Chapter 09 Planning for Group Chat

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Chapter 9: Planning for Group Chat

Microsoft Lync Server 2010

Published: November 2010


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Contents

Planning for Group Chat ........................................................................................................ ....... 4

Overview of Group Chat............................................................................................................ 4

Defining Your Requirements for Group Chat................................................................. ............ 4

Components and Topologies for Group Chat......................................................................... .... 5

Technical Requirements for Group Chat.................................................................................... 9

Group Chat Deployment Overview .................................................................................. ........ 11


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Planning for Group ChatYou can use Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Group Chat to enable multiple users to participate in

conversations in which they post and access content for specific topics, including text, links, and

files. Although users can all be active during a session and communicate in real time, the content of

each session can be persistent, which means it continues to be available after a session ends.

In This Section

Overview of Group Chat

Defining Your Requirements for Group Chat

Components and Topologies for Group Chat

Technical Requirements for Group Chat

Group Chat Deployment Overview

Overview of Group Chat

Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Group Chat enables you to participate in multi-party, topic-based

conversations that persist over time. Lync Server 2010, Group Chat can help organizations do the

following:

Improve communication between geographically dispersed and cross-functional teams.

Broaden information awareness and participation.

Improve communication with your extended enterprise.

Reduce information overload.

Improve information awareness.

Increase dispersion of important knowledge and information.

To enable chat rooms in Lync Server 2010, deploy the Group Chat feature. If users are enabled for

Lync Server 2010 and Lync Server 2010 support is deployed, they can install and use Lync Server

2010 to provide chat room support. Lync Server 2010, Group Chat supports federated user access.

Using the Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Group Chat Admin Tool, it is possible to explicitly provision

federated users for access to specific chat rooms.

Lync Server 2010 also supports Lync Server instant messaging (IM) and presence. The content of

IM is not persistent. Lync Server 2010 IM and presence features and functionality are the same as

those provided by Microsoft Lync 2010, except that Lync Server 2010 instant messaging does not

support multi-party IM. For details about IM and presence support available to Lync Server users,see Planning for IM and Presence.

Defining Your Requirements for Group Chat

With Group Chat, users can do the following:

Improve communication between geographically dispersed and cross-functional teams. By

using Group Chat, teams can efficiently share information, ideas, and decisions as a group.


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The messages posted to chat rooms (discussion forums) can be persistent, so that people from

different locations and departments can participate, even when they are not all online at the

same time. When a user connects to a chat room, a configurable number of chat history

messages are automatically loaded in Group Chat to give the user a context for the

conversation.

Improve communication with an extended enterprise. By using the federation capabilities of

Group Chat, business partners, customers, and vendors can join chat rooms and participate in

shared, group discussions with enhanced security.

Improve information awareness. By using filters, users can define conditions, such as

keywords in message content or the value of the from field in a message, to receive

notification when those conditions are met in Group Chat instant messaging (IM) or chat room

messages.

Increase dispersion of important knowledge and information. Documents and links can be

included within discussions for access by all the team. By posting questions to a broader team,

users can benefit from responses by subject matter experts. Integration with other information

systems allows for important organizational data to be easily communicated to large groups.

Group Chat content can also be archived (to meet requirements such as compliance). Chat room

archiving requires deploying the Group Chat Compliance Server. Archiving of instant messages in

Group Chat is available if Lync Server 2010 is set up to support archiving. For details about

archiving, see Planning for IM and Presence.

If your organization must follow compliance regulations, you can deploy Archiving Server to enable

archiving support for Lync Server 2010 IM and conferencing.

Before you deploy Group Chat Server, you must determine the following for your organization:

Which sites and users in your organization require Group Chat support.

Whether to enable Group Chat for internal communications (that is, chat rooms between

internal users), external communications (that is, chat rooms that include at least one federated

user outside your organization), or both.

How your Group Chat deployment affects presence privacy mode. For details about Lync

Server 2010 presence privacy policies, see Lync 2010 Group Chat and Privacy Mode in the

Deploying Group Chat documentation.

Additionally, you must determine the specific policies and other support options that you want to

implement.

Components and Topologies for Group Chat

To participate in multiparty, topic-based conversations that persist over time in Microsoft LyncServer 2010, make sure that you effectively deploy Lync Server 2010, Group Chat. Group Chat

Server supports both single-server and multiple-server configurations. These configurations consist

of the following Group Chat Server components and topologies.

Group Chat Components

A Group Chat installation includes the following components:


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Client computers that are running Microsoft Lync 2010 Group Chat

One or more servers that are running Lync Server 2010, Group Chat, each running a

Group Chat Server that consists of the following services:

Lookup service

Channel service

Web service

A computer that hosts the SQL Server back-end database

Note:

The back-end database stores chat history data, information about categories and chat

rooms that are created, user provisioning information from the Microsoft Lync Server

2010, Group Chat Admin Tool and initial sign-in, and basic configuration information

about the Group Chat Server.

If compliance is required, the single-server topology must also include the following:

Compliance service A SQL Server database for compliance data, which can be the same as the Group Chat

database.

