The Domino Outlook connector no longer uses MAPI as the connection mechanism, because of the unreliability of that interface. It now works via a replication/transformation layer between the local Outlook .PST files and the Domino server, connecting to Domino via standard Notes RPC (Remote Procedure Calls). The Notes ID is stored in the server mail file, just like iNotes/Domino Web Access does. The Outlook client operates with the local files, which is how the 100% fidelity is assured. It also means that Outlook to PDA sync is supported, again at full fidelity. Lotus sees the 25 million Exchange 5.5 users as a prime target for this product.

Sneaked out during the show was the announcement of end-of-life for Notes and Domino R5. Last MU, 5.0.13 will be in April, and it won't be available after April either. Support ends April 2005. Which means that it's time to move to 6.5. See the full IBM announcement at http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21117092.

Next, ND7
Notes 6.5 is a client-oriented release -- the only server changes made were those needed to support new client features. In contrast, ND7 will be a mostly server-oriented release, and is now looking like shipping in the first half of 2005. The biggest thing here will be NSFDB2 -- the DB2 storage option for NSF data that was previewed at last year's 'Sphere. There will also be a whole bunch of new monitoring and management for the administrator, to give him much more proactive control and support for out-of-ourse events.

Let's look a little closer at the DB2 support. The whole idea is that the DB2 implementation happens below the NSF API layer, and so is totally transparent to existing Notes apps. In fact, they say that you can cluster a database between two servers, store it in DB2 on one and in an NSF file the other, with no loss of functionality.

The same principle applies when replicating between server and client; the replication happens at the logical Notes data format level, and so physical storage doesn't come into it. Notes clients won't have the DB2 option, and uplevel/downlevel interoperability is assured.

The DB2 doesn't even have to be on the same physical machine as the Domino server, so you can use your existing DB2 servers if you want to. Now, you wouldn't make the mistake of keeping the data from two clustered servers in the same DB2 though, would you? The Domino server needs appropriate levels of access to DB2, and this is done by giving it a special DB2 ID and passwords, which it then stores safely encrypted in its ID file.

But they've not been content with that, which is cool enough. They've added a couple of extra features which leverage the capabilities of DB2 for Notes developers. First of these is DB2 Access Views. These are special DB2 views on Domino data, enabling you to access Domino data directly from DB2 apps not running on Domino. This means that, for example, you can work with Domino data using DB2 query and reporting tools, and it also means that you can update and insert data into the database.