Configuring Skype for Business Hybrid with GCC High Tenants

Configuring Skype for Business Hybrid with a GCC High Office 365 tenant is mostly the same, but it turns out that there are a few differences in terms of the DNS records and FQDNs that get set when running the PowerShell cmdlets. This brief posts walks you through the differences.

Differing DNS Records

When working with [U.S.] GOV tenants in Office 365, there are a couple different types of tenants that reflect varying levels of compliance & security requirements. Namely, there is:

• Office 365 GCC
• Office 365 GCC High and DoD

There are a number of compliance requirements that are met by each type of tenant, as can be guessed by the difference in names. Clearly, the Office 365 GCC High and DoD tenants meet a more strict set of requirements, as well as those that specifically target DoD entities.

There are several components to the architecture of these tenants that allow them to meet a more stringent set of requirements, and one of them is reflected by the difference in FQDNs and URLs that are used by endpoints to connect into these environments. Specifically, the Office 365 GCC High tenants (DoD is still being worked on) have a different list of required DNS records than your typical commercial tenant. While we are focusing on Skype for Business Online here, this also applies to Exchange Online.

The DNS records that are required for Skype for Business Online in a GCC High tenant are below:

CNAMEs

• 'sip'
• Points to: sipdir.online.gov.skypeforbusiness.us
• 'lyncdiscover'
• Points to: webdir.online.gov.skypeforbusiness.us

SRV

• '_sip'
• Points to: sipdir.online.gov.skypeforbusiness.us
• Port: 443
• Protocol: _tls
• '_sipfederationtls'
• Points to: sipfed.online.gov.skypeforbusiness.us
• Port: 5061
• Protocol: _tcp

Configuring Hybrid

As you can imagine, given the difference in the DNS records, you will want to slightly modify the PowerShell cmdlets that you use when setting up Hybrid for a Skype for Business environment that includes a GCC High tenant. Specifically, when running the New-CsHostingProvider cmdlet, you will want to do so like this, with the specified ProxyFqdn and AutoDiscoverUrl attributes:

New-CsHostingProvider -Identity SkypeforBusinessOnlineGov -ProxyFqdn -"sipfed.online.gov.skypeforbusiness.us" -Enabled $true -EnabledSharedAddressSpace $true -HostsOCSUsers $true -VerificationLevel UseSourceVerification -IsLocal $false -AutodiscoverUrl https://webdir.online.gov.skypeforbusiness.us/Autodiscover/AutodiscoverService.svc/root

The rest of the Hybrid configuration is pretty much the same. Next, when it comes to moving users via the Management Shell, you will modify the cmdlets like so:

Move-CsUser -Identity <user@domain.com> -Target sipfed.online.gov.skypeforbusiness.us -Credential $cred -HostedMigrationOverrideUrl https://admin1g.online.gov.skypeforbusiness.us/HostedMigration/hostedmigrationservice.svc.

So, to summarize, while I hate to seem like I am simplifying, we are pretty much putting 'gov.skypeforbusiness.us' anymore that 'lync.com' would typically show up in our Hybrid configuration process.

I hope this is able to save someone even a little bit of pain, somewhere. It seems like such a small thing, but if you are not aware of these differences, the errors that you will run into do not do a great job of letting you know where to start, and none of the "Configure Hybrid" documentation does a great job at calling out that there are differences for GCC High tenants.

#TeamsRecap - Post-Ignite Microsoft Teams Review with Lori Wright

I had the distinct honor of being joined by a very special guest on the #TeamsRecap this week. Lori Wright, the General Manager of Office Collab Apps at Microsoft, offered great perspective on some of the recent Microsoft Teams announcements coming out of Microsoft Ignite.



We even managed to work a raccoon into the conversation! This is a #TeamsRecap not to be missed - listen in:






Thanks for watching, and stay tuned for more Microsoft Teams & Skype for Business news - there is certainly no shortage of it, as of late!

#MSIgnite - Microsoft Teams Devices Overview with Ilya Bukshteyn

How NOT to Prepare for Microsoft Ignite

Every year, as Microsoft Ignite begins to draw nearer on the calendar, there are always a hefty amount of blog posts, and sometimes even videos, and the best tips and tricks for preparing for Ignite. While these posts are all helpful, and usually provide unique perspectives on experiencing the conference, I wanted to do something a little different.

SO, I flipped the idea on its head, and created a brief video (less than 5 minutes) on:

How NOT to prepare for Microsoft Ignite

I don't want to spoil the fun of the video, but I think you will enjoy it. Let's just say a dog finds its way into this one... ;-)

I hope you find the video useful, entertaining, and I look forward to seeing you all at Microsoft Ignite 2018!

Get-CsJosh -Location "Microsoft Ignite" -Type Session (I'm speaking at Ignite!)

Microsoft Ignite 2018 Participation

Right below this paragraph is how to follow me and stay plugged in during Microsoft Ignite. WHY to follow me for Microsoft Ignite follows comes after that ;-)!

How to follow...

Twitter: @GetCsJosh

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/GetCsJosh

Microsoft TechCommunity: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/33823

WHY to follow...

Here we are, less than a month away from Microsoft Ignite 2018, and all passes for Microsoft Ignite have been sold out for about a week now. This is going to be a BIG event! This will be my 3rd Ignite, but my excitement for this one is greater than it has been in years before. Why, you ask? What is the big deal with this year versus yester year[s]? Well read on to find out!

Community Reporter

This year, I have the distinct honor of being chosen to participate as one of the 10 Community Reporters for Microsoft Ignite! If you are not familiar with the Community Reporter role, it was created for Microsoft Ignite last year, with one Community Reporter (a Microsoft MVP or RD) from each major Microsoft product area. The Community Reporter brings the highlights of Ignite from a respective product area back to the relevant social communities by means of short video clips.

