Job shift after 6 years

After 6 years of great work and innovation at e-office (www.e-office.com) I’ve decided to make a next step and follow my strongest feelings and expertise to make the best of Unified Communications in national but also international UC and Collaboration (Global) projects. Focusing on Unified Communications, Enterprise Voice, Office365 and much more collaboration products.

From this point I would like to thank all my colleagues supporting me and making things happen and most of all “live life to the max”. Helping customers and drive themselves through human excellence by unifying communications. Working on that spot will make e-office a strong collaboration player with lots of technical and organizational expertise. Again thank you for being part of that the last couple of years.

More information on this specific role feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/farla. You can also contact me via twitter: (joafar)
Questions you could have:

Q: What happens with the UC weblog? A: nothing!, expect only one thing – there will be more exclusive content for sure.
Q: What happens with UCVUG.nl? A: nothing!, expect more technical sessions on Unified Communications in the near future.

Contact details:
joachim.farla@atosorigin.com / twitter.com/joafar. All the other contact details will remain the same.
Weblog: http://unified-communications.blogspot.com and the Unified Communications Virtual User Group http://ucvug.nl).

Understanding and Troubleshooting Microsoft Exchange Server Integration

#lync #exchange #integration This document introduces you to some of the new client features that are available whenever Microsoft Lync Server 2010 communications software is integrated with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. Successfully integrating these two enterprise communications solutions can be challenging, especially considering that there are subtle differences in the way that services from each product are leveraged by Lync Server 2010 clients.

• Version: May2011 Date Published: 5/11/2011 Language: English
• Microsoft_Lync_Server_2010_Understanding_Exchange_Integration.doc

Download it now (here)

Source: Microsoft Download

Enterprise Voice is HOT!

Tags: #lync #rgs #voice As discussed in earlier blog posts I'm really convinced that Microsoft Lync can replace your (current) sometimes old-fashioned PBX. Besides all the other cool features and business enablers like (virtualization support, collocation components etc) Enterprise Voice is getting more serious now.

Doing various projects now running Microsoft Lync as PBX lot’s of questions are coming up at customers. And I really do understand. So if you have doubts or additional questions feel free to read this blog post and sent me your questions or comments. Lots of questions I got from customers are:

• Q: Is there something like hunt groups in Microsoft Lync? A: Yes, this functionality is covered by Response Group Service. If your organization has groups of people who answer and manage certain types of calls, such as for customer service, an internal help desk, or general telephone support for a department, you can deploy Response Group to manage these types of calls. The Response Group application routes and queues incoming calls to designated persons, who are known as agents. You can increase the use of telephone support services and reduce the overhead of running these services by using Response Group. TIP: Response Groups can be managed my PowerShell or the (Lync CP). I really recommend to create and maintain your RG”s by PowerShell since it is easy to use and very powerful. This feature is controlled via various PowerShell commands. The commands I used the most.

Set-CsRgsAgentGroup -Instance <AgentGroup> [-Confirm [<SwitchParameter>]] [-Force <SwitchParameter>] [-WhatIf [<SwitchParameter>]]

Set-CsRgsQueue -Instance <Queue> [-Confirm [<SwitchParameter>]] [-Force <SwitchParameter>] [-WhatIf [<SwitchParameter>]]

Set-CsRgsConfiguration -Identity <RgsIdentity> [-AgentRingbackGracePeriod <Int16>] [-Confirm [<SwitchParameter>]] [-DefaultMusicOnHoldFile <AudioFile>] [-DisableCallContext <$true | $false>] [-Force <SwitchParameter>] [-WhatIf [<SwitchParameter>]]

Set-CsRgsWorkflow -Instance <Workflow> [-Confirm [<SwitchParameter>]] [-Force <SwitchParameter>] [-WhatIf [<SwitchParameter>]]

TIP: there are lots of more useful PowerShell cmdlet’s to configure RGS. See the complete list of the cmdlets that ship with Lync Server 2010.

TIP: You can also open the Response Group Configuration Tool webpage directly from a web browser by connecting to https://<webPoolFqdn>/RgsConfig.

 

• Q: Is there a music on hold functionality? A: Yes, this functionality is easy to set on each level in your Lync infrastructure via Set-CSClientPolicy Global -EnableClientMusicOnHold:$TRUE and [MusicOnHoldAudioFile] can be used and is used to see where your WMA file is placed. TIP: You can simply place that WMA file on a [UNC-path] centrally. If you are using Lync also from outside of your firewall I really suggest to put this (music)file in Group Policy and set it via that way. When set to True, music will be played any time a caller is placed on hold. When set to False, music will not be played any time a caller is placed on hold. The default value is False.

TIP: The Call Park application supports only Windows Media audio (.wma) files for music on hold. The recommended format for Call Park music-on-hold files is Media Audio 9, 44 kHz, 16 bits, Mono, CBR, 32 kbps.

