Step 2.4. Configure a Director (Optional, but Recommended)

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Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 will reach end of support on January 9, 2018. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

The Office Communications Server 2007 Director is the recommended internal next-hop server to which an Access Edge Server routes inbound SIP traffic destined to internal servers. The Director authenticates inbound requests and distributes them among the servers in the Enterprise pool or to the appropriate Standard Edition server.

Office Communications Server 2007 supports the following Director configurations:

  • A single Standard Edition server that is configured as a Director.

  • An array of Standard Edition servers that are configured as a Director (requires an Enterprise CA).

  • An Enterprise pool that is configured as a Director.

You deploy a Director in a manner similar to the way that you deploy any other Office Communications Server 2007 server. You can also configure it as a Director by using the wizards in the deployment tool to configure your Standard Edition server or Enterprise pool.

In a load balanced edge server topology (a scaled single-site topology or a scaled remote site edge topology), the next hop server on the Director must target the virtual IP address of the Edge Server arrays internal load balancer. Some special configuration steps are required if you choose to deploy an array of Standard Edition servers as a Director. For more information, see Appendix A: Configuring an Array of Standard Edition Servers as a Director.

To deploy a Director in your organization, you need to set up certificates and DNS as you would for any internal Office Communications Server.

You have three choices in deploying a Director:

  • Deploy a Standard Edition server.

  • Deploy a Standard Edition server array.

  • Deploy an Enterprise pool in the expanded configuration with front end servers only.

Deploying a Standard Edition Server as a Director

The following procedure guides you through the process of configuring a Standard Edition server as a Director, which includes deploying the Director and then deactivating server roles on the Standard Edition server.

Step 1 Deploy a Standard Edition Server Configured as A Director

Use the following steps in conjunction with the information in the Office Communications Server 2007 Standard Edition Deployment Guide to deploy a Standard Edition server as a Director.

To configure a Standard Edition Server as a Director

  1. Configure your DNS records as described in the Office Communications Server 2007 Standard Edition Deployment Guide.

  2. Insert the Microsoft Office Communications Server CD. Setup starts and launches the Deployment Tool. If you are installing from a network share, navigate to the \Setup\I386 folder, and then double-click Setup.exe.

  3. Click Deploy Standard Edition Server.

  4. At Deploy Server, click Run.

  5. Complete the wizard. See the Microsoft Office Standard Edition Deployment Guide for step-by-step instructions.

  6. At Configure Server, click Run.

  7. On the Welcome to the Configure Pool/Server Wizard page, click Next.

  8. On the Server or Pool to Configure page, select the server from the list, and then click Next.

  9. On the SIP domains page, verify that your SIP domain appears in the list box. If it does not, select the SIP domains in your environment check box, type your SIP domain, and then click Add. Repeat these steps for all other SIP domains that the Standard Edition server supports. When you are finished, click Next.

  10. On the Client Logon Settings page, do one of the following:

    • If the Office Communicator clients and Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007 clients in your organization use DNS SRV records for automatic logon, click Some or all clients will use DNS SRV records for automatic logon.

      If this server or pool is also used to authenticate and redirect requests for automatic sign-in, select the Use this server or pool to authenticate and redirect automatic client logon requests check box. When you configure automatic client logon, you must designate one (and only one) Enterprise pool or Standard Edition server to authenticate and redirect client sign-in requests.

    • If the Office Communicator clients and Live Meeting 2007 clients in your organization are configured to use automatic discovery, click Clients will be manually configured for logon.

  11. When you are finished, click Next.

  12. Select from the following:

    • If, in the previous step, you selected Clients will be manually configured for logon, go to the next step.

    • If, in the previous step, you selected Some or all clients will use DNS SRV records for automatic logon, select the check box for the domains that will be supported by the server for automatic sign-in on the SIP Domains for Automatic Logon page, and then click Next.

  13. When you are finished, click Next.

  14. On the SIP Domains for Automatic Logon page, do one of the following:

    • If, on Client Logon Settings page, you selected Some or all clients will use DNS SRV records for automatic logon, select the check box for the domains that will be supported by the server for automatic sign-in, and then click Next.

