Installing your first Lync Server 2013 Preview Standard Edition Server
Although Lync Server 2013 has many improvements over earlier versions the installation process for a Standard Edition server has not changed significantly. However for many Administrators Lync Server 2013 will be the first introduction to the product and so it is worth revisiting the installation process to introduce new Lync Administrators and as a refresher for more experienced admins.
This article will include completing the Lync Server 2013 Active Directory preparation steps – Schema, Forest and Domain Preparation, installation of the Lync core components and Administration tools and installation of Standard Edition server. In addition there is a brief step by step guide to deploying a Lync Topology using Topology builder.
Prerequisites
While there are not many changes in the installation process there are some in the list of installation prerequisites. These changes will be dependent upon the OS of the server and this article is based primarily on Windows Server 2012 CTP but there are notes for Windows Server 2008 R2.
The most important requirements are those that allow you to actually launch the Lync installation program and these are:
· .Net 4.5 Framework
§ (Windows Server 2008 R2 only) During the installation process there is a requirement to install an update for the .Net 4.0 Framework and since it will require a restart we have listed it here for the sake of completeness: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2468871
· Microsoft Visual C++ 11 (beta) x64 redistributable
There are installers for both of these pieces of software on the Lync media in the AMD64 folder. Respectively the installers are dotNetFx45_Full_x86_x64.exe and Vcredist_x64.exe.
Other requirements include:
· IIS role and services - Static Content, Default Document, HTTP Errors, ASP.NET 3.5 and 4.5, .NET Extensibility 3.5 and 4.5, Internet Server API (ISAPI) Extensions, ISAPI Filters, HTTP Logging, Logging Tools, Tracing, Client Certificate Mapping Authentication, Windows Authentication, Request Filtering, Static Content Compression, Dynamic Content Compression, IIS Management Console, IIS Management Scripts and Tools
· Media Foundation (or Desktop Experience)
· Windows PowerShell v3.0 which is published as part of the Windows Management Framework 3.0 (which also contains WMI & WinRM).
· Active Directory Administrative Tools (Only need to be installed if you are running AD preparation from this computer)
· Added through Add Roles and Features Wizard in Server Manager
Remote Server Administration Tools
AD DS and AD LDS Tools (you do not require Server for NIS Tools)
The AD administrative tools also will require the .Net 3.51 Framework but this will be installed automatically.
· Windows Identity Foundation (Required for the installation of SQL Server Express 2012)
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=204657
First things first
All of the following steps are logged extensively and if you are interested you can view some of the inner workings of the installation process by reviewing the log files, all of which are stored in a single location. Typically this location is as follows C:\Users\installationaccount\AppData\Local\Temp.
As soon as you are able to successfully launch the Lync setup program the first components to get installed are the Lync Core Components which include the Lync Management Shell and the Lync Server Deployment Wizard. These components are all contained in a single MSI package (ocscore.msi) located in the AMD64\Setup folder on the install media and the Lync installer actually just launches this MSI package.
Once you have these core components installed the next step should be to click “Install Administrative Tools”. This will install both Topology Builder and the Lync Server Control Panel. As part of the installation process there are a number of MSI packages installed including Admintools.msi, UcmaRuntime.msi, SharedManagementObjects.msi, and SQLSysClrTypes.msi.
With these steps completed you are ready to begin preparing Active Directory.
Active Directory Preparation
AD Preparation consists of three steps including Schema preparation, Forest preparation and Domain Preparation. Each of these steps requires different permissions and you should ensure that the account you are using for installation is a member of the correct security group.
· Schema preparation – Schema Admins
· Forest preparation – Enterprise Admins
· Domain preparation – Domain admin of the domain in which you are running this step
After selecting Prepare Active Directory from the main setup window the first step is to Prepare Schema. As with all of the AD preparation steps the GUI actually runs a PowerShell cmdlet and these are install-CsAdServerSchema (which actually calls Ldifde.exe to load schema files installed as part of the core components), enable-CsAdForest, and enable-CsAdDomain.
