Microsoft Office Communications Server2007R2
Supported Topologies and Infrastructure Requirements
Published: May 2009
Updated: October 2009
Updated: April 2010
For the most up-to-date version of the Supported Topologies and Infrastructure Requirements documentation and the complete set of the Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 R2 online documentation, see the Office Communications Server TechNet Library at
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Contents
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Supportability Guide
Supported Topologies
Supported Active Directory Topologies
Internal Network Topologies for Office Communications Server 2007 R2
Enterprise Edition Consolidated Topology
Standard Edition Topology
Enterprise Edition Expanded Topology
Back-End Database Topology
Database Configurations
Hosting Third-Party Application SQL Server Databases
Archiving Server Component
Monitoring Server Component
Director Component
Communicator Web Access Component
Internal and External User Support
IIS 6.0 Virtual Server Configuration
SSL Web Publishing Configuration
Communicator Web Access Reverse Proxy Configurations
Enterprise Voice Component
Group Chat Component
Perimeter Network Topologies for Office Communications Server 2007 R2
Certificates
Internal and External Interfaces
Supported Server Role Collocation
Supported Clients
Computer-Based Clients
Microsoft Office Communicator
Communicator Web Access Client
Microsoft Office Live Meeting Client
Microsoft Outlook Add-in
Microsoft Office Communications Server Attendant
Microsoft Office Communications Server Group Chat
Device-Based Clients
The 2007 R2 Version of Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile for Windows Mobile
The 2007 R2 Version of Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile for Java
Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2 Phone Edition
Microsoft RoundTable
Supported Migration Paths and Coexistence Scenarios
Migration Methods
Phased Migrations
Coexistence Scenarios
Coexistence Restrictions
Updates Required for Coexistence Scenarios
Office Communications Server Infrastructure Requirements
Internal Office Communications Server Component Requirements
Windows Server 2008 Support
Windows Updates Requirements
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 Requirements
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package Requirements
Windows Media Format Runtime Requirements
Enterprise Edition Software Requirements
Supported Operating Systems
Supported Back-End Server Databases
Standard Edition Software Requirements
Supported Operating Systems
Supported Back-End Server Database
Communicator Web Access Software Requirements
Administrative Tools Software Requirements
Tools That Are Installed
Supported Operating Systems
Required System Updates
Shared Folders for Enterprise Edition
Hardware Requirements for Office Communications Server 2007 R2
Hardware Requirements for Enterprise Edition Consolidated Configuration with 100,000 Endpoints
Hardware Requirements for Enterprise Edition Consolidated Configuration with 200,000 Endpoints
Hardware Requirements for Monitoring Server, Archiving Server, and Group Chat Server
Hardware Requirements for Enterprise Edition Consolidated Configuration Edge Server
Hardware Requirements for Enterprise Edition Expanded Configuration
Hardware Requirements for Standard Edition
Hardware Requirements for Mediation Server
Hardware Requirements for Communicator Web Access
Environmental Requirements
Active Directory Domain Services Support
Supported Active Directory Environments by Office Communications Server Version
Domain Name System Support
Certificate Infrastructure Support
Internet Information Services Support
Reverse Proxy Support
Firewall Support
Load Balancing Support
Exchange UM Support
Networking Protocols Support
Encryption Support
SSL Accelerator Support
Virtualization Support
Client System Requirements
Office Communicator 2007 R2
Office Communicator Web Access
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Group Chat
Live Meeting Client for Office Communications Server 2007 R2
Office Communicator Mobile for Windows Mobile
Office Communicator Mobile for Java
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Attendant
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Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Supportability Guide
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 supports topologies that are designed to meet the needs of organizations that are small, medium, or large and that have varying requirements for performance, high availability, and scalability. It also integrates with various server and client technologies. The following sections identify the topologies, configurations, and system requirements for Office Communications Server 2007 R2, including the following:
Supported Active Directory topologies.
All Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition topologies and all server role components for both the internal and the perimeter networks.
Server roles that can be collocated.
Clients that support internal and external users.
Migration path to Office Communications Server 2007 R2, including components that can coexist during phased migrations.
System and environmental requirements. For details about configurations and system requirements that are specific to a feature or topology, see the relevant sections in the Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Planning Guide documentation.
The following figure illustrates external, perimeter, and internal network segments with the logical components that are described in sections that follow.
Figure 1. Network segments and logical roles
Note:
You can download the Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Supportability Guide as a Word file from the Microsoft Download Center at
In This Document
Supported Topologies
Supported Migration Paths and Coexistence Scenarios
Office Communications Server Infrastructure Requirements
Supported Topologies
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 offers three general topologies:
Office Communications Server Enterprise Edition in a consolidated configuration.
