Configure and use the Lotus Notes connector (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint)

Article
07/22/2014

Applies to: FAST Search Server 2010

This article describes the administrative roles, required software, user accounts, and processes that are required to install and operate the Lotus Notes Client and the Lotus Notes indexing connector integrated in SharePoint Server 2010 to work with FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint.

Required administrative roles

The following administrative roles are required to prepare the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server to crawl Lotus Notes content that is hosted by one or more Lotus Domino databases:

Administrator of the Lotus Domino server that you want to crawl
Server administrator of the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server that you want to use to crawl Lotus Notes content
Service application administrator for the FAST Search Content Search Service Application

Required software

The following software is required:

Lotus C++ API Toolkit for Notes.
Lotus Notes client application, available for purchase from IBM.
Lotus Notes Domino Server, available for purchase from IBM.

The following table shows combinations of versions of the Lotus Notes Domino server and Lotus Notes client that the Lotus Notes indexing connector integrated in SharePoint Server 2010 will work with.

This server version	With client 5.5.x	With client 6.x	With client 7.x	With client 8.x
Server 5.5.x	YES	YES	NO	NO
Server 6.x	NO	YES	NO	NO
Server 7.x	NO	NO	YES	YES
Server 8.x	NO	NO	NO	YES

User accounts required to crawl Lotus Domino databases

A Domino administrator must grant a Lotus Notes user ID (which represents a Domino user) at least the Reader permission to the Lotus Domino databases and individual documents that you want to crawl. The Domino administrator must also add this Lotus Notes user ID and the Windows domain user account that is assigned to the SharePoint Server Search 14 service (OSearch14) to a mappings database on the Lotus Domino server that you want to crawl.

Note

Only the user account that is assigned to the OSearch14 service can be used to crawl Lotus Domino databases. You cannot use the default content access account or a crawl rule to specify a different user account to crawl Lotus Domino databases.

The following table summarizes the user accounts that are required to crawl Lotus Domino databases.

Required account	Comment	Example
Windows domain user account	The user account that is assigned to the OSearch14 service must also be a member of the Administrators group on the SharePoint Server crawl server.	Contoso\User1, where Contoso is the domain name and User1 is the name of the Windows domain user account.
Lotus Notes user ID	Must be granted at least Reader access on the Lotus Domino databases and on the individual documents that you want to crawl. The Domino certificate also contains this Lotus Notes user ID.	User2 Note The name of this account and its password do not have to match the Windows domain user account.

More information about this mappings table is provided later in this article.

Install the Lotus Notes client application

Use the following procedure to install the Lotus Notes client application on the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server in the server farm with which you want to crawl a Lotus Domino database. Note that this client application serves as a protocol handler and is used to configure the Notes.ini file. Both are used by the SharePoint Server 2010 crawler when crawling Lotus Domino databases.

To install Lotus Notes

Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure is a member of the Administrators group on the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server and has at least Manager permissions on the Domino server.
Copy the Lotus Notes client application to the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server that you want to use to crawl Lotus Notes documents.
Start the Lotus Notes Installation Wizard.
In the Welcome to the Installation Wizard for Lotus Notes dialog box, click Next.
On the License Agreement page, click I accept the terms in the license agreement, and then click Next to continue.
On the Customer Information page, type a user name in the User Name box and the name of the organization in the Organization box, or accept the default settings, and then click Next.
On the Installation Path Selection page, specify the path that you want to use for the program and data files, or accept the default installation paths, and then click Next.

Note

By default, program files are stored in the <SystemDrive>:\Program Files\lotus\notes\ folder and data files are stored in the <SystemDrive>:\Program Files\lotus\notes\data\ folder, where <SystemDrive> is the drive on which Lotus Notes is installed.
On the Custom Setup page, select the program features that you want to install on the local hard disk drive, and then click Next.

The following table shows the features and sub-features that are required by the Lotus Notes indexing connector.

Feature Sub-feature

Notes Client

Client Help Files

Domino Enterprise Connection Services (DECS)

Domino Designer

Designer Help
On the Ready to Install the Program page, if you do not want Lotus Notes to be the default e-mail program, clear the selection Make Notes my default e-mail program.
Click Install.

The Installing Lotus Notes page shows the installation status.
On the Install Wizard Completed page, click Finish.

Feature	Sub-feature
Notes Client	Client Help Files
	Domino Enterprise Connection Services (DECS)
Domino Designer	Designer Help

Grant permissions on the data folder

Use the following procedure to grant Full Control permissions for the WSS_WPG group on the <SystemDrive>:\Program Files\Lotus\Notes\Data folder on the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server.