Once Schema preparation is complete you should review the log file to ensure that there were no errors or warnings. In larger environments you should verify that AD replication has completed before moving to the Forest preparation step.
http://technet.microsoft.com/library(OCS.14)/ms.lync.tbdep.DeployMainVerifySchemaPrep.aspx
When you select Prepare Current Forest a wizard will launch that will allow you to determine where the Lync Universal Security Groups are created. For those organizations with an empty Forest Root this is the point at which you would select a child domain. Once again once Forest preparation is complete you should review the log file to confirm that there were no errors or warnings and you should also consider confirming replication has completed before moving on to the next step.
http://technet.microsoft.com/library(OCS.14)/ms.lync.tbdep.DeployMainVerifyForestPrep.aspx
The final step is to select Prepare Current Domain. This command must be run in every domain in which there are users that will be enabled for Lync or Lync servers. Once complete you should see the following screen indicating that all of the steps have been completed.
At this point you may want to consider adding other Administrators to the CS-Administrator group in AD. CS-Administrator group membership allows complete control over the Lync environment so be careful about who is placed in this group but at this stage only the installation account you are using has been granted membership to this group.
Prepare first Standard Edition Server
After completing AD preparation the next step is to Prepare first Standard Edition Server. This step actually installs SQL Server 2012 Express Edition and creates a named instance called RTC. This instance will be used to host the Central Management Service which is used to store all the configuration data that is replicated to all Lync servers and provides one of the key means of achieving resiliency in Lync Server. It is actually possible to pre-deploy the SQL Server Express by using the following command:
\SQLEXPR_x64.exe /QUIET /IACCEPTSQLSERVERLICENSETERMS /HIDECONSOLE /ACTION=Install /FEATURES=SQLEngine,Tools /INSTANCENAME=RTC /TCPENABLED=1 /SQLSVCACCOUNT="NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService" /SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS="Builtin\Administrators" /BROWSERSVCSTARTUPTYPE="Automatic" /AGTSVCACCOUNT="NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService" /SQLSVCSTARTUPTYPE=Automatic
In earlier versions of Lync there was some advantage to pre-deployment because it actually allowed you to ensure that SQL Server 2008 R2 Express Edition was used rather than the default SQL Server 2008 Express. However, with Lync Server 2013 there is no real benefit to pre-deployment unless you want to install SQL Server Express to a specific drive. Once installation is complete review the log file to confirm there are no warnings or errors.
Configuring your Topology
Once the Central Management Service is installed your environment is ready to create and deploy a topology. This of course assumes that you have already planned your Lync deployment and are ready to deploy the Topology. Launch Topology Builder, which was installed earlier in the process.
Once Topology Builder has launched you should select New Topology then press OK. Next select a location to save the topology file. If you are working with other administrators agree on a common location and always save to this location. This ensures that there is only a single copy of the topology file.
The following are the first steps you must complete.
§ Step 1 – Enter you primary SIP domain
o Typically this will match your primary SMTP (email) address
§ Step 2 – Enter additional SIP domains
o If you support multiple domains enter the relevant details here
§ Step 3 – Define the first site
o Enter a name that is representative
o Entering a description is option
§ Step 4 – Entering a city, state/province, country are optional
Once you have completed these steps by default Setup will launch the Front End wizard. For anyone experienced with Lync the text on this screen is one of the first obvious signs of some of the significant architectural changes that taken in place in Lync Server 2013. Specifically the explanation for the Enterprise Pool tells you that you can have up to 20 servers in a single pool.
As we are deploying a Standard Edition server the FQDN that you enter will just be the FQDN of the server itself. After entering this information then select Standard Edition Server. Press Next and select the features that you wish to install.
