Jeroen Reijling Blog

A Dutch UC professional (Frederik Lefevre) has written a couple of blog entries on how to get the Response Group showing queue information… Source: http://www.ucprofessional.com/2011/01/response-group-queue-monitoring.html. However, he has it covered in multiple entries, with updates on multiple locations, therefore I’m putting it into a single blog entry for you all to use.

This article provides the complete picture on how to create the parts that are in the database and the webservices …

1. Database

1. On the database server create a database called ‘gngacd’.
2. Create a Security login which matches your webservername (e.g. DOMAINNAME\COMPUTERNAME$)
3. Provide that account Sysadmin rights with dbo rights on the GNGACD, RGSCONFIG, RGSDYN, TEMPDB databases.
4. Create or update the function using Create or Update script using the SQL Server Management Studio, select the database (GNGACD), right click New Query:
5. Copy and past the Create or Update script content in the query field and press execute. This creates or updates the required function.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

Within Lync you can use in-band provisioning to perform most of the Clientside settings. An overview of these settings can be found here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg398300.aspx or for a more friendly blog: http://www.shudnow.net/2010/10/28/lync-2010-client-policies/

However, there are some settings that aren’t available (yet?), therefore I’ve downloaded the default template and documentation from this location: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=27217 

After reading the documentation, I’ve got multiple requests of customers that they would like to have some additional settings in there… I’ll explain the settings and afterwards provide you a link to where you can download the custom Lync Administrative Template.

1. Modify the time before the client downloads the (delta or full) addressbook. Remark. This is not recommended in a production or large scale deployment as clients are instantly downloading the Addressbook instead of the default waiting time (between 0 and 60 minutes). This sets the registry GalDownloadInitialDelay as documented here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/972403
2. Allow or disallow the autostarting of the Microsft Lync client. This sets the AutoRunWhenLogonToWindows as documented here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/csps/archive/2011/06/14/regautostartonlogon.aspx
3. Modify the Idle and Away threshold. These are set to 5 minutes by default. The screenshot below shows the settings screen when you open Settings – Tools – Options – Status
4. Updated: I’ve added the functionality to Disable PC 2 PC Video.

There are excellent blogs on how to add the administrative template to a Group Policy, examples are: http://www.petri.co.il/adding_new_administrative_templates_to_gpo.htm or http://www.petri.co.il/administrative-templates-for-group-policy-objects.htm 

So for short, here is the file: lyncADM.zip

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Popularity: 3% [?]

There is an update on the Remote Call Control, the February update will enable your RCC enabled users to have video.

Summary

For video capability with RCC-enabled users, deploy the February 2012 update for Lync. There is no additional information at this time about future releases of Lync. With the exception of this scheduled update, there are no additional planned changes for the RCC feature set. Should any plans arise, we will announce them publically as soon as we can.

Source: http://blogs.technet.com/b/nexthop/archive/2012/03/01/update-lync-2010-adds-video-calling-for-rcc-enabled-users.aspx

Popularity: 2% [?]

The session I’ve presented with Vincent Verpoort at TechDays 2012 in Den Haag is online, enjoy watching and please ask questions or provide feedback!.

http://technet.microsoft.com/nl-nl/edge/lync-on-premise-and-office365-a-perfect-match

Popularity: 2% [?]

Popularity: 3% [?]

UCUG & Microsoft Lync vragenuur.

Samen met William van Male van Microsoft NL hebben we een maandelijks Lync vragenuur opgestart. Dit is begonnen in december, en tot en met februari testen we een aantal tijdstippen uit en ook kijken we of een open vragenuur of een specifiek onderwerp beter aanslaat.

Het is een online meeting waar iedereen aan deel kan nemen, of je nu al Lync hebt of niet. Er is ruimte voor alle Lync gerelateerde vragen.  Registratie kan via de links op ucug.nl aan de rechterzijde.

De experts die meewerken doen dit op vrijwillige basis, en komen zowel uit de gelederen van onze usergroup als bij Microsoft Nederland vandaan. We hopen op deze unieke wijze een laagdrempelige manier aan te kunnen bieden om de diverse vragen die er zoal spelen rondom Lync van een antwoord te kunnen voorzien.

UCUG meeting 26 januari.

De meeting is dit keer donderdag middag 26 januari bij Microsoft te Schiphol, het thema is Lync.

Registreren kan hier: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/2663116453

Agenda

• 12:30-13:00 ontvangst met broodjes
• 13:00-14:00 Lync bij de gemeente Nieuwegein – Frederik Lefevre
• 14:00-15:00 Remote access voor mobile devices – Steven van Houttum
• 15:00-15:15 pauze
• 15:15-16:15 Microsoft Lync Server als telefonie oplossing – Jeroen Reijling
• 16:15-16:45 Lync Q&A

Lync bij de gemeente Nieuwegein – Frederik Lefevre

Frederik Lefevre van de Gemeente Nieuwegein, waar Lync volledig wordt gebruikt voor telefonie, komt vertellen hoe ze de implementatie gedaan hebben en hoe Lync door de eindgebruikers opgepakt is.