The following are some examples of the types of videos you would expect to see from the Community Reporters throughout the duration of Ignite:

• Interviews of key speakers & Microsoft executives and Program Managers
• Interviews of attendees on their experiences and thoughts on various components of the conference.
• "Experience" and "tour" videos of key areas (i.e., the Expo Floor, the Keynote, etc)
• Daily Recaps

You get the idea! Obviously, I will be reporting largely on the Microsoft UC/IC news (Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, Office 365). I have some big shoes, to fill, though - the Community Reporter in this space last year was none other than industry legend, fellow MVP, and Microsoft Master, Tom Arbuthnot! Wish me luck (and tune in)!

I'm Speaking at Microsoft Ignite

This year, for the first time, I will actually be speaking at Microsoft Ignite, and could not be more excited for the opportunity! What am I speaking on, you ask? Microsoft Teams, of course! I have a 45-minute session entitled "Building a community-led tech conference using Microsoft Teams", and the Session Code is BRK2285.

Now that you know the session title and the code, you have no excuse not to add it to your schedule now! ;-) Also, if you are not able to make it to Ignite this year, I am told that EVERYTHING will be live-streamed, so be sure to tune it live to watch!

This session will dive into the various ways that myself and the rest of the #CommsvNext team designed and built every aspect of this conference completely from within Microsoft Teams. If all works out, I may even be able to have the rest of the team join me on stage to provide their insights! (fellow MVPs, Jonathan McKinney, Adam Ball, and Pat Richard).

#TeamsRecap - Microsoft Ignite 2018 Edition

It has become somewhat of a tradition at each Microsoft Ignite to have a special #Skype4BRecap / #TeamsRecap episode, co-hosted with fellow MVP, Matt Landis. This year will be no different - except that I may actually have access to record in a more professional setting: and actual production STUDIO! Be sure to keep up with me on Twitter (info above) for the release of this episode.

Matt and I will be going over any key news, and talking about that burning question on every Skype for Business Online customer's mind right now: Is it yet the right time to move to Microsoft Teams?

How to connect while at Microsoft Ignite?

If you are looking to connect with me at Microsoft Ignite, there are a couple key ways (though I can't promise a ton, because as it happens, my schedule is already looking a bit hectic...):

1. Sessions! Obviously, I will be at BRK2285, speaking, and able to chat a bit afterwards. However, there is a good chance you will run into me at some of the key Microsoft Teams sessions, and a VERY good chance I will be at THE Skype for Business session.
2. Sponsor Events/Parties. I typically try to make sure I make it to some of the multi-vendor parties (SfB & Teams-related vendors). While some of those details are still being sorted, I am already registered for the CDW Customer Appreciation Event on Wednesday night. If you are CDW customer, and are coming to Ignite, I look forward to seeing you there!
3. FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER (@GetCsJosh). Seriously, that is one of the best ways to know what I am up to at any given point during a Microsoft Ignite conference. I have a bit of a bad mad-Tweeting habit during these conferences...

See you there!

Microsoft Communications on the Enterprise Connect 2018 Expo Floor – Day 1

For those of you that were not able to make it to Enterprise Connect this year, I wanted to bring a bit of my perspective from the Expo Floor. While there were some pretty big announcements blasted out via official Microsoft blogs on Monday, there is also a lot happening with several of Microsoft’s strategic device & solution partners – and much of this was on display on the Expo Floor. Let’s start with the Microsoft Booth.

 Microsoft – Teams & Skype for Business

Ok, the “Skype for Business” portion of that title is more or less a courtesy, as Microsoft Teams has taken not just center stage, but almost the entire stage, at EC this year. As you can see from the picture above, the Microsoft booth is painted Teams-purple this year, with Teams at the epicenter. While you had the impressive Hub displays all over within the booth, there were also several big screens set up for Teams demonstration purposes.

Skype Room Systems

The display of Skype Room Systems is growing steadily (Will they continue to be called “Skype Room Systems”, I wonder…), and this was on display at the booth. Lenovo announced a new SRS during the Ignite timeframe last year, but I’ll get to them in a second (I stopped by their booth separately). The other new player in the SRS space is HP with their Elite Slice:

The Elite Slice has a propped up display, with the familiar interface of the other SRS’s. The cube-shaped box to the right is the computing base with ports for external devices, and on top of the computing base is a large speaker. The speaker is actually optional, and if you get the base without the speaker, the base can be under-mounted to the conference table, allowing for a cleaner tabletop.

Teams Interfaces for Devices

I’ll provide an image or two of the Teams interface on a couple partner devices a bit later on, but Microsoft has a glass case at their booth, filled with various partner devices, all running a Teams interface. I must say, the Teams interface does look pretty slick on these devices, and I am excited to see this piece of the Teams transition story coming into focus.

Lenovo Thinksmart HUB 500 (SRS)

As mentioned above, I was able to stop at the Lenovo booth on Day 1 to get a closer look at a full SRS setup using the new Lenovo Thinksmart HUB 500. This device can swivel a full 360 degrees for ease of access on all sides of the conference table. There is also a light that encompasses the base to match the Skype for Business status.

One thing I personally appreciated about this device from an aesthetic standpoint is the beveled edges at the top and bottom of the display.

As for the rest of the specs, I could list them here. OR, I could just share an image of the spec sheet that Lenovo was handing out at their booth. Yeah, let’s go with that last idea…

AudioCodes C450HD

AudioCodes was one of various Microsoft device partners to display the upcoming Teams interface on their newly announced C450HD:

As you might expect, this new interface has theming that is very nicely matched to the Microsoft Teams experience. The tabbed feel of the Teams menu is even present at the bottom of the phone, with Calls, Meetings, and Voicemail tabs present. There is also a Dialpad button on the screen, if you prefer to use an on-screen dialpad versus the physical keys, and contacts can be searched for with your GAL/Contacts through the search features in the upper-right hand corner.

