Using DHCPUtil for Lync Phone Edition DHCP Server Configuration

http://www.confusedamused.com/notebook/using-dhcputil-for-lync-phone-edition-dhcp-server-configuration/

Lync by LINK , Full Lab Setup at Microsoft Egypt premises

Last week we built Lab setup for Lync at Microsoft Egypt premises , Fady Eskander from our technical team in LINK Development was responsible for it and I was helping. The aim of this setup was to showcase Lync up and running fully featured but more from the end user  experience .

For this we simulated 6 different types of users , each on his desk with different endpoints even for the same user. I can tell you that whoever walked in that room to give it a try was really impressed and mostly with the wide range of endpoints and how flexible it is to just unplug and plug devices between different users … Yes Lync rocks and that’s a Fact .

I just thought to share with you some photos of the setup , excuse us if it was not yet clean but these shots were taken at the testing stage and not the final one 🙂

For our setup we used the following :

• IBM Server ( 24 GB RAM ) , holding all VMs ( DC, Exchange, SQL , Lync FE , Lync Monitor, SharePoint)
• 6 Notebooks ,for 6 types of users where each is on his desk
• NET media gateway , VX1200 mainly for the SIP server built in on that box. we used SIP to register non Lync sip phones and also we used it for Nokia & Blackberry phones to make Wifi VOIP calls through SIP clients ( Ooooh that was really worth testing )
• NET media gateway , Tenor AF mainly for FXS and FXO ports . we connected Old Analog phone ( my favorite Old Phone 🙂 )
• Ericson PrimaCell gateway , this is a GSM gateway where u just put your mobile SIM card and connect it on FXO port. we used it to place inbound and outbound calls ( very useful for moving demos , u don’t need to ask the client for testing line )
• Polycom Phones ( CX700 , CX500 , VVX ,RoundTable  )
• Aastra Phone (6725ip)
• Plantronics endpoints (Savi W430-M Bluetooth , Blackwire C420-M USB headset ,Calisto P420 USB speaker ,Calisto P210-M USB handset)
• Jabra endpoints ( Jabra GO™ 6400 , Jabra GN9300e , Jabra M5390 )
• Microsoft Web Cams ( HD Cams & 2MP Cams )

Now I can leave you with the photos

This user got Polycom CX500 , also 2 Plantronics endpoints ( External Speaker ) , ( Bluetooth headset )

This user got Aastra phone , Polycom ( RoundTable ) ,also connected to it Plantronics Savi W430-M( Bluetooth headset ) , ( Handset lifter ) Oooh that lifter really looked cool when you answer the calls through the Bluetooth headset it just lifts the handset up to pickup the call and once you finish it places it back down..

This user simulated the call center agent , he is part of Lync response group which we created for helpdesk. as an agent he is using Polycom ( CX300 ) USB phone and connected to it is Plantronics Blackwire C420-M ( Headset )

This user got Polycom ( CX700 ) touch screen phone with Lync firmware installed , also connected to it is Jabra GN9300e  (Bluetooth headset )

This user is using Polycom Video phone ( VVX ) , this phone is not optimized to Lync usage however it is registered through SIP over the media gateway and also it can provide point to point video calls. The user also is using Plantronics Calisto P210-M ( USB handset )

This is just to show you the round table on full screen , the quality is really great and I wanted so much to give it a try on Plazma screen.

And Finally , the backstage setup with the Macaroni cables 🙂 . yes we all know that look and somehow we got used to it.

Lync launch is tomorrow and I am so excited for it just like all of you , cuz I know its gonna be a great year and we will definitely give hard time for Cisco and Avaya ….Booo 🙂

Step by Step Lync and Exchange UM Integration (by Jeff Schertz)

http://blog.schertz.name/2010/11/lync-and-exchange-um-integration/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+jschertz+(Jeff+Schertz)

 

also in case you faced Integration problems , please check this URL

http://blog.schertz.name/2010/11/lync-calls-to-exchange-auto-attendant-fail/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+jschertz+(Jeff+Schertz)

Lync Voice Deployment User Experience Comparison

During a very recent engagement with Microsoft Corp. competition team , they shared with me a new customer ready document for Lync voice deployments user experience comparison and I took the permission to share it on my blog.

There are three primary deployment scenarios for Microsoft® Lync™ Server 2010 customers. The three options, which differ in the user capabilities provided and the required infrastructure, are:

· Replace PBX phones with Lync to improve communications and collaboration, and to reduce infrastructure costs. This is the preferred Lync deployment scenario as it allows customers to simplify their communications infrastructure and rely exclusively on Lync Server 2010 for voice, conferencing, instant messaging and presence.

· Enhance PBX phones with the option to use Lync to improve communications and collaboration. This scenario is useful for organizations that are not yet ready to remove their existing PBX systems, but who want to provide their users either with the option to use Lync for phone calls instead of their PBX phone, or with the option to control their PBX phone with the Lync desktop client. The former approach is useful for providing seamless communications for employees working at home and on the road, and as a transitional approach while PBX systems are amortized and decommissioned. The latter approach is useful for providing desktop “Click-to-call” capability with existing PBX phones.

· Add instant messaging, presence, and conferencing to existing phone capabilities.This scenario is useful for customers that want to add Lync capabilities other than enterprise voice.

 

Notes:

1. Entries marked “*” in the “Enhance, using Lync as phone” column apply when the user uses the Lync soft-phone only, not the PBX phone. Using the soft-phone in this scenario is the Lync default.

