OCS R2 Media Gateway Woes
Sometimes I'm amazed when companies release products that simply don't work as advertised. This is the case with an AudioCodes Media Gateway I'm using in an OCS deployent currently. Although I was wary...
View ArticleThe Power of Federation
I had a great experience using OCS I wanted to share. I was in a meeting with a client the other day and we got a little off topic.They asked a Cisco VoIP question I didn't immediately know the answer...
View ArticleOCS Security: Forefront for OCS goes RTM
Microsoft released Forefront Security for Office Communications Server 2007. I've been working with the product for about 9 months and seen it go through a number of changes; each iteration...
View ArticleOCS CWA 2007 R2 and Normalization Rules
Jens (JTR) Rasmussen posted a great explanation of the unexpected behavior for CWA and phone number normalization rules. Put simply, CWA doesn't always play by the rules!OCS clients should process...
View ArticleCustomizing Voice Prompts in OCS 2007 R2
Technically the voice prompts and hold music for OCS 2007 R2 audio conferencing is not supposed to be configurable. In fact changing it can have some strange consequences throughout the system....
View ArticleFixing OCS R2 Response Group Workflows
Here's the funny part, if you're running on Server 2008, Response Group Workflows are broken out of the box. Either no one is using RG's or everyone's running them on Server 2003 x64 because I couldn't...
View ArticleGet Communicator Mobile Now!
I use CoMo, communicator mobile, almost everyday. Whether it's to make a call from my mobile "from the office" or just IM with colleagues, a mobile strategy is key for any UC solution. Now it's even...
View ArticleAspect Uses OCS 2007 R2 To Save $1.3 Million Per Year
I had an opportunity to chat with Jamie Ryan, CIO of Aspect Software, about his ongoing rollout of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2. You may be surprised at some of the topics around...
View ArticleMicrosoft and HP Announce UC Partnership
Microsoft is making a big deal about their "expanded alliance" with HP. It's not quite much ado about nothing, but it's close. I'll summarize the announcement for those of you who don't want to read...
View ArticleSmartSIP Joins OCS to... Everyone Else
SmartSIP was rather quietly released this week at Evangelyze.net. It allows enterprises to integrate Microsoft OCS with virtually any other SIP platform and endpoint device. I've been following the...
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FINALLY an OCS Conference Phone: SNOM Meeting Point
Someone FINALLY released a conference phone solution for OCS! While there are a lot of solutions that require being tethered to a PC via USB, the SNOM Meeting Point is the first standalone conference...
View ArticleBe Careful with the April/May 09 OCS R2 Patches
Who knew no MSMQ could kill OCS? Enough alliteration. If you don't have MSMQ installed and you the April 2009 patches will fail to install correctly. Thanks to Aaron Tienvisu for discovering the...
View ArticlePlantronics Savi Go Wireless Headset for OCS
For the last two weeks or so I've been testing a preproduction unit of the Plantronics Savi Go wireless headset for OCS. I have a "tanjay" and a wired USB headset but I can't believe how much happier I...
View ArticleA User's View of Office Communications Server 2007 R2
Most of my posts are directed at UC technophiles, however sometimes we get caught up in the technology hype and lose track of the goal of technology in the enterprise. That is, to help people do their...
View ArticleNortel Finished. What does that mean for Microsoft?
The kingdom known as Nortel is falling apart. Regardless of the many conjectures as to why they failed the fact is there won't likely be a "restructured Nortel". Instead, anything desirable will be...
View ArticleMicrosoft Kills Response Point
The sharks have been circling for awhile and now it looks like it's official. Response Point, Microsoft's SMB VoIP platform, is dead. Earlier this summer Microsoft announced its first substantial...
View ArticleOCS Public IM Just Got Easier
Provisioning Public IM, PIC, for OCS used to be an administrative nightmare. While the server configuration was simple the paperwork and manual process made it a long and painful process. It usually...
View ArticlePlaying with Exchange 2010
While every client I work with seems excited about Exchange 2010, few know much about it or how much it differs from Exchange 2007. If you remember the jump from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2007, then...
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iPhone Joins the Microsoft OCS Party
This morning the iPhone joined the Microsoft OCS party in grand fashion with its first client, or app in Apple-speak. The client isn't from Apple, or even Microsoft, it's from a small 3rd party in the...
View ArticleWhen to Use Public Folders in Exchange 2010
I was having a good discussion on Twitter earlier this week on the role of public folders in Exchange 2010 and ongoing. I came across a post from the Microsoft Exchange team that clears the muddy...
View ArticleAvaya Buys Nortel. What's that mean for Microsoft?
After much hullabaloo, the actual Nortel auction was anti-climatic. Avaya was bid up by a bunch of other smaller players and ended up paying $900 million for Nortel's Enterprise assets. Did they...
View ArticleMicrosoft ActiveSync to Gmail
When Microsoft announced it would license ActiveSync it had wide-eyed plans to take over the world... and it just got one step closer.You'd think Microsoft would downright loathe Apple and Google. And,...
View ArticleDO NOT install patch KB974571 for OCS R2
As posted first this morning by Doug Deittrick and TomL, aka LCSKid, there is an issue with the patch associated with KB974571. The patch is supposed to resolve a security issue with the Windows...
View ArticleExchange 2010 Prerequisites Made Easy
I do a LOT of Exchange implementations and even at that it's hard to remember the exact prerequisites for every combination of roles and services for Eaxchange. With Exchange 2010, Microsoft has...
View ArticleOffice Communications Server and RODCs
It's common knowledge that OCS, like Exchange, requires a writable DC (and GC) in the same AD site in order to function. However, if there are ANY RODC's in the same AD site as an OCS server it will...
View ArticleCisco Unity Support for Exchange 2010
Thanks to ASPOC (A single point of contact) for breaking this news. Apparently it originally came from MS MVP Dustin Smith.As you know, Exchange 2010 became generally available last November....
View ArticleMicrosoft warns of SSL/TLS vulnerabilities
First of all, this isn't just another Microsoft security flaw. Microsoft has filed this with ICASI as a general security vulnerability affecting multiple implementations of TLS and SSL. Moreover,...
View ArticleMicrosoft Reveals Communications Server W14
The floor was buzzing this week at VoiceCon as Microsoft announced their next generation unified communications platform. Microsoft Communications Server "W14" will replace the current Office...
View ArticleCannot Install OCS 2007 R2 After Installing Lync 2010
Today I re-learned the importance of running the Schema preparation steps in order. Like most geeks, I like playing with technology. And, in many cases, that includes finding its limits and where it...
View ArticleNew User Provisioning App for AD, Lync and Exchange
This is a guest post from my friend, Zeya Oo. You can reach him and ask questions about Z-Hire at zeyaoo1@gmail.com.When an administrator is in the final stages of a Lync deployment, he must enable the...
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