• Q: Is there functionality for common area phones? A: Lync Server introduces support for common area phones, which makes it possible to use Lync Server to provide phone service and unified communications functionality from common areas, such as building lobbies. Same here Common Area phones can be maintained and configured by PowerShell. Example:  Set-CsCommonAreaPhone -Identity <UserIdParameter> [-Confirm [<SwitchParameter>]] [-Description <String>] [-DisplayName <String>] [-DisplayNumber <String>] [-DomainController <Fqdn>] [-Enabled <$true | $false>] [-EnterpriseVoiceEnabled <$true | $false>] [-LineURI <String>] [-PassThru <SwitchParameter>] [-SipAddress <String>] [-WhatIf [<SwitchParameter>]]
  

Conclusion: all these features and functionality are well documented and nice to read. I really suggest you download the latest Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Documentation Help File (here) and read how powerful Lync is and how it can replace your existing PBX-infrastructure. Much success while implementing!

Next: lots of new and cool stuff is coming up! If you are interested in how to implement a AudioCodes Mediant 1000 and configure Enterprise Voice in Microsoft Lync check out this weblog one more time

Sources: Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Documentation Help File, TechNet

Technorati Tags: lync,response group service,rgs,powershell,microsoft,call park,music on hold,common area phones

Training, Training and Training

Lots of extra training material is published on Microsoft Downloads. #lync #training #rgs #voice

• Microsoft Lync 2010 Delegate Training This course covers features of Microsoft Lync 2010 that enable you to schedule meetings on behalf of other people.
• Microsoft Lync 2010 Conferencing and Collaboration Training Learn how to schedule, join, and manage online meetings with Microsoft Lync 2010.
• Microsoft Lync 2010 IM and Presence Training Learn how to optimize your IM and Presence experience with Microsoft Lync 2010.
• Microsoft Lync 2010 Web App Training Learn how to use the Microsoft Lync 2010 Web App to join meetings.
• Microsoft Lync 2010 RGS Training Learn how to use Microsoft Lync 2010 RGS features and functionality.
• Microsoft Lync 2010 Voice and Video Training Learn about voice and video with Microsoft Lync 2010.

Lync Phone Edition rollout and TIPS

Today I really got a nice opportunity to configure and install the Microsoft Lync Phone Edition 2010 (Polycom CX3000) in a customer network. Since I didn’t touched the “spider phone” much I was really surprised to have one in my hands. More information about the Polycom CX3000 (here).

As many of probably know it is pretty easy to plug in the device but you need to make a step further to make it actually visible in your Microsoft Lync Server environment. Visible as that you can use the device as common are (conferencing) phone and also that the device is updated automatically without any human interference. More information about that part read the documentation how the Device Update Web service is working etc.

I can really encourage you the read the specific (Admin Guides) documentation on how you can configure this. In the basic you need to have the following components in place to make sure this work and provide a solution which is secure.

• Network Infrasturcture (IP / VLAN)
• Microsoft Lync Server - deployed (Standard or Enterprise)
• Microsoft Lync Phone Edition (device like I used: CX3000)
• (Windows) Server CA (advice: Enterprise CA)
• DC / DNS / DHCP (with a specific scope configuration)
• NTP Server

As the IT pro (MSFT) documentation is a very good guidance I would like to share my thoughts on extra material you really should read to make it more clear. First read is absolutely all the good stuff Jeff Schertz created on this blog about updating and configuring the devices (here) more stuff (here). Check also his artcile on Common Area Phones (here). After the read of all these good stuff I would like to point out some things you really need to configure and test to make sure everything is working. As all these items are crucial to make this work.

Good to know is that a device like the CX3000 is going through a bootstrapping process to get connected and fully operational:

1. Finding the VLAN ID
2. Obtain an IP Address
3. Find the Device Update Service
4. Check for Updates
5. Obtain Registrar FQDN and Web Service URL
6. Connect to the Web Service and Download the Root CA Certificate Chain
7. Authentication Process
8. Receive and Publish Certificate.
9. Log on to the Lync Server

Useful tools and (PowerShell)commands:

test-CsPhoneBootstrap

(No device is actually needed in order to run the test.) In order to connect to Lync Server 2010, Lync 2010 Phone Edition-compatible devices need to use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to retrieve the address of a Lync Server Registrar; these devices must also provide a valid phone number and associated personal identification number (PIN) in order to be authenticated by the system. (This process is known as "bootstrapping".)

Background: the Test-CsPhoneBootstrap cmdlet enables administrators to verify that a given user -- using the phone number and PIN assigned to him or her -- is able to log on to the system from a Lync 2010 Phone Edition-compatible device. (Source: MSFT)

Example: test-CsPhoneBootstrap –TargetFQDN server01.contoso.local -PhoneOrExt tel:+31123456789 -PIN 12345 -verbose

TIP: Another tip here (as Jeff Schertz already said) while testing do only use one network interface card (active for the bootstrap) as I expect also issues when having multiple network card who are active.

TIP: As a double check I really suggest to trace your switch(es) while testing and setup (and run) a local instance of for example Wireshark during the actual test (on that only activated networkcard). This give you a better understanding about the setup and the stack itself.

TIP: As I discovered it myself make sure for Windows Firewall is allowing the traffic to the specific endpoint ((DHCP server) on the network.

DHCPUtil.exe -EmulateClient

(No device is actually needed in order to run the test.)

DHCPUtil does not configure the DHCP servers by itself. It delegates that responsibility to a script which can be changed to suit the organization’s need. After it calculates the values for various options, DHCPUtil passes these values to a script, which can then take appropriate action. (Source: IT documentation MSFT)

TIP: As I really suggest to run this test from a different machine in the same segment and VLAN as your (conference) phones.

