Creating a Communicator Web Access Virtual Server By Using Communicator Web Access Snap-in
Topic Last Modified: 2009-08-06
Depending on your needs you might want to create more than one virtual server on a single Communicator Web Access (2007 R2 release) computer. The Deployment Wizard only gives you the option to install a single virtual server. If you want to install a second virtual server on a computer, this must be done by using the Communicator Web Access snap-in.
Before you begin installing a second virtual server, keep in mind that:
- Virtual servers must have unique IP addresses, or if the IP addresses are the same they must use different ports. For example, suppose your Communicator Web Access server has a single IP address (for example, 192.168.1.123) and you install an internal virtual server on port 443. If you decide to install an external virtual server on the same computer, that server cannot be assigned port 443. Instead, it needs to be assigned an unused port.
- The Communicator Web Access snap-in is not installed when you run the Deployment Wizard. Before you can use the Communicator Web Access snap-in, you must install it as described in the topic Installing the Communicator Web Access Snap-in.
To create another Communicator Web Access virtual server
Log on to the computer that is running the Communicator Web Access snap-in as a member of the local Administrators group and the RTCUniversalServerAdmins group.
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2, Communicator Web Access.
In the Communicator Web Access snap-in, in the scope pane, locate the name of the computer that will host the virtual server, right-click the computer name, and then click Create Virtual Web Server.
In the Create Virtual Server Wizard, on the Welcome page, click Next.
On the Select Virtual Server Type page, click Internal or External and then click Next.
On the Select Authentication Type page, do one of the following:
- If you want the virtual server to support the authentication methods built into the operating system, click Use built-in authentication and then click Next.
- If you want the virtual server to support authentication mechanisms not built into the operating system, click Use custom authentication. If you select this option, you can also type a URL in the Sign-Out URL (Optional) box. This represents the URL of the Web page that users will see after they sign out of Communicator Web Access. Click Next.
Do one of the following:
- If you chose built-in authentication and you are creating an internal virtual server, select Forms-based authentication and/or Integrated (NTLM/Kerberos) password authentication from the Select Authentication Type page. Click Next.
- If you are creating an external virtual server, you will see the Select Authentication Type page. However, you will not be able to select an authentication mechanism. Instead, Forms-based authentication will automatically be selected for you. Click Next.
- If you chose custom authentication you will not see the Select Authentication Type page. That is because neither forms-based authentication nor integrated password authentication can be used with custom authentication. Instead, you will go directly to the Select Connection Type page.
On the Select Connection Type page do one of the following:
- Select HTTP (May be used with SSL accelerator) and then click Next.
- Select HTTPS (Recommended) and then click the Select Certificate button. In the Select Certificate dialog box, select the certificate to be used with this virtual server. Click the appropriate certificate and then click OK. On the Select Connection Type page, click Next.
On the Select IP Address and Port Settings page, select the IP address to be assigned to the virtual server. In the Port box, type the port to be used by the virtual server. Click Next. Do not select a port that is already in use by another application (for example, port 135, which is used by Remote Desktop, or port 445, which is used by file and printer sharing. If you select a port that is already in use setup will continue, but, upon completion, you will not be able to start your virtual server.
On the Server Description page, type a name for the virtual server in the Description box. This is the way that the virtual server will be identified both in the Communicator Web Access snap-in and in the Internet Information Services (IIS) snap-in. Click Next.
On the Select a listening port page, type the port number that the Communicator Web Access server uses to listen for Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messages in the Listening port box and then click Next.
On the Select a pool page select the fully qualified domain name of the Office Communications 2007 R2 server or server pool that will act as a “next hop” server for anonymous users. Select the next hop server from the Next hop pool dropdown list, type the SIP listening port (typically port 5061) in the Port box, and then click Next.
On the Start Server Option page, select Start this virtual server after the Create Virtual Server Wizard finishes and then click Next; this ensures that the virtual server will start immediately after it is created.
On the Review Settings Before Virtual Server Creation page, verify that the virtual server has been configured correctly and then click Next.
On the Create Virtual Server Complete page, click Close to close the Create Virtual Server Wizard.