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.