The most interesting part here is while testing it on a machine in the same VLAN / segment and gives you the feedback that you correctly configured the DHCP options. Beneath a result you need to have to make sure your configuration is working (this script was run in my own environment but it should be overall the same).

Example: C:\stufftoinstall\Lync>DHCPUtil.exe –EmulateClient

Certificate

After connecting to the Registrar, the first thing the device does is to download the server’s certificate issuer’s chain of trust. This is stored on the device and is used to verify that the certificate the server uses to authenticate itself with. Upon receiving the address of the Registrar and Web Services, the device connects to the web server and downloads the root certificate chain. This is a certificate chain of trust linking the web server to the certificate authority. This assists the device in requesting a certificate for authentication, as well as improving efficiency in subsequent secured communication.

For sure my answer is that NTP is crucial to make this work because during  the actual login process the certificate chain of your rootCA is downloaded and needs to be validated on its timestamp.To validate the certificate chain is actually download review your outcome of the bootstraplogging and search for:

VERBOSE: Target server fqdn or web service url not provided. Will have to do
DHCP Registrar Discovery. 'DHCPDiscovery' activity started.
Starting DHCP registrar discovery... DHCP discovery message send. Waiting for dhcp servers to respond. Response received for the DHCP Discovery message. Found registrar fqdn : frontendpool.contoso.local.
Found web service url :
https://cswebfe.contoso.local:443/CertProv/CertProvisioningService.svc.
DHCP registrar discovery activity completed successfully.
'DHCPDiscovery' activity completed in '1.4601416' secs.
'STActivity' activity started.
Trying to download a certificate chain from web service.
Web Service url : http://cswebfe.contoso.local/CertProv/CertProvisioningService.svc
Certificate chain downloaded successfully.
'STActivity' activity completed in '3.7707621' secs.
'STActivity' activity started.
Trying to get web ticket.

NTP service

Background: Network Time Protocol (NTP) is the default time synchronization protocol used by the Windows Time Service in Windows Server operating systems. NTP is a fault-tolerant, highly scalable time protocol and is the protocol used most often for synchronizing computer clocks by using a designated time reference.

Microsoft Lync 2010 Phone Edition communications software requires NTP to set the correct time and date for phones running Lync 2010 Phone Edition.Network Time Protocol (NTP) must be configured correctly for the device. See also the good post on the BCUC blog about NTP (here) Thanks Brian!

Microsoft Lync Phone Edition searches for an NTP server in Domain Name System (DNS) by searching for the following:

• NTP SRV record (User Datagram Protocol, or UDP, port 123)
• _ntp._udp.<SIP domain> pointing to NTP Server (on your network).

If Microsoft Lync Phone Edition cannot find the NTP SRV record, it will attempt to use http://time.windows.com as an NTP server by searching for the following:

• NTP A record
• time.windows.com (as this is not always allowed by firewall restrictions I really suggest my option first is to correctly configure NTP in your own network infrastructure.

Conclusion:

The best of it is that you have a up and running device at the end and better you got a infrastructure prepared to rollout all kind of devices to rip and replace your legacy and out of support PBX (conference) devices.

Since lots of stuff (and new stuff) is coming up I really recommend downloading Microsoft Lync Server 2010 (Trail) and test if out yourself. Cheers!

Technorati Tags: lync,lync phone edition,VLAN,DHCP,NTP,microsoft,trial,SRV,certificate,chain,scope,udp,sip domain

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Resource Kit

This stuff is really interesting and worth reading. My favorite is Enterprise Voice Version: May2011/ Date Published: 5/4/2011 / Language: English #lync #ev

The Lync Server 2010 Resource Kit is the technical reference for the product. This book extends the product planning, deploying, and managing documentation in the Lync Technical Library. This book serves as a companion to the product documentation to learn how the product works under the hood.

The following chapters are available as separate Word documents.

• Technical Overview
• New Features Overview
• Response Group Application
• SharePoint Integration
• Enterprise Voice
• Conferencing and Collaboration

These chapters are also available together in a .zip file.
The Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Resource Kit book is currently being developed. Chapters will be available for download while this book is being completed. For information about the continuing release of chapters, check DrRez.

• Conferencing_and_Collaboration.doc Download
• Enterprise_Voice.doc Download
• Microsoft_Lync_Server_2010_Resource_Kit_Chapters.zip Download
• New_Features_Overview.docx Download
• Response_Group_Application.doc Download
• SharePoint_Integration.doc Download
• Technical_Overview.doc Download

Technorati Tags: lync,resource kit,enterprise voice,sharepoint,RGS,collaboration

Lync team says hi!

