Sorry this post is late! We’re still finalizing our new Lync Server 2013 installation. Some configuration issues (not part of Lync itself) are slowing us down.
But I have plenty of notes on how we began, so I’m ready to blog about the process!
Larry, one of our senior engineers from the IT Consulting division, did most of the setup work. I shadowed him to document the process and pitch my own experience in as needed.
First, Gather Sources
To inform the install process we collected several references, including:
Lync 2013 RTM migration from Lync 2010 Step by Step – Part 1: Ondrej Stefka’s Blog
And
Installing Office Web Apps Server for Lync Server 2013: Microsoft UC and other stuff Blog
To start.
We installed a fresh (virtual) Windows 2012 server in our datacenter. And a second (also virtual) server, for the 2013 Edge Server. Both were joined to our domain.
Next, according to Ondrej’s blog, we used PowerShell to install prerequisites. You MUST have elevated permissions to run these commends!
The PS command we used was:
Add-WindowsFeature Windows-Identity-Foundation, RSAT-ADDS, Web-Server, Web-Static-Content, Web-Default-Doc, Web-Http-Errors, Web-Asp-Net, Web-Net-Ext, Web-ISAPI-Ext, Web-ISAPI-Filter, Web-Http-Logging, Web-Log-Libraries, Web-Request-Monitor, Web-Http-Tracing, Web-Basic-Auth, Web-Windows-Auth, Web-Client-Auth, Web-Filtering, Web-Stat-Compression, Web-Dyn-Compression, NET-WCF-HTTP-Activation45, Web-Asp-Net45, Web-Mgmt-Tools, Web-Scripting-Tools, Web-Mgmt-Compat, Desktop-Experience, BITS
(You can copy this command directly into PowerShell, either from here or Ondrej’s blog.)
Reboot the server, to make sure all prerequisites are running. You may receive a Visual C++ 2012 Runtime install prompt. If so, click Yes and let it install too.
*Note: Make sure the Windows Identity Foundation is properly installed. It will trip you up later on if not. To make sure (and to install it yourself if necessary) follow these steps:
- Open the Windows Server 2012 Server Manager.
- Run the Add Roles and Features Wizard.
- Select Features.
- Select “Windows Identity Foundation 3.5″ from the list.
- Click Next, then click Install.
Next we loaded the Lync Server 2013 installation software (to its default location). The Deployment Wizard came up, displaying a familiar sight to anyone who’s installed Lync Server 2010:
The first option to take is the same as 2010, too: Prepare Active Directory.
Preparing Active Directory? Make Sure You Have FULL Admin Privileges!
Our first snag came at this stage. Fortunately, this one was easy to fix.
Click “Prepare Active Directory.” You’ll see the following image.
Prepare AD Schema by clicking Run. It should run without incident. We however did have an incident – an error flared up. The problem? Our login used was not a member of the “Schema Admins” group. Once we fixed this (and logged out/logged back in), schema preparation worked.
When the schema are prepared, go to Step 3: Prepare Current Forest and click Run.
(We did not verify the Replication of Schema Partition manually, as Step 2 says. This is because we were only dealing with 2 Domain Controllers. If you have more Domain Controllers than that, follow Step 2.)
The forest preparation went through, no problem. However, we were a bit impatient and proceeded to the next step right away. It stifled us a bit, as you’ll see.
Because we had an error earlier, we decided manually verifying Step 4 (Verify Replication of Global Catalog) was worth the time!
But no error was present (so far). We proceeded to Step 5, “Prepare Current Domain.”
Here’s where we ran into a snag. “Error: Forest is Not Prepared.”
We went too fast. The forest replication hadn’t finished yet. Not wanting to wait, Larry forced replication on the Domain Controller directly. (If you’d rather just wait, Lync Setup estimates a max time of 15 minutes for replication to occur. Grab a coffee.)
Afterward, we still had a replication issue, saying that 2 groups were not found. “CSResponseGroupManager” and “CsPersistentChatAdministrator.”
Larry decided to reboot the Domain Controller. We restarted Lync 2013 Setup after that.
*Important Point: The Lync Server 2013 Deployment Wizard automatically saves its current state whenever you finish a task. This is done so that if you need to reboot, or cancel the installation & return later, you don’t repeat tasks already completed.
After the reboot we returned to the Deployment Wizard. But before we resumed setup, Larry wanted to confirm that his account was in the CsAdministrator group. He suspected that the replication issue involving the groups came from there.
His account is listed in the CsAdministrator group, so we proceeded. Sure enough, “Prepare Current Domain” ran smoothly.
Once Active Directory had been prepared, we were returned to the Deployment Wizard. Now, here’s where I have to point out a flaw in Microsoft’s organization of the Wizard. The next step to take is NOT “Install or Update Lync Server System.” You might think it is because it’s right below “Prepare Active Directory.”
But the next step you should take is over on the right. It’s “Install Administrative Tools.”
Why? One reason: Topology Builder.
You Need Topology Builder to Build Your Lync Server System
Topology Builder is installed when you click “Install Administrative Tools.”
For those of you who are new to Lync Server, Topology Builder is a tool which allows you to map out and set initial configuration for your entire Lync Server setup. In Topology Builder you determine how many servers you want to run. Which Lync services they’ll run (Monitoring, Edge, Mediation, etc.). Where they’re located in your network. Your IP addressing.
All of this is determined within Topology Builder. It then generates a Lync Server Topology, which all Lync servers use to map their pre-set roles. Think of a Topology like the set of instructions they all follow.
Without those instructions, you could click on “Install or Update Lync Server System”…and the servers would be confused. Where do I belong in the network? What role am I playing?
Avoid all that by installing Administrative Tools first. Then, start Topology Builder.
Next post, I’ll run through all the steps of creating a new Lync Server 2013 topology. Look for that early next week. We may move to 2 posts a week to cover all of this information.
Don’t worry though. When we’re completely through the “Moving to Lync Server 2013” post series, I’ll collect all the post URLs into one, so you’ll have an easy reference!