This topology is recommended for most organizations of any size. It provides performance, high availability, and scalability. For details, see Enterprise Edition Consolidated Topology.
Office Communications Server Standard Edition.
This topology is for small or midsize deployments, such as branch and pilot deployments, that do not have high availability and performance requirements. For details, see Standard Edition Topology.
Office Communications Server Enterprise Edition in an expanded configuration.
The Enterprise Edition in an expanded configuration continues to be supported in Office Communications Server 2007 R2. However, the recommended configuration in Office Communications Server 2007 R2 is the consolidated configuration. The primary advantage offered by the expanded configuration in Office Communications Server 2007 was its ability to scale in very large deployments. In Office Communications Server 2007 R2, the limitations for scaling have been removed from the consolidated configuration, making it the preferred solution both in terms of scaling and simplified administration. For details about the expanded configuration, see Enterprise Edition Expanded Topology.
The following figure is a reference topology that illustrates the server roles and components in a consolidated configuration. The topics that follow describe the various topologies, components, and configurations that are supported for the internal network and the perimeter network.
Figure 1. Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Reference Topology
In This Section
Supported Active Directory Topologies
Internal Network Topologies for Office Communications Server 2007 R2
Perimeter Network Topologies for Office Communications Server 2007 R2
Supported Server Role Collocation
Supported Clients
Supported Active Directory Topologies
Office Communications Server relies on Active Directory Domain Services (ADDS) to store global settings and groups necessary for the deployment and management of Office Communications Server. Office Communications Server 2007 R2 supports the same Active Directory topologies as Office Communications Server 2007.
Office Communications Server can be deployed in a locked-down Active Directory environment. For details about the special considerations involved in deploying Office Communications Server in a locked-down environment, see Preparing a Locked Down Active Directory Domain Services in Preparing Active Directory Domain Services for Office Communications Server 2007 R2 in the Deployment documentation.
This section identifies the Active Directory topologies supported by Office Communications Server 2007 R2. For details about operating system and domain functional level requirements for ADDS, see Environmental Requirements.
For details about supported Active Directory topologies, see Active Directory Domain Services Requirements in the Planning and Architecture documentation.
For details about preparing ADDS for Office Communications Server installation, see Preparing Active Directory Domain Services for Office Communications Server 2007 R2 in the Deployment documentation.
Office Communications Server supports single-forest and multiple-forest Active Directory environments.
The Active Directory topologies supported by Office Communications Server are as follows:
Single forest with single domain
Single forest with a single tree and multiple domains
Single forest with multiple trees and disjoint namespaces
Multiple forests in a central forest topology
Multiple forests in a resource forest topology
Internal Network Topologies for Office Communications Server 2007 R2
The sections that follow describe the supported Office Communications Server components that can be deployed in an internal network. The internal network supports both internal and external Office Communications Server users.
A Front End Server and a Back-End Database in one of the supported topologies are required for all Office Communications Server deployments. Additional server roles might be required, depending on the deployment.
You can deploy the following server roles only in an internal network:
Front End Server
Note:
IM Conferencing Server, Telephony Conferencing Server, and Application Sharing Server are automatically installed with a Front End Server.
Back-End Database
A/V Conferencing Server
Web Conferencing Server
Application Sharing Server
Director
Mediation Server
Archiving Server
Monitoring Server
Communicator Web Access
Web Components Server (runs Internet Information Services, or IIS)
Group Chat Server
In This Section
Enterprise Edition Consolidated Topology
Standard Edition Topology
Enterprise Edition Expanded Topology
Back-End Database Topology
Archiving Server Component
Monitoring Server Component
Director Component
Communicator Web Access Component
Enterprise Voice Component
Group Chat Component
Enterprise Edition Consolidated Topology
With Office Communications Server Enterprise Edition in the consolidated configuration, one or more Enterprise Edition servers are deployed, each running the Front End Server, A/V Conferencing Server, Web Conferencing Server, and Web Components Server. Office Communications Server 2007 R2 also automatically installs the following with the Front End Server:
Application Sharing Server
Application Server
Four new unified communications applications:
Response Group Service
Conferencing Attendant
Conferencing Announcement Service
Outside Voice Control
Note:
All four of the unified communications applications are automatically installed, but you can choose to activate only the ones you want to run.
Enterprise Edition in the consolidated configuration is the recommended topology for most organizations. This topology provides simplified administration, as well as performance and high availability. It can be scaled by adding servers to the pool.
Eight Front End Servers running the recommended hardware can support 100,000 active, concurrent users per pool. For details about hardware requirements, see Internal Office Communications Server Component Requirements.
The following considerations apply to the Enterprise Edition consolidated configuration:
A single Enterprise Edition server can be configured as an Enterprise pool.
A hardware load balancer is required when two or more Enterprise Edition servers make up a pool.