Updates on Microsoft Download for Microsoft Lync

Summary of new updates:

• Integrating Microsoft Lync Server 2010 and Avaya Communications Manager S8300 If you want to integrate an Avaya S8300 Communications Manager with Microsoft Lync Server 2010, you need to establish a Direct SIP connection between the two. This document provides a step-by-step guide for configuring Avaya Communications Manager S8300 with Lync Server 2010.
• Microsoft Lync 2010 Training Learn about Microsoft Lync 2010. Package includes:
• Microsoft Lync 2010 Attendant Training
• Microsoft Lync 2010 Conferencing and Collaboration Training
• Microsoft Lync 2010 Delegate Training
• Microsoft Lync 2010 IM and Presence Training
• Microsoft Lync 2010 Voice and Video Training
• Microsoft Lync 2010 RGS Training
• Microsoft Lync 2010 Web App Training
• Unified Communications Phones and Peripherals Datasheets These datasheets list the phones and peripheral devices that are qualified to display the "Optimized for Microsoft Lync" logo.

The powerful communication devices that are listed in these datasheets are optimized to work with Microsoft Lync Server 2010 and Microsoft Lync 2010, delivering communications solutions that are easy to deploy, use and manage. Each datasheet provides information about each device, including:

• A thumbnail photo of the device
• Hardware type
• Name of the partner that produces the device
• Product name
• A brief description of the device
• URL for the partner's Unified Communications landing page
• Updates on Microsoft Lync
• Lync 2010 Hotfix KB 2540951 (64 bit)    
• Lync Server 2010 Hotfix KB 2493736
• Lync 2010 Hotfix KB 2540951 (32 bit)

Source: Microsoft Downloads

TechDays 2011 The Haque

Yesterday I participated in the ask the expert(AKE) team in the community lounge at Technet Live 2011. Along with several MVP’s and Microsoft employees we had lots of interesting questions. Thanks for that! At our stand (Exchange 2010 and Microsoft Lync) we get lots of questions about how can Lync replace the existing PBX, is there any high availability for Enterprise Voice available etc. Since this product is a revolution all these aspects are covered.

To summarize your questions and our main topics and to spread the world a couple of questions are explained right away:

Q: Can Microsoft Lync replace my PBX? A: Yes it can. With Enterprise Voice, Microsoft Lync Server 2010 delivers a stand-alone Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) offering to enhance or replace traditional PBX systems. Enterprise Voice users can call colleagues on your organization’s VoIP network or PBX, and they can call traditional phone numbers outside your organization. The Enterprise Voice solution includes common calling features such as answer, forward, transfer, hold, divert, release and park, along with Enhanced 9-1-1 calling. (Enhanced 9-1-1 is available only in the United States.) Enterprise Voice also supports a broad range of current and older IP and USB devices. By saying this I really encourage you to test Microsoft Lync and to nuke your existing PBX-infrastructure.

Q: Can I virtualize Microsoft Lync? And is that supported? A: Microsoft Lync Server 2010 communications software supports virtualization topologies that support all Lync Server 2010 workloads—instant messaging (IM) and presence, conferencing, and Enterprise Voice. Windows Server 2008 R2 is required, and both the Hyper-V and VMware virtualization platforms are supported. More recommendations see: (link) I think the virtualization support for now is really a “enabler” for implementing Microsoft Lync asap.

Q: Is there any high availability on Enterprise Voice? A: Yes! If you want to provide branch-site resiliency, that is, high-availability Enterprise Voice service, you have three options for doing so:

• Survivable Branch Appliance
• Survivable Branch Server
• A full Lync Server 2010 deployment at the branch site

For more information feel free to check (link)

Thanks to all the visitors for giving me the time of my “geek” life And congrats to Steven van Houttum and Jeroen Reijling for such delivering good indepth sessions on Microsoft Lync! Hopefully see you guys soon.

Technorati Tags: #technetlive2011,#lync #mvpbuzz #mcm

Lync Server 2010 Hotfix KB 2493736

Version:7577.139
Date Published:4/20/2011
Language:EnglishKnowledge Base (KB)
Articles:KB2493736

Microsoft Download: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=796480cd-daf4-4463-b418-7391cc46a5e1

Lync Server 2010 Support for SQL 2008 R2

Yesterday the Lync Server product team was pleased to announce support for SQL Server 2008 R2 for all Lync Server databases! That's great news!

More information can be found on NextHop: http://blogs.technet.com/b/nexthop/archive/2011/04/20/lync-server-2010-support-for-sql-2008-r2.aspx
If you have any questions feel free to ask. Or sent you feedback/comments via the NextHop website (Leave Comment).

Office 365 Developer Training Kit

Guidance that provides developers with advanced guidance on how to develop for Office 365 including SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online

The Office 365 Developer Training Kit contains developer focused presentations, self-paced labs and links to key resources to help you build solutions that leverage SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online. In Office 365, SharePoint 2010, Exchange 2010 and Lync Server 2010 are hosted in Microsoft cloud datacenters to provide collaboration and communication as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Using this kit, you’ll learn how to build collaborative and communication focused cloud solutions that run in Office 365 using Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework.

Source: Microsoft Download (here)

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Web Scheduler

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Web Scheduler provides a Web-based online Lync meeting scheduling and management experience for Lync Server 2010.

Lync Web Scheduler is a resource kit tool for Microsoft® Lync Server 2010. It provides a Web-based alternative to the add-in for the Microsoft Office Outlook® messaging and collaboration client for the purpose of scheduling a meeting using Lync Server 2010. It also provides a browser-based conference management experience that includes operations such as the following:

• Scheduling a new online Lync meeting.
• Listing all existing Lync Server 2010 meetings that the user has organized.
• Viewing and modifying details of an existing meeting.
• Deleting an existing meeting.
• Sending an email invitation to meeting participants by using a configured SMTP mail server.
• Joining an existing conference.

