Plan for your Skype for Business Server 2015 deployment

Summary: Explore these links to learn how to develop conceptual, logical, and physical designs for configuring Skype for Business Server 2015 features, servers, and topologies.

Skype for Business Server offers instant messaging (IM), presence, conferencing, video, and telephony solutions that can support enterprise-level collaboration requirements. This topic provides links to information about how to plan for a successful Skype for Business Server deployment.

Writers update articles on a continuing basis as new information becomes available and as users provide feedback. This page will be updated frequently, so check back often.

Visual resources about how to plan for Skype for Business Server

View the following resources for information about how to plan for your Skype for Business Server deployment.

  Content Description
Icon for technical diagrams. Technical diagrams for Skype for Business Server 2015 See architecture choices at a glance in these large-format diagrams.
Icon for videos. Skype for Business: A quick introduction Skype for Business: Step-by-step guide for new users Discover video presentations and training for Skype for Business.

Articles about planning for Skype for Business Server

The following articles about how to plan for Skype for Business Server are available to view online.

Plan for solutions Plan for server architecture, clients and devices
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Read the following articles to determine which solutions are right for your organization:
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Read the following articles to plan your server architecture, and client and device support:
Plan for instant messaging and presence in Skype for Business Server 2015 What are your requirements for instant messaging (IM) and presence? Although instant messaging (IM) and presence and are included in every Skype for Business Server deployment, you'll need to make decisions about technical requirements, communications with external users, and archiving. Environmental requirements for Skype for Business Server 2015
Server requirements for Skype for Business Server 2015
Plan network requirements for Skype for Business 2015
You'll want to read these topics first to determine prerequisites for Skype for Business Server.
Plan your Enterprise Voice solution in Skype for Business Server 2015 What are your voice requirements? Define how you will integrate the telephone system of your organization with your Skype for Business Server deployment.Enterprise Voice is the most complete voice offering--a Voice over IP (VoIP) solution, providing a rich feature set, including integration with Outlook and Exchange.Call Via Work offers a way for you to integrate your Skype for Business solution with your existing PBX phone systems. Topology Basics for Skype for Business Server 2015 Before preparing anything else, you'll want to know you're planning for the right topology for your deployment of Skype for Business Server. The first thing you need to decide is if you're going to have an on-premises deployment of Skype for Business Server, or if you're going to combine this with a Skype for Business Server Online deployment in a Hybrid deployment. Read the topics in this section to plan your topology and server collocation scenarios.
Plan for Video Interop Server in Skype for Business Server 2015 What are the video requirements for your organization? The Skype for Business Server Video Interop Server can now integrate directly with Cisco teleconferencing systems (VTCs). Read about video features and technical requirements. Plan to upgrade to Skype for Business Server 2015 Are you upgrading from a previous version of Lync Server? Find information about how to plan your upgrade.
Plan to integrate Skype for Business and Exchange Does your organization deploy both Exchange Server and Skype for Business Server? If so, read bout how you can integrate features of both products. For example, presence information and archiving of data. Plan for clients and devices Skype for Business Server supports a collection of client interfaces that you can deploy to your organization's users. Thoughtful planning ensures that employees get what they need and that Skype for Business is available to them wherever they happen to be.
Plan for Persistent Chat Server in Skype for Business Server 2015 Does you organization want to implement chat rooms that let multiple users in your organization participate in conversations that persist over time? If so read about how you can plan and deploy Persistent Chat Server. Plan for high availability and disaster recovery in Skype for Business Server 2015 High availability refers to making sure that Skype for Business Server services are available even if one or more servers goes down. Disaster recovery refers to keeping services going in the event of a natural or human-caused disaster, and preserving as much data from before the disaster as possible. Read the topics in this sectino to plan for high availability and disaster recovery.
Plan for conferencing in Skype for Business Server 2015 What are the conferencing requirements for your organization? Read about web conferencing, A/V conferencing, and dial-in conferencing features and requirements. Plan for security in Skype For Business Server 2015 Find resources about user authentication, server-to-server authentication, and application authentication to help you understand and plan for authentication in Skype for Business Server.
Plan hybrid connectivity between Skype for Business Server and Skype for Business Online Do you have users who are homed on both on-premises Skype for Business Server and Skype for Business Online? If so, read about how you can set up a hybrid deployment that synchronizes both on-premises and online users across a single domain.
Plan for Edge Server deployments in Skype for Business Server 2015 Does your organization communicate with users outside of your internal network? If so, read about how you can deploy Edge Server to support communications across your organization's firewall.

Additional resources about planning for Skype for Business Server

The following resources about how to plan for Skype for Business Server are available from other subject matter experts.

  Content Description
Icon for Docs. Skype for Business Server for IT pros Visit the resource center to access videos, community sites, documentation, downloads, and more.
Icon for developer content. Skype Developer Platform Find developer resources for Skype for Business Server, including code samples, training, and SDKs.
Icon for news, blogs, and so on. Change management and adoption
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Keep up with news from the teams that create and document Skype for Business Server.