While the C450HD is a new offering for AudioCodes, I should note that this new Teams experience is very consistent across the other 3^rd-party devices that are also previewing this experience (Polycom and Yealink).

Yealink T58A & CP960 Teams Edition Conference Phone

Yealink’s newer T58A was on display at their booth, with a similar Teams experience as was described above. The design of this phone is a bit unique, bringing focus to the main screen, and affording a lot of real estate on this screen:

Shifting gears to the conference phone, Yealink’s CP960 Teams Edition was also on display, with a very familiar Teams experience. The interface brings a really “mobile phone” feel with it.

To each side of the CP960 are wireless peripheral speakers for distributed audio input in a conference room. These wireless speakers are very thin (a drink coaster comes to mind for comparison, though the speakers are obviously a bit thicker. When not in use, the speakers can be placed in a charging dock between meetings to ensure you don’t run into a nasty “out or batteries” situation mid-meeting:

Stay Tuned….

This was a brief summary of some of the device innovations that I was able to soak in during Day 1 of Enterprise Connect. Stay tuned, as I will be spending the greater part of Day 3 on the Expo Floor, and will be bringing a short description of the new features and devices that I observe from the other partners out there in the Microsoft UC ecosystem!

Landis' Technologies' Office 365 Contact Center, Calling in Microsoft Teams, & More News

The first #TeamsRecap episode of 2018 is finally here! This episode covered the following topics:

• End of Life Support for OCS
• Skype for Business client updates
• Fulfilled Calling Roadmap items for Microsoft Teams
• Landis Technologies' Office 365 Contact Center

To watch the video in my YouTube channel, and to get the links to the above content in the Video Description, check it out at the following link: https://youtu.be/aqaRWx2mams

Or you can watch the video right here in this post:

Some Changes for the #TeamsRecap Webcast

Through the holidays of 2017, and the first half of January 2018, the #TeamsRecap webcast took a bit of a break. Not only was it a very busy time riddled with family visitations and the traditional passing around of the random sicknesses, but I was also taking time to ponder what was next, for the #TeamsRecap.

I was starting to have a hard time keeping up with the consistent weekly cadence of the show that had been present for the first 2 years, and felt that it may also be time to have more than just my ugly mug talking about Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams news. So, after a bit of pondering, the #TeamsRecap is resurfacing with its first guest Co-Host, MVP Matt Landis of Landis Technologies!

In addition to having guest Co-Hosts, the show is also longer, as we take time to discuss the normal list of topics that I work my way through in the browser tabs. Previously, the show targeted about a 15-minute timeframe. I know this was desirable for some of you, but this new format will likely range anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour (though I want to try to keep it well under an hour when possible). While there is a sacrifice on the brevity, more perspective is being brought, and I feel that there is good value in that.

Finally, when doing a show with a Co-Host, I needed to find another platform to record on. Pexip has graciously provided space on their Infinity platform for the meeting & recording of the episodes, and I want to extend a HUGE thank you to Graham Walsh and the entire team over at Pexip - thank you for making this new format for the #TeamsRecap possible! Check them out: https://www.pexip.com/.

More changes may come throughout the year, but this is a good starting point. As always, though, I would LOVE to get your thoughts and in-filtered feedback.

Getting Started with PSTN Calling in Microsoft Teams

Last week Microsoft finally released basic PSTN Calling features into the Microsoft Teams client for the general public. These features have been touted heavily since Microsoft Ignite in September, and they are only the start of Microsoft's projected 12-month roadmap for moving Phone System into Microsoft Teams.

Before you start pulling the trigger on moving a bunch of your Phone System users over to using Microsoft Teams as their primary calling client (instead of Skype for Business), there are several caveats that you need to be aware of. I made a brief tutorial/demo video that goes into detail on these caveats, and really helps explain what they mean for Phone System users.

You can follow this link for more info and a demo, or watch the video below (following the link takes you to YouTube, where you can watch the video in a larger frame):

https://youtu.be/TM50sbeApCA

I hope you find the video insightful and useful, and if you have any feedback or suggestions about how these videos could be better, please don't hesitate to let me know. I will be releasing more of these as Microsoft gradually releases more of these roadmap features over the next 12 months!

Microsoft Teams Roadmap - Calling, Conference Recording & More

Today, Microsoft published the much-anticipated Roadmap for many of the features that were discussed during various sessions at Microsoft Ignite 2017. While the Roadmap does provide general guidance, and it can be helpful for many reasons, always remember that actual GA delivery is subject to change due to QA Testing, or other unforeseen circumstances. Diving straight in...

The announcement broke down the various features and capabilities by a few key areas: Messaging, Meetings, and Calling.

Messaging

While Messaging was not really the focus of some of the bigger announcements at Ignite, there are a still a few cool features that we can expect to be delivered soon. The following features are targeted for delivery in Q1 of 2018:

• Hide Chat
• Share Chat
• Mute Chat
• Messaging Policies
• Messaging Retention Policies (the ability to retain for a finite time)

These are small features, but great for organizing your work environment within Teams, and creating a more neat and orderly Chat work space.

There are more components to the Roadmap for Messaging, but I will defer to Microsoft's official announcement (See Below) for those remaining items. I am excited to get to the Meeting and Calling stuff!

Meetings

In my opinion, the evolution of Meetings within Teams provided for some the bigger and more impressive announcements at Microsoft Ignite. Taking a look at this image provided by Microsoft in their Roadmap announcement today, we can see that there are some very exciting new features coming to the Teams client as early as Q4 2017 (tentatively):

What's slated for Q4?

