Lotus Notes Traveler: Remote wipe on Nokia devices

One of the features that are missing on a Nokia device whne using Lotus Notes Traveler is the ability to remotly wipe the device in case of the device has been stole or got lost for some reason.

Nokia now offers the Lotus Traveler Security enablement library to activate remote security features. Go to the bottom of the linkes page for further information.

The is supported according to standard Nokia device support process and works on the following devices:

Nokia E50, Nokia E51, Nokia E52, Nokia E55, Nokia E61i, Nokia E63, Nokia E65, Nokia E66, Nokia E70, Nokia E71, Nokia E71x, Nokia E72, Nokia 90 Communicator, Nokia 5230, Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia N97


HTTP_MaxActiveThreads and Lotus Notes Traveler

Scott O’Keefe recently released new rules for the Domino Configuration Tuner. One of this rules watches the “Max Active Threads” setting in the server document.

The HTTP_MaxActiveThreads setting, found on the Internet Protocols/HTTP tab of the server document should be set to keep the CPU sufficiently busy and by default, it has a value of 40. DCT recommends to set this value between 40 and 80.

I ran a scan against my test server and DCT reported that HTTP_MaxActiveThreads has a value of 100 which is not a recommended setting.  So I edited the server document and changed the value to the default value.

After saving the document, I restarted the server for the changes to take effect.

This is the point, where Lotus Notes Traveler enters the scene. I looked at the console and saw the following:

serverDocHTTP3

Aha, Lotus Traveler is restarting the HTTP task. Well, nothing strange about this. In the end both, Traveler and HTTP worked as usual.

I ran the DCT scan again and was very surprised that once again the HTTP_MaxActiveThreads rule reports a not recommended value of 100.

I opened the server doc to verify the value and indeed, the value had changed from 40 to 100 again.

I once again changed the setting and restarted the server. Same result.

I reconfigured the server to not start traveler at server startup. This time, the setting did not change automatically.

Does anybody know something about this behaviour? Is this a bug or a feature? Maybe it is documented somewhere. Any hint is appreciated.

Edit: Forgot to mention that the server and Lotus Traveler are  8.5.1


LNT – Mails disappear from inbox

Recently I posted that an update for Lotus Notes Traveler is available. Today I saw that this fixpack  causes problems.

When you receive a new mail, this mail is synced to the device. When you open the mail on the device, there is no problem, except that the unread mark is not exchanged with your client and the mail remains unread in the client inbox.

But … when you open an uread mail in the Lotus Notes client, the mail disappears from the inbox on the device.

I reverted back to 8.5.0.1-LNT-LO37251 and the mails stay on the device when read in the Notes client.

Anyone else who can reproduce this behaviour?


Lotus Notes Traveler 8.5.0.1 Interim Fix LO39586

The Lotus Notes Traveler software offer quick email access, address book, to-do list and journal to supported mobile devices or gadgets. This program can be quite handy for individuals who manage a lot of information. For instance you’re in the middle of gathering data from Advantage One Insurance and you need to save and organize them electronically so you can move on to another task. The Lotus Notes Traveler software will be a good fix for this situation.

8.5.0.1 Interim Fix LO39586 is now available on Fix Central.

The fix includes the following APARs:

  • L039586 – Anniversary calendar entry can not start before 1975
  • LO37036 – Troubles downloading bootstrap.nts file from  WM ppc device.
  • LO37329 – Unknown timezone error message displayed on Domino console.
  • LO36583 – Can not access LotusTraveler.ntf on new install if server is not part of LocalDomainAdmins group.
  • LO37264 – Inbox email is resent to recipients from Traveler device.
  • LO39627 – SERVER CRASH AFTER UPGRADE FROM 8.0.1 TO 8.5
  • LO39628 – Mail Filter range not working correctly.
  • LO39629 – CONTACT NAME MODIFIED ON DEVICE, NOT CHANGED ON SERVER.
  • LO39630 – CONTACT PHOTO CORRUPTED IF CONTACT MODIFIED ON SERVER AND DEVICE

Watch Traveler Logfiles In Realtime

Lotus Notes Traveler logs errors and other information to text files in the  \traveler\logs\ directory located under the Domino data directory.

Normally you have to go to this directory, select the file containing the information you want to examine and open the file with a text browser.

For troubleshooting issues it would be better, if you could see the log output at the moment the error occurs. To do so, you can use tail.exe from the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools.

The Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools are a set of tools to help administrators streamline management tasks such as troubleshooting operating system issues, managing Active Directory®, configuring networking and security features, and automating application deployment.

Create a .bat or .cmd file and call  tail.exe along with the log file using the -f option.

D:\programme\IBM\Lotus\Domino\tail.exe -f D:\Programme\IBM\Lotus\Domino\data\traveler\logs\NTSActivity_0.log

travlog

Now you can watch the log file content in realtime.


Traveler 8.5: “Wipe device” – Follow Up

I a recent post I wrote about the “wipe device” feature that is new with Traveler 8.5 and does not work on my Nokia E61i.
I created a PMR to clarify, if the “wipe device” feature is available for Nokia S60 devices als well.

