How to Get Office Web Apps Server 2013 to Report a Healthy Health Status

I see this a lot in customer environments with Office Web Apps Server 2013 deployed for use with Lync Server 2013, where if you run the Get-OfficeWebAppsMachine cmdlet, the HealthStatus parameter is Unhealthy:

However, even though Office Web Apps Server 2013 reports as unhealthy, as far as Lync Server 2013 is concerned, everything is working fine.  Presenters in meetings are able to upload PowerPoint presentations and attendees can see the presentations.  So what is causing the unhealthy status and how do you fix it?

How to Enable Detailed Logging in Lync Web App

I was troubleshooting an issue with media connectivity in Lync Web App and needed to gather additional information on what was happening with the Lync Web App.  By default LWA logs some basic information.  Unfortunately this didn't tell me what I needed.  In order to get more detailed logs from LWA, you just need to append the following to the meeting join URL:

https://meet.test.deitterick.com/william.cooper/YL6HFCPK?sl=1&log=full

Effects of Changing a User's SIP Address in Lync Server 2013

A question I get a lot when talking with administrators about Lync is how to handle name changes and what effect changing a user's SIP address has on other users.  In the example below we will look at the effects of changing a user's SIP address and what other user's will need to be aware of.

Abstract: We are excited to announce an update to the Microsoft Lync Connectivity Analyzer. This update adds support for Office 365 accounts, Lync Mobile 2013 app deployment requirements, improved accessibility, and bug fixes.

Author: Phillip Garding, Senior Program Manager – Lync Client

Publication Date: December 10, 2013

Product Version: Lync Server 2013, Lync Server 2010

Introduction

We released the first version of Microsoft Lync Connectivity Analyzer in February, 2013, and it’s time for an update! The new version adds the following features:

• Support for testing Office 365 accounts
• Support for testing Lync Mobile 2013 app deployment requirements
• Improved accessibility support for keyboard navigation, screen readers, and high contrast
• Support for Windows 8.1
• Bug fixes

Microsoft Lync Connectivity Analyzer helps Lync administrators determine whether the deployment and configuration of their Office 365 or on-premises Lync Server environment meets the requirements to support connections from Lync Windows Store app and Lync apps on mobile devices. Lync Connectivity Analyzer attempts to connect to Lync Server on-premises or Lync Online by using the same services and protocols that are used by Lync Windows Store app and Lync mobile apps. You can perform the connection tests over your internal network or over an external network that connects to Lync Server or Lync Online. Lync Connectivity Analyzer provides a report with detailed information about each connection step to help you validate your configuration and troubleshoot connection problems.

Figure 1. Lync Connectivity Analyzer report

Lync Connectivity Analyzer tests the following Lync Server components:

• Autodiscover service
• Authentication Broker (Reach) service
• Mobility (MCX) service
• Mobility (UCWA) service
• WebTicket service

Lync Connectivity Analyzer tests the configuration of the following other components:

• Publication of DNS records for Autodiscover URLs
• Certificates
• Proxy servers

Lync Connectivity Analyzer also provides a detailed report so you can see exactly what URLs, services, and protocols are used at each step to help you understand how the Lync apps operate and to help you debug and troubleshoot problems.

 
Figure 2. Detailed report

To download Lync Connectivity Analyzer, go here:

32-bit: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=277056

64-bit: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36535

Additional Resources
To learn more, check out the following:

• Using Lync Connectivity Analyzer, http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=277057
• Microsoft Remote Connectivity Analyzer, http://testconnectivity.microsoft.com

There's a new article posted by Richard Schwendiman about High Availability and Disaster Recovery with Lync Server 2013 Persistent Chat: Lync 2013 Persistent Chat HA\DR Deep Dive Pt. 1

Abstract

As everyone knows by now, with the release of Lync Server 2013 we introduced much improved chat functionality, named Persistent Chat (pChat). Not only is it much improved, but it is also an actual role within the topology (no longer standalone application). One thing that I get questioned about a lot regarding pChat is High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HA-DR). Hopefully with this two part article I can help answer some of those questions.

Author: Richard Schwendiman

Technical Review: Sekou Page

Contributors: Darrin Hanson | Patrick Kelley | Premal Gandhi | Tim Lulofs | Peter Krebs

Publication date: November 13, 2013

Product version: Lync Online

The Lync Online Sign-in Guided Walkthrough (http://aka.ms/LyncSignIn) offers admins a customized approach to solving Lync Online sign-in issues.

The walkthrough—based on a detailed analysis of Microsoft Support cases over the last nine months—guides you through troubleshooting and configuration questions that are specific to your situation.

Basic issues such as network setup and client versions are covered, as well as more complex tasks such as DNS settings and hybrid deployment setup.
In many cases, the specific steps you need to take to resolve an issue are included in the walkthrough:

Coming soon: a Lync Online guided walkthrough for end-users, focusing on client and device setup issues. 

Abstract: Microsoft Support has released a cumulative update for Lync 2013 Desktop Client for Windows, which includes new functionality.

Author: Nikolay Muravlyannikov, Program Manager II

Publication date: November 12, 2013

Product version: Lync Desktop Client 2013

Introduction

Microsoft has released a cumulative update for Lync 2013, which includes new features and fixes of bugs. You can see all the November cumulative update details on the Microsoft Support site:

• Description of the Lync 2013 November Update

Client feature enhancements include Photos of Sender/Receiver, URL Photo Experience, pChat Escalation, Login Trace Files and New Recording Options. Read the Lync Team Blog for full details about the Lync 2013 desktop client updates:

• November 2013 Updates for the Lync Desktop Client 2013

Note that while some features work out of the box, others require changing settings on Lync Server.  If a feature is dependent on server configuration we have added detailed steps below so that it can be enabled.

Photos of Sender/Receiver

The feature works out of the box and does not have any server dependency.

URL Photo Experience

By default, client policies do not contain an entry where you can enable or disable the feature. If you do not add the policy, end users cannot see the field where they can add their own photo and their interface will look the same as in the previous versions of the Lync 2013 Client.

In order to get feature work you need to create custom policy entry, by using the following script:

$a=New-CsClientPolicyEntry -Name EnablePresencePhotoOptions -Value True

Set-csclientpolicy -Identity EnablePhotoUrl -Policyentry $a

The script assumes that you created policy called EnablePhotoUrl, also you can modify Global policy.

After assigning the policy to the clients and signing into the client, your users will see the new option, which allows adding own URL photo.

Persistent Chat Room Escalation

There is no server dependency for the feature; it just works after applying updates on the clients.

After applying updates, participants will see the new button at the bottom of Lync Chat Room Interface.

Login Trace Files

There is no server dependency for the feature; it just works after applying updates on the clients.

After applying updates you can find new item “Sign-in logs” when click Lync Icon in the taskbar.

New Recording Options

There is no server dependency for the feature; it just works after applying updates on the clients.