Start/notes.ini Parameters/DAOSEnable

DAOSEnable

DAOSEnable is the central switch used to activate the Domino Attachment and Object Service (DAOS) on a Domino server. The parameter is the notes.ini equivalent of the option „Store file attachments in: DAOS“ in the Server document (tab „DAOS“).

Profile

Parameter
DAOSEnable
Component
Server
Category
DAOS
Available since
Domino 8.5; currently documented in HCL Domino 9.0.x–14.5.1
Value format
Boolean (0 / 1)
Default
0 (DAOS off)
GUI equivalent
Server document → „DAOS“ → „Store file attachments in: DAOS“

Description

With DAOSEnable=1 the server activates the DAOS mechanism: attachments above the threshold DAOSMinObjSize are offloaded from the NSFs into the DAOS storage (NLO files) under DAOSBasePath on the next write access. Attachments that exist multiple times across different databases are physically stored only once; the NSFs subsequently contain only DAOS references.
Prerequisites for DAOS:
  • Transaction log active (TRANSLOG_Status=1).
  • ODS ≥ 52 (HCL explicitly recommends ODS 52 or higher); databases on older ODS must be converted via compact -c.
  • Own volume for DAOSBasePath recommended (separate from the data and translog volume).
If DAOS is disabled (DAOSEnable=0 or Server document set to „NNN“), DAOS references already in place in the NSFs remain active. As long as these references exist, the NSF is not self-contained – DAOS continues to serve the references. Only compact -c -daos off reintegrates the NLO contents back into the NSF.

Examples

Minimal server notes.ini for activating DAOS (typical configuration):
TRANSLOG_Status=1
TRANSLOG_Style=1
TRANSLOG_Path=D:\Domino\txn
TRANSLOG_Performance=2
DAOSEnable=1
DAOSBasePath=DAOS
DAOSMinObjSize=4096
DAOSDeferredDeleteInterval=30
Full notes.ini section of a historical 8.5 server (HCL forum):
DAOS_LOAD=1
DAOSEnable=1
DAOSDeferredDeleteInterval=30
DAOSBasePath=DAOS
DAOS_ENCRYPT_NLO=0
DAOSMinObjSize=4096
DAOSCatalogState=2

Notes

  • Do not flip directly in notes.ini – changes should be made via the Server document so that Server document and notes.ini stay consistent.
  • Full server stop required – for the state change to take effect cleanly, HCL requires that all Domino API processes (server itself, compact, resync, backup, ...) have stopped before restarting.
  • Pre-deployment analysis – before activation, use DAOS Tune (HCL, available from Domino 12.0.1) to estimate the storage savings and suitability.
  • NSF with DAOS reference is not self-contained – when moving an NSF to a non-DAOS server, compact -c -daos off must be run beforehand.
  • Companion parameters – DAOSBasePath, DAOSMinObjSize, DAOSDeferredDeleteInterval, DAOS_ENCRYPT_NLO, DAOS_LOAD, DAOSCatalogState, Create_R85_Databases (for ODS 51).

Sources (HCL Product Documentation)