Office Web Apps Server - Patching

The process of patching a Office Web Apps Server is simply enough, the latest patch KB2760445, can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36981.

The thing to remember is that the as part of the upgrade process you will need to break and re-create the server farm.

This article, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj966220.aspx, has the steps involved for both a single server farm and for multiple server farm.

But basically its:

1. Down load the patch
2. Remove the Server from the farm Remove-OfficeWebAppsMachine
3. Install the patch
4. Re-create the server farm New-OfficeWebAppsFarm -InternalURL "http://...." .....

Polycom VVX and Lync Server

So I have been playing around with the Polycom VVX IP Phones more and more lately and with the new features that are coming in the next few months I think this could become the go-to phone for Lync deployments that need IP Phones on the desk.

So of the features that I like include:

• Touch Screen for user authentication
• Ability to us Lync PIN number for authentication
• With UC Software release 4.1 or better the address book is downloaded to the phone, so no need to do anything with number normalisation/dial plans on the VVX phone
• Retrieve Lync server root certificate automatically using DHCP Option 43

Currently to upgrade the phone you can either do it manually (not a problem is you only have a few phones) or can use a provisioning server.  The provisioning server, from what I have found can be:

• FTP (Default)
• TFTP
• HTTP
• HTTPS
• FTPS 

To define the host for your provisioning server you can use DHCP option 66 (Boot Server Host Name) option 66 is a string value, by default the VVX phones will use FTP to download the configuration file and any firmware updates.

The default username and password for the VVX phones to use for the FTP session is defined within some of the Polycom support documents, OR you can use the same DHCP option 66 with the format "username:password@FTP Server IP/Hostname", without the quotes, this will allow you to define the username and password.  One word of warning this username and password is passed via clear text in the DHCP messages so it can easily be found.

Some Polycom pages that i found useful include:

• Deployment Guide for the Polycom VVX C Business Media Phone for CUCM (SIP)
• Technical Bulletin 54041
• Polycom ® UC Software/Polycom SIP Software Release Matrix

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]

Windows 8 Chrome and Lync 2013 Client Missed Call Notifications

So I have been having this problem, when I click on a number in a missed call notification email from Lync my Google Chrome browser would launch to my homepage instead of the Lync client.

When I tried to change the default association of the TEL protocol, i was given the option of two (2) values..

Clicking the "Change Program" button gave me two (2) options

After much searching a registry entry was found to enabled the Lync application be to added to the list (Thanks Simon).

Create a new REG_SZ "String Value" Under Computer\HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Lync\Capabilities\URLAssociations\ called TEL with a value of "callto"

Once this key is added you are given a third chose for the TEL protocol association for Lync

Selecting "Microsoft Lync" updates the associations to show Microsoft Lync as the default application for the TEL URL.

Now clicking the number in the missed call notification email and it launches the Lync client.

Logging/Tracing in Lync Server 2013

In Lync Server 2013 the way to enable tracing has changed there is no longer GUI to enable the tracing, its done via command line.

The command is “ClsController.exe” and is located in “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Lync Server 2013\ClsAgent\” on the Lync 2013 Server, in Lync 2010 you ran the “Lync logging Tool” and selected components that you wished to trace, started the trace and re-created the problem, stopped the trace and then “Analysed” the trace with the snooper tool.

Lync 2013 doesn’t allow you to select the components that you wish to trace, you now select a scenario that you wish to trace/

The flow is now:

• ClsController.exe -start –scenario –pools
• Reproduce the Issue
• ClsController.exe -stop –scenario –pools
• ClsController.exe -flush –pools
• ClsController.exe -search –pools –components –loglevel

 Today I came across this post by Richard Brynteson at MasteringLync.com

http://masteringlync.com/2012/08/02/centralized-logging-in-lync-2013/

The output file is created on the desktop of the user logged in running the bat file, then you can use snooper from the Lync Debug Tools to open the file

All Lync Server 2013 have the ClsAgent running on them, so you only need to run the ClsController.exe once and it will collect from all servers in the pool identified.