Sametime
Richard Pajerski: Securing access to MongoDB with Sametime 12 Premium
By Richard Pajerski | 2/15/23 1:46 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
The thrust of this post is on securing the server itself, and more specifically the MongoDB portion where chat histories, contact lists and other details are stored. HCL supports MongoDB versions 4.2 and higher on a best effort basis and I'm using version 6.0.4 on CentOS 8 for purposes of this post. Here's what worked for me.
After installing, we configure our Sametime database using the MongoDB Shell; upon first connecting, there's no prompt for a password and we're plainly told:
"Access control is not enabled for the database. Read and write access to data and configuration is unrestricted"
Well, that's not good. It was now possible to connect using mongosh and fully control the server *from anywhere, without a password*... :-(
Problem with Prometheus in Sametime monitoring dashboard 
By Roberto Boccadoro | 2/8/23 11:26 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Oliver Busse
I set up the monitoring dashboard in Sametime, using the provided JSON files; in case you don’t know how to do that, you enable it running this command
docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose-monitoring.yml up -d
https://help.hcltechsw.com/sametime/1201/admin/Managing_dashboard.html
Today I discovered that my Prometheus container kept crashing, and in the logs I found lines like these
Sametime V12 MongoDB LDAP issue when using webusers
By Remco Angioni | 1/30/23 1:57 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
When you move from a Sametime version running on Domino to the Sametime V12 version, running on Docker......there could be a problem when you have webusers running in your Sametime environment. You always have to run the Sametime Name Change utility to move away from Domino (LDAP) syntax ( CN=Remco/O=ORG to CN=Remco,O=ORG) https://help.hcltechsw.com/sametime/11.6/admin/changing__names_in_contact_and_privacy_lists.html
There is a problem when you have used Sametime 11.6, which already used MongoDB for chatlogging, and used WEBUSERS (and not registered users). Webusers are saved flat in MongoDB and do not contain the CN=…/O=… syntax. When you move to Sametime V12 and converted the users to LDAP and imported vpuserinfo to MongoDB, you see a loss in Contacts and Archive. Your account is no longer connected to your old chats and doesn’t contain any contacts. Why?
Certificate Information tool
By Fredrik Norling | 1/17/23 2:40 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
SSL certificates, SAML certificates, Signing certificates the number is long of different kinds of certificates and you might need to check the name of a certificate, the start or end date or perhaps the thumbprint.
I use the tool mainly to get end dates of certificates sent to me from customers because I hate when they expire and need to be changed without any preparation. And the worst kind that most administrators often miss is the certificates that is auto created i.e. in ADFS servers, Azure Enterprise apps, Okta
HCL Sametime 12.0.1 - How to upgrade
By Ales Lichtenberg | 11/21/22 4:09 PM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Oliver Busse
A few days ago, HCL Sametime and HCL Sametime Premium 12.0.1 were released. The installation is basically the same as for version 12.0, but I modified my guide.
The upgrade is also very simple, so you can check out the guide I prepared.
So you can get started.
Sametime V12.0.1/12.0.2 cannot connect to LDAPS:636 using TLSv1.2
By Remco Angioni | 10/31/22 4:49 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
Setting up Sametime V12.0.1 and V12.0.2 BETA, I discovered that we couldn't connect to LDAPS to a Domino server, or to the AD using TLSv1.2.I discovered it in the Docker environment and noticed in the community log these lines:
community_1 | stuserinfosa 2022-10-04 08:44:04.175 SEVERE 0 — 31 : createConnection : Problem Initalizing context for simple bind
community_1 | javax.naming.CommunicationException: simple bind failed: stldap.domain.internal:636 [Root exception is java.io.IOException: Initial encode failure on StTlsSocket [6]]
How to migrate older Sametime to HCL Sametime 12 Guide - Ales Lichtenberg
By Ales Lichtenberg | 9/27/22 10:04 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
If you are running Sametime V11 or earlier and want to upgrade to Sametime 12, you have two options. They start from scratch with a clean install (sometimes it’s worth it) or migrate existing Sametime to the new Sametime 12.
I have prepared a short guide on how to migrate the contact list (vpuserinfo.nsf) of your users and I have also added the option to convert from native Domino Directory to LDAP, which is a condition for migration to Sametime 12.