Today IBM came up with the following answer:

This error message is as designed. The Traveler 8.5 client for Nokia
S60 does not support the device wipe feature or the device security 
policy feature. Performing the wipe will block the device from syncing
with the server until a "Clear wipe" is performed.

and a second one:

Hello Ulrich

Following on from our phone conversation today I have created an 
enhancement request SPR # PPOR7NCEFE  requesting that this future be 
added to future releases. ...

Name Lookup

Traveler 8.5 come with some new features. One feature that is still missing is the name lookup. It was supposed to be in Traveler 8.5 but isn’t.

Found this information on Bastian Wieczorek’s blog

The name lookup feature of Lotus Notes® Traveler allows mobile users to search for and find information about users in the Domino® directory, or remote directories if directory assistance is configured. The name lookup feature can be accessed by selecting Lookup Name on the tools menu of the Lotus Notes Traveler client. By default, name lookup returns the first 25 results for a given query and returns names, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses. You do have the option to customize the name lookup feature to best fit your needs.

isn´t included in the 8.5 Release. It is planed to add it in a later release.


Traveler 8.5 – “Wipe device” not available?

I’ve installed Traveler 8.5 and wanted to use the “wipe device” action. All I get is this message

wipe2

I looked into the code of the “Wipe device” shared action in LotusTraveler.nsf. In line 103 I found this code:

If (Isempty(wipeSupported) Or "1" <> wipeSupported(0)) Then
confirmMsg = Strleft(NOWIPETEXT, "%0") + deviceName(0) + Strright(NOWIPETEXT, "%0")

Then I looked into the wipeSupported field of  the “Device” form.

wipe3

With a Default value of “0” the code to wipe the device is never executed.  So I tried to wipe the device by sending the signal via the server console:

tell traveler security addFlags wipeDevice IMEI:3518xxxxxxxxxxx CN=Ulrich Krause/O=singultus

The command is executed without errors and after the next sync, the device is no longer allowed to access the server. But the client and all data are still available

Seems that the function is not yet implemented properly. Or did I miss something??


Do You Own One Of These Devices?

Nokia E71, Nokia E66, Nokia E90 Communicator, Nokia E70, Nokia E65, Nokia E63, Nokia E62, Nokia E61i, Nokia E61, Nokia E60, Nokia E51, Nokia E50, Nokia N96, Nokia N85, Nokia N79, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N95, Nokia N82, Nokia N81 8GB, Nokia N81, Nokia N78, Nokia N77, Nokia N76, Nokia N75, Nokia N73, Nokia N93, Nokia N93i, Nokia N80, Nokia N91, Nokia N92, Nokia N71, Nokia 3250, Nokia 5500, Nokia 6290, Nokia 6110 Navigator, Nokia 6120 Classic, Nokia 6121 Classic, Nokia 6122 Classic, Nokia 6124, Nokia 6650 Fold, Nokia 5320 XpressMusic, Nokia 5700, Nokia 6210 Navigator, Nokia 6220 Classic

These Nokia devices are compatible with IBM Lotus Notes Traveler 8.5. Read this Nokia press release for more information.


Traveler Error 39

Anyone any idea, why this error occurs? I configured a XDA Neo and everything works fine for 2 days. Earlier this morning, travel(l)er stops syncing. I tried to reconfigure the device, but I only receive this error(39) on uploading the device data to the server.

Every fixpack available for travel(l)er already is installed.

And yes, I know, I should not use a weapon of mass destruction! But I do not have enough money for an iPhone 🙂


IBM Lotus Notes Traveler 8.5

With Lotus Notes / Domino 8.5, a new version of Lotus Notes Travel(l)er will also be available. Here is a list new features for the IBM Lotus Notes Traveler 8.5.

Mobile device security policies

An administrator can now define mobile device security policies, along with other Lotus Notes Traveler application settings. The Lotus Notes Traveler client will monitor the device security settings, and if they are not compliant with the policy, an administrator defined action is taken.

Remote wipe

If a mobile device is lost or stolen, an administrator can issue a remote wipe command to remove all sensitive data from the device. You have the option to remove the Lotus Notes Traveler application and data or restore the device to the factory default.

Improved web server configuration support

The Lotus Notes Traveler server no longer requires the use of Internet Site documents for the Domino HTTP server configuration. This will eliminate a number of integration problems with other web applications that reside on the same Domino web server and that could not support Internet Site documents. Lotus Notes Traveler server will continue to support Internet Site Documents if they are already in use on the Domino Server.

Name Lookup

The name lookup feature of Lotus Notes® Traveler allows mobile users to search for and find information about users in the Domino® directory, or remote directories if directory assistance is configured. The name lookup feature can be accessed by selecting Lookup Name on the tools menu of the Lotus Notes Traveler client. By default, name lookup returns the first 25 results for a given query and returns names, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses. You do have the option to customize the name lookup feature to best fit your needs.

