Start/notes.ini Parameters/DEBUG_SERVER_STARTUP

DEBUG_SERVER_STARTUP

🛠️
Parameter: DEBUG_SERVER_STARTUP
Short description: Logs the entire server startup process (memory init, port binding, task start) – primary tool for startup errors or hanging services.

Profile

Parameter
DEBUG_SERVER_STARTUP
Category
Logging / Debug
Component
Server
Available since
10.0
Supported versions
10.0, 11.0, 12.0, 14.0, 14.5, 14.5.1
GUI equivalent
notes.ini only (no GUI)
Possible values
0 = off (default), 1 = basic, 2 = verbose (per task with timestamp)

Description

The Domino server startup runs through several phases: initializing the memory subsystem, loading the configuration, server ID/vault lookup, port binding (NRPC, HTTP, SMTP, LDAP …), and starting background tasks. DEBUG_SERVER_STARTUP writes a console/log line with timestamp and status for each of these steps. Level 2 additionally shows how long each task took to start.
Ideal for topics such as server hangs at startup, an individual task does not start or starts too late, port binding fails, init phase is unusually long, cluster probe fails immediately after start.

Example configuration

DEBUG_SERVER_STARTUP=2
Debug_Outfile=/local/notesdata/IBM_TECHNICAL_SUPPORT/startup.log
DEBUG_OUTFILE_UNIQUE=1

Notes & pitfalls

  • Takes effect only on the next server start (logical – it's an earlier phase than the running server).
  • Entries appear in console.log and in Debug_Outfile.
  • Complementary to DEBUG_SHUTDOWN, DEBUG_THREADID, DEBUG_TASK_DETAIL.
  • For restart loops, additionally set DEBUG_OUTFILE_UNIQUE=1 so that logs are preserved.
  • In a cluster, enable on all members when a server keeps failing.