Start/notes.ini Parameters/ReplicationTimeLimit

ReplicationTimeLimit

Parameter: ReplicationTimeLimit
Short description: Global maximum duration (in minutes) for replication sessions on this server. Corresponds to the Connection document field Replication Time Limit. Empty = unlimited.

Profile

Parameter
ReplicationTimeLimit
Category
Cluster (but applies to all replications, not only cluster ones)
Available since
At least 9.0.1 (HCL docs 9.0.1 – 14.5.1)
GUI equivalent
Connection document → Replication/Routing tab → Replication Time Limit field (per connection); the notes.ini switch acts globally across all connections
Possible values
Integer in minutes
Default
Empty = unlimited (Domino uses as much time as it needs)

Description

According to the HCL product documentation (14.5.1, Limiting replication time):
Limiting the time a server has to replicate with another server prevents extensive replication sessions and allows you to control the cost of replication with servers in remote sites. … If the Replication Time Limit field has a value in it and the replication isn't complete at the end of the specified time or if the server crashes, when replication restarts, it resumes processing with the item it was working on when stopped. When the field is blank, Domino® uses as much time as it needs to complete the replication session. … To limit replication time for all servers, edit the NOTES.INI file to include the ReplicationTimeLimit setting.
With ReplicationTimeLimit, a maximum duration (in minutes) for replication sessions is set globally for this Domino server. Unlike the Connection document field Replication Time Limit (per connection pair), the notes.ini switch applies to all connections at once. If the limit is reached and replication is not complete, the session terminates — the next run resumes exactly where it was aborted. The early abort is documented in the server log (log.nsf).
Important peculiarity according to HCL: when terminated by the time limit, the replication-history entry of the database is not updated — the next replication therefore starts from the last complete replication event.

Example configuration

Global 30-minute limit for all replication sessions:
ReplicationTimeLimit=30
No limit (default — omit the parameter):
# ReplicationTimeLimit=

Notes & pitfalls

  • Value in minutes, not seconds.
  • A value that is too small can lead to incomplete replications — the replication history is not updated, and the next replication starts from an old state. In LOG.NSF a "successful" message nevertheless appears, even though little or nothing was replicated.
  • For individual connection pairs, the Connection document field Replication Time Limit is more targeted — it takes precedence over the global notes.ini value (per the standard Domino precedence rules: Connection document > notes.ini).
  • The Cluster category is misleading here — the switch acts on all replications, not only intra-cluster.
  • For cluster replication: it is better to adjust Cluster_Replicators and Server_Cluster_* for replicator count / load distribution rather than tuning the time limit.

Sources (HCL Product Documentation)