To Grant permissions on the data folder

Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure is a member of the Administrators group on the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server and has at least Manager permissions on the Domino server.
On the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server, click Start, point to All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer.
In Windows Explorer, go to the <SystemDrive>:\Program Files\Lotus\Notes\Data folder, where <SystemDrive> is the drive on which Lotus Notes is installed.
Right-click the Data folder, and then click Sharing and Security.
In the Properties dialog box, on the Security tab, click Add.
In the Select the object names to select box, do one of the following, and then click OK:
- If the crawl component of the FAST Search Content Search Service Application is installed on an Active Directory domain controller, type domain\WSS_WPG, where domain is the name of the domain that is associated with the domain controller.
- If the crawl component of the FAST Search Content Search Service Application is installed on a server that is not an Active Directory domain controller, type server\WSS_WPG, where server is the NetBIOS name of the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server.
In the Properties dialog box, in the Permissions for WSS_WPG section, select the Allow box in the Full control row, and then click OK.

Configure the Lotus Notes client application

Use the following procedure to configure the Lotus Notes client application. Note that the configuration settings selected in this procedure are written to the Notes.ini file, which the SharePoint Server 2010 crawler uses to discover how to connect to the Lotus Domino server.

To configure Lotus Notes

Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure is a member of the Administrators group on the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server and has at least Manager permissions on the Domino server.
On the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Lotus Applications, and then click Lotus Notes.
On the Welcome page, click Next.
On the User Information page, type the user name associated with the Domino certificate in the Your name box.
Type the hierarchical name of the Domino server that you want to crawl in the Domino server box — for example, Contoso/marketing/west.
Ensure that I want to connect to a Domino server is selected, and then click Next.
On the Notes ID File page, click Browse, and then locate where the certificate is stored. Select the certificate, click Open, and then click Next.
Click Yes to copy the certificate to the specified location.

Note

If you are not prompted for a Domino certificate, click Previous, and ensure that you have entered the correct information.
If a dialog box appears that informs you that you are not authorized to access the specified directory, click OK to close the dialog box. Note that this error is expected if the account that you are logged on with does not have access to the mail folder on the Domino server.
On the Instant Messaging Setup page, cancel the selection Setup instant messaging.
Click Next.
On the Additional Services page, click Next.
In the Lotus Notes message box, click OK.

The Lotus Notes Welcome screen appears.

Leave the Lotus Notes client application open. You will need it for the next procedure.

Verify access to the Lotus Domino database that you want to crawl

Use the following procedure to verify that the certificate that you installed has access to the database that you want to crawl.

To verify access

Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure is a member of the Administrators group on the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server and has at least Manager permissions on the Domino server.
In Lotus Notes, click File, point to Database, and then click Open.
In the Open Database dialog box, select the Lotus Domino server that you want to connect to from the Server list.
In the Database list, select the database that you want to connect to, and then click Open.

The documents that are contained by the database that you selected are displayed in the Document Name section. This means that the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server has the necessary permissions to crawl these documents.
Repeat steps 1 through 3 for each additional database that you want to verify access to.
On the File menu, click Exit Notes.

Configure security mappings

Use the information in the following table to help you perform the next procedure.

Item	Comment
Mappings database name	Name of the Lotus Domino database that is used to map Lotus Notes user IDs to Windows domain user accounts
Lotus Notes field name	Name of the field in the Lotus Domino database file that is used to store Lotus Notes user IDs
Windows user field name	Name of the field in the Lotus Domino database file that is used to store Windows user names
Form name	Name of the form that stores the Lotus Notes field name and Windows user field name fields
View name	Name of the view for the form that stores the Lotus Notes user IDs to Windows user name mappings Note This name is case-sensitive.

Create the mappings database

Use this procedure to create a mappings database by using Domino Designer. You need only one mappings database for each forest of Domino servers that contain databases that you want to crawl.

To create a mappings database

Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure is a member of the Administrators group on the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server and has at least Manager permissions on the Domino server that you want to crawl.
On the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server, open Domino Designer.
Click File, point to Database, and then click New.
In the New Database dialog box, do the following:
1. Select the Domino server from the Server name list.
2. In the Title box, type a title for the new database.
  
  This content automatically populates the File Name box, appended with the .nsf file name extension.
  
  Note that if the title that you chose is more than eight characters long, the file name will be truncated.
3. Click OK to close the New Database dialog box.
Click Create, point to Design, and then click Form.
Click Create, and then click Field.
In the Field dialog box, in the Name box, type the name that you want to use for this field. Note that this field will be used to store the Lotus Notes user IDs.
Close the dialog box to save the field.
Click Create, and then click Field.
In the Field dialog box, in the Name box, type the name that you want to use for this field. Note that this field will be used to store the Windows domain user accounts.
Close the dialog box to save the field.
Click File, click Save, and then do the following:
1. Type a name for this form in the Save Form as box.
2. Click OK to close the dialog box.
On the Create menu, point to Design, and then click View.
In the Create View dialog box, do the following:
1. Type a name for this view in the View name box.
2. Select Shared from the View type list.
3. Click OK to save the view.
Open the view that you created in step 13.
On the Objects tab, select the column that you created in step 10. In the lower-right pane, select Field and then select the field that has the same name.
On the Objects tab, select the column that you created in step 12. In the lower-right pane, select Field and then select the field of the same name.
Click File and then click Save to save the view, and then close Domino Designer.

