TurboGold Enterprise Edition Server-to-Server

Frequently Asked Questions

• Data Movement
• Notes/Domino Acceleration
• Multicator™
• Data Storage
• AutoZip
• Data Control
• Policy Based Management
• Traffic Shaping Management
  

Data Movement
Notes/Domino Acceleration

Q. What is TurboGold Server-to-Server software?
A.TurboGold Server-to-Server is software that accelerates the replications of Lotus Notes databases and mail routing between Domino servers through patented compression and streaming techniques. Up to five times performance gains are typically achieved and higher transfer rates are achievable depending on data content. For satellite and wireless communications, the transfer rates are much higher due to TurboGold’s ability to substantially reduce the latency delays between Lotus Notes packets.

Q. Does TurboGold Server-to-Server software come in more than one version?
A. Yes, TurboGold Server-to-Server is available in three versions – standard, advanced and enterprise.

• Standard supports Windows NT/2000/XP with 1 to 4 CPUs and 1 partition
• Advanced supports Windows NT/2000/XP, IBM iSeries and IBM pSeries with 5 to 8 CPUs and 2 to 4 partitions
• Enterprise supports Windows NT/2000/XP, IBM iSeries and IBM pSeries with unlimited CPUs and unlimited partitions

Q. Can TurboGold Server-to-Server and TurboGold Client-to-Server software operate on the same network?
A.Yes, TurboGold’s Server-to-Server software and TurboGold’s Client-to-Server softwareare compatible and can operate either independently or in any combinationwith each other.
 
Q. Is TurboGold Server-to-Server software sold separately from TurboGold Client-to-Server software?
A.Yes, although TurboGold’s Server-to-Server andClient-to-Server software are capable of running on the same network, theyare sold separately.
 
Q. How is TurboGold Server-to-Server priced?
A.TurboGold must be licensed foreach server involved in the acceleration process. Pricing for TurboGold hasalso been restructured, introducing a new Rewards Program thatprovides customers with volume discounts based on the total purchase price.This approach combined with the very real telecommunicationcost savings TurboGold offers can return your investment in a matterof months. For details, contact Stampede Technologies at sales@stampede.com.
 
Q. Do you offer volume discounts and site licenses?
A.Yes, attractive volume discounts areoffered through our Rewards Program that allows customers to earnvolume discounts based on their total purchase price and sitelicenses are available for large quantity orders.For details, contact Stampede Technologies at sales@stampede.com.
 
Q. How often is TurboGold updated?
A.Onaverage one major new release of TurboGold is scheduled annually withupdates and patches made available on an as-needed basis.
 
Q. What server platforms are supported with TurboGold Server-to-Server software?
A. TurboGold Server-to-Server software currently operates on Windows NT/2000/XP, IBM iSeries and IBM pSeries server platforms.
 
Q. What versions of Lotus Notes/Domino does TurboGold support?
A.TurboGold works with LotusNotes/Domino6 and all previous releases back to 4.51.TurboGold's client runs on allWindows 32 platforms and TurboGold's server runs on WindowsNT/2000/XPand IBM's iSeries, pSeries and zSeries platforms.
 
Q. What versions of the server’s operating system does TurboGold Server-to-Server software support?
A.For Windows NT/2000/XP servers, TurboGoldsupports Windows NT4.0 service pack 3 & above and Windows 2000 andWindows XP. For IBM iSeries servers, TurboGold supports OS/400 version V4R4MO& above; for pSeries servers, TurboGold supports AIX version 4.3.2& above.
 
Q. Is TurboGold compatible with version 6.0 of Notes/Domino?
A. Yes, TurboGold is fully compatible with Lotus Notes/Domino 6 and all previous releases back to 4.51.
 