Remote access voor mobile devices – Steven van Houttum

Sinds kort zijn er voor diverse mobiele platformen Lync clients beschikbaar. In deze sessie kijken we naar de mogelijkheden, werking en implementatie hiervan met speciale aandacht voor het remote access deel waaronder push notifications en autodiscover.

Microsoft Lync Server als telefonie oplossing – Jeroen Reijling

Ik werk bij Avanade en ben Microsoft Certified Master in OCS 2007 R2. Sinds 2011 ben ik MVP op Microsoft Lync.

Na de implementatie van Microsoft Lync voor IM/Presence, het aanzetten van de conferencing mogelijkheden is vaak de volgende stap de integratie van telefonie. Waarom Microsoft Lync als telefonie? Wat zijn de mogelijkheden voor integratie of vervanging? Welk stappenplan kunnen we nemen? In deze sessie zal ik de basis principes uitleggen zodat u de koppeling kunt maken en hoe een migratie kunnen realiseren.

Lync Q&A

Tijdens deze meeting zijn er experts aanwezig op het gebied van telefonie, remote access en diverse andere Lync gerelateerde zaken. Een prima gelegenheid voor vragen en discussies!

Bekijk aub de ucug.nl website

Popularity: 3% [?]

Now that Lync Mobile is out for Phone 7(.5), it is time to help you all with implementing the updates and getting the correct certificates etc….

Microsoft Lync 2010 mobile applications enable mobile clients to function as UC endpoints, providing instant messaging (IM), contacts, presence, and Enterprise Voice features to create a familiar experience for users of Microsoft Lync 2010. For a matrix that lists the features and capabilities of mobile devices and compares them to the Lync desktop client, see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh691004.aspx

Microsoft has released multiple Lync clients for mobile devices. This chapter will provide:

• Which clients are supported with which requirements;
  
• Which infrastructure components are involved for the mobile devices and which certificates are required.
  

Mobile clients

An overview of the Operating System requirements are documented here:

Sources: Phone7 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh691001.aspx, Android http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh690980.aspx, Apple devices: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh690978.aspx, Nokia: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh690977.aspx

Backend infrastructure

To support the Microsoft Mobile Lync clients, several backend infrastructure components require changes. To understand these changes, I’ll explain the discovery process, which user scenarios are valid with which certificates and the required steps on the back-end infrastructure.

Discovery process, scenario’s and certificates

The Microsoft Lync mobile client uses an auto discover service based on DNS names. This is based on the user sign-in address, but is in general:

• lyncdiscoverinternal.<sipdomain>;
  
• lyncdiscover.<sipdomain>.
  

From a functional perspective, the following scenarios are valid:

1. Remote Internet connected mobile client using data or Wi-Fi;
   

   A Lync mobile client connects to the Reverse proxy using Lyncdiscover.<sipdomain> as shown below.
   

   
   

   This results in a new web listener or expansion of the current web listener that was used in the previous situation.
   

   Depending on the mobile devices and the management, I would recommend using Public Certificates. A single Certificate can be used with multiple SAN entries on certificate #1.
   

   Certificate #2 is mentioned in scenario number 2, but could be left unchanged if the Reverse Proxy solution is capable of rewriting URL’s from Lyncdiscover.
   

2. Internal Wi-Fi connected mobile client.
   

   
   

   In this scenario, a user is connected to the internal Wi-Fi network and can be considered as an internal user. If this statement is true, there are two options…
   

   1. Redirect them to the External Reverse proxy using the valid DNS records;
      
   2. Redirect them to the correct Front-end Pool that have the mobility service running.
      

   Option B requires renewal of the certificate on the Front-end Pool to include the SAN entries for Lyncdiscoverinternal.<sipdomain>. And again, if the mobile devices are managed and you are able to include the Internal CA on to the mobile device, you can use internal certificates. Otherwise it is required to use Public Certificates.
   

Backend steps

First, download the following application and update:

1. Autodiscover & Mobility service: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28356
2. Lync CU4: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=11551

Implement them using:

1. this blog to implement CU4: http://www.ultimate-communications.com/2011/12/best-practices-when-updating-lync-server-with-those-cumulative-updates-lync/
2. the Microsoft Lync Mobility Guide to set backend (source: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28355&WT.mc_id=rss_office_servicepacks)
   1. Remark 1; Page 26 regarding adding ASP.NET in IIS is done when installing the Autodiscover & Mobility service.

Hope this helps you all, if not, please contact me!!

Popularity: 16% [?]

Fellow Lync MVP Jeff Schertz has written some excellent blogs on Lync & Polycom which I recommend you read:

• http://blog.schertz.name/2011/10/lync-3rd-party-video-interop/
  
• http://blog.schertz.name/2011/08/polycom-dma-and-lync-integration/
  

Polycom and other vendors are providing Room Video Conferencing systems as well as personal Video solutions. However, I would like to focus on the integration of the Room Video systems of Polycom and Lync. Polycom is one of the members of the Unified Communication Interoperability Forum (UCI Forum) (http://www.ucif.org/). The goal of all members of the UCI forum is: “To improve interoperability among UC products and services.” This will result in easy to use and transparent usage of video conferencing systems, either room- or person based.