Add user accounts to the mappings database

Use this procedure to add user accounts to the mappings database using the Lotus Notes client. You should add all accounts which need access to the mappings database and the Domino server.

To add user accounts to the mappings database

Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure is a member of the Administrators group on the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server and has at least Manager permissions on the Domino server.
On the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server, open the Lotus Notes client application.
Click File, point to Database, and then click Open.
In the Open Database dialog box, do the following:
1. Select the Domino server from the Server name list
2. Select the mappings database that you created earlier.
3. Click Open.
In the left pane, select the view that you created for this database.
Click Create, and then click the name of the form that you created earlier.
In the form, in the field that you created to store the Lotus Notes user IDs, type a Lotus Notes user ID that you want to map to a Windows domain user account — for example, ContosoUser. Note that this field is case-sensitive.
In the field that you created to map to the Lotus Notes user IDs, type the Windows domain user account that you want to map to the Lotus Notes user ID that you entered in step 6. Note that this must be in the form of domain\user, for example, Contoso\user1.
Click File, and then click Save to save the document.
Repeat steps 6 through 8 if you want to add more mappings. Otherwise, go to step 10.
When finished, save the form and then close the Lotus Notes client application.

Restart the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server

You must restart the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server before continuing to the next procedure.

Important

After the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server restarts, do not open the Lotus Notes client application again. This is because the Lotus Notes client application might lock files that could cause the following procedures and crawling Lotus Domino databases to fail.

Register Lotus Notes with the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server

Use the following procedure to register Lotus Notes with the operating system of the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server.

To register Lotus Notes

Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure is a member of the Administrators group on the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server.
Run Notessetup.exe on the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server by using the same credentials that are used to provision the Lotus Notes Connector.
On the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server, in Windows Explorer, go to the <SystemDrive>:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Servers\14\Bin\1033 folder, where <SystemDrive> is the drive on which Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint is installed.
Double-click NotesSetup.exe.
On the Welcome to the Lotus Notes Index Setup Wizard page, click Next.
In the Register Lotus Notes for use with SharePoint Server 2010 dialog box, do the following:
1. In the Location of the notes.ini file box, ensure that the correct path of the Notes.ini file is specified. The default path of this file is <SystemDrive>:\Program Files\lotus\notes\notes.ini, where <SystemDrive> is the drive on which Lotus Notes is installed.
2. In the Location of the Lotus Notes install directory box, ensure that the correct path of the Lotus Notes installation directory is specified. By default, the path of this directory is <SystemDrive>:\Program Files\lotus\notes.
3. In the Password box, type the password for the user name that is associated with the Domino certificate.
4. In the Confirm Password box, retype the password for the user name that is associated with the Domino certificate.
We recommend that you leave the Ignore Lotus Notes security while building the index box cleared. This allows the crawl to include all Lotus Notes documents in the index without restriction. Security for these documents and objects is determined by the mappings table and provides security data without excluding documents from the index.
Click Next.
On the Specify Lotus Notes Owner Field to Windows User Name Mapping page, do the following:
1. In the Lotus Notes server name text box, type the Lotus Notes Domino server name or the server IP address.
  
  Note
  
  The server has a Windows NetBIOS name and a Lotus Notes Domino server name. If you type the server name instead of the IP address, make sure that you type the Lotus Notes Domino server name rather than the Windows NetBIOS name. If you do not type the Lotus Notes Domino server name or the IP address, the crawler will not be able to crawl Lotus Notes content.
2. In the Lotus Notes database file name box, type the file name of the Lotus Domino database that maps the Lotus Notes user IDs to Windows domain user accounts. Be sure to include the .nsf file name extension with this name — for example, Mappings.nsf.
3. In the View name box, type the view name of the Lotus Domino database that stores the Lotus Notes user IDs to Windows user name mappings.
4. In the Lotus Notes field name column title box, type the name of the column in the Lotus Notes database file that is used to store Lotus Notes user IDs.
5. In the Windows user name column title box, type the name of the column in the Lotus Notes database file that is used to store the Windows user accounts.
Click Next.
On the Completing the Lotus Notes Index Setup Wizard page, click Finish.

Provision the Lotus Notes indexing connector

Use the following procedure to provision Lotus Notes indexing connector with the operating system of the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server.

To provision Lotus Notes

Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure is a member of the Administrators group on the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server.
Open SharePoint Central Administration; in the System Settings section click Manage services on Server.
On the Services on Server page, in the Service column, find the Lotus Notes Connector service.
In the Action column, click Start.
On the Lotus Notes connector settings page, in the application pool section, select Create new application pool, and then enter a name for the new application pool.
In the Configurable drop-down, select or register the same security account used for installation of the NotesSetup.exe.
Click Provision.

The Lotus Notes indexing connector is now provisioned and started.

Restart the OSearch14 service

The server administrator of the SharePoint Server 2010 crawl server must restart the OSearch14 service before a content source can be created for Lotus Domino databases.