To administer Group Chat from a separate computer (such as an administrative console), you need

to install Lync Server 2010, Group Chat Admin Tool on the computer. All these computers must be

deployed in an Active Directory domain, with at least one global catalog server in the forest root.

Group Chat Topologies

Group Chat supports both single-server and multiple-server topologies. For details about hardware

and software requirements for the Group Chat Server, see Technical Requirements for Group Chat.

The following sections describe both of these topologies, as well as a topology for supportingclients in a federated domain.

Single-Server Topology

The minimum configuration and simplest deployment for Group Chat is single-server topology. This

deployment requires a single server that runs Group Chat Server, a computer that hosts the SQL

Server database, computers that host Lync 2010 Group Chat clients, and, if compliance is required,

a computer that hosts the Compliance service and a database that stores the compliance data.

The following figure shows all required and optional components of a topology with a single Group

Chat Server Compliance service with a separate compliance database.


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Single Group Chat Server

Multiple-Server Topology

To provide more capacity and increased reliability, your topology can include multiple Group Chat

Servers. A multiple-server deployment is the same as the single-server topology, except that

multiple computers host the Group Chat Server.

The following figure shows all the components of a pooled topology with multiple Group Chat

Servers and the optional Compliance service and separate compliance database.


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Multiple Group Chat Servers

Multiple-server topologies provide pooling of server functionality. In a server pool, the Lookup

services and Channel services communicate and share data. For example, chat history that was

originally logged on one Channel service is available from any Channel service in the system. A file

that is uploaded through one Channel service can be accessed by any Channel service.

Connecting a server to a server pool requires specification of a port. The default port is 8011. A

different port can be specified during installation. You can also use the Microsoft Lync Server 2010

Group Chat Configuration Tool to change it after installation.

To configure settings in a multiple-server, pooled environment, use the Lync Server 2010 Group

Chat Configuration Tool as follows:

Pool-wide settings can be configured from any server in the pool.


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Server settings can only be configured on the individual server.

Note:

Computers included in a pooled environment should be in the same subnet. Group Chat

does not support configurations where computers are in different subnets because of the

possible presence of firewalls separating the computers.

Topology for Supporting Clients in Federated Domains

Users in federated domains can participate in group chat sessions and IM sessions in your

organization, if the users in the federated domains are running the Group Chat client on their client

computers and the federated partner has deployed the following:

Lync Server 2010 Standard Edition server or Front End pool

Lync Server 2010 Edge Servers in the perimeter network

It is not necessary for the federated partner to install Group Chat Server locally. This would be

necessary only if the federated partner wants to host their own chat rooms. Clients in a federated

domain use the Channel service and Lookup service in your enterprise, if your organization hasconfigured Lync Server 2010 and Group Chat to support federated users.

Technical Requirements for Group Chat

Each server that will host Group Chat Server must have access to an existing Lync Server 2010

topology with the following components:

Lync Server 2010 Front End Server The Front End Server enables communication

between the Group Chat Admin Tool and the Group Chat Server components. Before you begin

to deploy Group Chat, verify the deployment of Lync Server 2010 Standard Edition, or an Lync

Server 2010 Front End pool, as well as other internal Lync Server 2010 servers, as appropriate

to your organization. At least one global catalog server in the forest root All other Active Directory

infrastructure requirements are the same as for Lync Server 2010.

Lync Server 2010 Edge Servers Edge Servers are required to enable communication

with federated partners and other users who are not on the internal network. If your

organization wants internal users to be able to include users outside the internal network to

participate in group chat sessions, verify that the appropriate Edge Servers are deployed in the

perimeter network. At a minimum, this includes the following services:

Lync Server Access Edge service

Lync Server Web Conferencing Edge service

The following sections describe the specific requirements for the Group Chat Server and thedatabase that stores the Group Chat data.

Group Chat Server Requirements

The recommended hardware to deploy Lync Server 2010 and Group Chat Server is in Server

Hardware Platforms in the Supportability documentation.


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The server and tools operating system support for Lync Server 2010 and Group Chat Server is in

Server and Tools Operating System Support in the Supportability documentation.

See the following table for additional software required for deploying Group Chat Server.

Server Software Prerequisites

Software Description

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Manages the execution of the program. During

the installation of Group Chat, if this version or a

later version of the software is not already

installed on the computer, Group Chat installs it.

Internet Information Services (IIS) Hosts the Web service for posting files to chat

rooms. Windows Server 2008 users must enable

the IIS 6.0 Compatibility feature.

ASP.NET 2.0 Used to build dynamic websites, web

applications, and XML Web services. ASP.NET

2.0 is a web application.

Message Queuing Used by the Group Chat Compliance service, if

deployed.

Microsoft Web Services Enhancements (WSE)

3.0

Implements additional Web service

specifications in areas including security, reliable

messaging, and sending attachments. WSE is

required on the Group Chat Server only, not the

Compliance service. WSE is an add-on to the

.NET Framework.

