Call Dropping at 30 seconds when placed on hold

This has been done on many other blogs around the place, but I ALWAYS seem to get the first step wrong.

When trying to change the following values:
-RTCPActiveCalls
-RTCPCallsOnHold
-EnableSessionTimer

First step is "New-CsTrunkConfiguration", NOT "Set-CsTrunkConfiguration"

Trying to run the "Set-CsTrunkConfiguration" first will result in errors like below

Lync/SfB Address Book Files

Found this great article when looking at issue for a customer the other day around how the client address book file name are generated..

https://ucblog.info/2016/04/16/lync-address-book/

Screen shots below are from the above blog link.

Get-SfBNumbers.ps1 Customisation

This is a fantastic script by Ståle Hansen that is available for Lync 2010, Lync 2013 and Skype for Business 2015.  It allows you to move away from spreadsheets for number management and utilize the real-time configuration of the Lync environment to know what numbers have been allocated and are in use.

The script is available from the TechNet Galleries:
https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Get-Skype-for-Business-f2af9408

More information is available on:
http://SfBNumbers.net

To customise for your deployment I have found the following things to complete:
1. Update the Custom Number Ranges for your sites

2. Set the number of digit you use for your extension length:

Tenor Configuration with Sonus SBC

We have been deploying a few Tenor gateways latest and always seem to run into the same issue of forgetting the "Use Routing Table" tick box and then wondering why we don't have the require menu items within Tenor Config Manager.

So this post is to document something in the hope that I remember what we did for next time...

Steps to deploy:

• Update Tenor to latest firmware, you can download the Tenor firmware from the Sonus portal.
• Allocation the following to the Tenor
• IP Address
• DNS Settings
• Default Gateway
• Phone Number - Need to ensure that format is the same across all units
• Run the Tenor Config Manager Configuration Wizard and complete the details
• Build the required configuration on the Sonus SBC including:
• Transformation Tables
• Route Groups
• SIP Server Tables
• Call Routing Table
• Signalling Group
• Within the Lync environment add the CsAnalogueDevice configuration

My plan is to add further details at a later stage (when I get time), with screen shots etc....

But things to remember:

Tickbox for "Use Routing Table"

Set the minimum number of digits to something that will work..

Exchange UM Caller ID

I have a customer issue at the moment that missed call and voice mail notification from PABX to Lync users are not showing correctly for the client.

Instead of the showing:

I am getting:

After some searching around I found the following details on the TechNet site on how Exchange 2010 completes "Name lookups" from a caller ID.

Understanding Name Lookups from a Caller ID

Now in this case we are using E.164 number in only users that have been enabled for Lync, as we are routing calls from an upstream Sonus SBC1000 connected to the PSTN (SIP Trunk) a PABX (Primary Rate ISDN), and Lync (SIP)

I need to test out the solution but I'm hoping that adding the E.164 number to a users "msExchUMCallingLineIDs", as shown in the TechNet article.

Once I get confirmation that the fix worked/doesnt work, I will update this port. 

Wireshark Plugin

James Cussen (www.mylynclab.com) has been at it again, this time with a fantastic plugin for Wireshark.

Head over to James site for all the details..
http://www.mylynclab.com/2014/05/microsoft-lync-wireshark-plugin.html

RTCXDS 16 GB Transaction Log Limit Reached

I always have to go and look for the SQL query to check for the log database size, so figured that I would create a post to use as a pointer to Tom Pacyk blog on the issue.

The Query itself is;

DBCC SQLPERF (LOGSPACE)

Link to Tom's article:

http://www.confusedamused.com/notebook/lync-2013-and-the-rtcxds-16-gb-transaction-log-limit/

Lync Callback Reminder

Two blog post in one day, I don't think that has happened before..

Graham Cropley has written a nice little plugin that you can set "reminders" from the Lync client for a call back to a Lync contact..

http://www.lyncexch.co.uk/lync-callback-reminder/

Deploying SEFAutil for Lync

This is a quick guide on how to install the SEFAUtil tool onto an existing Lync 2013 Standard Edition FE Server, at one stage this wasn't supported but I'm not sure if that still the case..

Software Required:
Microsoft Unified Communications Managed API
Microsoft Lync Server 2013 Resource Kit Tools (SEFAUtil tool in in this)

Once the UCMA software is installed you will need to create Trusted Application Pool:
New-CsTrustedApplicationPool -id fe2013.myucthoughts.local -Registrar fe2013.myucthoughts.lcoal -site Site:1

Define the SEAFUtil tool as the trusted application
New-CsTrustedApplication -ApplicationID sefautil -trustedApplicationPoolFqdn fe2013.myucthoughts.local -port 7489

Enable the newly created topology
Enable-CsTopology

Once the Trusetd Application Pool has been created you can then install the Lync 2013 Resource Kits

Remember to change the values required from my lab FE server "fe2013.myucthoughts.local" to what your server/pool is called.

Hint:
So I have was having issue with when running the sefautil command i would receive no information back from the FE server, this would found to be a typo in the new-trustedapplication cmdlet, I had typed "-applicationID seafutil" rather than the "-applicationID sefautil" that the command is actually called.

I have also seen blogs with users not having the correct permissions to be able to run the sefautil command will also receive the same output.

Lync ABS Configuration Tool

I came across an issue today where some contact for an organisation were not being updated/added the the Lync address book.  

After some research we found that all users that were missing weren't SIP enabled or didn't have any telephone number assigned within Active Directory.

So I decided to play around with the ABS Configuration Tool to see if we can fix the issue.

The first thing that i noticed was the "Is this Attribute Required?" tick-box.

I wasn't able to find anything that explained how this was working as there are multiple "AD Attribute Name" with this tick-box enabled.

