zen and the art of skype for business maintenance version 1 · pdf filezen and the art of...

ZEN AND THE ART OF SKYPE FOR BUSINESS MAINTENANCE VERSION 1.0 - JANUARY 2016 1

Zen and the Art of

Skype for Business

Maintenance

Version 1.0

Contents I. Quote ..................................................................................................................... 3

II. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 3

III. Overview ................................................................................................................ 4

IV. Well-known Tools from Microsoft ........................................................................ 5

Remote Connectivity Analyzer .......................................................................................................................... 5

Microsoft Lync Server 2013 Resource Kit Tools ........................................................................................... 5

Lync 2013 Pre-Call Diagnostic Tool................................................................................................................. 6

Stress and Performance Tools (LSS) from Microsoft .................................................................................... 6

Rollout and Adoption Success Kit (RASK) Resources ................................................................................. 7

Skype for Business Server 2015, SEFAUtil ..................................................................................................... 8

Skype for Business Server 2015, Management Pack ...................................................................................... 9

https://www.microsoft.com/en-

us/download/details.aspx?id=47364 ............................................................................................................... 9

Skype for Business Server 2015, Debugging Tools ...................................................................................... 10

Skype for Business Online, Meeting Migration Tool ................................................................................... 10

V. Design ................................................................................................................... 11


Skype for Business and Lync 2013 DDC - Detailed Design

Calculator ............................................................................................................................................................ 11

Skype for Business Server 2015 Firewall Diagram ....................................................................................... 11

Lyncvalidator (Skype Validator) ...................................................................................................................... 12

VI. Testing .................................................................................................................. 13

Lync Edge Port Tester Tool ............................................................................................................................ 13

Lync Dns Tester Tool ....................................................................................................................................... 14

Ip Route Editor Tool ........................................................................................................................................ 14

Lync Wireshark Plugin ...................................................................................................................................... 15

DigiCert SSL Installation Diagnostics Tool (SSL Certificate

Checker)............................................................................................................................................................... 15

VII. Implementation .................................................................................................... 16

Set-Cs2013Features.ps1 .................................................................................................................................... 16

DigiCert Certificate Utility for Windows ....................................................................................................... 17

Skype For Business Address Book Normalization Tool ............................................................................. 17

Lync Dialing Rule Optimizer ........................................................................................................................... 18

VIII. Maintenance ......................................................................................................... 18

Skype for Business Call Forwarding Information Tool ............................................................................... 19

Lync Common Area Phone Management Tool (GUI) ............................................................................... 19

Skype for Business Backup Tool ..................................................................................................................... 20

Skype for Business Advanced ADMX Template ......................................................................................... 20

MAdCaP.ps1 – A GUI for Lync Analog Devices & Common

Area Phones ........................................................................................................................................................ 21

Skype for Business User Configuration Reporting Tool ............................................................................. 21

Lync / Skype for Business Photo Editor ....................................................................................................... 22

Exchange / AD / O365 Photo Importer ...................................................................................................... 23

Get-AssignedLineURI (For endpoints too, not just users) ......................................................................... 23

Assign Lync \ Skype for Business User Policies to Active

Directory Groups ............................................................................................................................................... 24

Backup Skype for Business On-Premise ........................................................................................................ 25

Document your Lync 2013 installation .......................................................................................................... 25

One Liners and Scripts ...................................................................................................................................... 26


Author: Fabrizio Volpe, Office Servers and Services MVP (Italy)

Fabrizio is an expert in unified communication, networking and messaging that has worked with Microsoft

products for more than ten years. He is also the author of books, technical blogger, speaker in conferences.

Quote

The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today.

Elbert Hubbard

Introduction

Skype for Business is a complex solution and it makes sense to look at the product lifecycle dividing it in

different “phases”. A possible approach is to use the Software Development Life Cycle Defined (SDLC).

SDLC stands for System Development Life Cycle. A System Development Life Cycle is essentially a series of

steps, or phases, that provide a model for the development and lifecycle management of an application or

piece of software.


Overview

The tools we will be talking about can be divided (approximately) to fit in four of the aforementioned areas

Design

Testing

Implementation

Maintenance

Maybe you will have to work on all of the aforementioned aspects, or maybe you will be focused on one or

more. In any case, your work will be easier and more meaningful if you are able to find a way to achieve

results that are more precise in a shorter time.

