Preparing to implement Lync Server 2013 sounds like a simple task in context. However, when it comes to planning for a global Lync deployment, there is a lot more to take into consideration to get your core Lync Server 2013 infrastructure ready to support voice, video and content sharing capabilities. Perficient’s Microsoft Certified Masters Jason Sloan and Keenan Crockett discussed how to get “Lync Ready” in our webinar based on the popular white paper “The CIO’s Guide to a Lync Server 2013 Global Deployment." Topics included high-level server and pool design and placement, importance of the edge servers, the hardware vs. virtualized debate, and ultimately a high-level understanding of the impact Lync has on your network.

1. How to Plan for a Lync Deployment on a Global ScalePresented by Certified Lync Masters Keenan Crockett & Jason Sloan
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6. Unified Communications Experience
Certified
Gold Certified Lync Voice
Gold Certified Lync Messaging
Member of the Microsoft Lync Partner Advisory Council
2 Lync Certified Masters
Full team of Lync Certified Consultants
Certified Microsoft “Voice Depth” Partner
Experienced
Integrations with Cisco, Avaya, Siemens, Nortel, and Shoretel
Hundreds of thousands of Lync seats deployed
Dozens of PBX Integrations
Extensive Voice and PBX Knowledge

7. Our Speakers
Jason Sloan | Lead Technical Consultant
•Microsoft Certified Master -Lync Server, over 5 years of IT consulting experience focused on UC, has deployed Lync for some of the largest global companies with upward of 140k seats
•Responsible for design and delivery of Unified Communication solutions
•Co-organizer of the Kansas City Lync Users Group
•Avid contributor in the Lync Community, active on Twitter and PerficientMicrosoft blog
Keenan Crockett | Lync Team Lead & Senior Solution Architect
•Microsoft Certified Master -Lync Server, over 9 years of IT consulting experience focused on UC, has deployed Lync for some of the largest global companies
•Responsible for selling and delivering UC solutions for complex business environments
•Supervises all Lync team members and provides architecture, escalation and oversight for large and complex UC projects

8. Agenda
•Project Overview
–Goals & Requirements
–Project Approach Overview
–Project Resourcing
•Lync Server/Pool Considerations
•Hardware vs. Virtualization Debate
•Network Readiness
•Deployment Considerations
•PSTN Connectivity Considerations
•What’s Next

9. Goals & Requirements
•What are your business requirements?
•What are your business goals?
•What are your technical requirements?
•What are your technical goals?
•Have you documented and tracked these goals and requirements?
•Have you communicated these goals and requirements with global stakeholders?

10. Project Overview
Reduce operational costs by implementing Lync 2013
Establish Lync Infrastructure Design
Detail Infrastructure Design
Change Management
Deploy Infrastructure Architecture
Build and Deploy Lync

11. Project Overview
Project Goals and Steps
Project Stage
ConsistingOf:
Establish Lync Infrastructure Design
Review Current State: AD Forest and Domain, Regional Data Centers, Network Points, Communication Infrastructure
Review VoIP Capabilities
Document, Review and Approval of Design
Detail Infrastructure Design
Regional Assessment
Regional Infrastructure Design: Server Placement, PBX Gateway Placement, SIP Trunking Gateway Placement
Migration Strategy
Risk Analysis and Mitigation
ChangeManagement
Communication and Training Planning
Build & Deploy Lync
Deployment as Defined in Detailed Design

12. Project Overview
Successful Project Resourcing
Project Manager
Program Manager
Regional Resources
Technical Resources
Technical Resources
Project Manager
Perficient
Client

13. Global Design Assumption
•Lync Server 2013 “Core” Design
–Lync Server 2013 to be distributed to all major regions

14. Assessing Lync Server 2013 Global Readiness Agenda
•What does your business demand? Business requirements drive the design.
–Server Design and Pool Placement (Localization)
•Internal Servers
•DMZ’s, Reverse Proxies and Edge Servers
•Overlooked Infrastructure
–Hardware vs. Virtualization debate
–Network
•Capacity and Bandwidth Planning
•Health and assessing things like latency and jitter
•Traffic Prioritization (QoS)
–Deployment Considerations
•End User Acceptance
•Lync Server/Client Support and Management
•Deployment Ownership
•Involve other regions from the beginning
–PSTN Connectivity Considerations
•SIP Trunking
•Hardware Considerations

15. Server Design and Pool Placement
•Infrastructure Choices (Assuming full workloads)
–Standard Edition Server “Pool”: Non HA deployment Per Region
•4Servers minimum: Supports up to 5000 Users
–Front End
–Edge
–SQL
–Office Web Apps
–Enterprise Edition Server “Pool”: Full HA Deployment Per Region
•12 Servers minimum: Supports up to 6600 Users per Front End
–Front Ends (3)
–Edge (2)
–SQL (3)
–Office Web Apps (2)
–Persistent Chat (2) (Less Common)
–Disaster Recovery
•Lync Server Front End Server Pools “Pair” in a 1:1 relationship
•1:1 pairing relationship pushes your organization to an even number of “Pools”
•Must be same version for pairing