2. Entries marked “+” in the “Enhance, using Lync to control PBX phone” column apply when the user uses the Lync soft-phone only, not the PBX phone. Usng the soft-phone in this scenario requires that the user manually select “Lync call” in a drop-down menu each time a call is initiated.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

As shown in the table above, with the Replace option, Lync is the only communications system used and provides the full set of unified communications capabilities to users inside and outside the office. With the Enhance option, users have both Lync and a PBX phone, and choose which phone to use at any given time. When Lync is chosen as the primary phone, as in the “Enhance, using Lync as phone” variant, users have the full set of unified communications capabilities inside and outside the office; when the PBX phone is chosen as the primary phone, as in the “Enhance using Lync to control the PBX phone” variant, users have a rich but reduced set of unified communications capabilities.

REQUIRED INFRASTRUCTURE.

The Replace, Enhance, and Add options enable organizations to standardize on Lync as the only desktop software client for real time communications, but require different supporting infrastructure. In particular:

· The Replace option allows customers to eliminate separate PBX and conferencing systems and the associated user databases and management tools in favor of Lync Server, Active Directory, PowerShell, and Systems Center Operations Manager. This enables significant capital and operational cost savings, and takes advantage of existing skills in these areas.

· The Enhance and Add options require ongoing maintenance of existing PBX systems until those systems are retired. They also require the interconnection of the existing PBX systems with Lync Server, using Direct SIP or a third party gateway qualified via the Unified Communications Open Interoperability Program.This interconnection enables calls to be carried between Lync Server and the PBX systems.

The Enhance, using Lync to control the PBX phone additionally requires the deployment and maintenance of a connection to the PBX. This connection may require a PBX software upgrade and per user PBX software license fees, depending on the PBX manufacturer, and requires associated configuration and management.

 

The table below summarizes the key infrastructure differences for the deployment options.

As shown in the table above, the Replace option requires the minimum amount of infrastructure. This enables significant cost savings for organizations: for example, Sprint projects annual savings of over $9 million based on its replacement of nearly 500 PBX systems with Microsoft unified communications technology.

Lync Server 2010 Media Traffic Network Usage

“This is RTM pre-release documentation information and subject to change in General Availability (GA) release by December 2010 , I will update this post if any changes are required ”

When planning for media bandwidth usage per scenario, use the following tables, which describe the average amount of bandwidth used per media type.

Audio/Video Capacity Planning, Peer-to-Peer Sessions

Audio/Video Capacity Planning, Conferences

Audio Capacity Planning, PSTN

The network bandwidth numbers in these tables represent one-way traffic only and take silence suppression into account.

When you calculate the actual bandwidth usage for a certain scenario, it is important to understand the actual media flows, which are as follows:

In a two-party scenario:

• Users send audio streams only while they speak.
• Both participants receive audio streams.
• If video is used, both users send and receive video streams during the entire call.

In a Conferencing scenario (that is, a call with more than two participants):

• Users send audio streams only while they speak.
• All participants receive audio streams.
• If video is used, only two participants upload a video stream at a time (that is, the active speaker and the previous active speaker
• If video is used, all participants receive video streams.

Mike Stacy writes “ Side-by-side error when running DHCPUtil.exe with Lync Server 2010”

http://mikestacy.typepad.com/mike-stacys-blog/2010/11/side-by-side-error-when-running-dhcputilexe-with-lync-server-2010.html

In trying to run DHCPUtil.exe from your Windows Server 2008 x64 DHCP server with the appropriate command line parameters in order to configure DHCP for Lync Server, you may run across the following error:

The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect. Please see the application event log or use the command-line sxstrace.exe tool for more detail.

Reviewing the app log reveals the following:

Log Name:      Application
Source:        SideBySide
Date:          11/4/2010 2:04:30 PM
Event ID:      33
Task Category: None
Level:         Error
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      host.uc.local
Description:
Activation context generation failed for "C:\Users\administrator.UC\Desktop\DHCPUtil.exe". Dependent Assembly Microsoft.VC90.CRT,processorArchitecture="amd64",publicKeyToken="1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b",type="win32",version="9.0.30729.4148" could not be found. Please use sxstrace.exe for detailed diagnosis.

Solution:  Install vcredist_x64.exe from the Lync Server media and run DHCPUtil.exe again.

PowerShell Script to create new user, enable for Exchange, UM and Lync Server

RANDY WINTLE created this PowerShell as a sample of how to create new user, enable for Exchange, UM and Lync Server

There are a couple good takeaways from this script, it remotes into Exchange 2010 and Lync Server 2010 PowerShell sessions, so nothing except PowerShell 2.0 is required on the client side, which is standard with Windows 7. It also shows how you can simultaneously use Exchange and Lync PowerShell commands in the same script to get things done.

This was developed specifically for my internal needs, you will probably have to add/remove variables and requirements.

http://cid-389bd51b03b1f8f9.office.live.com/embedicon.aspx/Public/UserSetupScriptGeneric.ps1

Publishing Lync Server 2010 Simple URLs and Web Components with Forefront TMG 2010

Good post published by Randy Wintle writing about publishing Lync Server 2010 simple URLs with TMG

http://ucmadeeasy.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/publishing-lync-server-2010-rc-simple-urls-and-web-components-with-forefront-tmg-2010/

Microsoft UC vs Cisco UC

How to Enable HD Video for Lync 2010

Copied from the below Blog

http://stevenjenkinson.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/how-to-enable-hd-video-for-lync-2010/

One that might save a little bit of time for those folks wanting HD video for peer to peer calls between Lync clients…
You have to allow the maximum resolution to support HD 720p video – to do this you need a specific powershell cmdlet. Here’s how:

Set-CsMediaConfiguration -Identity:Global -MaxVideoRateAllowed HD720p15m

Restart the Lync Front End service and video calls can now utilise any 720p webcam that’s attached to the client.
So now you can see your colleague’s face in all its blemish free glory!