Rich Text mail support

Rich text email can now be displayed on Window Mobile 6 devices, including support for fonts, tables and text color.

Lotus Traveler Access

It is now possible to explicitly limit who can and cannot access the Lotus Notes Traveler service on the Domino server. An administrator can define which users or groups of users that are allowed to use the service and which ones cannot.

Device management

A new Domino application database, LotusTraveler.nsf, shows information about the users and their devices that are using the Lotus Traveler service within the Domino Administration client for the current Domino server.

For further information follow this link.


Lotus Notes Traveler Fix Pack 8.0.1.2

A fixpack for Lotus Notes Traveler (Fix Pack 8.0.1.2) is available for download. It fixes the following issues

  • LO27829 – Traveler stops pushing data because file name case mismatch
  • LO28880 – Notice accept failed when SMTP routed
  • LO29236 – Underscores in subject with Danish Characters
  • LO29261 – Server Doc lookup failed during startup
  • LO29250 – Device Stop synching because mail file is not resolved
  • LO29364 – “Unable to open view Server\Internet Sites” message displayed
  • LO29482 – Compression error on SSL syncs with self-signed cert
  • LO29215 – Some WM devices can not send mail because of an exception in SubmitMessage
  • LO29211 – Device password screen hides Authenticator screen
  • LO29715 – Could not open database ntsclcache” message in log files
  • LO30460 – Lotus Traveler users cannot reply to email sent from addresses
  • LO30553 – ActiveSync constantly syncs traveler logs
  • LO30955 – Send/Receiver Email in inbox inverted on server
  • Support for Windows Mobile 6.1 Classic, Standard and Professional devices.
  • Support for Self-signed or non-well known SSL certificates on the Domino Server running Lotus Notes Traveler Server.
  • Client log files moved out of the My Documents folder to reduce ActiveSync syncronization for connected devices.

Restart Task HTTP – Unable To Open Notes Message Queue”

Just a quick hint for those running Lotus Notes Travel(l)er. When you try to restart the HTTP task on the Domino, you have to stop Travel(l)er prior to restarting the HTTP task ( restart task HTTP )

Otherwise you will see the following message on the server console

Restart Task HTTP
and the HTTP task will not restart.

UPDATE: The problem does not occur when you type “tell http quit” followed by “load http” at the server console.


Lotus Notes Traveler – Knowledge Collection

MustGather: Email/PIM synchronization problems with Lotus Notes Traveler
MustGather: Server startup/runtime problems with Lotus Notes Traveler
MustGather: Installation problems with Lotus Notes Traveler
MustGather: Lotus Notes Traveler Specific Documents
Detailed system requirements – IBM Lotus Notes Traveler 8.0.1
Configuring IBM Lotus Notes Traveler and Domino Web Services on the same server
Which TCPIP ports does Lotus Notes Traveler use?
Can Lotus Notes Traveler and HTTP ports be consolidated to the same port?
Lotus Notes Traveler 8.0.1 does not support Apple iPhone
Steps for installing and configuring Lotus Notes Traveler on Domino server 8.0.1 or later that is currently running Lotus Sametime 8
Can the Lotus® Notes® Traveler client be installed on a storage card?
Changing the web server homepage after Lotus Notes Traveler installation

Search the IBM Software Knowledgebase for more links on Lotus Notes Traveler.


Domino Clustering Support required for proper function of IBM Lotus Notes Traveler Server

When installing Lotus Notes Traveler on a single domino server, you would normally not install the Clustering Support feature on the Domino server.

The result is that you will see a lot of “unable to find replicas for ‘database name’ on ‘server name’ ” errors ( and other Lotus Notes Traveler related errors ) in the server log.

According to an IBM Technote ( # 1303737 ) this is normal behaviour. To solve the problem, add the Clustering Support feature to your Domino installation.

UPDATE 28-May-2008: This issue has been addressed in APAR LO29715 which can be found on the Lotus Notes support site here.

However if a customer wishes to resolve before the maintenance release is available they can copy cldbdir4.ntf from the data directory of a Domino Enterprise Server to the data directory of the Domino Messaging server and restart Lotus Notes Traveler.


Lotus Traveler – Installed

Finally I received my traveler download link last night. The installation was easy and finished without any errors.

Traveler installation

But it is sunday morning and I do not own a smartphone. My boss has a smartphone but I will not be in the office until thursday.
So how can I test the new functionality NOW? I googled and found the Microsoft Device Emulator.

First, download the ZIP file for the emulator. Unzip it and double-click on the vs_emulator.exe, which is the installer for the Device Emulator that will guide you through the installation process. Then, install the Windows Mobile 5.0 MSFP OS image. The installation will create shortcuts on your start menu from where you can launch the various configurations of the Windows Mobile 5.0 MSFP. You will also see a shortcut for the DeviceEmulatorManager using which you can launch any of the installed images.

After you have all set up and running, you can connect to your Domino server running traveler …

Traveler with emulated device