Source: Microsoft Download (here)

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Certification (MCTS/MCITP)

Exam 70-664 TS: Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Configuring (MCTS)Candidates for this certification should have a minimum of one year of experience installing, managing, deploying, configuring, monitoring, and maintaining Lync Server 2010, Office Communications Server 2007, Office Communications Server 2007 R2, or related technologies. In addition, candidates should have experience using and configuring Active Directory and network infrastructure components that support the deployment and ongoing management of Lync Server 2010 or Office Communications Server 2007 versions.

Exam 70-665 PRO: Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Administrator (MCITP). When you earn the MCITP: Lync Server 2010 Administrator certification, you help demonstrate your professional expertise in using Microsoft Lync Server 2010 to excel in a specific job role. This certification helps validate the knowledge and skills that are associated with being the lead messaging administrator for Lync Server 2010‒based messaging solutions within an enterprise organization, as well as the ability to design and deploy messaging solutions with Lync Server 2010

There are there! Get certified now.

Source: Microsoft Learning (here)

14/04 update on Lync Documentation

• Lync Server 2010 Administration Guide This document contains procedures and guidance for administering a Lync Server 2010 deployment.
• Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Standard Edition Deployment Guide This document guides you through the process of deploying Lync Server 2010 Standard Edition and configuring dial-in conferencing.
• Migrating from Communications Server 2007 R2 to Lync Server 2010 This document provides guidance from migration from Office Communications Server 2007 R2 to Microsoft Lync Server 2010.
• Migrating from Communications Server 2007 to Lync Server 2010 This document provides guidance from migration from Office Communications Server 2007 to Microsoft Lync Server 2010.
• Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Enterprise Voice Guide This download contains two documents: Deploying Enterprise Voice at Central sites and Deploying Branch Sites
• Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Edge Server Deployment Guide This document guides you through the process of deploying Lync Server 2010 edge servers and Directors.
• Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Enterprise Edition Deployment Guide This document guides you through the process of deploying Lync Server 2010 Enterprise Edition and configuring dial-in conferencing for Lync Server 2010.
• Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Supportability Guide This guide provides a central, high-level reference for supported server topologies and configurations and supported client configurations. It is also intended to answer frequently asked questions. This document identifies supported topologies, configurations, and scenarios described in detail in the Lync Server deployment and planning documentation.
• Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Documentation Help File This download contains a compiled help file (chm) of all the available Lync Server 2010 IT professional documentation on the Technical Library.
• Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Device Management and Troubleshooting Guide The purpose of the Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Device Management and Troubleshooting Guide is to provide guidance on how to manage and update devices. It is also intended to answer frequently asked questions. This document identifies supported topologies, configurations, and scenarios described in detail in the Lync Server device deployment and planning documentation.
• Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Planning Guide The planning phase is the time in which you decide what Microsoft Lync Server 2010 communications software features to deploy, and how to deploy them. The Planning Guide chapters describe how to plan for a successful Lync Server 2010 deployment.
• Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Monitoring Deployment Guide This document guides you through the process of deploying Lync Server 2010 Monitoring Server.
• Deploying Lync Server 2010 in a Multiple Forest Environment This document explains how to deploy Lync Server 2010 in a multiple forest environment.
• Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Remote Call Control Deployment GuideThis document describes the how to deploy remote call control in a Lync Server 2010 deployment.
• Microsoft Lync Server 2010: Deploying Lync Server 2010 Enterprise Edition by Using the Planning Tool This document describes the how to deploy Lync Server 2010 Enterprise Edition by using the Planning Tool.

Source: Microsoft Downloads (here)

Troubleshooting Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Clients: Help Desk Resource

This resource is for first-level help desk agents who support Microsoft Lync Server 2010 clients. Note: The .zip file contains both the print documentation and the Help file.

This resource provides first-level help desk agents who support Lync Server 2010 clients (Microsoft Lync 2010, Microsoft Lync 2010 Attendee, and Microsoft Lync Web App) with the following:

• A script for opening a service call and identifying the problem the user is having
• Information about how to resolve more than 200 common user problems
• Tools and resources for additional troubleshooting

Source: Microsoft Download / Download link (here)

Lync 2010 Bandwidth Calculator released

A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that calculates WAN bandwidth requirements for a Lync Server deployment based on administrator-specified user profiles and network information.

With the Lync Server 2010 Bandwidth Calculator, you can enter information about your users and the Lync Server features that you want to deploy, and the calculator will determine bandwidth requirements for the WAN that connects sites in your deployment. Nice stuff…

Source: Microsoft Download / Download Link: (here)

TechNet GetReady for Exchange Server 2010 and Unified Communications

TechNet Global Knowledge | 14 juni 2011 is er weer een sessie over Exchange Server 2010 and Unified Communications gepresenteerd door Steven van Houttum. Dit eendaagse seminar is de ideale start voor iedereen die aan de slag wil met de Microsoft Unfified Communications producten Exchange Server 2010 en Lync Server 2010.
Doelgroep IT-professionals IT-managers / Product(en) Exchange Server 2010 / Thema('s) Unified communications Technisch niveau 200

Meer informatie over de sessie en aanmelden? Ga naar: http://www.microsoft.com/netherlands/evenementen/event.aspx?eventid=382&date=20110324&eventtype=alle

Be there!

