In addition to this release notice, you may find more information available as a technote in the online Knowledge base at http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=463&uid=swg21195416

How does a Fix Pack differ from a Critical Fixpack or from a Maintenance Release?
Maintenance Releases, Critical Fixpacks, and Fix Packs all serve essentially the same purpose: they all provide code changes designed to enhance an existing product. Differences are outlined below:

Maintenance Releases
Maintenance Releases are scheduled updates to the major releases. Maintenance releases usually contain many fixes, and may include some new or enhanced features.

Critical Fixpacks
Critical Fixpacks were made available as necessary to resolve critical issues in the latest Maintenance Releases of Notes/Domino 6.0, for example, security-related items, issues related to severe data corruption, or problems with recurring server crashes.

Unlike the current Fix Packs, Critical Fixpacks were available for the latest three Maintenance Releases of the product (approximately one year). For additional information on Critical Fixpacks, please see the Critical Fixpack FAQ on the developerWorks website at:

http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/r5fixlist.nsf/8c4f0b18f61ab80585256cb400719709/2dc4828273a71ac685256ce5006c44ab?OpenDocument

Fix Packs
Fix Packs are made available to support the latest Maintenance Releases of Notes/Domino 6.5. IBM/Lotus Development and Lotus Support Managers meet regularly to consider if a Fix Pack may be desirable in order to address issues for customers outside the usual Maintenance Release schedule.

Who should apply a Fix Pack?
Customers unable to upgrade to later Maintenance Releases, but who still want to benefit from later fixes made to the product, will want to install a Fix Pack. By providing a smaller subset of fixes, customers are able to accept fewer code changes with lower risk, allowing them to "patch" an older Maintenance Release without requiring a more extensive upgrade via the current Maintenance Release. Fix Packs introduced for a back Maintenance Release roll up into the next Maintenance Release available after that Fix Pack ships.

What do I need to know before installing a Fix Pack?
Administrators need to take into account several things when deciding to install a Fix Pack:

• See what fixes are included in each Fix Pack - Check the listing of fixes available in each Fix Pack at the Lotus developerWorks website (http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/r5fixlist.nsf/Public?OpenView).
• Assess previously-applied "hotfixes" - Many customers have applied one, or several, "hotfixes" to a particular release of Lotus Notes/Domino. In order to apply the latest Fix Pack, previously-applied hotfixes must be uninstalled prior to installing the Fix Pack.
  
  Fix Packs may, or may not, include fixes that were previously made available as hotfixes. Assessing the relative importance of applied hotfixes versus applying a new Fix Pack is a decision made by each Administrator. For more information, see "How do I install a Fix Pack if I have previously applied hotfixes?" below.
• Consider later Maintenance Releases, if available - In many cases, a later Maintenance Release may be available. Generally, Maintenance Releases include fixes introduced both in prior Maintenance Releases, and in earlier Fix Packs.
  
  Customers will want to regularly upgrade with each Maintenance Release, as Maintenance Releases contain fixes and enhancements to the product not included in the Fix Packs. It's always best to stay current with the latest Maintenance Releases, in order to take advantage of the most recently introduced fixes and features, and to ensure the latest Fix Packs can be properly leveraged.

How do I install a Fix Pack over Language Packs?
The installation order for Language Packs is as follows:

• Base product installation - The base product, for example Domino 6.5.3, is installed first.
• Language Pack installation - The Language Pack is installed next, over the base installation.
• Fix Pack installation - Finally, the Fix Pack is installed

How do I install a Fix Pack if I have previously applied hotfixes?
A Fix Pack may or may not contain the same fixes as provided in previously-applied hotfixes. In cases where a previous hotfix is not included in a Fix Pack, you will need to re-request the desired hotfix after the Fix Pack installation is complete.

For example, if you have previously applied hotfixes to Domino 6.5.3 and you are considering applying Domino 6.5.3 Fix Pack 1, you must follow the order below:

• Cross-check Fix Pack against hotfixes - Compare the list of SPRs addressed by the Fix Pack against the SPRs addressed by your hotfixes; in many cases, the Fix Pack will provide the same solutions as the hotfixes. As an example, assume that you have applied 6 hotfixes to Domino 6.5.3, and you determine that 5 of those 6 hotfixes have now been addressed in 6.5.3 FP1 Fix Pack.
• Uninstall previous hotfixes - Remove any hotfixes applied to the base product installation, in this example, all 6 hotfixes from Domino 6.5.3. Note that on Windows systems, the incremental installer will automatically uninstall any hotfixes to return the product to its base state.
• Install the Fix Pack - The Fix Pack, 6.5.3 FP1, is installed next, over the base 6.5.3 installation. You are now running 6.5.3 FP1, which has addressed 5 of your original 6 hotfixes in the example.
• Re-request unaddressed hotfixes - In this example, there was one hotfix which was not addressed by the 6.5.3 FP1 Fix Pack. Simply request this hotfix again through Lotus Support; it will be re-built on top of the 6.5.3 FP1 release and provided to you.

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