Disclaimer: I will try to talk about tools from Microsoft, from the SfB community or from third parties

preferring free tools. However, if there is a tool that is “worthy your money” I will quote it specifying that it

has a cost

Disclaimer: some of the tools have not been updated to SfB, However, given the fact that the two versions

of the product are really similar, I will point out “not updated tools” for Lync Server 2013 that have are

usable and useful also for SfB


Well-known Tools from Microsoft

Remote Connectivity Analyzer https://testconnectivity.microsoft.com/

The Microsoft Connectivity Analyzer is a “collection of web-based tools” that enable us to simulate the

communication channel that exists between the different clients and a different environment such as on-

Premises versus Online and additional troubleshooting tools

Microsoft Lync Server 2013 Resource Kit Tools http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36821

The Resource Kit contains many important tools that (right now) have NOT been updated to Skype for

Business. The only exception is the SEFAUtil (see the dedicated paragraph). The Resource Kit includes

ABSConfig LCSSync

Audio Extractor Lookup User Console

Bandwidth Policy Service Monitor MsTurnPing

Bandwidth Utilization Analyzer Network Configuration Viewer

Call Parkometer Response Group Agent Live

Cleanup Storage Service Data SEFAUtil (*)

DBAnalyze Unassigned Number Announcements Migration

Import Storage Service Data Watson Support Tool for Lync Phone Edition

https://testconnectivity.microsoft.com/

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36821


Lync 2013 Pre-Call Diagnostic Tool http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40733

Several Skype for Business features depend on a network's reliability and quality. For example, if there's

network latency, users can experience choppiness in video or audio calls. Presence and IM aren't as sensitive

to network latency because they tend to be used in bursts rather than continuous streams.

The Pre-Call diagnostic tool enables testing network connection from a user’s point of view to understand if

any issue is related to poor network quality.

The tool captures three basic parameters : Network Mean Opinion Score (MOS), Packet loss rate and

Interarrival jitter

Stress and Performance Tools (LSS) from Microsoft


The tool is used to test performances of a targets scenario (on-premises). LSS includes multiple modules and

can simulate simultaneous users on one or more servers.

I suggest also (for a deep dive into Lync stress testing) the post from Thomas Poett (@ThomasPoett)

“Lync Stress Test – How Too, Setup and Configuration”

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/office/Lync-Stress-Test-How-Too-c4c276e1



https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/office/Lync-Stress-Test-How-Too-c4c276e1


Rollout and Adoption Success Kit (RASK) Resources http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=37031

Rollout and Adoption Success Kit (RASK) contains guided focus-area discussions, best practices, common

challenges/mitigations, and getting started checklists. RASK is organized into 3 core components: Rollout

phases, Readiness focus areas, and the Deployment readiness report. The RSAK includes the Lync Pilot

Deployment Health Analysis

Lync Pilot Deployment Health Analysis

The Lync Pilot Deployment Health Analysis is a lesser known Excel-based utility. The tool retrieves and

displays a summary of the key issues indicators, such as the most common failure code.

Requirements:

Microsoft Excel is installed on the machine from where you run the file

The machine from where you run the file has connectivity to your Lync deployment

The Lync Monitoring Server role must be deployed

Call Detail Records and Quality of Experience policies must be configured to

capture data



Skype for Business Server 2015, SEFAUtil https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=47704

Group Call Pickup enables users to answer incoming calls to their colleagues from their own phones.

This increases the availability of a user's line by enabling other users to answer an incoming call by dialing a

call pickup group number.

To deploy and manage Group Call Pickup, you need to use the Skype for Business Server version of the

SEFAUtil tool.

SefaUtil from the Lync 2013 Resource Kit will not work properly with Skype for Business because the

previous version of the utility requires UCMA 4.0 (Skype for Business uses UCMA 5.0).

Enabling SEFAUtil

New-CsTrustedApplicationPool -id madhatter.wonderland.lab -Registrar madhatter.wonderland.lab -site Site:Site001

New-CsTrustedApplication -ApplicationId sefautil -TrustedApplicationPoolFqdn madhatter.wonderland.lab -Port 7489

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=47704


Enable-CsTopology

SEFAUtil.exe <user SIP address> /server:<Lync Server/Pool FQDN>

Skype for Business Server 2015, Management Pack


The Management Pack adds to System Center Operations Manager agents the capability to interact in a

proactive and reactive manner with the Skype for Business servers.

