Learn how to install Microsoft Lync 2010 in Windows Server 2008 R2 Operating System

Microsoft Lync 2010 - Minimum and Recommended System Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 2008 Server Edition ( Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter)


• CPU: 2.0 GHz Dual-Core Processor (Minimum), 2.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (Recommended)


• HDD 78GB HDD (10000RPM)


• Memory: 16GB


• Additional Software:
  • Windows Installer Version 4.5
  
  
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1
  
  
  • Windows PowerShell v2.0
  
  
  • Internet Information Services (IIS)
  
  
  • Windows Media Format Runtime
  
  
  • Silverlight

Steps to Install Microsoft Lync 2010 in Windows Server 2008

1. First of all, update the server computer and all of its components using Windows Update. Most of the required components can be downloaded from the console of the server after joining a domain and logging into the account. This will install various required components directly into the computer from the command-line but the same is not an alternative to the Windows Update service which is meant to update all the installed components.
   

   servermanagercmd.exe -install NET-Framework Web-WebServer 
   Web-Common-Http Web-Static-Content Web-Default-Doc Web-Dir-Browsing 
   Web-Http-Errors Web-Http-Redirect Web-Asp-Net Web-ISAPI-Ext 
   Web-ISAPI-Filter Web-Http-Logging Web-Log-Libraries 
   Web-Http-Tracing Web-Security Web-Windows-Auth Web-Client-Auth 
   Web-Performance Web-Stat-Compression Web-Mgmt-Tools 
   Web-Mgmt-Console Web-Scripting-Tools telnet-client rsat-adds



2. After having everything ready, insert the installation disc or mount the image file of the Lync Server 2010 whichever is applicable. This will bring up the installation wizard which will contain the various installation options. Some of these options are that of the Lync Server installation and the 32-bit and 64-bit Lync Client installation. Click on the installation option of the Server and wait for the next window to appear.


3. Now, there are some components which are required for the installation process to be continued. These are generally accompanied with the installation file itself and need not be downloaded and installed separately. One of these components are the Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable -x64 9.0.30729.4148 package which would be prompted to be installed. Allow the same by clicking on 'Yes' to continue further to select the directory for the installation. You may prefer using the default location which is 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Lync Sever 2010'. Now, click on 'Install' to continue.


4. This is followed by the EULA or the License Agreement which must be accepted before continuing ahead. This license agreement is meant to be followed precisely and hence it is always a good idea to have a close look at the various usage guidelines. After having thoroughly read the License Agreement, click on the checkbox corresponding to 'I accept the terms of the license agreement' and then click on OK.


5. The Microsoft Lync Deployment wizard shall now appear which would have two valid options i.e. 'Prepare Active Directory' and 'Install or Update Lync Server System'. Among both these options, select the first on which is to prepare the Active Directory.


6. The Deployment Wizard will now be visible which would have more than half a dozen steps to follow. These steps from 1 to 6 includes Prepare Schema, Verify Replication of Schema Partition, Prepare Current Forest, Verify Replication of Global Catalog, Prepare Current Domain and Verify Replication in the Domain. Follow the step 1, 3 and 5 to prepare the AD. After completing those steps, proceed to step 7 which offers the option to add the Admin account. Now, launch the Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) and select the Administrator account to add to the various groups such as CSAdministrator, CSServerAdministrator, CSUserAdministrator and CSVoiceAdministrator accordingly, which can be done under the Members Tab. After adding the admin account and AD is complete, you may navigate backward to the Deployment Wizard's main screen by clicking on Back.


7. On the right hand side of the main Deployment Wizard window, there will be an option which reads as 'Prepare the First Standard Edition Server'. Click on it to start the execution of various script for installing the SQL 2008 and other core components of the Lync Server along with the databases which would be required later. This will take some time to complete and if finished without any error, will let you proceed to the next step.


8. Here, you have to install the topology server which have three general options to select from. These are as follows:-
   
   • Download Topology from existing Deployment
   
   
   • Open Topology from a local file.
   