When the .NET Framework is installed on a computer with an existing .NET Framework installation,

most Microsoft ASP.NET applications update to use the newly installed version. The exception is an

application bound to a version of the .NET Framework that is either an incompatible version or a

later version. If it cannot successfully run on a later version, configure the ASP.NET application to

use an earlier version.

Group Chat also requires two components that are automatically installed when you install Group

Chat Server, if they are not already installed on the computer. These components include the

following.

Required Software That Is Automatically Installed

Component Description

Visual C ++ 2008 Redistributable Runtime

version 9.0.2102

The libraries required to run applications

developed with the Microsoft Visual C++

development system on a computer that does

not have Visual C++ 2008 installed. During the

installation of Group Chat Server, if this version


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Component Description

or a later version of the software is not already

installed on the computer, Group Chat Server

installs it.

Microsoft Unified Communications Managed API

(UCMA) v2.0 Redist 3.5.6774.0

Used in creating SIP clients and SIP servers.

During the installation of Group Chat Server, if

this version or a later version of the software is

not already installed on the computer, Group

Chat Server installs it.

Group Chat Database Requirements

Group Chat Server uses the Group Chat database to store chat history, configuration, user

provisioning data and, optionally, compliance data. You can also use a separate compliance

database to support compliance. To prepare a database server platform, ensure that each

computer meets the hardware requirements and then install the prerequisite software.

The server platform for the Group Chat Server database servers requires the same hardware as

the Lync Server 2010 back-end database server. For details, see Server Hardware Platforms.

On the database server, ensure that the following software is installed:

Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or a later

version.

SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2005 with Service Pack 2 (SP2). For details about how to

install SQL Server 2008, see Installing SQL Server 2008 athttp://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?

LinkId=139335. For details about how to install SQL Server 2005, see Installing SQL Server

2005 athttp://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139333.

Group Chat Deployment Overview

Deployment of Lync Server 2010, Group Chat requires that you deploy it in the correct sequence

and that you complete all required deployment steps.

Deployment Sequence

You can deploy Group Chat Server after you deploy your initial topology, including at least one

Front End pool or one Standard Edition server. This document describes how to deploy Group Chat

Server by adding it to an existing deployment.

Group Chat Server Deployment Process

The following table lists the basic steps to deploy Group Chat Server and provides associated links

to more information.
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139335http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139335http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139335http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139333http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139333http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139335http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139335http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139333


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Group Chat Server Deployment Process

Phase Steps Roles and group

memberships

Documentation

Install prerequisite

hardware and

software

On hardware that

meets system

requirements, install

the following:

An operating

system that meets

system

requirements.

Software

prerequisites for

all Lync Server

2010 servers.

Domain user who is a

member of the local

Administrators group

Supported Hardware in

the Supportability

documentation.

Server Software and

Infrastructure Support in

the Supportability

documentation.

Determining Your

System Requirements in

the Planning

documentation.

Technical Requirementsfor Group Chat in the

Planning

documentation.

Create SQL Server

database

Log on to the server

that will host the

database, and then

create a new

database.

Database administrator Preparing Server

Platforms in the

Supportability

documentation.

Set up Group Chat

Server accounts and

permissions

1. Set up and

enable accounts

for Group Chat

Server.

2. Set up SQL

Server accounts

and permissions.

3. Enable the

Lookup server

account for

federation.

Administrators group Setting Up Group Chat

Server Accounts and

Permissions in

Deployment

documentation.

Obtain certificatesfor Group Chat

Server

1. Download thecertification

authority (CA)

certification path.

2. Install the CA

certification path.

3. Request the

Administrators group Obtaining Certificatesfor Group Chat Server in

the Deployment

documentation.


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memberships

Documentation

certificate.

4. Install the

certificate.

5. Verify the root

CA.

Install Group Chat

Server

1. Install the

Group Chat

Server in a single-

server topology or

the first Group

Chat Server in a

multiple-server

topology.

2. Install

additional Group

Chat Servers for a

multiple-server

topology.

Administrators group Installing Group Chat

Server in the

Deployment

documentation.

Configure Web

service settings in

IIS

1. Open IIS

Manager.

2. Ensure that

the Enable

Anonymous

Access check box

is selected.

3. Specify the

credentials for an

account that has

read/write

permissions on

the file repository

folder.

Administrators group Configuring Web

Service Settings in IIS in

the Deployment

documentation.

Install and connectthe Group Chat

Admin Tool

1. Install theGroup Chat Admin

Tool.

2. Configure the

Group Chat Admin

Tool connection.


Channel service

administrator

Installing andConnecting to the Group

Chat Admin Tool in the

Deployment

documentation.

Configure Group Any user who is Administrators group Configuring Group Chat


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memberships

Documentation

Chat Server user

access

provisioned for Lync

Server 2010 is also

provisioned as a

Group Chat user.

Server User Access in

the Deployment

documentation.

Deploy archiving

and compliance

support

1. Set up the

SQL Server

database for

compliance.

2. Install the

Compliance

service.

Database administrator


Deploying Compliance

Support in the

Deployment

documentation.

Chapter 09 Planning for Group Chat

Documents

Transcript of Chapter 09 Planning for Group Chat