After some playing I "think" I figured out they acted like an "OR" statement, so as long as a user account, contact object or group has one of the values "required" Lync would reference them in the address book update.

The following TechNet article on Administering the Address Book Service has a nice description of what can be referenced in the address book.

The ABS Configuration tool can be found in the Lync 2013 Resource Kit Tools, the Lync Server 2013 Resource Kit Tools Documentation has all the details on the tools, there is a word file in the download but there are things wrong that you notice off the bat, the image from the ABS Configuration tool is actually from the Lync Stress tester.

SEFAUtil GUI

This will be a nice addition to the Lync Toolkit.

SEAFUtil GUI written by Johan Veldhuis..

http://johanveldhuis.nl/en/sefautil-gui/

Certificate Requests "Denied by Policy"

So I have been having some issues with generating certificates for SBC's for a customer, was getting the following error message:

The only way that I have been able to get the certificate issued is by using the cerreq.exe command.

First I had to launch Command Prompt "Run as Administrator"

From the command line run the following command:

certreq -attrib "CertificateTemplate:WebServer"

You will then be prompted to locate the CSR, the CA will process the request, you will be prompted for a location to save the newly assigned certificate.

And be left with something like this in the command prompt window:

You will then have a new certificate that you can use as required..

Lync and QoS

Nice article of enabled QoS by Exchange MVP Elan Shudnow.

Part 1.
http://www.shudnow.net/2013/02/16/enabling-qos-for-lync-server-2013-and-various-clients-part-1/

IIS AAR for Lync Reverse Proxy

So this tweet can across my twitter feed today, I had to share as I think its a fantastic post.

Again from Richard Brynteson at masteringlync.com

http://masteringlync.com/2013/02/12/using-iis-application-request-routing-arr-as-a-tmg-replacement/

I had started looking at AAR as a replacement for TMG for some customers but hadn't gotten around to configuring/playing with it yet, so this post has saved me a fair chunk of time in trying to figure it all out.

Lync Federated Contacts and Presence Status

Over the last couple of weeks I have had a few people letting me know that federation is broken, as they can’t see the status of a federated user.

After some investigation I have found that federation is working as expected, the “issue” (not that it’s an issue) is the way that Lync displays status information for federated contacts.

When searching for a Lync user’s status within your owncompany status is displayed in the search results.

However until you add the federated contact to your “buddylist” their presence status will be displayed as “presence unknown”

Hover over the contact and select the icon, and select which group to make the usera member of from your “buddy list”

Once you add the contact to your “buddy list”

The status will now be displayed for this federated contact when you are searching by SIP URI.

[UPDATE: Spotted some spelling mistakes]

Lync Documentation

So by now everyone has noticed that the default MS documentation for Lync is for Server 2013.  To get the Lync Server 2010 documentation you can update the URL to include (v=ocs.14) in the URL as shown below.

New-CsRgsAgentGroup for Lync 2010

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg413065(v=ocs.14).aspx

New-CsRgsAgentGroup for Lync 2013

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg413065.aspx

Lync Client Authenticaition

Here is a great article on how Lync Client authentication works, from both an internal and external perspective.

Amazed at some of the posts on the Lync NextHop website...

http://blogs.technet.com/b/nexthop/archive/2012/11/28/lync-2010-client-authentication.aspx

Lync Client Comparison Tables

I attended the Lync 2013 Ignite training the other week in Sydney and was keen to get some more information around Lync client capabilities.

Well Microsoft have published a nice little article on what each client functionality is:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg425836%28v=ocs.15%29

Lync Server Install Fails on SQL Express Install

Have run across this issue a few times now and it always take me a while to find to find the registry key that needs to be updated so thought I would port about it.

The issue is that the SQLExpress install fails as the systems thinks there are pending file deletes to happen during a reboot, but even after the reboot you get the same error.

The below is the error that is seen.

The registry key that needs to be updated is under:

HKLM > SYSTEM > ControlSet001 > Control > Session Manager > PendingFileRenameOperations

Just open the entry and delete the contents, close the Lync Deployment Wizard and re-run the Lync Bootstrapper.  All should be good.

Lync IP Phones Software Update

The update process for Lync IP Phones is a simple process with five (5) steps:

1. Download the UCUpdates.zip file from MS for the required phone types
2. Unpack the .exe file to get the .cab file
3. Upload the phone firmware to the Lync Front End Servers
4. Approve the update from Lync Control panel
5. Wait for the phone to update

Step 1.

Phone firmware can be found from the MS site at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/lync/gg131945

Step 2.

The downloaded file from step 1 is an .exe file, this file needs to be run to get the required .cab file.

Double click the UCUpdates.exe file

Agree to the MS Licencing Agreement

Select the location for the .cab file to be stored

Click Finish, this will now have create a file called UCUdates.cab in the required location

Step 3.

Next step is to upload the .cab file upto the web server service on the Lync Front End Servers, this step needs to be completed for all FE severs in your Lync deployment.

From the Lync Management Shell run the following command:

Import-CsDeviceUpdate -Identity service:webserver:lyncserver.FQDN -FileName "path to file just extracted"

Step 4.

From the Lync Server Control Panel, select "Cleints --> Device Update"

This will show the updates for Phones installed, approved versions of firmware and Pending versions.

Select the phone hardware type, select "Action --> Approve", this will allow ALL phone to update to the newly installed version of firmware.  

If you wish to only update selected phones for "testing" select "Clients --> Test Device", this will show a list of phones addressed via either Serial number or MAC address that the update will be available for.

Step 5.

Once a Lync IP phone has been idle for approx 10mins it will check the web service to see if any available updates are available. If updates are available the phone will start the update process.

The update process generally requires the IP Phone to reboot, if PC are network attached via the Phone they will loose connectivity.  So be careful when you approve the updates.