The Back-End Database must be deployed on a separate computer.
Standard Edition Topology
Office Communications Server Standard Edition is deployed with the Front End Server, Back-End Database, A/V Conferencing Server, Web Conferencing Server, and Web Components Server installed on a single physical computer. Office Communications Server 2007 R2 also automatically installs the following on the same Standard Edition computer:
Application Sharing Server
Four new unified communications applications:
Response Group Service
Conferencing Attendant
Conferencing Announcement Service
Outside Voice Control
Note:
All of the four unified communications applications are automatically installed, but you can choose to activate only the ones you want to run.
One or more Standard Edition servers can be deployed alone or in combination with one or more Enterprise pools.
Office Communications Server Standard Edition is a recommended topology for midsize organizations, branch deployments that do not require high availability, and pilot deployments. This configuration can support up to 5,000 users per server.
Enterprise Edition Expanded Topology
In the Office Communications Server Enterprise Edition expanded configuration, each server role runs on a dedicated computer.
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 continues support for the expanded configuration. However, the consolidated configuration is now the recommended topology for most organizations. The primary advantage of the expanded configuration in Office Communications Server 2007 was its ability to scale in very large deployments. In Office Communications Server 2007 R2, the limitations for scaling have been removed from the consolidated configuration, making it the preferred solution both in terms of scaling and simplified administration.
Note:
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 supports deployment of the expanded configuration only from the command line. The Setup deployment wizards do not support expanded configuration deployment.
Because the expanded configuration is installed from the command line, Application Server and the unified communications applications must be installed independently on the computer where Front End Server is installed. If you plan to install any of the following unified communications applications, you must also install Application Server:
Response Group Service
Conferencing Attendant
Conferencing Announcement Service
Outside Voice Control
Note:
You can install all the applications, but activate only the ones you plan to use.
For details about the roles and components that are needed to provide various types of functionality, see Features and Components in the Planning and Architecture documentation.
In the expanded configuration of Office Communications Server Enterprise Edition, each pool can support up to 100,000 active, concurrent users.
In this configuration, the Front End Servers and the Web Components Servers (running IIS) are each connected to a hardware load balancer. A single load balancer can be used for both, or separate load balancers can be deployed for the Front End Servers and for the Web Components Servers.
Back-End Database Topology
A Back-End Database is required for any Enterprise Edition or Standard Edition configuration. For details about supported versions of the Microsoft SQL Server database software for the Back-End Database, see Internal Office Communications Server Component Requirements.
Database Configurations
In a Standard Edition topology, all server roles, including the Back-End Database, are collocated on a single computer.
In an Enterprise Edition topology, the Back-End Database cannot be collocated with any other server role in a pool. However, the Back-End Database can be collocated with other Office Communications Server 2007 R2 databases. Specifically, the Back-End Database can run in a shared SQL Server instance with Archiving, Monitoring, Group Chat, and Compliance (for Group Chat) databases. The Back-End Database can run on a shared server with the Director database, but it must run in a separate SQL Server instance.
Note:
Published performance test results assume that the Back-End Database runs in a dedicated SQL Server instance.
Enterprise Edition topologies, both consolidated and expanded, support the following Back-End Database configurations:
One Front End Server without a load balancer and one Back-End Database on a separate computer.
One Front End Server connected to a hardware load balancer and one Back-End Database on a separate computer.
Two or more Front End Servers connected to a hardware load balancer and one Back-End Database on a separate computer.
In an Enterprise pool, the Back-End Database can be a single SQL Server computer. Alternatively, two or more dedicated SQL Server computers can optionally be clustered in a multiple-node active/passive configuration. A SQL Server cluster for the Back-End Database improves availability by providing failover capabilities. In a multiple-node cluster, the Office Communications Server SQL instance must be able to failover to a passive node that, for performance reasons, should not be shared by any other SQL instance. You can migrate a Back-End Database from nonclustered to clustered by using the DbImpExp.exe tool. For details about the DBImpExp.exe tool for Office Communications Server 2007 R2, see the DBImpExp-Readme.htm file in the <drive>:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2\Server\Support folder of a server on which Office Communications Server 2007 R2 is installed.
In configurations that have more than one SQL Server instance, an Enterprise pool can use either the default instance or a named instance. In either case, either default port 1433 or a nondefault port is supported. To use a port other than 1433, use one of the following methods:
Run the SQL Server Browser service on the computer running SQL Server. No configuration is required on the client.
Instead of running the SQL Server Browser service on the computer running SQL Server, configure the client by creating an alias for the SQL Server instance and specifying the port number. To create an alias on a computer running the Front End Server, use the SQL Server Configuration Manager (a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in). You must create the alias on each computer running the Front End Server.