• Audio Conferencing in 90+ countries
• Anonymous Join
• Interactive Troubleshooting
• Lobby Support
• Mute Other Participants
• Application Sharing
• Give & Take Control in Sharing
• Support for meetings in Edge and Chrome browsers
• Enable Call Quality Analytics

What's slated for end of quarter, Q2 CY2018?

• Broadcast Meetings
• Cloud Recording
• Federated Meetings - Yes, you read that word correctly: FEDERATED.
• Large Meeting Support (~250 participants)
• Lobby for PSTN Callers
• Outlook meeting schedule from other platforms (OWA, mobile, Mac)
• PSTN Fallback
• PowerPoint Load and Share
• Whiteboard and Meeting Notes
• Enable VTC Interop Services*
• Skype Room Systems Support*
• Surface Hub Support
• Trio 1 Touch Teams Meeting Join*
• User-Level Meeting Policy
• eDiscovery enhancements

*Dependent on 3rd Party

As you can see, the Engineering team will be VERY busy over the next several months!

Calling

Finally, we come to the all-important PSTN capabilities within the Teams client. I was very happy to see that we should see this capabilities by the end of CY2017! Again - grain of salt - emphasis place on the word 'should', and of course the Roadmap is always subject to change. Let's take a look at the Roadmap for Calling:

The above image is a bit more...involved! There is a LOT coming, and this Roadmap will be very important when it comes to planning out strategy with your internal organization or clients. Let's start with what we can expect before the end of CY2017:

Enterprise Calling Features for Q4 CY2017:

• Blind Transfer
• Call Blocking
• Call Forwarding
• Hold
• Multi-call Handling
• Sim Ring
• Caller ID Masking
• Speed Dial
• e911 Support
• Extension Dialing
• Translate user input to standard format phone #
• Suggested Contacts
• Voicemail
• Enable Existing Calling Plan Support

Skype for Business Interop & Federation for Q4 CY2017:

• Skype for Business Online - Teams Calling
• Teams Interop Policies

Platform & Device Support for Q4 CY2017:

• Windows, Mac, Edge, iOS, Android
• TTY Support

IT Pro Capabilities for Q4 CY2017

• Skype for Business Online - Teams Interop Policies
• Call Quality Diagnostic Portal

Now, what can we tentatively expect by the end of quarter for Q2 CY2018? It gets pretty exciting:

Enterprise Calling Features for Q2 CY2018:

• Boss & Delegate Support
• Call Queues
• Consultative & Safe Transfer
• Do Not Disturb breaththrough
• Distinctive Ringing
• 1:1 to Group Call Escalation with Teams, Skype for Business, and PSTN Participants
• Forward to Group
• Org Auto Attendant
• Transfer to PSTN Call
• Hybrid Connection to Teams
• Out of Office Support

Skype for Business Interop & Federation for Q2 CY2018:

• Call Support between Teams & Skype Consumer
• 
  

Platform & Device Support for Q2 CY2018:

• Support for existing certified SIP Phones*
• USB HID

IT Pro Capabilities for Q2 CY2018:

• eDiscovery enhancements

Finally, what will the Calling landscape look like by the end of CY2018 (Q4)? The plan is for these additional Enterprise Voice-like features to be added in to Teams:

Enterprise Calling Features for Q2 CY2018:

• Call Park
• Group Call Pickup
• Location-based routing (LBR)
• Shared Line Appearance

*Dependent on 3rd Party

Well, this is pretty exciting stuff! Check out the official Roadmap announcement on the TechCommunity here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Teams-Blog/Roadmap-for-Skype-for-Business-capabilities-coming-to-Microsoft/ba-p/119636/jump-to/first-unread-message

Keep your eye out for some of this awesomeness to start hitting your Teams client this quarter!

A Re-Branding: Introducing the #TeamsRecap

Well, I finally did it. The #Skype4BRecap has been officially renamed to the #TeamsRecap! As you can see from the image above, I have even embraced the purple.

Admittedly, I struggled with whether or not to do this, as Skype for Business Server 2019 is still slated for H2 2018, per the latest from Ignite, and Skype for Business Online will still be around for some time. However, I came to the realization that when it comes to Skype for Business Server 2019, a LOT can happen between now and the actual release. AND, there is very clear marketing message that Microsoft is pushing 150% with Teams. SO, I decided that with much of my future content probably shifting more and more toward Teams, this was likely the right move.

At any rate, the show is still the same for now: same me, same format, same hat, etc. Again, though, this is for now. I am mulling over changing up a couple things, maybe just a bit, but time will tell with those. In the meantime, I have the latest episode of the #TeamsRecap published to YouTube, and ready to watch! Get caught up on what's new with the Skype UG (HINT: International locations may be in our future!), and get a good recap of all the Teams news from Microsoft Ignite:

Don't forget to Re-Tweet or Share on LinkedIn if you enjoy the show, or find it helpful/amusing!

Josh

A Microsoft Teams & Skype for Business Specific Conference in the US?

On the heels of Microsoft Ignite, and right after UC Day UK just wrapped up in the UK, a small group of individuals would LOVE to know your interest level on bringing a smaller community-based event back onto the scene - one specifically focused on Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams content (Microsoft UC, or IC now). Of course, if the interest level is there, we could actually see something amazing like this come back, in the spirit of what was once the Lync Conference (just led by Community members, rather than Microsoft).

This would be a US-based initiative, much like UC Day UK (now renamed to Evolve Conference) is in the UK. For a brief 1-day period, a poll is being conducted on Twitter to gauge the interest level:

Please, follow this link and take the 2 seconds that it takes to respond: 

https://twitter.com/AdamCBall/status/918135112797007872.