Updating Sametime 12 to FP1. Not all customizations are kept
By Roberto Boccadoro | 7/22/22 5:30 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Oliver Busse
Upon suggestion from my friend Erik Schwalb of HCL, I upgraded to FP1 a Sametime12 server where I made some branding customization.
Contrary to what I wrote in my previous post not ALL customizations are kept.
How to start Sametime automatically when the OS starts
By Ales Lichtenberg | 7/19/22 3:23 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
In the HCL Knowledge Base, there is an article, https://support.hcltechsw.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0099516, on how to configure Sametime 12 to start automatically after the operating system starts.
And what is the procedure?
HCL Sametime Premium and HCL Sametime 12.0 FP1 is out
By Ales Lichtenberg | 7/15/22 5:51 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Matteo Bisi
the first FP for Sametime V12.0 is now available and includes the following list of fixes:
Source: https://support.hcltechsw.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0099322
Extra “Sametime V12 MongoDB roles” in a highly secured Mongo environment
By Remco Angioni | 7/11/22 4:26 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
When following the standard procedure for installing LDAP, MongoDB and Sametime V12. You may discover that the Sametime database user does not have enough rights. The procedure tells us that the following command for creating an user and roles should be enough: db.createUser({user: "sametimeUser", pwd: "sametime", roles:[{role:"readWrite", db:"chatlogging"},{ role:"readWrite", db:"mobileOffline"},{ role:"readWrite", db:"meeting"},{role:"dbAdmin", db:"meeting"},{role:"userAdminAnyDatabase", db:"admin"}]})
Because there was no warning or error at this point we finished the installtion and started Sametime V12, I discovered that we couldn’t login into Sametime. Even when LDAP works correctly and tells us “BIND SUCCESSFULL” in the Sametime Community log.
HCL Sametime Connect client 11.6 IF3 and Sametime 12.0 Standard Client Updated
By Ales Lichtenberg | 6/3/22 1:55 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
When installing HCL Sametime Connect 12.0 client on Windows and Mac platforms, the install does not complete and the following error is reported:
Unexpected results have occurred during the provisioning operation
For additional information, please refer to the logs: C:\user\username\AppData\Roaming\HCL\Sametime\logs
My install guide “HCL Sametime 12.0 – Step by Step” is out
By Ales Lichtenberg | 5/20/22 3:15 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Oliver Busse
According to previous announcements, I createted first version a step by step installation guide for HCL Sametime 12.0. It is a guide for basic installation and configuration so that Sametime and Sametime Meetings can be tested easily and quickly.
HCL Sametime Premium and HCL Sametime 12.0 released
By Ales Lichtenberg | 4/28/22 4:56 PM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Oliver Busse
Sametime V12 Premium has just been released. Here is an overview with links to the necessary documents.
Sametime 11.6 IF2 installation results in a non-working proxy when you don’t have a meeting server.
By Remco Angioni | 3/25/22 4:27 PM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Oliver Busse
After installing Sametime 11.6 IF2, i discovered that the entire proxy service will not start at all. In the localhost log you can see the following warning, over and over again. After opening a support ticket, HCL discovered a problem in the code. It seems like Sametime 11.6 IF2 needs a configured meeting server in the config.
Sametime Proxy Server issue after upgrading to 11.6 IF2
By Rainer Brandl | 3/25/22 2:26 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
Yesterday I upgraded a Sametime Proxy Server 11.6 to 11.6 IF2. After the upgrade you could login but then the screen hang and your chats did not display.First I thought about an issue with the database connection and checked the configuration which looked fine. Then Ales sent me a link which helped to get the Proxy Server running again
HCL Sametime – RunFaster=1
By Milan Matejic | 3/3/22 2:50 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
verybody likes when software performs well and feels "snappy", guided by that mantra I've found that with the help of one "sametime.ini" parameter for LDAP tuning, you can improve the "login" performance of the clients and the time it takes to load Sametime Business Cards considerably.
HCL Sametime – Setting the Community ID
By Milan Matejic | 12/7/21 2:40 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
If you are planning to deploy HCL Sametime Community service in a cluster or HA architecture, setting a Community ID is a must. Ideally, this should be an FQDN used for accessing the Community servers, something which is easy to remember, and your users can relate to. So, think ahead and use a name that can be used to access the service externally and internally
Disabling persistent chat in Sametime 11.x
By Rainer Brandl | 11/17/21 6:55 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
In one customer situation I had the request to disable the new ( and great ) functionality of the persistant chat.Well, you have to install the MongoDB during the installation of the Sametime Community Server but can disable the need of the MongoDB afterwards by going through the following steps
How I solved the problem Sametime integration with iNotes / Verse
By Ales Lichtenberg | 9/27/21 3:42 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
I recently worked on one integration of Sametime V 11.6 with iNotes and Verse (2.2.0). I configured everything as usual, but I still couldn’t get Sametime up and running with iNotes and Verse.
