Enabling a Domino server to host Sametime applications

From "The ABCs of enabling Notes and Domino applications with Sametime," by John Fiola, consultant, Lotus, which originally appeared in the Sept./Oct. edition of The View.

If you choose to host Sametime-enabled Notes applications from a Sametime server, no special server setup is required. The Sametime server can be installed on Windows NT.

If you want to serve Sametime-enabled applications from a Domino server, you will have to do the following:

1. Install the Sametime server. When you install the Sametime server, three databases are created that are used for deploying Sametime applications: the Secrets database (StAuthS.nsf), the Tokens database (StAuthT.nsf) and the VPUserInfo database (VPUserInfo.nsf).

The Tokens and Secrets databases handle authentication and log in to the Sametime servers for the users of a Sametime-enabled application.

The VPUserInfo database stores information used to restrict whom a user can see or who can see the user. This information is configured with the Connect client. Restrictions apply to both the Connect client and to applications through which the user may connect.

2. Replicate databases to the Domino application server. The Secrets database and the Tokens database must be replicated from the Sametime server onto the data directory of the Domino server, maintaining the same file names as on the Sametime server.

Unlike the Secrets database, the Tokens database doesn't have to be regularly replicated to the application server, but it is recommended that you replicate it at least once. The file names must be maintained because the Sametime agents have these file names hard-coded into them.

The VPUserInfo database does not need to be replicated onto the Domino application server. Access restrictions will be checked when the user logs in to the Sametime server.

Once a Domino application server is Sametime-enabled with the Tokens and Secrets databases, it can host multiple Sametime-enabled databases. You do not need to put new replicas of the Tokens and Secrets databases onto the application server each time you create a new database.