UCVUG Q2 2011 (save the date)

We will continue our story with the Q2 meeting of UCVUG. Save the date now and join us on the 14th of June 2011. Pre-register your tickets on:

http://ucvugnlq22011.eventbrite.com

We are now working on good content for this meeting. Lync / Enterprise Voice / Video Conferencing and much more...

BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0 SP3

As lots of you probably (noticed) last week RIM released it’s SP3 for BES 5.0. Good to know besides all other functionality, we now have Lync support in the box. There is now support for additional instant messaging servers.

The BlackBerry Enterprise Server is designed to support the following
instant messaging servers:

• Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 R2
• Microsoft® Lync™ Server 2010

BTW: if you would like to see how Blackberry can be integrated with Microsoft Lync feel free to contact me. We are running SP3 since its official release. Really works great. www.e-office.com/lync Check out this site since we are working on a indepth blog on this.

Good to know also: (read also the official release notes)

BlackBerry Administration Service fixed issues: When you installed Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 R2 or Microsoft® Lync™ Server, and navigated to BlackBerry Solution topology > Component view > Collaboration, the BlackBerry Administration Service listed IBM® Lotus® Sametime® as the component name in the Instance information section. (DT 890401)

Setup application known issue: If you rerun a setup application, it will mistakenly show the BlackBerry Collaboration Service as installed if the following events occurred during the upgrade process:
• you select Microsoft® Lync™ Server 2010
• you click Next
• you go back to the Setup Options page to unselect the BlackBerry Collaboration Service Release Notes Setup application known issues
you complete the upgrade process without the BlackBerry Collaboration Service (DT 1039504)

Upgrade process known issues: If you installed the BlackBerry Collaboration Service with BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0 SP2, when you upgrade to BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0 SP3 and select Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 R2 or Microsoft® Lync™ Server as the instant messaging server, the port numbers do not display the default values (5061 for TLS or
5060 for TCP, and 65061 for the listening port). (DT 1000050)
Workaround: You must type the port numbers to specify the instant messaging settings

Source: (noticed) provided by RIM.

Software For BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0 for Microsoft(R) Exchange: (download)

Technorati Tags: RIM,SP3,Microsoft Lync,Lync,integration,Blackberry,5.0,Microsoft

UCVUG goes to Office365 - maintenance

Since we started with the Unified Communications Virtual User Group in late 2009 we are at the point to migrate the entire UCVUG.nl site to Office365. Since a couple of days I’m a lucky participant in the Office365 Beta! This opportunity really drives me to migrate the UCVUG to Office365. Therefor the next (72 hours) we started to migrate our sources to the new platform. 

When all the relevant content is migrated we will give you a briefed message on how we continue and how we are facilitating the community in 2011. See you soon. There will also be a online form to schedule for the next UCVUG session Q2 (2011).

Joachim Farla (founder ucvug.nl)

TechNet Live 2011

Door de drukke agenda’s heen gaan we toch weer iets gaafs doen. Op 27 April 2011 zal ik met mijn mede community collega’s de stands bezetten tijdens TechNet Live 2011.TechNet_Live 2011 is opgebouwd rond vijf thema’s: client, server, security, management en productivity. Internationale en Nederlandse topsprekers zoals John Craddock, Corey Hynes en Kenneth van Surksum verzorgen de sessies. Naast de interactieve sessies kunt je ook een power training volgen of vragen stellen in de ask-the-expert-area en veel meer. Wil je dus meer weten van Microsoft Lync loop dan zeker even langs de ATE-booth (Lync).

Aanrader: (link) sessie over Lync en Hoge Beschikbaarheid gepresenteerd door Jeroen Reijling. [Lync als volwassen communicatieplatform biedt u ook de mogelijkheid van telefonie. Wilt u weten hoe Lync ervoor zorgt dat telefonie altijd blijft werken? Kom dan naar deze sessie voor een technische deepdive en een realtime demo zien om bovenstaande te bewijzen.]

Aanrader: (link) sessie over Lync Overview and Deployment gepresenteerd door Steven van Houttum. [Lync Server 2010 delivers a lot of new functionality for both the end user and the administrator. In this session we will look at this new functionality, with special focus on the voice related changes. We will also look at architecture, administration, deployment and migration with some examples from organizations that have chosen for Lync as the one and only telephony solution]

Schrijf je nu nog in! (link) Heel veel plezier daar en feel free om me even aan te schieten.

Cumulative Update 2 for the following Lync Products have been released.

Product	External	External
Lync 2010 (64bit)	2496325	MS download
Lync 2010 (32bit)	2496325	MS download
Lync 2010 Phone Edition (Tanjay)	2529974	MS download
Lync 2010 Phone Edition (Aries-Aastra)	2529978	MS download
Lync 2010 Phone Edition (Aries-Polycom)	2529977	MS download
Lync 2010 Attendee (Admin Install)	2500438	MS download
Lync 2010 Attendee (User mode install)	2500440	MS download
Lync 2010 Attendant (32 & 64 bit are a combined patch)	2496326	MS download
Lync 2010 Group Chat Client	2500446	MS download
Lync 2010 Group Chat Server	2500447	MS download
Lync 2010 Group Chat Admin	2500445	MS download

Special thanks to Iyaz Allah Baksh (SPM) MSFT for pointing us out.