It is worth noting that both Archiving and Monitoring require a separate SQL Server as they cannot use SQL Server Express Edition installed on the SE server. After selecting the features you want press Next. If you selected Enterprise Voice then you will be asked whether you want to collocate the Mediation Server role. For small deployments you will want to keep the Mediation Server role on the same server. After pressing Next you must decide if you want to enable an Edge pool to be used by the media component of your SE Server. You should select this option if you are deploying an Edge server to support remote users. After pressing Next you will see a page related to defining the SQL server store. Since this is a SE server install this will be installed locally and there are no configuration options to choose. The installer will actually create a new instance on the server’s local SQL Server Express installation. This instance is called RTCLOCAL. After pressing Next you will be asked to define a file store. For a SE server this is likely to be on the server itself but can also be a remote file server. You will need to make sure that the installation account has full permissions on the share. After pressing Next you will be asked to specify the web services URL. In most SE installs this will simply be the FQDN of the server itself. However, if for some reason you decide to use a different FQDN it must resolve to the SE server.
If you selected conferencing functionality on the next screen you will be required to define a new Office Web Apps Server. For all of you already familiar with Lync this will be another major change in the process for deploying a new topology. The Office Web Apps Server role allows Lync to significantly improve how and where PowerPoint presentations are viewed. This new approach allows for:
· Higher-resolution displays and better support for PowerPoint capabilities, such as animations, slide transitions, and embedded video
· Additional mobile devices to be able to access these presentations. Lync Server 2013 uses standard DHTML and JavaScript to broadcast PowerPoint presentations instead of customized DHTML and Silverlight
· Users with the appropriate privileges to scroll through a PowerPoint presentation independent of the presentation itself
Press the new button and enter the FQDN of the Office Web Apps Server. If the server is not deployed internally also enter the HTTP proxy URL used in order to reach the server. After pressing OK you will notice that the new server has been added to the site we created during an earlier part of this process.
Press Next, if you selected the Archiving feature you will required to define the SQL store for archiving. As was mentioned earlier this cannot be the local SQL server Express install. Press Next, if you selected the Monitoring feature you will required to define the SQL store for archiving. Press Next, if you decided to associate the SE server with an Edge pool this is the point you will be required to define a new Edge Pool.
When you press the New button the Edge Pool wizard will launch. Press Next and then enter the internal FQDN used by the Pool.
Unless you plan to have a highly available Edge Pool you should next select Single Computer Pool and press Next. On the next screen you have three configuration options.
§ Use a single FQDN & IP address
o Although this is supported it is not recommended as it requires the use of non-standard ports for the Edge services
§ Enable Federation (port 5061)
o Federation permits you to communicate directly with other organizations
§ Enable XMPP federation (port 5269)
o XMPP is a protocol supported by providers such as Jabber and GoogleTalk
After pressing Next you will see the following screen:
For those of you familiar with earlier versions of Lync you will recognize the ability to enable or disable IPv4 or IPv6 on an interface as a new configuration option. With Lync Server 2013 there is now support for IPv4 and or IPv6. After selecting your IP configuration identify whether or not you are using NAT on the external interface. If you are using DNS load balancing this is fully supported however with a hardware load balancer NAT is not supported. Once you have finished configuring the Edge server and pressing the Finish button you will see you configured topology in Topology Builder.
The next step is to publish the topology by right clicking on the top node in the left hand pane. After the Topology publishing wizard launches press Next and select the Central Management Server. In our example this is the Standard Edition server we have just finished configuring. Once the wizard is complete confirm that all the steps were completed successfully. Next click the Finish button and close Topology Builder.
After the topology has been published the next step is to install the Lync components on the server. To do this you must launch the Lync Server Deployment wizard and select Install or Update Lync Server System. After the next screen has load the first step is to select Install Local Configuration Store. This will copy the data from the Lync topology you just published to the local SQL Server Express instance that was installed earlier. Once complete the next step is to select Setup or Remove Lync Server components. Once the wizard launches press Next and then review the log file. It is important to note that if you did not complete installation of the prerequisites from earlier then you will see that this process fails.