The management pack is important also for WatcherNode.msi that enable automatically performing synthetic

transactions to check deployment health.

Note: Watcher nodes are computers that periodically run Lync Server synthetic transactions

Synthetic transactions are Windows PowerShell cmdlets that verify that key end user scenarios

Video Interop Server Synthetic Transaction

The new server role Video Interop Server (VIS) adds dedicated PowerShell cmdlets, including the ones for

Synthetic Transaction

Overview of installing WatcherNode

Configure a trusted application pool for the Watcher Node

Create a certificate

Install WatcherNode.msi

Configure Synthetic Transactions

Configure VIS Synthetic Transaction



Skype for Business Server 2015, Debugging Tools https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=47263

Debugging tools are used in troubleshooting Skype for Business deployments. Snooper is designed to read

and parse the logging output from the Centralized Logging Service (CLS) while the Logger is a tool to

manage logs generated by the CLS.

Snooper

CLSLogger

CLSScenarioEdit.psm1

Skype for Business Online, Meeting Migration Tool https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=47728

Updates all of your existing meetings after you enable for PSTN Conferencing in Skype for Business Online




Design

The tools we will see here are the ones you need to create a SfB design able to answer to your customers’ (or

company) needs.

Skype for Business and Lync 2013 DDC - Detailed Design Calculator https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/office/Lync-2013-Standard-Edition-324bf0f1

Alessio Giombini (@AlessioGiombini) and Alberto Nunes (@AA_Nunes)

Detailed Design Calculator (DDC) is a simple offline, Excel-based, design calculator for Microsoft Skype for

Business and Lync 2013 on-premises. Adding information about our project you are able to obtain design

elements and scripts to speed up our deployment

Skype for Business Server 2015 Firewall Diagram https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Skype-for-Business-Server-22e3c2e1

Randy Chapman (@randychapman)

The firewall diagram is a Visio document with a “typical” deployment represented in it. Required firewall

ports and certificates are also shown in the design. It is a great tool (customized with our information) to

explain Skype for Business requirements and schemas to customers

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/office/Lync-2013-Standard-Edition-324bf0f1

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Skype-for-Business-Server-22e3c2e1


Lyncvalidator (Skype Validator) https://lyncvalidator.com/

Richard Brynteson (@rbrynteson) and Michael LaMontagne (@realtimeuc)

The Validator is an online tool to plan, document and verify a Skype for Business / Lync Server 2013

deployment. It supports loading and saving designs, including files from the Topology Builder. Similar to the

DDC, it is a Cloud based instrument, with all the related pros and cons.

https://lyncvalidator.com/


Testing

Lync Edge Port Tester Tool http://www.myskypelab.com/2014/02/lync-edge-testing-suite-part-1-lync.html

James Cussen (@mylynclab)

The Edge Port Tester is a PowerShell based utility that enables to check problems with the connection to

Skype for Business edge servers, both from your internal network and from an external network. You are able

to configure the tool to “listen” on the default ports and then run the same tool on a client or on a Front End

to verify that TCP and UDP connectivity working correctly. It is a useful way to verify with no doubt if there

is a firewall issue in your deployment

One tool for testing both ends of the connection. Run the Lync Edge Port Tester on your Edge

server and on an internal and external network machine.

Test both UDP and TCP ports are open in both directions.

Select a profile from the list (Edge Outside, Edge Inside, Front End, Client Outside, Client Inside) to

check all the relevant ports for that connection type

http://www.myskypelab.com/2014/02/lync-edge-testing-suite-part-1-lync.html


Lync Dns Tester Tool http://www.myskypelab.com/2014/03/lync-edge-testing-suite-part-2-lync-dns.html


The tool is used verify DNS records required for Skype for Business / Lync Server 2013. You are able to

select your preferred DNS server and the tool auto-fills the DNS record names with the standard names.

Customization is also supported.