Q. What additional enhancements are included in TurboGold Enterprise Edition that are not available in Notes/Domino 6.0?
A.TurboGold Enterprise Edition includes improvementsin data movement and data control. Services for setting policies throughoutthe network are inherent in the design. Policiessuch as replication and synchronization, web acceleration, multicasting, database priority assignmentscan all be controlled by Network Administrators with TurboGold’s new featureset.
 
Q. Does Notes 6.0 contain any functionality that accelerates the replication of databases?
A.Yes, the replication process ofNotes 6includes an improved compression algorithm. Nevertheless, TurboGold’s patented compression andstreaming techniques continue to enhance replication performance in Notes 6by up to 2-to-1.
 
Q. What kind of savings can I expect with TurboGold Server-to-Server?
A.TurboGold provides savings in twovery important areas - time & bandwidth. A representative sample of thesesavings is reflected in the chart below.

White: With TurboGold
Black: Without TurboGold

Q. How does TurboGold achieve the performance gains realized in Lotus Notes database replication?
A. TurboGold uses patented compression and streaming techniques to accelerate the speed of Lotus Notes database replication. The notes are first intercepted by TurboGold and compressed. They are then carefully assembled in larger packets that are streamed to other TurboGold servers providing a much more efficient communication scheme.

Q. What is the performance impact of TurboGold on a Domino server?
A. CPU resources required by TurboGold's patented and adaptive compression algorithms are throttled based on the aggregate link speed of the TurboGold clients. Data compression is a CPU intensive operation, which means that while sustained compression is occurring, the CPU utilization will spike to 100%. Even in the worst case scenario where sustained compression is occurring, the load balancing features of Windows NT/2000/XP, IBM iSeries and pSeries allow the Domino server to provide uninterrupted service to its clients.

Q. What software components make up TurboGold Server-to-Server?
A. TurboGold has two software components: the accelerator and the manager. The accelerator performs the function of compressing and streaming the databases during replications and mail routing. The manager is an administrator’s diagnostic tool and is usually run on the administrator’s desktop.

Q. How does the TurboGold Server-to-Server software load on the Domino server?
A. TurboGold Server-to-Server software runs as an “add-in task” on the Windows NT/2000/XP, IBM iSeries and pSeries Domino servers.

Q. What happens if one of my servers is running the TurboGold Server-to-Server software and replicates with another server not running TurboGold?
A. If only one server is running TurboGold, the replication will continue as normal but there will be no acceleration. Both servers must be running TurboGold to take advantage of the compression and streaming savings.

Q. Does TurboGold Server-to-Server accelerate movement of email between Domino servers?
A. Yes, email transfers between Domino servers are accelerated through our mail routing feature.

Q. Can this product run in proxy mode like the TurboGold Client-to-Server product?
A. No, TurboGold Server-to-Server runs directly on the Windows NT/2000/XP, IBM iSeries and pSeries servers performing the Notes database replication.

Q. Does TurboGold require changes to my network infrastructure or any special user training?
A. No, TurboGold runs directly on Domino servers and all Notes operations remain unchanged. Further, no additional training or hardware is required.

Q. What considerations should be made when installing TurboGold on Domino servers?
A. For optimal performance, ensure that all Domino servers involved in the replication process have TurboGold installed on them.

Q. What are the disk and memory requirements for TurboGold Server-to-Server?
A. TurboGold takes approximately 15 MB disk space and no additional memory is required above that required by Lotus Notes.

Q. Is there a software utility that shows how TurboGold Server-to-Server is performing?
A. Yes, the TurboGold manager continuously tracks the savings on all Domino servers running TurboGold’s Server-to-Server software. This data can be displayed at any time in the statistics screen for review and analysis. TurboGold also creates a Notes database (tgoldstat.nsf) that shows the history of replication events and other performance criteria.
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Data Movement

Multicator™

Q. What is Multicator?
A. TurboGold’s Multicator allows database updates to be sent simultaneously (using IP multicasting) to all subscribers of the databases being updated. With TurboGold Server-to-Server, database updates are multicast from a hub to multiple spokes simultaneously.

