Skype for Business Server 2015 Planning Tool

  • Article

Guidance on using the Skype for Business Server 2015 Planning Tool.

The Skype for Business Server 2015 Planning Tool is a wizard driven, interview-like tool that asks questions about the Skype for Business Server 2015 topology that you are designing. The Planning Tool uses the information supplied, coupled with preferred practices for topology design and capacity, to present a recommended topology based on the answers supplied.

Ultimately, the goal of the Planning Tool is to ease the potential complexity of designing a complete Skype for Business Server 2015 topology. The tool also provides contextual references to planning and deployment documentation inside the tool, provided that an Internet connection is available to connect to the Microsoft website.

After customizing the topology with the infrastructure's TCP/IP addresses and fully qualified domain names (FQDNs), the Planning Tool makes available a series of reports that cover Domain Name System (DNS) naming, firewall rules, certificates, and more.

Using this tool is the first step in planning your implementation. The next step would be to input your site information specifics into the Skype for Business Server 2015 Capacity Calculator, adjust as needed, then use the Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool to simulate and verify the implementation will serve your needs.

The Planning Tool also provides the ability to export information in two formats:

  • Microsoft Excel (.xml spreadsheet)

  • Microsoft Visio (.vdx)

The following topics introduce and detail the Planning Tool.

In this section

See also

Install Skype for Business Server 2015

Plan for instant messaging and presence in Skype for Business Server 2015