How to fix Message Tracking in Lotus Domino

There have been times that the Message Tracking (MTC) functionality on my Domino servers have gone south. It’s rare but it does happen. When it does, it needs to be deleted and recreated. Fortunately, IBM has created a Technote (Reference #1221830) for just such an occasion.

Question
What are the steps to recreate the Message Tracking Store (MTSTORE.NSF) database and its associated MTDATA subdirectory?

Answer
To recreate the MTSTORE.NSF and MTDATA subdirectory, do the following:

1. Shut down the Domino Administrator client.

2. Issue Tell Router quit on the server console.

3. Delete the MTDATA subdirectory at the Operating System level*. MTDATA is a subdirectory of the Domino data directory.

*If you receive a message that the directory is in use, issue the following command on the server console:

dbcache flush

and then try to delete the directory again.

4. Issue Load Router on the server console.

5. Launch the Domino Administrator client and select the Files tab. You should see a MTDATA folder, which contains the new MTSTORE.NSF.

Restarting the Router task also restarts the MTCollector task. The MTDATA subdirectory is created when Message Tracking is enabled in the Configuration document and the Router task is restarted.

If you’re not sure what Message Tracking is, take a look at IBM Technote #1165592 for more details. (This also has a chart with associated tasks and commands! Thanks IBM!)