Q. How do Domino Servers get subscribed to databases?
A. In a hub-to-spoke environment where database updates are generally "pushed" out to the spokes, the hub instructs the spoke servers to subscribe to the multicast.

Q. Which databases are best suited to be multicast between servers?
A. The best candidates for multicasting are directory databases such as names.nsf, mdircat.nsf and catalog.nsf. With these databases, all spokes usually receive the same set of updates from the hub.

Q. Which communication infrastructure is best for multicasting between servers?
A. Multicator in a server-to-server environment is best suited for a tightly controlled wide area communication infrastructure (such as a satellite network) where multicasting of data is supported.

Q. Are the Multicator updates encrypted?
A. Yes, Multicator updates are encrypted inside the Domino security paradigm. When servers subscribe to the database, the spoke securely reads the encryption key needed to interpret the multicast updates.

Q. Which version of TurboGold supports server-to-server multicasting?
A. TurboGold Enterprise Edition Build 5.10 or higher is reuired to use Multicator in a server-to-server environment.
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Data Storage

AutoZip

Q. What is TurboGold AutoZip Server Utility?
A. The AutoZip server utility converts attachments in an existing database into zip format which can dramatically conserve disk space and reduce back-up times.

Q. What impact does the TurboGold Autozip Server Utility have on replication?
A. Less replication traffic will result if all servers replicating are running TurboGold Enterprise Edition. If the AutoZip Server Utility is run prior to replication, TurboGold instructs each server to zip the attachments rather than passing the newly zipped attachments the AutoZip utility would have created.

Q. Which version of TurboGold supports the AutoZip Server Utility?
A. TurboGold Enterprise Edition Build 5.10 or higher is required to use the AutoZip Server Utility in a server-to-server environment.
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Data Control

Policy Based Management

Q. What capabilities does TurboGold's Policy Based Management help manage and control?
A. TurboGold’s Policy Based Management allows Network Administrators to set policies for the following acceleration services and traffic control:

• Replication - Accelerate replication between Domino servers
• Mail Routing - Accelerate mail routing between Domino servers
• Traffic Shaping – Set priorities for distribution of Notes/Domino databases
  

Q. What is the TurboGold Policy Server?
A. The TurboGold Policy Server is where the master replica of a "tgconfig.nsf" database resides. Any Domino server where a TurboGold verifier is running can be a policy server. A variable "Tg.PolicyServer" in the notes.ini file depicts the Domino server where the TurboGold policies are stored. Where TurboGold is already installed, the specification of Tg.PolicyServer in the notes.ini will cause the TurboGold verifier to replace the replica ID of its present copy of tgconfig.nsf with the replica ID from the TurboGold Policy Server.

Q. What is meant by TurboGold’s Quality of Service Definition (QOS)?
A. TurboGold’s Quality of Service Definition documents permit Network Administrators to specify which TurboGold verifiers the definitions apply to, the type of data being transferred (Notes or iNotes), a specific name which can be referenced and the TCP port number assignment. These definitions are stored in the "tgconfig.nsf" and are designed to be replicated throughout an enterprise.

Q. How does the Quality of Service work?
A. TurboGold Enterprise Edition allows different TCP ports to be associated with different Domino applications. This allows you to classify your Domino traffic for tracking purposes and also to prioritize the traffic in conjunction with a third party traffic shaping product such as Packeteer's PacketShaper.

Q. What are TurboGold’s Database Policy Documents?
A. TurboGold’s Database policy documents are a powerful tool that allows Network Administrators to control how TurboGold applies its acceleration policy options like multicasting, traffic shaping, and replication acceleration to individual databases. The options selected are stored in "tgconfig.nsf" and are designed to be replicated throughout a Notes/Domino enterprise.