   
   • New Topology
   Select the third option to create a new and blank topology which would be saved into the local file by default. Click on OK and define the primary domain by feeding the Primary SIP domain and click on Next. After that, define a name and description for the site and click on Next again. This will be followed by the screen prompting for city, state and country details. Enter the details and click on Next to bring up the success message confirming the creation of the new topology. It will have a checkbox for launching the Front End Wizard which needs to be checked and after that you may click on Finish.


9. Now we have to manage the Front End Pool which will be automatically triggered after the clicking on Finish in the previous step. Click on Next to continue. After that, there will be option for entering the FQDN and also selecting between two options such as :-
   
   • Enterprise Edition Front End Pool
   
   
   • Standard Edition Server
   Enter the FQDN as applicable of the server and then select the second option for standard edition server and click on Next. This will bring up the next screen to select the features which you would need to select for your usage. Some of the available options are:-
   
   • Conferencing (Dial-in PSTN conferencing)
   
   
   • Enterprise Voice
   
   
   • Call Admission Control
   Select the required options and click on Next to proceed.


10. The next screen allows to select the collocated server roles. Choose the Collocated Mediation Server and click on next to continue. This will bring the server roles screen which includes the following options:-
    
    • Enable Archiving
    
    
    • Enable monitoring
    
    
    • Enable Edge Pool
    You may leave this blank or check it as per your requirements. After having made your selection, click on Next to continue. This will bring the SQL Store Definition screen but it won't be required as the SQL Express would be utilized by default. Click on Next to proceed.


11. The next screen demands to define the file share details. Select the 'Define a New File Share' checkbox and enter the 'File Server FQDN' and 'File Share Name' in their respective textbox. Click on Next to specify the External Web Service URL. This may be left with the default value unless it is not the case with your requirements.Now on the screen that comes next, specify the appropriate PSTN gateway and finally click on the Finish button


12. Now, edit the properties which is located on the top right hand side of the Topology Builder (just below the New Central Site). Click on the Simple URL and feed the admin access URL with the OCS extension according to your configurations and accordingly select the Front End Server to install the Central Management Server as applicable from the drop-down-list.


13. After the above steps have been accomplished, we are now in a position to publish it which can be done from the 'Publish Topology' option available under the right hand side menu. When clicked on the link, it will open the Publish Topology wizard. Go through the instructions and click on Next until the process start to publish it. If the previous steps were done accurately, a success message might flash up. Click on Finish and exit from the Topology Builder.


14. Now head your way to the Lync Server Deployment Wizard and select the first option 'Install Local Configuration Store'. After doing so, check the first option on the next screen which read as 'Retrieve directly from the Central Management Store' and click on Next. After the status of the execution of commands complete, click on Finish.


15. Now proceed to the Step 2 of the Lync Server Deployment Wizard which is that of 'Setup or Remove Lync Server Components'. After proceeding with the first stage of the wizard, you will require to reboot once. Do it, and when you login again go to the Step 2 to continue the process from where it was left before rebooting. Now, click on Finish to proceed to the Certificate Wizard. Here, click on Request button and choose the first option in the next screen to 'Send the request immediately to an online certificate authority' and click on Next. After that, select the detected server and proceed to the Name and Security Settings where you have to mention a Friendly Name and Bit Length. Having selected those, you will go through a number of steps requiring various informations related to your locations and other details. Specify those fields with appropriate input and you will finally be able to see the Online Certificate Request Status with option to assign the certificate to the Lync Server. Finally, click on Finish.


16. Now, you can go directly to the Step 4 which is to verify and see if all the steps were performed correctly. You can also open the Services.MSC to see if all the component of the Microsoft Lync Server are working properly. Having verified it all, you may launch the Microsoft Lync Server Control Panel from the Start Menu to enable any user to test and get going. You may however need to configure the DNS server accordingly before proceeding to work with Microsoft Lync 2010.