C/D/H Talks Tech

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Eric Inch

I enjoy learning, using and helping others through technology. This is my fourth year with C/D/H after many years of consulting for numerous small and mid-sized companies. I enjoy challenging projects and continual improvement in all areas. Most recently, I have been working to help grow the unified communications and virtualization practices at C/D/H.

When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my family. My girls keep me extremely busy but are always the highlight of my day.

For a more in-depth bio and a list of my areas of expertise, please visit http://www.cdh.com.

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Articles by Eric Inch

Communications Server “14”, currently in Beta, is next release in the Communications Server product line that included Live Communications Server 2003 & 2005 and Office Communications Server 2007 & 2007 R2. One of my favorite new release improvements is the method for deploying the Communications Server environment. And one of the keys is the Communications Server Topology Builder.

The Communications Server Topology Builder is a tool to design new or modify existing Communications Server topologies and deploy changes throughout the Communications Server environment. All of the server topology configurations are configured within the topology builder and all servers get a replicated copy of the configuration.

1.  Start a new topology by selecting the “New” option from the Actions menu on the far right pane.

• Define new deployment, including the default SIP domain and any other supported SIP domains.

After defining a new deployment, including the supported SIP domains, you need to define a new site.

2.  Select Define Site from the Actions menu.

• The new site will have the following information:
  • Name
  • Description
  • Country Code
  • State/Region
  • City

3.  After the site is defined, you’ll have the ability to define the configurations for all other topology roles.

This includes the pool configurations, archiving and monitoring servers, mediation server, and A/V conferencing pool. All of the configurations are created prior to the installation of the core components on the specific servers. The configuration information is stored in the Central Management Store which is replicated to all CS “14” servers in the environment.

Finally, after the topology document is completed, the topology needs to be published.

4.  Select Publish from the Actions menu. (You will get a series of prompts regarding the CMS and databases that may need to be created.)

5.  With the entire configuration already pre-created, deploying servers is easy.

• Install the local configuration store and retrieve configuration from CMS. Keep in mind, if the server is not a domain member, like the Edge role, you will need to export the CS configuration and then import it into the server. To export, from the Communications Server Management Shell, type ‘Export-CsConfiguration –Filename c:\filename.zip’
• Setup Communications Server “14” components
• Create and assign certificates.  (The good news is that certificate wizards are going to greatly improve the process)
• Start all services

For more information of Communications Server “14”, visit http://www.microsoft.com/communicationsserver/cs14/en/us/default.aspx