Cumulative Update package for Communicator 2007 R2: March, 2011

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2501722 (more information).
Check out this article for: The issues that the update fixes. The prerequisites for installing the update. Whether you must restart the computer after you install the update. Whether the update is replaced by any other update. Whether you must make any registry changes.The files that the update contains.

RESOLVED - Lync/OCS to Windows Live Messenger Public IM Connectivity (PIC) Service Outage

MSN PIC connectivity has been restored. Users may need to sign out and back into their client before seeing successful conversations/presence. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Source: http://blogs.technet.com/b/tlyons/archive/2011/02/21/resolved-lync-ocs-to-windows-live-messenger-public-im-connectivity-pic-service-outage.aspx

Best Practices Analyzer for Lync Server 2010 Now Available

Check out this resource:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/nexthop/archive/2011/02/17/best-practices-analyzer-for-lync-server-2010-now-available.aspx

Feel free to give us feedback (leave a comment).

Unified Communications 2011 - Meer met minder

Wij Nederlanders doen zaken overal ter wereld. We vliegen overal naar toe, we kunnen iedereen telefonisch bereiken en we doen ook nog conference calls on the go. Vergaderen doen we graag (en lang), onze service aan klanten is doorgaans vergaand en goed en we hebben nog steeds de neiging om onszelf van negen tot vijf te verzamelen in grote (luxe) kantoorgebouwen. Leuk allemaal, maar het speelveld verandert. Sterker nog, een groot deel van de nieuwe generatie Nederlanders doet graag meer met minder. Waarom niet een videoconference in plaats van een 2x 6 uur durende vliegreis naar de klant in New York? Of werken wanneer het jou uitkomt op tijden die soms ver weg staan van negen tot vijf op een locatie naar keuze, onderweg of thuis, omdat dat nu eenmaal beter uitkomt? En het is nog efficiënter ook. De huidige Unified Communications (UC) oplossingen maken het mogelijk om anytime, any where, any device te werken. Het vergt discipline, jazeker! Maar het bespaart ook enorm veel kosten. Laten we de kansen en bedreigingen eens op een rijtje zetten.

Wilt u het complete Whitepaper lezen? Zend u voornaam en achternaam ovv uw emailadres naar lync@e-office.com en u ontvangt het volledige Whitepaper.

Lync 2010 hotfixes cumulative update - January 2011 (CU1)

Client side updates
Lync Attendee (system-level install) - KB 2467760 - download
Lync Attendee (user-level install) - KB 2467762 - download
Lync 2010 (Communicator) - KB 2467763 - download x86 / download x64
Group Chat - KB 2467765 – download
Server side updates
Lync Server 2010 - KB 2493736 - download
Group Chat Admin - KB 2467764 - download

UCVUG Q1 2011 Opname nu beschikbaar

 

19 jan 2011. Met veel genoegen publiceer ik hierbij alle opnames die zijn gemaakt tijdens de eerste UCVUG (Q1) sessie van 2011. Ook dit keer hadden we weer interessante sprekers met interessante onderwerpen. We zijn gestart met een presentatie van mijzelf en Jeroen Reijling (MCM) over Microsoft Lync Architecture, Migration en what’s new. Wij willen iedereen bedanken voor alle goede vragen aan het eind van deze sessie.

We vervolgde de avond met een presentatie van Xander Kupers. Xander is Sales Manager Benelux voor Plantronics en gaf een presentatie over alle nieuwe maar ook bestaande produkten van Plantronics. De absolue klapper van de avond was de aankondiging van de nieuwe Plantronics Voyager UC PRO (v2). En zeker niet te vergeten de nieuwe Calisto 8xx! We kunnen niet wachten tot hier de eerste demo modellen van beschikbaar gaan komen. Wil je meer weten over Plantronics of wil je graag zien hoe het in praktijk gebruikt wordt nodigen wij u graag een keer uit bij ons op kantoor om deze apparatuur te bewonderen.

Na een korte ronde met vragen vervolgden we de avond met een presentatie van Jan Zoetemelk van Polycom Nederland. In deze presentatie kwam sterk naar voren hoe belangrijk Polycom voor Microsoft is en ook andersom. We kunnen niet anders dan constateren dat hier bijzondere maar vooral ook gebruiksvriendelijke apparatuur uit voortkomt maar vooral ook eenvoudig en snel te implementeren is. Kwaliteit staat hierin centraal. Mocht je meer willen weten over de produkten van Polycom nodigen wij u graag uit deze eens te komen bewonderen bij e-office enfo Polycom zelf.

Handouts en recording

Zoals van te voren aangekondigd hebben we de gehele sessie voor offline viewing opgenomen. Dit stelt u in de gelegenheid de recording helemaal op de tijd te bekijken waarin dat voor u uitkomt. Vanwege enige tijdsdruk zijn we niet meer toegekomen aan de laatste presentatie van deze avond: e-office the Business Case. Wij nodigen u graag uit de volgende keer weer deel te nemen aan de UCVUG en deze alsnog te volgen. De volgende UCVUG (Q2) sessie staat gepland op  15 maart 2011.

