Domino Server Notes Database Scanner

The Fundamentals of the Notes database scan

The image below shows how NDDM scans the Notes Domino application. For accurate Domino server migration scan results its important to exclude all non end users from the Notes database User Activity scan.

Analyzing the Notes database scan details

The Notes database User Activity and Content Scan will generate a lot of details. The final step is an automated analysis by NDDM based on algorithms of the User Activity and Content resulting in a very accurate advise on how the Notes database is really used. In other words the advised decommission Target (‘Replace’, ‘Delete’ or ‘Archive’).

Since all scan tasks are carried out in parallel by all Domino servers NDDM is blistering fast.

Scan and Analysis steps

It’s simple– just kick off the process, sit back and wait for the results to come in

NDDM Demo

Interested in a short demonstration of NDDM database scanner? Please click the video below.

Feature list NDDM

This section explains in more detail the various components of NDDM associated with some screenshots.

1. User Activity Scan

The Notes Database User Activity Scan result is displayed below. NDDM allows excluding of certain names like Domino servers and Domino administrators from the scan, so you only get real end users in your output. In addition it gives you the option to scan top x users from a specific date to determine the usage in the last year for example. A bandwidth of one year is in our experience a good starting point for your analysis.

2. Content Scan

The Notes database Content Scan reports when the last Notes Document has been created and modified. It also shows the Notes Forms used sorted on date used range. In addition, it supplies details on the parent child structure (response docs). This info is handy in the actual Domino migration phase for example because some platforms don’t support this function.

3. Find Notes databases design strings

NDDM holds a function to scan Notes database designs for certain design strings like “@SEND” or “.Sendto”. In combination with the content Memo form fields scan SendTo and CopyTo addresses found, its easy to identify the active Notes applications that send out emails with links to Notes applications. This comes in handy for example if you wish to do an e-mail migration impact analysis.

4. Deep Notes document link scan

NDDM carries out a deep Notes document link scan to determine which Notes document links are stored in the Notes database and where they link to.

Having an overview of these links is important later on in your project when certain Notes content must be moved to another platform.

5. Design element scan

This data can be used to combine Notes databases with similar design elements into groups. This will eventually reduce the replace and archive effort.

6. Target Calculation

Getting all this info out of your Notes databases is great but it still needs to be analyzed. To avoid a lot of manual work NDDM has a built-in target calculation algorithm function that automatically does most of the analysis work for you. In a matter of minutes NDDM classifies all your Notes databases in 3 decommission buckets: Replace, Archive or Delete.

If NDDM finds Notes replicas across multiple Domino servers the NDDM target algorithm logically assigns the Notes database replica with the most User Activity to the HUB role.

Apart from the automatic Scan and Analysis functions there are more NDDM features that allow you to run your Domino decommission project more efficiently. Such as:

7. Excel Export

With one mouse click you can export all scan and analysis details to Excel for further analysis. This is to ensure you haven’t missed anything and allows you to enrich the data generated automatically by NDDM. As always there are exceptions to the rules and algorithms applied, therefore we offer this Excel export option.

8. Change ACL in batch and revert

NDDM has an in-built function to batch-wise change the Notes database access (ACL) for end users (no access or read-only) and to easily revert the access changes made.

This is for example useful to find out if databases are really not used or only read (if users don’t complain that they no longer have the required access you can safely assume your target assignment is correct).

9. Survey and questionnaire tool for end user communication

Involvement of the Notes database users is important in your project to get buy-in. Once the decommission targets are clear you can optionally use the in-built questionnaire mailing tool to reach out to the top x recent users of a Notes database with targeted questions. This way you can verify the calculated target and adjust it when needed. Please see a sample mail questionnaire below:

The link in the email above links to the NDDM Database record document with the questions you have configured.

When end users open NDDM they will see a limited user interface with only the questionnaires assign to him or her.

NDDM Technical Manual – Installation

This manual explains how to install and configure the NDDM solution on your Domino servers.
It covers prerequisites, access rights, replication setup, and initial configuration steps to get the environment ready for scanning and reporting.

