Next we edit the notes.ini on the server as follows:
- Remove Updall from the ServerTasksAt2 parameter. (When you run DBMT, you no longer need to run Updall; do not run them both). Add the parameter MailFileDisableCompactAbort=1 (This parameter prevents the router from interrupting the compact operations by delivering mail; delivery restarts after the compact operations complete).
-If your organization has additional system databases (such as other Domino Directory databases with a file name other than names.nsf), specify them using the notes.ini variable DBMT_COMPACT_FILTER= (for example,  DBMT_COMPACT_FILTER=names2.nsf,names3.nsf,mailjrn.nsf).

Step 3. Go to the DBMT Schedule tab in Defrag.NSF and set the schedule and options you want. In the pic below DBMT maintenance will run each night at 2:30am and then Defrag.NSF will clean up the fragmentation automatically. Below we see the default settings, we just ticked the boxes for each day and entered 10% into the "Freespace Exceeds" column.

The simple setup described above will perform a fully automated and comprehensive workflow of the following database maintenance:

Compact operations based on time since the database was last compacted and what % freespace it contains (AKA - Is it worth compacting?)
Purges deletion stubs
Expires soft deleted entries
Updates views
Reorganizes folders
Merges full-text indexes
Updates unread lists
Ensures that critical views are created for failover
Defragments the database
Defragments the TXN Log if selected

With this setup we won't be needing Program Documents to run traditional maintenance Compacts either, so revisit your existing Compact maintenance strategy and Disable those now irrelevant Program Documents.

Seriously, it is so easy and the benefits are real, if you aren't doing this, it's time to ask why not?

We'll check back after our schedule has run and look at the results in a follow-up blog post - stay tuned!

For more information about Defrag.NSF go here