Category Archives: Unified Communications
Client Virtualization in Microsoft Lync 2010 – Leeds VMUG event query
Earlier this month I attended the Leeds VMUG event and a number of queries came up regarding client virtualization for Microsoft Lync 2010. Before I comment further let me express how interesting this latest VMUG event was, with only a few dedicated independant individuals they have created a worthwhile event and I believe over 200 attended the day.
As per previous blog posts it is important you remember Microsoft is clear regarding what they will support. Regardless of what other virtualization vendors are telling you!!! A Microsoft document available here describes the supported functionality, environments, tools, limitations as well as a number of best practice recommendations for running Microsoft Lync 2010 in a virtualized environment.
Microsoft Unified Communications Phones and Peripherals Datasheets – October Update
Updated while I was on my holidays and well worth a download. These datasheets list the phones and peripheral devices that are qualified to display the “Optimized for Microsoft Lync” logo.
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
Get the datasheets by clicking here. Microsoft tests and qualifies phones, headsets, webcams, conference room devices, PCs and other devices for Lync under its Compatible Devices Program. This program has 2 levels:
- ‘Optimized for’ – IP phones, headsets, webcams, PCs, conference room devices and other devices that offer a rich and integrated experience giving customers the power to get the most out of their Lync experience and higher return on investment.
- Other compatible IP phones – IP phones tested to provide interoperability and quality of experience
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Latest Microsoft event in the North (AMP)
Recently I had the pleasure of presenting about Lync for the Aberdeen Microsoft Partners (AMP) meeting. Being a regular attendee it was my time for presenting about a technology I’m very passionate about. The Aberdeen Microsoft Partner (AMP) group meets every two months at the local Robert Gordon University School of Computing in Aberdeen. Like many local IT professionals the venue will be familiar as I studied in the same St. Andrew Street building a long time ago. Anyone interested in computing as a career path should find out more about what RGU can offer by clicking here.
With so many Microsoft Partners in the Aberdeen area AMP usually attracts a decent crowd, this latest one being particularly busy. Either Microsoft Unified Communications is an interesting subject or the offer of a free curry caused the event to be so well attended. If you are interested in attending the next events I suggest you make contact with Aileen Scott via the LinkedIn group available here. Knowing from my own user groups the effort involved I would strongly recommend you support the AMP as it serves the local Microsoft partner community.
If anyone would wish a copy of my slide deck please get in touch. My agenda for the Lync presentation covered,
It was my intention attendees left with the following key takeaways.
Vin Jauhal and Bill Jest from Wemtel then followed up my session with another interested unified communications presentation. They summarised the key takeaways for me below,
Voice is Now Data – You are the ones with the skills to install and implement the latest telecoms technology.
Clients are Fickle – If a new telecoms supplier builds a good relationship with your client, then offers to maintain their data network for less, you will lose a client.
Bluntly put; To maintain your trusted supplier status and to keep your clients you have to be seen to understand and supply a VoIP option, VoIP can no longer be ignored.
All in all a great evening and the curry afterwards was superb. The most popular topic of discussion after my presentation was the use of Lync capabilities within application development. This is certainly a very exciting opportunity for developers and I’m positive some very interesting Lync enabled products will be released into the market this year. Hope I see you at the next APM evening!
What is Lync?
You may have heard that Microsoft Lync connects people in new ways, but what exactly is Lync? Well check out this brief video for the low down.
Lync Online in Office 365 Overview Video
Microsoft Lync Online helps you find and quickly connect with the right person through instant messaging (IM), Lync video calls, or online meetings from within the Office applications you already use every day.
Lync Server 2010 Support for SQL 2008 R2
Dr Rez at NextHop has provided an update regarding Lync Server 2010 support for SQL 2008 R2. The Lync Server product team has completed testing of Lync Server 2010 and SQL Server 2008 R2. The product now fully supports SQL Server 2008 R2 on all Lync Server monitoring, archiving, and front-end server databases. At this time, SQL Server 2008 R2 is not supported for group chat databases.
The Lync Server 2010 Supportability Guide and other relevant content in the Lync Server Technical Library will be updated shortly to align the supportability stance.
Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Web Scheduler
- 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.
Keep in mind though if you are comparing it to the Conferencing Add-In for Microsoft Outlook, Lync Web Scheduler has some limitations:
- Lync Web Scheduler does not support scheduling recurring meetings.
- Lync Web Scheduler lists only meetings that were organized by the user. It does not list all meetings that the user is invited to. Further, meetings created using some other tool will not be editable using Lync Web Scheduler.
- Lync Web Scheduler is available only in English.
- Meeting invitations that are generated by Lync Web Scheduler do not look exactly the same as those that are generated by the Conferencing Add-In for Outlook.
- Lync Web Scheduler doesn’t interact with the calendaring server. Calendar updates happen only via email invitations.
Client Virtualization Support in Microsoft Lync 2010
Working with a client at the moment that relies heavily on client virtualization technologies. As luck would have it Microsoft have produced another useful document available here. This document outlines a series of best practice recommendations for running Lync 2010 in a virtualized environment.
This neat table from the document describes supported features depending on the client virtualization technology in operation.
Lync 2010 Bandwidth Calculator
Another great download from Microsoft. 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. This Microsoft Excel spreadsheet calculates WAN bandwidth requirements for a Lync Server deployment based on administrator-specified user profiles and network information. Get the download here.