Although this has been described in the documentation, discussion forums or on various blogs, I would like to remind you once again that certain parameters need to be used.
Some interesting video sources of HCL Digital Solutions for Summer
By Ales Lichtenberg | 7/22/21 8:34 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Oliver Busse
HCL publishes short video tutorials on its YouTube channel, so I chose a few for the holiday time.
Here are a few links.
Updated Table of Client types that are connecting to a Sametime server (include Notes 12)
By Ales Lichtenberg | 6/16/21 1:04 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
The new Notes 12.0 client type (using the embedded Sametime 11.5 product) that uses a connection to the Sametime server has ID 0x12A4
HCL Sametime 11.6 and MongoDB 4.4 - how to enable mongo security correctly
By Matteo Bisi | 6/14/21 1:53 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
HCL Sametime 11.6 is supporting MongoDB 4.4 and this is the suggested version in case of new install.
One of the suggested steps during a Community setup is enable the Mongo security as described here , but the steps there are not enough, because 4.4 version in case of replica set , require also the creation and the use of a shared key to every Mongo server involved in the replica set, even if the replica set is composed by 1 node.
How to install correctly Sametime Community over Domino 11.0.1 FP3 on linux
By Matteo Bisi | 6/9/21 9:44 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
During last weeks I'm working mostly on HCL Sametime preparing some meetings environments.
After the release of the 11.6 we have noted the server wasn't able to start if installed after FP3 of Domino 11.0.1.
The issue is similar to the Traveler issue , but we have fixed it in this way:
How to upgrade HCL Sametime Community and Proxy server 11.5 to 11.6
By Ales Lichtenberg | 6/1/21 3:01 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Oliver Busse
HCL Sametime server 11.6 was released. Official announcements will come soon.
Register for this official launch event on June 7
Although the upgrade from version 11.5 is the same as previous release, I created a simple Step by Step tutorial.
HCL Sametime Meetings – Meeting Chat Issue
By Milan Matejic | 5/17/21 5:20 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
Recently I ran into the issue with HCL Sametime, the Chat was not working inside the Sametime Meetings. In this environment, the Sametime Meetings components are deployed on a single Docker host server. After a little bit of Troubleshooting and Log Analysis, I found the following error in the Sametime Proxy catalina logs:
WARNING [https-jsse-nio-443-exec-8] com.ibm.rtc.stproxy.servlet.STProxyServlet.forward CLFRX0050E: User null – /stwebapi/chat/nway – <meeting_server_ip_address> is not authenticated.
Sametime Meetings Live Stream on YouTube
By Ales Lichtenberg | 5/4/21 1:14 PM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Oliver Busse
Have you had the opportunity to try Live Stream from your Sametime Meeting meetings? Setup is not complicated.
I have prepared a short step by step manual.
HCL Sametime Policies – Troubleshooting
By Milan Matejic | 4/19/21 3:08 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
I needed to set a new HCL Sametime policy just for a handful of users, so I have decided to do this via an explicit Sametime policy, assigned to the users via a new user group in LDAP user repository. This process is simple and very well documented, check out the official documentation if you have to do this
https://help.hcltechsw.com/sametime/11.5/admin/creating_new_policy.html
HCL Sametime Meetings 11.5 and LTPA version 2
By Milan Matejic | 4/1/21 3:39 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Roberto Boccadoro
As the LTPA Token version 2 is more secure than the LTPA Token version 1, it has become a new default for me. Lately I found out that the Sametime Meetings Server does not accept the LTPA Token v2 out of the box, more on that in the following. :-)
Sametime Proxy 11.5IF1 issues with iNotes integration
By Roberto Boccadoro | 4/1/21 3:37 AM | Infrastructure - Sametime | Added by Oliver Busse
I updated the Sametime Proxy server 11.5 to IF1 for a customer, and the integration with iNotes broke.
When a user tried to start a chat with another user he received an error