Coexistence with Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1
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.
Both the Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition of Office Communications Server 2007 are designed to coexist with Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1 Standard Edition servers and Enterprise pools. Preparing the Active Directory for Office Communications Server also provides backward compatibility with Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1.
If you are planning to deploy Office Communications Server 2007 in a mixed environment with Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1, there are other issues you need to be aware of:
Archiving services for each version are compatible only with servers of the same version.
All servers in a pool or in an edge server array must be of the same version, but servers or pools of different versions can be connected to the same load balancer.
Users who are enabled for enhanced presence and who sign in by using Office Communicator 2007 can no longer use Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 or the 2005 releases of Communicator Web Access and Communicator Mobile. Additionally, such users cannot access specific components of Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1.
The A/V conferencing features of Office Communications Server 2007 are not available to users who are hosted on Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1 or to any users who are using Office Communicator 2005.
For Web conferencing, only users hosted on Office Communications Server 2007 can organize Web conference meetings. However, any user can attend, provided they have the ability to install the Live Meeting 2007 client. For more information about deploying Live Meeting 2007, see Introduction to Deploying the Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007 Client with Office Communications Server 2007.
The administrative snap-ins for Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1 and Office Communications Server 2007 are not mutually compatible. Each can be used to administer only servers of the corresponding version.
All external users, including federated users, can connect through Office Communications Server 2007 Access Edge Servers and Directors, even if they are hosted on Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1.
The following sections explain the implications of these issues.
Archiving Interoperability
You must archive all traffic on Office Communications Server 2007 servers by using an Office Communications Server 2007 Archiving and CDR Server. Similarly, you must archive all traffic on Live Communications Server 2005 SP1 servers by using the Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1 Archiving Service.
The default behavior is different for the different versions. In Office Communications Server 2007, both the global archiving and individual user archiving are disabled by default, but Live Communications Servers retain their existing global settings. This means that if archiving is enabled in global settings on all your Live Communications Servers, this setting is retained on all your Live Communications Server 2055 with SP1 servers.
In a coexistence scenario, conversations initiated by a user hosted on a Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1 server use the forest-level settings enabled in the Live Communications Server 2005 SP1 environment. Conversations initiated by a user hosted on Office Communications Server 2007 use the global settings configured in Office Communications Server 2007.
Note
To access the global archiving settings, right-click the forest node, point to Properties, click Global Properties, and then click the Archiving tab. For more information, see the Office Communications Server 2007 Administration Guide.
Using Load Balancers
Servers of different versions cannot coexist in a single pool or an edge server array. You can, however, connect a Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1 pool and an Office Communications Server 2007 pool to the same load balancer. For example, if you have an array of Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1 Access Proxies attached to a load balancer, you can also simultaneously attach an Office Communications Server 2007 edge server array to the same load balancer.
Adding Live Communications Server 2005 SP1 Servers During Coexistence
Because Active Directory preparation is backwards compatible with the Live Communications Server 2005 SP1 Active Directory schema, you can add new Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1 servers to any domain where domain preparation for Live Communications Server was run before Office Communications Server 2007 Active Directory preparation.
During coexistence, if you do not run Live Communications Server 2005 Active Directory domain preparation steps in a domain (a new domain for example) before the Office Communications Server 2007 Active Directory preparation, you cannot install any Live Communications Server 2005 SP1 servers.
Microsoft Office Communicator
By default, users who are homed on Office Communications Server 2007 can be enabled for enhanced presence, but Office Communicator 2007 is required for users to take advantage of this feature. Users who are moved from a Live Communications Server 2005 SP1 server to an Office Communications Server 2007 can use the Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 client. Such a user cannot, however, take advantage of the enhanced presence and A/V conferencing features of Office Communications Server 2007.
After a user who is enabled for enhanced presence has signed in by using Office Communicator 2007, that user can no longer use Office Communicator 2005 or sign in to Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1. Additionally, such a user can no longer sign in to Communicator Web Access (2005 release) or to Communicator Mobile (2005 release).
If you plan to deploy in a mixed environment, you must make the appropriate clients available to all your users. For details about migrating to the 2007 release of Communicator Web Access, see the Introduction to Microsoft Office Communicator Web Access (2007 Release).
Administrative Snap-Ins
In general, you must use the administrative snap-in that corresponds to the server version that you want to manage. The only exception is that you use the Office Communications Server 2007 snap-in to move users from Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1 to Office Communications Server 2007.
Use the 2005 Administrative Snap-In
To manage Live Communications Server 2005 SP1 users and servers. You can also use Active Directory Users and Computers on Live Communications Server 2005 SP1 or on a computer with the Live Communications Server 2005 SP1 administrative snap-in installed.
Although Office Communications Server pools are available from Live Communications Server 2005 SP1, you should use only Office Communications Server to move users hosted on Office Communications Server. Moving Office Communications Server users from the 2005 administrative snap-in is not supported.
Use the 2007 Administrative Snap-In
To move Live Communications Server 2005 SP1 users to Office Communications Server 2007.
To manage users on Office Communications Server 2007 after moving them from Live Communications Server 2005 SP1.
To manage all Office Communications Server 2007 servers.
The Live Communications Server 2005 SP1 administrative snap-in and the Office Communications Server 2007 administrative snap-in cannot be installed on the same computer.
External User Access
External users, such as remote users, who are hosted on Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1 and users of Office Communicator 2005, regardless of where they are hosted, can sign in by using the Office Communications Server 2007 Edge Servers and Directors for functionality that is supported by Live Communications Server 2005 with SP1. These users cannot, however, take advantage of the additional features that are offered by Office Communications Server 2007.