OH, and spread the word, get as many people as you can within the greater North American area to respond with their honest feedback! With the right community-backing, a conference that is more tailored to the industry that we all work in and love could become a reality. Wouldn't that be freakin' incredible! 

ALSO, if you see this AFTER the poll closes, please reply in the Comments below and share your thoughts on whether or not you would go for this.

Ok, enough reading. GO! Vote! ;-)

How-To Video: PSTN Conferencing (Public Preview) in Microsoft Teams

In the final days before Microsoft Ignite, it appears that the Product Team has quietly gifted us with a brand new Public Preview feature: PSTN Conferencing in Microsoft Teams!

Please note, to be able to take advantage of this feature, you need to be licensed for PSTN Conferencing within Skype for Business Online. If you are not properly licensed for PSTN Conferencing, you simply won't see the Dialin Conferencing information in the Meeting Details.

The below video is an brief introduction to this feature, and how to use it. Keep in mind, the PSTN Conferencing settings that have been setup in Skype for Business Online appear to be what is carried over for Teams.

I hope that the above video was helpful in getting you started with Microsoft Teams meetings that have greater capabilities!

Video: Setup & Implement Guest Access in Microsoft Teams

For those of you that did not hear about the long-awaited arrival of Guest Access in Microsoft Teams, I have a two part process that I want you to follow for getting caught up to speed:

1. Crawl out from the rock that you are living under
2. Watch the below How-To video!

This video briefly walks through four main components of the Guest Access experience that you will get you working with external guests in Teams. 

• Enable Guest Access for your Office 365 Tenant
• Invite a guest to your Team
• Accept and join a Team as a guest
• Switching between accounts in Teams

I hope that the video was enlightening and helpful! If you are looking for a brief walkthrough that you can read, and that gives more details on what can and cannot be done as a guest, visit Matt Landis' blog post here:

http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2017/09/microsoft-teams-guest-access-how-it.html

Edit Word, Excel, PowerPoint Files in Microsoft Teams

The ability to upload, view, and have contextual chat conversations around various Office document types within Microsoft Teams has been great. To me, however, the inability to edit documents within Teams, especially Microsoft Office documents, was quite undesirable.

To edit Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents in Teams previously, you had to click on the "Edit" button while viewing the document, and then either edit it in the full Office app, or the Office Online version of the app.

Today, I noticed that the ability to edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents directly within Teams has been added, much to my excitement! Note, I have verified that this works for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint file types as of the time of this blog post. However, I am not sure about others. I verified that it does not work for Visio drawings, but if it ever does, that would be freakin' sweet!

Check out my video below going over this simple, but very welcome, change to working with Office files within Teams.

Cloud PBX Rebranding to Microsoft Phone System & Early Ignite Observations

The upcoming Session Catalog for Microsoft Ignite has given quite a bit of insight into some upcoming changes or direction for the Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams communities well ahead of the conference itself. While I comb through the list of available sessions to start putting my own Ignite agenda together, there a few things that stood out to me that I thought were worth calling out.

Cloud PBX & PSTN Calling get Name Refreshes

It seems not too long ago that Cloud PBX and PSTN Calling were introduced. As a matter of fact, with less than 10 countries currently available for PSTN Calling today, it seems crazy that a re-name of these services would possibly be in the works. However, a session titled, "Is Voice in the cloud right for you?" (Session BRK2038) suggests that this is indeed the case.

Based on the details of this session, we see that Microsoft apparently intends to rebrand Cloud PBX to "Microsoft's Phone System", and PSTN Calling will get remodeled with "Calling Plan". I know, I was thinking the same thing: Couldn't the Marketing team have thought of anything a bit less...obvious...and a bit more...catchy? ;-) At any rate, like it or hate it, that is what shows up for this session as of the date of this blog post, so don't get too much more attached to "Cloud PBX" or "PSTN Calling". I know it will definitely take some work for me to adjust...

A New Portal: The Networking Portal

Based on session "Network Planning for Real Time Communications with the Networking Portal (Session BRK2031), it would appear that a new portal is in the works. The Networking Portal appears to be built around RTC traffic for both Skype for Business and Teams. Check out the below excerpt from the session description:

"In this session we introduce our newly created Networking Portal - an essential piece of Planning and Operating any Real Time Communications environment, whether running Teams, Skype for Business or both. It will help organize your networking data centrally, such as subnets per location, users per location, etc. It allows import and export of Call Quality Dashboard Sites data and Call Analytics, making it easier to maintain that information. It is also the central point for your Bandwidth Calculations for both Teams and Skype for Business."

This looks like a very intriguing new tool to learn about, and I am really hoping that it will fit nicely into my Ignite schedule.

Teams & Skype for Business Getting Pretty Cozy

When you go to the Session Catalog on the Microsoft Ignite site, you can enter search terms to narrow down the hundreds of available sessions. As of right now, searching for "Teams" narrows down the list to 51 session. Some of these sessions are very strictly built around getting to know Teams better. Some are listed because they are more general Office 365 sessions that include Teams in the description. The resounding theme I am seeing, though, is that MANY of these sessions focus in on both Teams AND Skype for Business, grouping them together in many ways that really make you wonder what the story of these two products will look like after Ignite.

The below sessions all just a small sample of the sessions that I observed this with, and if you visit their links, you might start to observe the same behavior. I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts after checking them out as well:

• BRK2035 Plan your UC refresh correctly: Skype for Business on-premises vNext
• BRK2031 Network Planning for Real Time Communications with the Networking Portal
• BRK3003 Moving to a hybrid Unified Communications environment
• BRK2010 Call quality management for Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams
• BRK4001 Best-in-class authentication in Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams
• BRK3029 Demystifying internet connectivity to Skype for Business Online and Microsoft Teams

So, those are some of my initial thoughts and observations about what is in store for us at Ignite in regards to Skype for Business and Teams. What are some of your observations?!

