OCS / LCS

Apparently the updated binaries from the last release were just an update/fix for CU6's RGS problem. What I originally called CU7 was actually something along the lines of CU6a.

This time around though, is the real Cumulative Update 7.

Server side:
OCS 2007 R2 CU7 - KB 968802 - download
XMPP Gateway CU7 - KB 2404570 - download

Client side:
Communicator 2007 R2 CU7 - KB 2291452 - download
Communicator Phone Edition 2007 R2 CU7 - KB 2466291 - download
LiveMeeting 2007 - November 2010 update - KB 2433231 - download
Conferencing Add-In for Outlook - November 2010 update - KB 2433228 - download

There are many Lync-specific fixes so if you are planning on deploying Lync and will have a coexistence period, I would install these on your OCS 2007 R2 server setup before installing Lync. This is only a personal opinion but it looks like it would avoid some known gotchas.

The phone edition reports 6907.222 instead of 6907.221 like the rest of the updated components. I suspect it was a last minute bug fix/issue check-in after the other builds.

Thank to Richard for pointing out there were new updates for Live Meeting and the Conferencing Add-in.

Although not listed as a fix in the May 2010 Communicator 2007 R1 update (KB 974599), it does seem to solve the Outlook integration/MAPI errors that occur when used with Outlook 2010.

This update brings the Communicator 2007 R1 client up to build 2.0.6362.189.

I am guessing this is probably one of the last updates that will come out for Communicator 2007 R1, unless there is security fix that needs to be addressed.

If you are by chance still using build 2.0.6362.0 (OCS 2007 R1 RTM), I would highly suggest upgrading your desktop clients to use this version.

The best course of action, of course, is to go straight to Lync 2010, but I am quite biased on this, I must admit.

Many organizations have OCS 2007 R2 servers installed and one lone OCS 2007 R1 CWA server installed, specifically for the Blackberry client support that relies on APIs that are only available on OCS 2007 R1's CWA server.

This typically isn't a problem until you are upgrading to Lync.

If you have all OCS 2007 R1 servers in your environment, you're fine.
If you have all OCS 2007 R2 servers in your environment, you're fine.

The deployment blocker is a mixed OCS 2007 R1 and OCS 2007 R2 environment.

BlackBerry has promised an OCS 2007 R2 CWA compatible version for a few years now but I have yet to see it materialize.

The easiest workaround, which I haven't tried yet due to lack of time and lack of a lab environment with OCS 2007 R1 CWA, is to remove the R1 CWA server, install Lync, and then re-introduce the R1 CWA server into the environment. I'd be curious to hear if people have been able to do this or not.

The other noteworthy item, which is much like the limitation of newer Exchange versions, is to make sure to install OCS 2007 R1/OCS 2007 R2 servers into your environment before installing Lync, if you ever want or need to use OCS 2007 R1/R2 servers in your environment.

Lync 2010 launched today and with it a flurry of activity and press. It is an exciting piece of software, and my MVP award now changes name from "Communications Server" to "Lync".

As an example of some of the subtle integration that occurs with Lync, I'll show you two screenshots.

Regular meeting


Lync-a-fied meeting


Subtle difference but very convenient.

I'm pressed for time but I will be posting a few Lync in-depth entries in the coming weeks.

Bad Zelda joke: Does this mean OCS 2007 R2 is a Lync to the Past?

I say "new" because it is a completely different code base from the older PlaceWare Live Meeting client code. If you wondered where the "pw" from "pwconsole.exe" came from, it was originally from a company called PlaceWare.

If you want to host Lync online meetings and not have the users/attendees use the web based client, you can download the Admin installed version here or the User installed version here.

What is the difference between the two?

The user installed client lives in the user's profile since most organizations are moving away from users having administrative rights on the local PCs.
The admin installed client lives in the %ProgramFiles% (or %ProgramFiles(x86)% if on a 64-bit OS) like most older style programs

There is one other popular application that uses the same type of differentiation and installs into the local profile - Google Chrome.
It is good to see more applications adopt this trend since it makes LUA (Least User Access) / UAC easier to adopt.

Many times I am on the road with questionable Internet connectivity. Many times my EVDO 3G card is faster than the oversubscribed hotel internet access and I'll use that card in a pinch.

In those situations, I might want or need to log into Lync to Lync up with people.

Due to the limited bandwidth, I don't necessarily want people to try to do a video conference with me, but as long as my RSSI is -90 to -80 (3 "bars" to 4 "bars"), I can actually do a decent Communicator call or call thru the mediation server.

I have needed to do this in certain situations when I have a malfunctioning or dying cell phone. Combined with a Bluetooth headset, and the 3g card, I've been able to make calls I'd otherwise would need to find a pay phone. Pay phones are becoming as rare as a Sony Walkman.

With all that in mind, if you allow end users to set the location in their Communicator, you can advertise that you are on a bandwidth limited connection:


Not necessarily the original intent of that section of the Lync client, but it is an easy indicator to coworkers that you are on a bandwidth starved connection.

I personally can't wait until the LTE networks are deployed nationwide. With that, in theory, this 'workaround' for advertising a limited bandwidth connection goes away.