The PreCallDiagTool is an application that reports expected audio quality as it relates to the network effect. The tool should be installed on any desktop or laptop PC that suffers from inconsistent network connection quality. The PreCallDiagTool can provide a quick check of the current network conditions and also preserve a history of quality data to let users profile their network performance over time or other conditions. The tool is particularly useful for home/mobile users and users using WIFI access points.
Note: This is the 32 bit version of the PreCallDiagTool. The 64 bit version can be found in the Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Resource Kit.
The 32-bit version is now available for download at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=f16ab4c2-353f-4c9b-b353-22a656c03c9b&displaylang=en
![clip_image001[4]](http://blogs.technet.com/blogfiles/mfugatt/WindowsLiveWriter/32BitPreCallDiagToolReleased_1299A/clip_image001%5B4%5D_thumb.jpg "clip_image001[4]")
If you are a Microsoft Premier customer and have an ExRAP scheduled for your Exchange environment then this tool might be of interest to you.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=23457155-7c8b-4355-8a57-d2c2a4d1da57
More information:
Brief Description
This download package is intended for Microsoft Premier Customers Only. This package includes all of the scoping tools necessary to prepare and qualify your environment to receive a Risk and Health Assessment Program for Exchange Server (ExRAP).
System Requirements
Supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2003; Windows Server 2008.
Instructions
1. Extract the Scoping Tool zip package to the tools server that will be used during the RAP engagement.
2. Refer to Instructions.txt in the Scoping Tool folder for detailed instructions on how to execute the tool and gather the results.
If you encounter any problems during the process, refer to your Technical Account Manager (TAM) for assistance.
In this document, you will learn about the properties and attributes of certificates when working with Office Communications Server 2007 and Office Communications Server 2007 R2. This document contains a walkthrough of most of the common, and some optional, tasks that you need to perform to realize the full value of the system. All roles that require certificates for deployment and operation are discussed. The properties are presented along with information to describe what they are and how they are used. This document shows you how to request the right certificate with the right parameters to make sure that you are delivering value to your users, rather than just troubleshooting problems.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=e9f86f96-aa09-4dca-9088-f64b4f01c703
UC How To The Microsoft Unified Communications “How-To” training tool is a Microsoft Silverlight™ 2 application that provides step-by-step instructions for common UC tasks. You can customize the How-To application to your company’s needs based on the UC features you’ve installed. For example, if you have installed all UC features except Communicator Mobile and Communicator Group Chat, you can modify the XML file so that those features and topics do not appear in the interface.
Unified Communications Adoption and Training Kit 2007 R2 The Unified Communications Adoption and Training Kit for 2007 R2 provides guidance and resources for IT Pros, Helpdesk, and Trainers to speed adoption and usage of Unified Communications technologies in the enterprise. The kit includes Planning Checklists, Awareness materials, including Poster, Door Hangers, and E-mail samples, and User Education Materials such as Quick Reference Cards, Flash Cards, and links to Web-based Training.
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) has been designed specifically to help meet the challenges of any business and the needs of all the different groups with a stake in the messaging system. Exchange Server 2007 SP2 is a mission-critical communications tool that enables employees to be more productive and access their information anywhere and anytime while providing a messaging system that enables rich, efficient access to e-mail, calendar items, voice mail, and contacts. For the administrator, Exchange Server 2007 SP2 provides advanced protection options against e-mail security threats, such as spam and viruses, as well as the tools to help manage internal compliance and high availability needs.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=4c4bd2a3-5e50-42b0-8bbb-2cc9afe3216a
What's New In Exchange 2007 SP2
The Office Communications Server Remote Connectivity Analyzer is a web site for IT Administrators to validate and diagnose end-to-end Office Communications Server scenarios. The site simulates multiple Office Communications Server client access scenarios from outside the customer’s infrastructure and reports whether the test was successful. If the test fails, we inform the IT Admin exactly where in the process it failed as well as provide troubleshooting tips on resolving the issue.
In this beta version, the tool provides the following end-to-end tests:
· Office Communications Server Remote Connectivity
· Office Communications Server Remote Connectivity w/AutoDiscover
https://www.testocsconnectivity.com/
Using backup and restoration procedures for site disaster recovery as described in the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 documentation library topic Backup and Restoration, can entail some downtime for users.
This white paper describes a site resiliency solution for Office Communications Server 2007 R2. The solution includes an Enterprise pool that spans two geographically separate sites. The solution provides a failover mechanism between the two sites to ensure that Office Communications Server functionality such as instant messaging, presence, and conferencing remains available even if one of the sites becomes unavailable.
This white paper is divided into three main sections:
- The Solution section provides an overview of the tested and supported site resiliency solution described in this paper.
- The Test Methodology section describes the testing topology, expected behavior, and test results.
- The Findings and Recommendations section provides practical guidance for deploying your own failover solution.
To successfully follow this paper, you should have a thorough understanding of Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=c930febb-3a44-4bf3-969d-1c52675a7063
The authentication protocol that is used by Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and its clients has been updated to require a signature in all messages. This includes the first message that carries the challenge response.
The version number of the protocol that is advertised in the challenge response has increased to version 4. Challenge responses that use version 4 of the protocol must contain a signature. The signature is a digest of the identifying headers in the message. The signature is calculated by using the session key.
Client applications that are built by using the Unified Communications Client API SDK must use this update to register and to work with Communications Server 2007. Communications Server 2007 requires the first challenge response message to contain a signature.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950559
The Microsoft Exchange Server Protocols documentation provides detailed technical specifications for Microsoft proprietary protocols (including extensions to industry-standard or other published protocols) in the Microsoft Exchange Server system.
The Microsoft Exchange Server Protocols documentation provides specifications for protocols that are implemented in the Microsoft Exchange Server system software and that are used to communicate with other products.
The documentation is designed to describe each protocol in detail as it is used by the Microsoft Exchange Server system. Each protocol specification documents the technical requirements, limitations, dependencies, and Microsoft-specific protocol behavior.
The documentation also includes a set of companion overview and reference documents that supplement the technical specifications with conceptual background, overviews of inter-protocol relationships and interactions, and technical reference information, such as common data types and error codes.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc307725(EXCHG.80).aspx
Are you interested in learning about Failover Clustering with Windows Server 2008. Well the wait is over, the Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering team would like to announce the availability of the of the Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Failover Clustering Hands on Lab.
Title
TechNet Virtual Lab: Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Failover Clustering Lab
Link
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032345932&EventCategory=3&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US
Overview
For the exercises in this lab, you will be responsible for the configuration of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise failover clustering for your organization. This lab will teach you how to add nodes to the cluster and configure the cluster to support a variety of high-availability roles such as file, print, and DHCP server clusters.