    • If, on Client Logon Settings page, you selected Clients will be manually configured for logon, skip the next step.

  15. On the External User Access Configuration page, select Do not configure external user access now, and then click Next.

  16. On the Ready to Configure Server or Pool page, review the settings that you specified, and then click Next to configure the Standard Edition server.

  17. When the wizard has completed, verify that the View the log when you click Finish check box is selected, and then click Finish.

  18. In the log file, verify that <Success> appears under the Execution Result column. Look for <Success> Execution Result at the end of each task to verify that the Standard Edition server configuration completed successfully. Close the log window when you finish.

  19. Use the Office Communications Server 2007 Standard Edition Deployment Guide to complete the following tasks:

    • Configure certificates.

    • Start services.

    • Validate your server configuration.

Step 2 Deactivate Server Roles on the Standard Edition Server (Optional)

As a security best practice, you should deactivate and uninstall the server roles that that Director does not require. This practice involves deactivating and uninstalling the Web Conferencing, A/V Conferencing and Web Component roles on this server.

To deactivate the roles not required for a Director

  1. Log on to the Director with an account that is a member of the local administrators group and a member of RTCUniversalServerAdmins.

  2. Open the Office Communications Server 2007 Administration tools: Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Office Communications Server 2007.

  3. Select one of the following:

    • Expand Standard Edition Server, and then expand the Standard Edition that you just deployed:

    • Right-click the FQDN of the server, point to Deactivate, and then click Web Conferencing and complete the wizard.

    • Right-click the FQDN of the server, point to Deactivate, and then click A/V Conferencing and complete the wizard.

    • Right-click the FQDN of the server, point to Deactivate, and then click Web Components and complete the wizard.

Deploying an Enterprise Pool in the Expanded Configuration as a Director

The following steps guide you through the process of configuring an Enterprise pool as a Director.

Step 1 Set up SQL, DNS and Create a Pool

Use the following steps in conjunction with the Office Communications Server 2007 Enterprise Edition Deployment Guide to set up your infrastructure and create a pool.

To deploy an Enterprise Pool as a Director

  • Use the procedures in as described in the Office Communications Server 2007 Enterprise Edition Deployment Guide to do the following:

    • Verify all prerequisites.

    • Set up your SQL database.

    • Configure a load balancer.

    • Create DNS records necessary for deployment.

Step 2 Configure the Pool as a Director

Create a pool in the expanded configuration, and then use the following procedure to configure the pool as a Director.

To configure an Enterprise Pool as a Director

  1. After you have created your pool, click Configure Pool.

  2. At Configure Pool, click Run.

  3. On the Welcome to the Configure Pool/Server Wizard page, click Next.

  4. Before you can continue, verify that the Office Communications Server administration tools are installed on the computer. If the tools are not installed, on the Administrative Tools required page, click Next to install the administrative tools.

  5. On the Server or Pool to Configure page, select the pool from the list, and then click Next.

  6. On the Load Balancer Configuration Parameters page, do one of the following:

    • If you are using a load balancer that is configured to perform DNAT (destination network address translation), click Load balancer is configured in DNAT (destination network address translation) mode.

    • If you are using a load balancer that is configured to perform SNAT (source network address translation) or if you are not using a load balancer, click Load balancer is configured in SNAT (source network address translation) mode.

      Note

      It is recommended that you configure your load balancer to operate in SNAT mode if you can. If the load balancer for this pool is configured to operate in DNAT mode, connections from member servers in the pool will be redirected to the local host. Redirecting connections to the local host is necessary so that the pool can operate in DNAT mode, but it can negatively affect the availability of the pool. To ensure maximum availability of the pool, you should configure the load balancer to operate in SNAT mode.

  7. On the SIP domains page, verify that your SIP domain appears in the list box. If it does not, select the SIP domains in your environment check box, type your SIP domain, and then click Add. Repeat these steps for all other SIP domains that the Enterprise pool will support.

