We recently announced pricing for Lync Server 2010 which is the new name for our next Office Communication Server.
You can find all the details at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/lync/pricing-licensing.aspx
Lync Server 2010 follows the Server/Client Access License (CAL) model. Under this model, a Lync Server 2010 license is required for each operating system environment running Lync Server 2010. A CAL is required for each user or device accessing the Lync Server. You can acquire Lync Server 2010 CAL as standalone servers and Client Access licenses (CAL) or you can purchase the CALs as part of the Microsoft Enterprise CAL (ECAL) Suite. Lync 2010 is the client software used to interact with the Lync Server 2010 Server and is licensed separately as a standalone license, or available via Office 2007 Pro Plus and Office 2007 Enterprise.
Standard Edition requires that primary server components, as well as the database for storing user and conference information, be configured on a single computer. Standard Edition is recommended for organizations that do not require higher availability through load balancing.
Enterprise Edition enables separation of server functionality and data storage to achieve higher capacity and availability. Enterprise Edition is recommended for organizations that require higher availability through load balancing.
The tables below illustrate the additional new and improved features contained within the Lync Server 2010 CAL offerings:
The Lync Server 2010 Standard CAL is a prerequisite to both the Lync Server 2010 Enterprise CAL and Lync Server 2010 Plus CAL. Any versions of the CALs may run on either the Standard or Enterprise version of the server. Additionally, both Lync Server 2010 Standard and Enterprise CALs are components of the Microsoft Enterprise CAL Suite – the Plus CAL can only be acquired standalone.
Lync 2010 is the client software used to interact with the Lync Server. Lync 2010 is available as both a stand-alone product and is also included in Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010.
Public IM Connectivity (PIC) remains a separate license, unchanged from the current Office Communications Server 2007 R2 offerings.
The following additional software components are associated with the Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Server license (either the Enterprise Edition or the Standard Edition):
Microsoft Lync Server 2010 as deployed in:
Archiving and Monitoring Server Role
Audio/Video Conferencing Server Role
Central Management Server Role
Lync Web Application Server Role
Director Role
Edge Server Role
Group Chat Server Role
Mediation Server Role
Reach Application Sharing Server Role
Survivable Branch Appliance Role
Unified Communications Application Server Role
Web Conferencing Server Role
Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Control Panel
Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Web App Plug-In
Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Group Chat Administration Tool
Microsoft Lync 2010 in UISuppressionMode
Topology Builder
Administrative Tools
Microsoft PowerShell Snap-In
Qualified Office Communications Server 2007 R2 with Software Assurance customers will have the following license migration rights to the corresponding Lync Server 2010 offerings as described by the following table:
NOTE: If you are outside of the United States and Canada, you can get pricing information from your local Microsoft office. Find contact information for your local Microsoft office on the Microsoft Worldwide Information site. All prices reflect pricing for purchases within the United States and are in U.S. dollars. The prices listed are estimates; reseller pricing can vary.
I have been wanting to write this post for sometime. Internally we have been playing around with the features of Office Communications Server 14 for sometime, and I haven't been able to show you the new features.
Well now I can. In the last week the OCS team released 5 new videos on edge.technet.com showing off OCS 14 here they are:
What’s new in OCS 14 Conferencing
What’s new in OCS 14 Enterprise Voice
What's new in OCS 14 Client Extensibility
What’s new in OCS 14 High Definition
What’s new in OCS 14 IM and Presence
Most of the demos are only 10 minute or less. So in an hour you can have a great exposure to a bunch of the new features in OCS.
After you watch these I would love to hear what you think of OCS 14, what you think of the videos? How else can we show you what is possible with OCS?
On August 9, 2010, Stuart Johnston wrote a nice article for Enterprise Networking Planet about the multi-year deal between Microsoft and Polycom.
There are quite a few customers who have been using Polycom technologies and solutions for many years for video and teleconferencing needs. I have had many customers who asked about integrating those existing solutions with Office Communications Server 2007 R2. Some integrate well and others not so well. With the capabilities and price point of the Microsoft Roundtable, customers were starting to utilize this new device for video conferences. The demand was so high for these devices that we decided to partner with Polycom to manufacture and distribute the Roundtable (CX5000).
This recent deal is just the next step in the partnership to continue to provide our customers with awesome end to end Unified Communications solutions that are top notch and affordable. I, for one, am very excited to hear this and am looking forward to the solutions that will come to market with Polycom and Communications Server “14” (next release of Office Communications Server).
Polycom doesn’t only work with us on the Roundtable device, but they also manufacture other devices that integrate with Office Communications Server 2007 R2 today. These devices are:
Needless to say, I happen to have all four of these devices and use all but the CX200 on a regular basis. I’m also looking forward to testing out the CX500, CX600 and CX3000 due out later this year – these are devices that are optimized for Communications Server “14”.
With the enhanced capabilities in CS “14”, I can only speculate on what kind of devices are in the works as part of this agreement.
Harold Wong