Sonus CloudLink: Call Transfer Failed for PSTN Caller

I came across an interesting issue today with a Sonus CloudLink deployment involving failed Call Transfers of PSTN calls. I'll start with the background on this deployment.

Background

This deployment was fairly straightforward. The organization started out with a fresh Skype for Business Online environment, and no Hybrid was ever involved. All users had E5 licensing with Cloud PBX. The firm had a CUCM device (and another random Intercom device using an FXO port), and they wanted to continue using their voice carrier with their existing DIDs for their Cloud PBX users. They decided to go with a Sonus 1K and CloudLink for the solution.

The journey to the point of our Call Transfer problems was a little longer than it needed to be, as this was my first CloudLink deployment, and there were a few lessons to be learned. Let's suffice to say, the CCE instance was finally installed nicely on the ASM, and calls were flowing quite nicely between all components: CCE, CUCM, and PSTN. All was just peachy. Until we tried to transfer an answered PSTN call to another Cloud PBX user, or their voicemail.

The Problem

To reproduce the issue, I would place a call over the PSTN using my cell phone to a DID that had been assigned to one of the test users that had been migrated from CUCM to Cloud PBX (CCE). The test user account was able to successfully answer the call and have a conversation. However, once the Cloud PBX user tried to transfer this PSTN call to another Cloud PBX user within this same tenant, or to their voicemail, the call would be placed on Hold, and an error message would appear in the Skype for Business client call window stating that the Call Transfer Failed.

Frustrating, but ok. Let's fire up the LX Logging tool for SBC logging, and run the CCE Logging wizard that is provided within the Sonus web interface on a CloudLink device. First, looking at the call in the LX Tool, I saw this entry in the Call Flow:

As you can see, this NOTIFY entry was where the Transfer attempt took place, and we the text:

Subscription-State: terminated;reason=noresource

and...

SIP/2.0 503 Service Unavailable

Well, this had me scratching my head. I wasn't sure what service it was saying was unavailable, or why the call could not be transferred based on this error, and the other messages in that chain didn't help. Taking a look at the CCE logs actually revealed the exact same issue, but nothing else that helped me:

After looking around a bit more, I finally involved the Sonus Support team (who has always been incredibly awesome to me!). After providing my logs, and a Config Backup of the SBC, they were able to spot the issue.

The Resolution

You see, in their documentation for installing and configuring the CCE instance, Sonus strongly suggests that you use the SBC Easy Setup wizard for configuring all your call routing rules, etc., as seen below:

However, I decided to be special, and create all the Signaling Groups, Call Routing Tables, and Transformation rules on my own. This wasn't an issue leading up to the Call Transfer problem, because all of our call routing was working as expected. However, the Sonus Support tech somehow was able to note (probably from the Config Backup) that I had not used this wizard. He then pointed out that one of the things that the wizard does is to create a Split-DNS entry on the SBC itself for the default CCE domain that is created with the CCE wizard (which is sfb-ccedomain.local), pointing this domain name to the IP address of the AD/DNS server that is created as a CCE VM. He stated that without this entry, the SBC was unable to resolve the Mediation Server's FQDN (med.sfb-ccedomain.local).

Now, I was confused why this was necessary for Call Transfers, but apparently not an issue with normal P2P calls, as the Mediation Server's IP address seemed to be sufficient. However, it was worth a try. So, I when into the DNS section on the SBC and created the new entry.

Then, I went and tested out the PING utility in the SBC's Diagnostics tab, and sure enough, it now resolved med.sfb-ccedomain.local, whereas it could not resolve it before. Brilliant!

Finally, I went to test transfer, both to a user, and to their Voicemail, and guess what? Yep: SUCCESS! Good way to end a Friday! I hope this helps at least one or two of you on your CCE or CloudLink adventures.

Deltapath's O365 Connector Brings More Options to Hybrid

I recently had the opportunity & privilege to have a long-distance face-to-face sit-down with Deltapath's Founder & CEO, David Liu, to discuss a newly launched product: Deltapath O365 Connector. This product intrigued me, specifically because it provided a creative solution to an issue that I have personally seen several clients try to tackle. In this blog post I will aim to provide a brief overview of some of the features of the Deltapath O365 Connector, and will then go into the specific use case that it solves for that caught my attention.

Deltapath O365 Connector Overview

At its most basic level, the O365 Connector is a physical device that sits in an organization's physical datacenter. It provides connectivity between an organization's Skype for Business Online users and it's on-premises PBX and PSTN services. You may wonder why that functionality is different than CCE or other native hybrid Skype for Business Server solutions, and I will get to that in a minute.

The O365 Connector has multiple roles all wrapped into a single device, including a Session Border Controller (SBC), firewall, SIP Proxy, Call Routing Engine, and even an Endpoint-Provisioning Server. This is a lot to pack into a product, and accordingly, the functions and features of this device go well beyond the specific use case that I want to cover today. For that reason, I will provide a link to the product page so that you can dive a bit deeper on your own, at your own leisure:

https://www.deltapath.com/products/deltapath-o365-connector

Beyond the device's capabilities, Deltapath provides three different versions of its device, allowing organizations of various sizes to get a device that more closely matches its specific needs. The following chart from Deltapath highlights each size of the device, along with corresponding specs:

There are also a number of additional Modules that can be obtained and used with these devices. Per Deltapath's marketing materials, these modules include:

• Call Conversation Recording
• Inbound Contact Center
• Outbound Contact Center
• Serviced Office
• Call Billing
• Alarm Notification & Escalation
• Building Management System Integration
• Acute Hospital Communication

The O365 Connector can also be launched in a pair, as a cluster, introducing an element of redundancy.