Enquete

Wij zijn altijd heel benieuwd hoe u de sessie heeft ervaren. Wij stellen dat daarom heel erg op prijs als u onderstaande enquete zou willen invullen. Dit kost u niet meer tijd  dan (5 minuten) van uw tijd. Wij staan graag open voor feedback enof suggesties hoe wij in de toekomst de sessies nog beter kunnen maken. Zoals beloofd hebben wij alle handouts netjes voor u in deze blog op een rijtje gezet. Mocht u de presentatie willen downloaden dan horen wij dat graag van u en sturen wij de presentatie naar u op.

Bijgaand de link naar de online enquete: ( http://www.e-office.com/eog/nl/eofsurvey.nsf/index/onlineenquetewebinarUCVUG ) onder de inschrijvingen verloten wij een prachtige Plantronics Calisto P540-M! (link) gesponsord door Plantronics! (de inschrijving is vanaf morgen actief)

Volgende UCVUG meeting

Wilt u de volgende keer nou graag weer aanwezig zijn? Dat kan! Op 15 maart 2011 organiseren wij de volgende UCVUG (Q2) meeting met ook weer nieuwe sprekers en nieuwe onderwerpen. De onderwerpen welke ze zullen bespreken komen snel beschikbaar op (http://unified-communications.blogspot.com) of kijk op (http://ucvug.nl) voor meer informatie.

Heb je nu zelf suggesties of wil je zelf een keer spreker zijn stuur dan een email naar lync@e-office.com en geef hierin een korte beschrijving van hetgeen je wilt delen met ons.

• UCVUG Q1 Presentatie: Welkom: (DOWNLOAD)
• UCVUG Q1 Presentatie: Plantronics: (DOWNLOAD)
• UCVUG Q1 Presentatie: Polycom: (DOWNLOAD)
• UCVUG Q1 Overall recording: (DOWNLOAD)

Rest mij alle attendees maar zeker ook de sprekers hartelijk te bedanken voor de tijd en de inspanning om de UCVUG tot een succes te maken in 2011!

Joachim Farla (owner and founder UCVUG.nl)

UCVUG Q1 Meeting Presentatie: Polycom

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: UCVUG Q1 Meeting Presentatie: Polycom

ucvug q1 meeting 2011 polycom

View more presentations from Joachim Farla.

UCVUG Q1 Meeting Presentatie: Plantronics

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: UCVUG Q1 Meeting Presentatie: Plantronics

ucvug q1 meeting 2011 plantronics

View more presentations from Joachim Farla.

UCVUG Q1 Meeting Presa: Welcome

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: UCVUG Q1 Meeting Presa: Welcome

ucvug q1 meeting 2011 welcome

View more presentations from Joachim Farla.

UCVUG Q1 2011 (heeft nog plekken over!)

#lync #sba #voice #migration #hnw @ucvug_nl Er zijn nog virtuele zit/of staanplaatsen beschikbaar .Registreer je nu en krijg een Lync drilldown! Conferentieinformatie wordt u 3 dagen voorafgaand aan het event toegestuurd via email. Registreer (hier)! Ook dit keer geven we weer mooie Plantronics prijzen weg.

Op 18 januari 2011 organiseert de community Unified Communications Virtual User Group (UCVUG) weer een webinar. De webinars georganiseerd door de UCVUG gaan in op de meest besproken zaken in UC land en de nieuwste ontwikkelingen. Onderwerpen van deze sessie zijn:

• Architecture and Migration Lync (gepresenteerd door Jeroen Reijling MCM en Joachim Farla MVP). Hierin gebruiken we live demo’s.
• e-office businesscase (migratie naar Microsoft Lync gepresenteerd door Joachim Farla MVP)
• Plantronics/Polycom portfolio Microsoft Lync (gepresenteerd door Jan Zoetemeld Polycom en Xander Kupers Plantronics)

Joachim Farla, Unified Communications specialist en initiafnemer van de UCVUG red: ‘De UCVUG brengt experts op het gebied van UC bij elkaar. Door de veelheid aan evenementen die op dit vlak georganiseerd worden, is het steeds lastiger om deze experts bij elkaar te krijgen. Daarom maken we het mensen gemakkelijker door kennis virtueel te delen en deel te nemen aan presentaties daar vanaf elke gewenste locatie – thuis, op kantoor zelfs in het buitenland.’ 
deelnemen aan de webinar.

Meer informatie over deze webinar en de mogelijkheid om u in te schrijven vindt u op http://ucvugnlq12011.eventbrite.com/. Op (ucvug.nl) kunt u ook voorgaande webinars bekijken, blogs lezen en vindt u diverse UC downloads.

Actie: heeft u de oudste telefooncentrale van Nederland? Dan kunt u nu een volledige Lync implementatie winnen! Dit in samenwerking met en mede mogelijk gemaakt door onze partners Interoute, Plantronics en Actis. Ga voor meer informatie naar: http://www.oudstetelefooncentrale.nl/ en meld je aan!