This article will help you to understand the various terms/roles Polycom uses and how you can somewhat compare it to the roles in Microsoft Lync. The picture below provides a logical overview of these components:

HDX systems

Polycom calls their telepresence endpoints HDX systems.

Integration between Lync and Polycom HDX systems requires the following steps to be taken into account.

1. All Polycom HDX systems are required to have software version 3.0.0.2 to be able to integrate with Microsoft Lync.
   

   How to update the systems is described in the release notes: http://downloads.polycom.com/video/hdx/ReleaseNotes/hdx_rel_notes_v3_0_0_2.pdf
   

2. For each HDX system, a user object must be created in the Active Directory and have a mailbox to allow joining an online meeting;
   
3. Registration of Polycom devices in the Lync environment can be done following this guide:
   

   http://support.polycom.com/global/documents/support/setup_maintenance/products/video/UC_Deploy_Guide_MS.pdf
   

Once the system is registered, the presence of the HDX system should be visible in any Lync client.

In both OCS releases (2007 and 2007 R2) Microsoft uses different versions of ICE between the Front End server (ICE v6) and the Edge server (ICE v19), whereas Lync Server 2010 uses ICE v19 throughout the entire product line. As the Polycom implementation of CCCP is only compatible with the current ICE v19 used in Lync server then an HDX will not be able to join conferences hosted on an OCS AVMCU, only conferences hosted on the Lync AVMCU.

RMX systems

Polycom calls their conferencing bridges RMX systems. A conference bridge is comparable with a (virtual) meeting room.

Integration between Lync and Polycom RMX systems requires the following steps to be taken into account.

1. All Polycom RMX systems are required to have software version 7.2.2 to be able to integrate with Microsoft Lync.
   

   How to update the systems is described in the release notes: http://downloads.polycom.com/bridging_collab/rmx/relnotes/RMX_Release_Notes_V_7.2.2.pdf
   

2. For each RMX system, a DNS entry must exist in the specific DNS domain;
   
3. Within Lync, the Trusted Application Pool, must be expanded with the new RMX;
   
4. Within Lync, a static route must be created for the just created RMX;
   
5. Within the Active Directory, a user object must be created in the Active Directory;
   
6. Registration of Polycom bridges in the Lync environment can be done following this guide:
   

   http://support.polycom.com/global/documents/support/setup_maintenance/products/video/UC_Deploy_Guide_MS.pdf
   

Once the system is registered, the presence of the RMX should be visible in any Lync client.

Minimum versions

To allow seamless integration and high quality video sessions between Lync and Polycom, the following Polycom devices are supported:

Note: Minimal software version needed HDX v3.0.1 and RMX v7.2 or higher will support 720p video using RTV with OCS2007 and Lync.

Bridge (MCU) bandwidth demand

As Polycom offers multiple video streams instead of the Active Speaker configuration that Microsoft uses, bandwidth usage is highly impacted.

Key infrastructure components of the video conferencing system need special consideration. First consider the video conferencing bridge (or MCU). If six video conferencing endpoints are engaged in a conference call, all six endpoints have established a full duplex connection to the bridge. The bridge network connection must be able to sustain the maximum number of endpoints that will be in all simultaneous conference calls. Each client that connects to the bridge will have a traffic stream flowing from the client to the bridge at the bandwidth negotiated for that video conference. If each client has negotiated a 1.9 Mbps bandwidth call, and there are 6 clients, the bridge will be supporting 1.9 Mbps x 6 or 11.5 Mbps of traffic. When we add the 20% additional bandwidth required for IP packet overhead, this now comes to 13.8 Mbps.

Some video conferencing endpoints also support a built-in multipoint conferencing mode. If a video conferencing endpoint is acting as a bridge for a small conference, there will be a proportionate increase in the bandwidth to that client. A 4-person conference using one of the 4 clients as a bridge will generate three full duplex streams to the client acting as a bridge. The other three clients will see a single full-duplex stream.

Polycom’s integration with Microsoft Lync Server 2010 provides the following functionality:

• Enables point-to-point calls between Polycom HDX systems and Microsoft Lync clients.
  
• Provides real-time presence information between Polycom devices and Microsoft Lync clients.
  
• Enables support for remote and federated endpoints to participate in point-to-point calls and video conference calls.
  
• Supports high-quality video (720p) between Lync clients and Polycom endpoints.
  
• Allows Polycom endpoints to participate in Lync Server-hosted multi-point conferences.
  
• Allows Microsoft Lync clients to view the presence for Polycom RMX meeting rooms and start one-click conferences.
  

In the end, the overall picture might look like this:

Popularity: 11% [?]

CU4 Hotfix 1 is available which will solve a specific RCC issue. Please read the Knowledge Base article for more info.

Popularity: 5% [?]