Q. If I already have TurboGold installed, how do I implement database policies?
A. You need to edit your notes.ini file for and set "tgpolicyserver" which will cause your existing "tgconfig.nsf" to have the same replica-ID as that of the "tgconfig.nsf" on the TurboGold policy server.
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Data Control

Traffic Shaping Management

Q. What is TurboGold’s Traffic Shaping Management?
A. TurboGold’s Traffic Shaping Management is a powerful new feature which ensures on-time delivery of time-critical information. Through specific port assignments, priorities and policies that can be assigned at the database level by Network Administrators guaranteeing “Quality of Service” for Notes / Domino applications. Note, external traffic shaping hardware such as Packeteer is required.

Q. Does Traffic Shaping Management provide any tracking capabilities?
A. Traffic Shaping Management permits the tracking of bandwidth usage by individual and/or department leading to much more effective traffic management. Further, this allows for individuals and/or departments to be charged for bandwidth usage.

Q. How does Traffic Shaping Management work?
A. Traffic Shaping Management allows different TCP ports to be assigned to individual Notes / Domino databases including email. These TCP ports are used in conjunction with traffic shaping hardware to provide different levels of service quality. All configuration options for traffic shaping are under the control of the Network Administrator and entered on the TurboGold verifier. There are no settings on the TurboGold client.

Q. What role does TurboGold’s Quality of Service play in Traffic Shaping Management?
A. TurboGold’s Quality of Service (QOS) definition documents are an integral part of Traffic Shaping Management. In the QOS definition documents Network Administrators assign specific TCP port number to Notes / Domino databases.

Q. What role does TurboGold’s Database Policy Documents play in Traffic Shaping Management?
A. TurboGold’s Database Policies can be defined to designate which QOS definition should be associated with access to a particular database. Database policies allow different QOS definitions to be assigned to different data communication methods. For example, TurboGold’s 5.0 Multicator can be assigned a higher level of priority than database replication.

Q. How does Quality of Service (QOS) attributes get assigned to databases and applications?
A. TurboGold’s Database Policy Definitions are defined in the "tgconfig.nsf" as shown below. Once defined, they are replicated to all Domino servers adhering to their policies. This is a particularly important step because it helps shape traffic for a specific database or a specific server.

Q. How can I implement a lower Quality of Service (QOS) for email without having to create a database policy for each and every email database?
A. First, you can define a database policy to a specific mail server but not a specific database; then associate the policy with the appropriate QOS definition.

Q. How is Quality of Service (QOS) measured?
A. To measure TurboGold’s Quality of Service, a view in the tgoldstat.nsf provides information on bandwidth usage for replication and mail routing. It shows a breakdown of "Kbytes Moved" sorted by the TCP/IP port number and include the database name, event type, peer IP address, server latency and any errors that may have occurred.

Q. I want the senior executives of my company to have better service when they access their email how can this be accomplished?
A. You would create a database policy for each of these servers that have a high priority QOS definition associated with it.

Q. Is it possible to establish different levels of Quality of Service (QOS) based upon user name?
A. No, this option is not provided in TurboGold Enterprise Edition.

Q. Does TurboGold's Quality of Service (QOS) implementation require traffic shaping hardware?
A. Yes, traffic shaping hardware is required. You can establish your QOS policies and then use a network traffic monitor tool to verify that data is moving over different ports.

Q. How can TurboGold help me encourage my users to replicate rather than access the server on-line?
A. Assign a higher QOS definition to replication and multicasting and a lower QOS definition to online traffic. These policies can apply to all databases on the server.

Q. Is it possible in tgoldstat.nsf to to gauge the amount of traffic on each port?
A. Yes, you can use the Quality of Service (QOS) view of tgoldstat.nsf to monitor how much bandwidth is consumed by each TCP port.

Q. Can there be different Quality of Service (QOS) in TurboGold Client-to-Server than in TurboGold Server-to-Server?
A. No, the database policy documents allow you differentiate Quality of Service (QOS) for Multicator, on-line access, and replication; but all replication traffic would have the same QOS attributes.