  8. When you are finished, click Next.

  9. On the Client Logon Settings page, do one of the following:

    • If the Office Communicator clients and Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007 clients in your organization use DNS SRV records for automatic logon, click Some or all clients will use DNS SRV records for automatic logon. If this server or pool is also used to authenticate and redirect requests for automatic sign-in, then select the Use this server or pool to authenticate and redirect automatic client logon requests check box. When you configure automatic client logon, you must designate one (and only one) Enterprise pool or Standard Edition server to authenticate and redirect client sign-in requests.

    • If the Office Communicator clients and Live Meeting 2007 clients in your organization will not be configured to use automatic discovery, click Clients will be manually configured for logon.

  10. When you are finished, click Next.

  11. On the SIP Domains for Automatic Logon page, do one of the following:

    • If in step 9 you selected Some or all clients will use DNS SRV records for automatic logon, select the check box for the domains that will be supported by the server for automatic sign-in, and then click Next.

    • If in step 9 you selected Clients will be manually configured for logon, skip to step 12.

  12. On the External User Access Configuration page, select Do not configure external user access now, and then click Next.

  13. On the Ready to Configure Server or Pool page, review the settings that you specified, and then click Next to configure the Standard Edition server.

  14. When the files are installed and the wizard has completed, verify that the View the log when you click Finish check box is selected, and then click Finish.

  15. In the log file, verify that <Success> appears under the Execution Result column. Look for <Success> Execution Result at the end of each task to verify that Standard Edition server configuration completed successfully. Close the log window when you finish.

Step 3 Add Front End Servers

Use the following procedure to add Front End Servers to your Enterprise pool.

To add Front End Servers to your Enterprise pool

  1. Log on to the server that you want to designate as the Front End Server as a member of the Administrators group. If you want to activate immediately after installation, log on also as a member of the DomainAdmins group and of the RTCUniversalServerAdmins group.

  2. Insert the Microsoft Office Communications Server CD. The deployment tool starts automatically. If you are installing from a network share, go to the \Setup\I386 folder, and then double-click Setup.exe.

  3. In the deployment tool, click Deploy Pools in an Expanded Topology, and then click Add Front End Server.

  4. Add a Front End Server to your pool using the instructions to install, and then activate a Front-End Server in the Introduction to the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Enterprise Edition Deployment Guide.

  5. Repeat these steps for each Front End Server in your environment.

Step 4 Configure Certificates on Each Front End Server

Use the steps in the Introduction to the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Enterprise Edition Deployment Guide to configure certificates on each Front-End Server.

Step 5 Start Services

Use the steps in the Introduction to the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Enterprise Edition Deployment Guide to start services on each Front End Server.

Step 6 Validate Your Server and Pool Configuration

Use the steps in the Introduction to the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Enterprise Edition Deployment Guide to validate the configuration on each Front End Server.

Deactivate Address Book Server on the Standard Edition Server or Enterprise Edition Servers

As a security best practice, you should disable all unnecessary components running on your Director. The following procedure explains how to deactivate the Address Book Server on a Standard Edition server or Enterprise Edition server.

On both Standard Edition server and Enterprise pool Directors, deactivate the Address Book server. For an Enterprise pool, you need to perform this procedure once on one of the Front End Servers in the pool.

To deactivate the Address Book Server

  1. For a Standard Edition Director, log on to a Standard Edition server; for an Enterprise pool Director, log on to one of the Enterprise Edition servers. Use an account that is a member of the RTCUniversalServerAdmins group or has equivalent privileges.

  2. Open a Command Prompt window: Click Start, and then point to Run. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.

  3. At the command prompt, type wbemtest.

  4. Click Connect.

  5. In the Namespace box, type root\cimv2, and then click Connect.

  6. Click Query.

  7. Select one of the following:

    • On a Standard Edition server, type the following:

      Select * from MSFT_SIPAddressBookSetting where BackEnd=(local)\\rtc

    • On an Enterprise pool, type the following:

      Select * from MSFT_SIPAddressBookSetting where BackEnd=SQL database instance

  8. Click Apply.

  9. Double-click the result returned.

  10. In Object Edit, double-click the OutputLocation property.

  11. In the Value box, click Null.

  12. Click Save Property.

  13. Click Save Object.

  14. Click Close.

  15. Click Close again, and then click Exit to close wbemtest.