Lastly, this device can be provisioned and configured with a simple and easy-to-use web GUI interface, easing administration concerns of introducing another device into an already complex on-premises telephony infrastructure.

Again, this post will not be diving into all of these features or modules, but I wanted to call them out for those organizations that may want be looking for these features in addition to the use case that I will be highlighting below.

Enhanced Hybrid Use Case

Consider the following scenario: an organization has an existing on-premises telephony infrastructure, including a PBX and PSTN services, and also has Skype for Business Online users in Office 365 that are licensed with E1 or E3. This organization wants to allow these Skype for Business users to have PSTN calling capabilities, but does not want to upgrade to E5 or purchase Cloud PBX add-on licensing. The reasons for this could be as simple as compliance restrictions of some sort that requires them to keep their PBX functionality on-premises, or a number of other reasons. So, how do they provide these non-Cloud-PBX Skype for Business Online users with PSTN capabilities using their own on-premises PBX and PSTN services?

This is the problem that O365 Connector provides a solution for, presenting yet another way to explore Hybrid for organizations that may not be able to go down some of the other more mainstream paths at this time.

The way that this solution works is actually quite interesting. The O365 Connector device resides in a perimeter network architecture. If used as a firewall, a public IP can be assigned directly to one interface of the device, with the other interface able to communicate with the internal LAN. Otherwise, the device can be behind a firewall, with a public IP NAT translating to the device's external interface on a private network. A public DNS record (for example, ms.demodomain.com) will resolve to the associated public IP of the device, and Office 365 Federation will be configured with the 'ms.demodomain.com' FQDN.

The device can have certain SIP endpoints (like Polycom VVX phones) register directly to it, but for non-SIP devices, the device will communicate with another device, like a Cisco Call Manager or other PBX. When a user from either type of device dials a phone number, SIP address, or an extension of a Skype for Business Online user, the O365 Connector sends the call to the Skype for Business user (it can also do sim-ring if that user also has a non-SIP endpoint).

How does a Skype for Business user dial a phone number, then, since again, they are not Cloud PBX users? Well, the Skype for Business user dials a regularly dialed phone number, or an extension, in the format: '15551234567@ms.demodomain.com', or an extension as '5555@ms.demodomain.com'. This reaches out via federation to the O365 Connector device at 'ms.demodomain.com', and the device will then send the call to the appropriate destination. Example:

Image Courtesy of Deltapath

This may be a bit confusing to read through, so I will refer to this very handy graphic created by

Deltapath to illustrate the various forces at work here:

To help understand each step in a color-coded way, the below Deltapath graphic explains the call flows a bit better:

As you can see, this solution provides a very unique bridge for environments that need/desire to provide PSTN calling capabilities to their Skype for Business Online users, without moving any of their call-control functionality into Microsoft's cloud.

Clearly, there may be a challenge with the fact that dialing is not done via a dialpad by the Skype for Business users. Instead, they must be trained to place these calls by using an email-like format. This does present a learning curve that an organization will have to plan appropriately for. Obviously, this is a fact that will have to be weighed as part of the strategy and decision-making process; organizations will have to decide if the learning curve is acceptable in relation to the unique problem that the device solves for.

In Conclusion...

The focus of this blog post was on a specific use case that the Deltapath O365 Connector provides a unique solution for: Skype for Business Online users, without Cloud PBX functionality, that need PSTN dialing capabilities through their organization's on-premises telephony infrastructure. In this regard, the solution does indeed tell a compelling story. It also helps that the device can meet other needs within the same solution, including things like firewall capabilities and endpoint provisioning. You can get more information about the product at the link provided above, and should even be able to schedule some sort of demo with their team. It never hurts to investigate all your options when 3rd-party tools are needed to fully meet your requirements!

Getting Started: Using the Plantronics Voyager 5200 UC

When I am on the go, and thus not at my home office with my normal recording setup (i.e., Blue Yeti microphone, webcam, etc.), I have found myself recording with my full headset...over top of my cowboy hat. An awkward fit, to say the least, but it worked. I recently got my hands on a Plantronics Voyager 5200 UC (earpiece), and this has made my mobile recording situation a lot more natural.

I created a brief video to serve as a "How to Get Started" tutorial for this device. Please note, this is not a Review at all. It is more of a walk-through of the product in the spirit of learning how to use the device. The video is below, and a link to the video is below the embedded video, in case you would rather view it at YouTube. I hope this helps!

https://youtu.be/eJKBX4oF4iM

Stay techy, my friends!

Skype for Business Server 2015 Support for Windows Server 2016

EDIT 06/30/2017 - With the recent release of CU5, and brief waiting period after its release, Skype for Business Server 2015 is now officially supported on Windows Server 2016. Check it out, and happy installing: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/4015888/how-to-install-skype-for-business-server-2015-on-windows-server-2016.


While Windows Server 2016 has not been a supported operating system for Skype for Business Server 2015, there have been no shortage of people testing out Skype for Business installs on Windows Server 2016. After all, Windows Server 2016 has been out for quite some time now, and many admins are eager to get their shiny new Skype for Business environments up on something newer than an OS with "2012" in the label. 2012 was 5 years ago, after all!

There have been some recent developments in this area, though. While the developments are promising, I still see a bit of personal confusion as to whether or not Windows Server 2016 is actually a supported OS or not. Let's start with what the promising new developments are.

Note: The below paragraph previously reported that we were on CU7, but this was miscalculated, and current CU at the time of publishing this article is actually CU4.