16. Server Design and Pool Placement
•DMZ Per Region… Ideally
–Edge Servers for media
•Keeps media local
•Media traveling between regions can be problematic
•Optimal user experience
•Disaster Recovery
–Reverse Proxy for web
•Web Access is “light weight”
•Can be a bit more relaxed on total amount of Reverse Proxies
•Still want at least 2 regions with Reverse Proxies for DR
–Overlooked Hardware Infrastructure
•Session Border Controllers and Gateways
•Firewalls, switches and Routers
•Hardware Load Balancers

17. Server Design and Pool Placement
Be prepared to make this decision and avoid “Sticker Shock”:
It is generally understood that an organization may not know exactly all infrastructure needed until after design sessions.
To keep the project moving, understand now that a significant investment may be required once your partner or internal team understands the business requirements and then ultimately presents you with a best practice design.

18. Lync Server 2013 Global Footprint

19. Hardware vs. Virtualization
Hardware
–Advantages
•Dedicated to the application
•Don’t need to collaborate with VM teams
•Generally more stable, SQL Mirroring typically exposes issues with VMs
–Disadvantages
•Hardware failure, not easy to “spin up” another Lync Server
•Can be cost prohibitive
•If an organization has standardized on VMWare, using Hardware is difficult to procure

20. Hardware vs. Virtualization
Virtualized
–Advantages
•Generally considered cheaper, Lower TCO
•Can quickly “spin up” a failed server
•Requires less hardware to manage
–Disadvantages
•Lync Server has tight requirements
•Cannot use HA and DR capabilities at the Hypervisor level
•Can be flaky. As stated above, SQL Mirroring will expose issues
•Does not support Live Migration, Vmotionor dynamic resource

21. Hardware vs. Virtualization
Be prepared to make this decision in the best interest of your organization:
Unsupported features such as Vmotionand lack of dynamic resources typically lead to long, drawn out conversations of back and forth between VM teams and Lync teams, which ultimately delays the project.
If your organization has a requirement to stay within supportability, then it’s best to follow the recommendations.
If an organization chooses the unsupported path, then the organization should open a support ticket with Microsoft directly to explain the situation and come to an agreement with Microsoft.

22. Network Readiness
Network Elements
–Bandwidth Planning
•Assess user locations and available bandwidth
•Determine user profiles
•Work with network team on Lync Server Bandwidth Calculator to determine impact/upgrades
•Create policies based on results
•Apply Call Admission Control
–Health Check (Optional)
•Network Assessment (third party) using probes
–Test lines for jitter, latency and things of that nature
–QoSand Prioritization
•Use existing queues
•Create new queues
•Tag at the desktop using Group Policy

23. Network Readiness
Be prepared to make this decision:
It is generally recommended to get your network “Lync Ready” prior to rolling out the Lync client for heavy media usage.
The primary reason for this recommendation is to achieve optimal user experience and adoption without creating a negative tone around Lync.
It is not, however, a reason to slow infrastructure decisions such as server requirements mentioned above for deployment of Lync Server 2013.
If Lync will be the voice and conferencing replacement, it is highlyrecommended to identify network restrained areas, fix them with policies or upgrades, or simply communicate to users the expectations.

24. Network Readiness
Conferencing using hosted provider
–Traffic may be leaving locally

25. Network Readiness
Conferencing using Lync Server 2013
–Traffic will traverse MPLS

26. Deployment Considerations
•End user acceptance and rollout
–Avoid “poisoning the well”
–Consider training
–Device choices –provide workshops
•Client and back-end system support
–RBAC model
–Consider tiered support model
–Server and voice teams will now blend
–Managed services

27. Deployment Considerations
•Deployment ownership
–Identify stakeholders
–Identify business requirements
–Expect to make plenty of decisions along the way
–Own the project
–Partners will bring best practices and recommendations, not all will be applicable to your environment
•Involve all regions from the beginning
–Regional deployment should be viewed as individual deployments
–Countries have different laws and regulations
–If not included early, the Lync project essentially restarts in each region… from the beginning

28. PSTN Connectivity for Voice
•SIP Trunkingis not the “end-all, be-all” solution
–North America is spoiled
–International carriers don’t typically share
–PSTN connectivity may stay the same in some locations
–Based on research and references, many locations (e.g. European Union member states and Russia) restrict global SIP providers from providing access
•(e.g. Belgium, Finland, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Dubai)
–The single trunkingvendor approach may cause unnecessary expenses
•Telco providers make agreements with the local vendors in each of the different countries to provide the service.
•This creates an additional cost that they describe as “interconnection charges,” typically based on expensive per minute usage.

29. PSTN Connectivity for Voice
•Hardware considerations
–Replace “core” telephony system with Lync
–Branch sites may require hardware swap
–Consider SBA vs. SBS+Gateway, vs. Full blown Lync server+Gateway
–Savings will come from reducing PBX maintenance sprawl and various “soft-costs”

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