E-mail today! Using HCL Verse on Premises with mail archive. (Verse on Premises 1.0.8)

When updating Verse on Premises from version 1.0.7 to 1.0.8, the significant new feature is the ability to access server-based mail archives:

 

 

In our environment, we are using a dedicated, separate Domino server for mail archives, which is exposed to the internet using a webserver server name, that is different from the mail server name:

https://mail-archive.acme.ch

This requires a notes.ini to be set: iNotes_WA_UseRelativeUrl=1

Read more about this setting here:

https://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21508407

 

In Verse on Premises, there is a link pointing to the mail archive, but it is using the user’s home mail server, rather than our dedicated, separate archive server:

https://mail.acme.ch/MailArchive/a_user.nsf/verse

which is causing an error: HTTP Web Server: File does not exist error 404 (https://http.cat/404)

 

The URL should instead be:  https://mail-archive.acme.ch/MailArchive/a_user.nsf/verse

 

The following things need to be done to fix the issue:

 

#1 Verse everywhere:

In addition to the VoP installation on mail servers, VoP should also be installed on the mail archive Domino server https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/SS4RQV_1.0.8/admin/topics/vop_configuring_server.html

 

 

#2 Redirecting the mail archive link using a webproxy

In our case we are using a HAProxy ALOHA cluster (a commercial flavor of the opensource software), which acts as load balancer/reverse proxy. It could be any other product.

Basically, the idea is to identify the incorrect requests, and redirect them to the correct URL:

If the server name is “mail.acme.ch” and the URI begins with “/MailArchive/”, redirect to the server name “mail-archive.acme.ch” using the same URI as requested.

 

 

After that, mail archives will open correctly from Verse on Premises, and will appear in the new Verse style:

If you are using local mail-archive (IBM Notes) please consider this blog post: http://alichtenberg.cz/verse-on-premises-1-0-8-unavailable-mail-db-archive/