NDDM Technical Manual – Scanning

This guide describes how the NDDM scanning process works.
It explains how to start, monitor, and schedule scans, how results are replicated across servers, and how databases are classified into Replace, Archive, or Delete categories.

NDDM Technical Manual – Pipeliner

This manual details the NDDM Pipeliner module, which transfers scan results to external systems such as SQL or SharePoint for reporting and analysis. It explains configuration, scheduling, and troubleshooting to ensure smooth and automatic data export.

Domino server performance impact

All scanning tasks are carried out by the Domino server on its own local Notes databases by a NDDM Lotus Script agent. See image below:

Domino server-based scan of the Notes database user activity. The impact on the Domino server is zero because the scan is very fast. For example scanning user activity for 1.000 Notes databases will take less than 10 minutes (depending on server speed).

Domino Server-based scan of the Notes database content. The impact on the Domino server performance is average; not high and not low. The agent will scan each Notes document in all Notes databases on the Domino server running the scan. The scans are very fast because the Domino servers scan their local Notes files. However, a single Domino server scan can take up to a few days depending on the amount of Notes files on the Domino server.

NDDM has been designed in such manner that multiple Domino servers will run their own local scans in a parallel operation, resulting in enormous scan speeds. So, scanning 1 Domino server will take the same amount of time (a day or 2) as scanning 10 or even 100 Domino servers.

NDDM runs a scheduled agent on Domino servers to carry out the scan. Therefore NDDM has been tested extensively on the newest versions of all relevant Domino server major releases: R6, R7, R8, R9, R10, R11 and R12; on both Windows and Linux operating systems, 32 and 64 bits servers. We expect lower Domino servers versions will not pose any problems. However, if you run lower Domino server builds (R4, R5), we advise you to contact us so we can give these versions a test run. Please consult the following list with Domino versions/platforms that we tested NDDM on.

Summary of tested configurations:

Windows/32
Release 9.0.1 FP8|February 23, 2017 Build 405
Release 9.0.1 October 14, 2013 Build 405
Release 8.5.3 FP6|November 21, 2013 Build 390
Release 7.0.2 September 26, 2006 Build 265
Release 6.5.5 November 30, 2005 Build 198

Windows/64
Release 12.0.1 FP1 HF54|April 11, 2022 Build 470 *
Release 12.0.1 FP1 IF1|April 11, 2022 Build 470 *
Release 12.0.1|December 14, 2021 Build 470 *
Release 11.0.1 FP2|November 17, 2020 Build 452 *
Release 10.0.1 FP6|September 24, 2020 Build 450 *
Release 9.0.1 FP10 HF747|July 24, 2020 Build 405
Release 8.5.3 FP6 HF3175|April 28, 2017 Build 390

Linux/32
Release 9.0.1 October 14, 2013 Build 405

Linux/64
Release 12.01 (notes.ini setting NOT needed)
Release 11.0.1 FP2|October 20, 2020 Build 452 *
Release 11.0 November 25, 2019 Build 451 *
Release 10.0.1 November 29, 2018 Build 450 *
Release 9.0.1 October 14, 2013 Build 405 *

*) notes.ini setting required: LS64BITCCALLOUTPointerSupport=1

Expert Support for Domino Scanning and Decommissioning

Every Domino environment is unique — and every Notes database contains surprises. During large-scale decommissioning projects, unexpected database structures, design issues, or access problems often appear. That’s why we don’t just provide the NDDM software — we provide hands-on expertise.

Our team of experienced Domino administrators and developers has managed countless server and application scans. They know how to interpret complex scan results, resolve technical issues, and adjust the process when needed.

When unexpected database behavior or access issues occur, we can extend or fine-tune our tooling to make sure every database is properly scanned, classified, and processed.

Whether you’re analyzing a single server or decommissioning an entire Domino landscape, our specialists can guide, troubleshoot, and optimize your NDDM project from start to finish.