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How to successfully test the Notes 8 beta, part 1

by Volker Weber

John sets the rules. Let me try and explain them.

1. Its beta ... it is not done. Deal with it.

What you see is not what you will get.

2. Performance will get better ... performance tuning starts now. DO NOT use the public beta as proof of how it will run

What you see is not what you will get.

3. You install this in a production environment, do not bitch if it breaks. Come on folks, its beta. Beta's should never go in a production environment.

It's probably going to break in a horrible way.

4. Please, stop the complaints about no Mac in the beta ... it was announced at Lotusphere. IBM has to focus to get things done well. 8.0.1 will be out before most companies are ready to move.

Look at Sametime. That did not ship with a Mac client either.

5. The most important ... folks, its March. The product is supposed to come out this summer. The feature list is locked :-) ...

What you see is what you will get.

Comments

Very true. I heartily agree. It'll be a few weeks before I break one or more of those.. ;-)

---* Bill

Volker - While I appreciate the humor, I think you are being totally unfair. This is beta .. software that is not complete. Since I have been testing 8, which started September 2006, there has been major improvements in performance, stability, and bugs. It will just get better.

My goal with the "rules" was to but a humorous spin on some basic expectations that everyone should have going into this. And I have gotten nothing but positive feedback on the post from IBM, other partners, and customers. Yours is the first negative thing I have heard.

It would be nice for you to share your thoughts with someone in a conversation ... blogging is not a two-way form of dialog.

John

While I appreciate the humor

John, I don't think you do.

blogging is not a two-way form of dialog.

Ceci n'est pas un blog.

major improvements in performance, stability, and bugs

More performance, more stability and also more bugs? w00t! j/k

I understand the reaction of John very good. I basically was very confused about what message (or should it be massage?) Volker intended to give to us. Whereas Bill obviously did get it right, I for myself was still in an asking state just until reading the comments ..... hence, I have the impression, the message is sort of nebulous

Looks like I broke the rules :-)

How can I do a parallel R7/R8 install. As I cannot read the options in the dialog box I have no chance to choose not to upgrade. Are there any command line options?

Parallel installs require using the normal GUI installer, but you have to tweak your registry first so that previous versions of Notes don’t get their settings over-written.

I ran an earlier Notes 8 beta alongside Notes 7.0.2, and the machine wasn’t entirely happy, even with the registry tweaks. I can’t say it’s the way to go, VMware or similar would be a much better bet.

Paul - you only break the rules if you bitch once it breaks in production. I did not say do not install it in production, I said do at your own risk :-)

I found it easier to do a parallel install in a slightly different way:
1) Copy R7 to a new directory
2) Install R8 and let it upgrade your original R7 directory.
3) Re-install R7 over the copy you just made.

Works great for me, and didn't have to touch the registry.

Yes, that method does the registry changes for you. My method involves changing your existing Notes (6 / 7) registry values (assuming you know where they are), installing Notes 8, then changing the original registry settings back. If you know what to look for, it’s quicker than doing two installations, but your method works for sure :o)

I think vowe meant it in a fun light - and I actually took it as him agreeing with you. Of course I could be wrong.

I have quit trying to run parallel installs. I am now developing in 3 different Notes versions (6.5.6, 7.0.3, and 8.x). I completely switched to running my DEV environments in VMware images. It makes life much, much easier.

Again, for the german speaking readers here is detailed information for a parallel installation. Obviously, beeing a bit older, it does not cover N8, but it is nevertheless still useful, as the process did not change:

Notes Parallelinstallation

BTW: I fully support, what Rocky said: If you really need it, go the VMWare route.

Ceci n'est pas un blog

vowe.net is a personal website published by Volker Weber a.k.a. vowe. I am an author, consultant and systems architect based in Darmstadt, Germany.

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