Ip Route Editor Tool http://www.myskypelab.com/2014/03/lync-edge-testing-suite-part-2-lync-dns.html


The tool helps in managing and configuring static routes (usually) required on an edge server. All routes are

shown, including persistent ones, with a colour code to point out their importance.

http://www.myskypelab.com/2014/03/lync-edge-testing-suite-part-2-lync-dns.html

http://www.myskypelab.com/2014/03/lync-edge-testing-suite-part-2-lync-dns.html


Lync Wireshark Plugin http://www.myskypelab.com/2014/05/microsoft-lync-wireshark-plugin.html


A plugin for Wireshark that makes packet captures taken on an Edge server readable (for example, STUN

Simple Traversal Utilities for NAT related ones)

DigiCert SSL Installation Diagnostics Tool (SSL Certificate Checker) https://www.digicert.com/help/

An Internet based diagnostics tool to verify errors with Skype for Business certificates

http://www.myskypelab.com/2014/05/microsoft-lync-wireshark-plugin.html

https://www.digicert.com/help/


Implementation

Set-Cs2013Features.ps1 http://www.ehloworld.com/1697

Pat Richard (@patrichard)

Set-Cs2013Features.ps1 is a complex script that makes it easy to install many Skype for Business / Lync tools

and installation pre-requirements for the different roles.

Using a similar tool streamlines setup and makes it sure that installation are consistent across your servers.

http://www.ehloworld.com/1697


DigiCert Certificate Utility for Windows https://www.digicert.com/util/

The free DigiCert Certificate Utility for Windows is a graphic tool for administrators and for anyone that uses

SSL Certificates for Websites and servers or Code Signing Certificates for trusted software.

It makes it easier to perform tasks like creating new requests from existing certificates or applying certificates

Skype For Business Address Book Normalization Tool http://www.myskypelab.com/2015/07/skype-for-business-address-book.html


Skype for Business brings a new set of PowerShell commands for controlling Address Book Normalization

rules.

The tool makes it easier to manage rules and perform tasks like importing or exporting settings that in

previous versions of Lync, were stored in the Company_Phone_Number_Normalization_Rules.txt

https://www.digicert.com/util/

http://www.myskypelab.com/2015/07/skype-for-business-address-book.html


Lync Dialing Rule Optimizer https://www.lyncoptimizer.com/

Ken Lasko (@kenlasko)

The Lync Dialing Rule Optimizer is a tool that helps in the task of configuring Enterprise Voice.

An easy to use set of options in the web page generates a PowerShell script that takes care of the larger part

of rules and settings you should manually define in Skype for Business

Maintenance

https://www.lyncoptimizer.com/

https://twitter.com/kenlasko


Skype for Business Call Forwarding Information Tool https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Skype-For-Business-Call-21cfbc3d

C. Anthony Caragol (@CAnthonyCaragol)

It is a GUI to review your Skype for Business call forwarding settings.

The information gathered for all users in a pool include Call Via Work, delegations, and simultaneous ringing.

Lync Common Area Phone Management Tool (GUI) https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Lync-2013-Common-Area-57bc4ff1

C. Anthony Caragol (@CAnthonyCaragol)

You are able to add, modify, and remove Lync common area phones with this graphical front end

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Skype-For-Business-Call-21cfbc3d

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Lync-2013-Common-Area-57bc4ff1


Skype for Business Backup Tool https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Skype-for-Business-Backup-d7a3dfbd

Mark Vale (@UnifiedVale)

The backup tool is a PowerShell script that has several modes of backup, ranging from a full Skype for

Business backup to modular backups for backing up policies, or configurations, or topology

Features

Back up Topology

Back up CMS Database

Back up Persistent Chat Database

Back up User Data

Back up File Share

Back up All Policies

Back up All Configuration

Back up Response Groups

Send Email to admin on completion (Full Backup Only)

Compress Backup file to ZIP (Full Backup Only)

Full Logging capabilities

Progress indicator Requirements

Skype for Business Advanced ADMX Template https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Skype-for-Business-038e1fd6


This ADMX template is built on the Office 2013 Lync template published by Microsoft. This ADMX

template does not replace the Lync 2013 ADMX.

