Like most large things that you'd rather not think about digesting, if you break Release 4 to Release 5 migration into smaller tasks, it probably won't seem as bad. This article describes steps that you can begin to do today to get ready for your Release 5 migration. Is this list all inclusive? Absolutely not, but it is based on our work with the current beta of Release 5 and is meant to stimulate thinking about what needs to be done. So, let's get started. Now, where'd I leave that steak knife?

#1: Complete implementing AdminP if it's not already running domain wide
The server-based administration process (or "AdminP") gives your Notes administrators a way of handling routine administration tasks like renaming users, moving databases; and deleting users, servers, or groups. Release 5 is going to increase the function of and reliance on the important administration tool AdminP. If your organization has delayed the deployment of AdminP for a variety of reasons, now is the time to quit stalling and get installing. As you upgrade your servers and perform other domain wide organization tasks, AdminP will be able to assist you and do some of the work for you. But it can only help you if it's running.

You may need to take a look at your current replication and connection scheme with an eye towards defining the administration server for your Public Address Book during this step - so budget your time accordingly.

In addition to getting the Domino servers configured to use AdminP and the administration requests database replicated domain-wide, you will also need to touch the ACLs (Access Control Lists) of your important applications to take advantage of AdminP. This last task can be delegated to individual database managers in some environments.

#2: Verify that you've got the same replica of the database catalog on all your servers.
If you've upgraded one or more of your Notes servers from Release 3 to Release 4 here's a task that might have slipped under the radar. In Release 4, server database catalogs are replicas of each other throughout your Domino domain. Well this wasn't always the case! In earlier versions, each server had its own database catalog. Release 5 is going to contain something which Iris is informally calling the "Super Catalog".