Start/notes.ini Parameters/NIFBasePath

NIFBasePath

Parameter: NIFBasePath
Short description: Path where externalized view indexes (NIF NSF) are stored when NIFNSFEnable is active.

Profile

Parameter
NIFBasePath
Category
Performance / Memory
Available since
At least 9.0.1 (HCL documentation); practically effective from ODS 51 (Domino 10)
GUI equivalent
notes.ini only (no GUI)
Possible values
Absolute directory path, e.g. D:\Domino\NIFNSF or /local/notesdata/nifnsf

Description

According to HCL product documentation (Compact options):
View indexes are moved to the location defined by the NIFBasePath setting in the NOTES.INI file.
NIFBasePath defines the storage location for the externalized view indexes once the NIF NSF feature (NIFNSFEnable=1) is active. A separate .ndx file is stored there per NSF. Best practice is a dedicated, fast volume — this offloads the NSF path and is noticeably effective with many or large mail files.

Example configuration

NIFNSFEnable=1
NIFBasePath=D:\Domino\NIFNSF

Notes & pitfalls

  • The directory must exist before server startup and must be writable for the Domino service account.
  • Useful on a dedicated fast volume (SSD/NVMe).
  • Only effective in combination with NIFNSFEnable=1 and ODS 51+.
  • Complementary to NIFNSFEnable, CREATE_NIFNSF_DATABASES.
  • Change takes effect after server restart or after a new compact run.

Sources (HCL Product Documentation)