This is the first cookbook dedicated to Lync Server 2013. While there are a few books dedicated to Lync (and Packt Publishing has published a couple of them), this is the first time that someone has tried to write down more than 300 pages of practical recipes, hints, and tips dedicated to this Unified Communication software.
While writing this book, we, as authors, know that Skype for Business will be available during this year, and a part of the existing features and interfaces could change to some extent. We are confident, anyway, that Lync Server 2013 will stay relevant for a long time, and we believe that people working on solutions based on Lync around the world will value the time and effort we have put into this cookbook.
We have tried to include in this book as much useful information as possible, to help Lync administrators in their everyday tasks and in planning, deploying, and managing some of the most complex scenarios and features. The coming years will see an increase in the use of cloud computing, and Lync, right now, integrates in many ways with Azure and Office 365. We have tried to explain the cloud-related features and options, in addition to the more traditional on-premises settings. As authors, we accept the risk that the ever-changing nature of the Microsoft Cloud might require updates to the material in this book, because our commitment is to provide you with the most relevant information.
As we said, this book is something new both in terms of format and content. We hope it will be like a tool that you will keep on your "desk", and consult over and over as the need arises.
Chapter 1, Lync 2013 Security, is dedicated to the hardening techniques for the Lync infrastructure and to some recipes to raise the level of security for some of the available features. This chapter includes a configuration guide to use Application Request Routing as a reverse proxy for Lync.
Chapter 2, Lync 2013 Authentication, focuses on the authentication protocols used in Lync for the various devices and identities that have access to the server features. This chapter contains recipes dedicated to authentication configuration and management, both on-premises and on the cloud.
Chapter 3, Lync Dial Plans and Voice Routing, discusses Enterprise Voice, which is the most complex feature to plan and administer in Lync Server 2013. Although a complete overview of such a vast topic is not possible, this chapter focuses on the management of dial plans and voice routing, introducing a series of real-world suggestions and recipes.
Chapter 4, Lync 2013 Integration with Exchange, requires comprehension of Exchange to deliver features such as Unified Messaging integration and Lync archiving with Exchange and the Unified Contact Store. The recipes in this chapter will help you in the tasks related to Lync / Exchange integration.
Chapter 5, Scripts and Tools for Lync, contains an overview of useful tools that every Lync administrator should know. The software and scripts presented in this chapter are so important that, in some cases, we have used them in a more extensive manner in other feature-focused chapters.
Chapter 6, Designing a Lync Solution – The Overlooked Aspects, takes care of some aspects that are often ignored during the design phase of a Lync solution. The human factor (such as training and assessment of user requirements) and more technical aspects are examined in this chapter.
Chapter 7, Lync 2013 in a Resource Forest, explores the different solutions available to maximize our Lync deployment with the use of a resource forest. The scenarios proposed include both on-premises and hybrid solutions to deliver Lync features to the users' forests.
Chapter 8, Managing Lync 2013 Hybrid and Lync Online, gives an overview of the tools and techniques required to manage Lync Online and to administer a hybrid deployment of Lync. There are recipes dedicated to help Lync administrators perform the most common administrative tasks in the previously mentioned scenarios.
Chapter 9, Lync 2013 Monitoring and Reporting, covers the concept of monitoring, which is a crucial aspect of a Lync production environment. Lync offers some default reports to monitor the health of our deployment and the quality of the audio and video experience that we offer to our users. The recipes in this chapter are dedicated both to the use of the previously mentioned information and to the configuration of additional controls.
Chapter 10, Managing Lync 2013 Backup and Restore, covers the Lync architecture, which contains mechanisms that grant a high level of continuity. Anyway, we have to provide a consistent plan to prevent data loss and configuration corruptions. This chapter is focused on identifying the information that we need to back up and explaining the ways to restore our working environment.
Chapter 11, Controlling Your Network – A Quick Drill into QoS and CAC, grants the best experience to our users, which is one of the most important aspects in every Lync deployment. Delivering audio and video services with no use of quality of service and no call control is a risky decision, which usually leads to offering services with a low level of performance. We have some important recipes in this chapter that cover the configuration and use of QOS and CAC in Lync Server 2013.
Chapter 12, Lync 2013 Debugging, discusses the concept of troubleshooting in Lync, which is usually a complicated task. This last chapter of the book lists and explains some of the best tools available to resolve different kinds of problems that we could face in a Lync environment.