The template includes all the settings found in the Lync 2013 ADMX with the addition of the following:

Automatically add Windows Firewall rules to the client workstation when Skype for Business client

starts

Disable the first-run introduction video

Set the Skype for Business client as the default IM Provider on the workstation

Force the Skype for Business client to start when the user logs in

Disable the conversation preservation state

Change the default logging directory to a custom location

Enable Windows Event logging

Disable IM Spell Checking

Disable the use of Emoticons

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Skype-for-Business-Backup-d7a3dfbd

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Skype-for-Business-038e1fd6


MAdCaP.ps1 – A GUI for Lync Analog Devices & Common Area Phones https://greiginsydney.com/madcap-ps1-a-gui-for-lync-analog-devices-common-area-phones/

Greig Sheridan (@greiginsydney)

A PowerShell script that provides a GUI for the administration of Analog Devices and Common Area

Phones

Skype for Business User Configuration Reporting Tool https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Skype-for-Business-User-672d3f6a


The tool will allow administrators to identify applied settings to a particular or set of users without having to

use multiple powershell commands

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Skype-for-Business-User-672d3f6a


Lync / Skype for Business Photo Editor http://www.myskypelab.com/2015/02/photos-part-1-lync-skype-for-business.html


The tool enables optimization of the profile pictures used for Skype for Business including a smart feature to

recognize user face, resizing features and filters to improve image quality.

It works in bulk scenarios, where it is required to manage a large number of photos

http://www.myskypelab.com/2015/02/photos-part-1-lync-skype-for-business.html


Exchange / AD / O365 Photo Importer http://www.myskypelab.com/2015/04/photos-part-2-exchange-active-directory.html


The aim of this tool is to automatize the import of pictures in Exchange, Active Directory, and Office 365

Exchange.

Get-AssignedLineURI (For endpoints too, not just users) https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Lync-numbers-in-use-6c890b9a

Lasse Nordvik Wedø (@lawedo)

Get-AssignedLineURI.ps1 started as a script to list all used numbers in a Lync deployment.

The current version includes:

Summay in shell

Licence usage summary based on assigned policies (still not verified 100% on large deployments)

Create a htm file report

List as gridview to easily filter and find objects

Unassigned (based on csunassigned numberranges or manual input)

Gathering logon information from monitor server

Sending html report

http://www.myskypelab.com/2015/04/photos-part-2-exchange-active-directory.html

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Lync-numbers-in-use-6c890b9a

https://twitter.com/lawedo


Assign Lync \ Skype for Business User Policies to Active Directory Groups https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Assign-Lync-Policies-to-805ccea6

Yoav Barzilay (@y0avb)

The purpose of this script is to assign Lync policies to Lync-enabled users, based on their Active Directory

group membership. It is applied only to user-scope policies.

The script is capable of assiging the following:

Voice Policy Conferencing Policy

Client Policy Voice Routing Policy

External Access Policy Location Policy

Mobility Policy PIN Policy

Archiving Policy Presence Policy

Hosted Voicemail Policy Persistent Chat Policy

Client Version Policy Dial Plans

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Assign-Lync-Policies-to-805ccea6


Backup Skype for Business On-Premise https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Backup-Skype-for-Business-8194d0b6


This is a simple script to back up your Lync 2013 or Skype for Business (SfB) Standard or Enterprise Edition

Server to a single zip.file. It does not only make a copy of your topology, but will make a backup of your IIS

files, your SQL server databases and much more

Document your Lync 2013 installation https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Document-you-Lync-2013-154f4050


This script gathers settings, polices and information, (both for Enterprise and Standard Edition Servers) and

dumps them to HTML files

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/lync/Backup-Skype-for-Business-8194d0b6


https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Document-you-Lync-2013-154f4050



One Liners and Scripts http://www.ehloworld.com/

Pat Richard (@patrichard)

Pat Richard wrote a group of useful PowerShell scripts. They include (but are not limited to):

One Liner – See Number Of Connected Users, Endpoints On A Lync Front End Server

Finding Out Which Lync Pool Servers a User is Associated With, and the Preferred Connection

Order

One Liner: Add Trusted Root Cert Authorities to Edge Servers

One liner: Find Lync Users Whose Extension Doesn’t Match Part of Their DID

Script: Install-OfficeWebAppsLanguagePacks.ps1 – Easier Installation of Selected Language Packs

One Liners: Finding Elevated Accounts That Are Enabled For Lync

See Who You’re Openly Federating With

Setting Recovery Option to ‘restart’ for Lync Services

http://www.ehloworld.com/

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