The February 2017 CU, which is actually CU4 if you are counting, includes a very important fix that addresses silent install failures for Skype for Business Server on Windows Server 2016. Good news, right? Here is the link to the February CU for Skype for Business Server 2015:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3207506/february-2017-cumulative-update-6.0.9319.277-for-skype-for-business-server-2015,-front-end-server-and-edge-server

For the specific KB article (KB3209566) that addresses the above-mentioned fix, check out this link:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3209566/skype-for-business-server-2015-installer-may-fail-silently-in-windows-server-2016

Ok, great! Time to install on Windows Server 2016, right!? Well, that depends. If you are looking for an announcement from Microsoft that the specific issue with silent install fails has been addressed, then you need to look no further than the above KB. However, if you are looking for a giant green light from Microsoft stating that Windows Server 2016 is supported, that KB article and the associated CU article stop short of saying that.

So how do we find out for sure? Well, we goo look at the TechNet page for Requirements for Skype for Business Server 2015, or course, and drill down to Software Requirements:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn951388.aspx

Look at the table of supported operating systems, we see the below:

Clearly, Windows Server 2016 is not listed as a supported OS. Further, if you look closely at the text below the box, you see that we are told explicitly not to use an OS if is not listed in this box. However, in the very next box below this we see the following caveat'd Note: This adds a bit of confusion, doesn't it? It tells us that while Windows Server 2016 is not in the list right now, Microsoft is planning to add it as a supported option with CU 5. If you recall from above, we are currently at CU4, so even though we have a fix in the latest CU for install problems on Windows Server 2016, this has not quite prompted Microsoft to update their support matrix for OS's. Note: The above paragraph was modified to correct incorrect verbage about the current CU level of Skype for Business server. This begs the question: Is Windows Server 2016 actually supported for Skype for Business Server 2015 installs, and this TechNet article is just a case of Microsoft documentation not being updated with the most current info, or is the fact that the box is not updated a sign that Microsoft is not ready to give a fully "Green Light" on Windows Server 2016 yet? In either case, what is clear is that if you are in the group of people that really need that explicit Green Light of supportability before moving forward, it does not appear that Microsoft has signaled it yet. Stay tuned, and I will update this blog post as Microsoft's documentation changes to shed more light on this topic.

Tenant Dial Plans: Custom / Extension Dialing in Cloud PBX (Office 365): A Preview

***

Update: Microsoft "graduated" Tenant Dial Plans from Preview to General Availability (GA) on April 20, 2017. The blog post making this announcement (as well as providing the updated training links) can be found here:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Skype-Operations-Framework-Skype/Tenant-Dial-Plans-General-Availability-training/ba-p/63604

As the post states, pretty much everything is the same at GA as it was in Preview, so no real news to announce. The one change that they called out was that External Access Prefix is not supported at the time of GA launch. Best of luck on creating your custom Cloud PBX Dial Plans, but be careful!

***

For those of you that have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of custom dial plans in Skype for Business Online, your waiting days are narrowing significantly! Tenant Dial Plans have been introduced into Preview, and Microsoft is accepting applications to the preview program from customers that are under NDA and have a Skype for Business Online tenant in Office 365. First, a brief word on Why this is a big deal and what the desired functionality is that is being achieved.

What's the Deal with Tenant Dial Plans

Almost as soon as customers were able to start using Cloud PBX for placing PSTN phone calls in Skype for Business Online, the topic of customizing the Dial Plan was brought up and echoed across the landscape of users. The issue is that the ability to implement Custom Dial Plans in Skype for Business Online Cloud PBX is not a currently available function. This means that users cannot do extension dialing, or any other custom dialing scenario, outside of the default dialing scenarios that were defined by Microsoft by default. This default dialing behavior is pretty much restricted to dialing a full 10 digits (for the U.S.), or dialing in E.164.

With the ability to customize dial plans and normalization rules built deeply into Enterprise Voice in Skype for Business on-prem, why did Microsoft launch Cloud PBX without this ability from the start. Honestly, I believe the biggest reason is that Microsoft has been trying to change the narrative on how a user should dial their colleagues. With a strengthened unified communications tool homed in the Cloud, Microsoft wants users to start interacting with each by name. For example, when you lookup a user for a chat, or to see their presence, you either go to their contact object in the Skype for Business Contact List, or you start typing their name into the search bar:

Once you see the user you want, you can double-click the user to start a chat, right-click to see their Contact Card, add them to a list, and more. Microsoft wants you to take this a step further. They want organizations to embrace calling a user by "dialing" to be outdated; "so yesterday"; archaic. Get the point? Instead, they wanted organizations to get in the habit of "dialing" by looking up the user clicking to call. See below:

If I am being perfectly honest, Microsoft is pushing us in the right direction. This is a much simpler way to manage contacts and interact with them. A single approach to all forms of communication. However, this proved to simply be WAY too much change for end users in many organizations. End users want to keep working the way they always have; change tends to throw them for a loop, and it is often resisted. (It would appear that clicking to call a user is such a massive shift in thinking, that it will need to be phased into most organizations in a slower, gentler, more phased approach.)

"End users Want to keep working the way they always have; change tends to throw them for a loop, and it is often resisted." 

This reason is exactly why Microsoft started working on Tenant Dial Plans. The response and feedback on this one area was so great that it became clear that this functionality must follow Skype for Business into Office 365.

Tenant Dial Plans delivers on this need. It allows organizations to create tenant-based Dial Plans, with customized sets of normalization rules, to properly meet the granular dialing needs (wants) of the organizations that have begun adoption of Cloud PBX. In fact, many organizations have held off on adoption, or even exploration, of Cloud PBX due to this feature requirement alone. If an organization needs to have 4-digit-dialing, or 6-digit-dialing, or whatever, they can now achieve that in Office 365 by using Tenant Dial Plans.

Sign Me Up!

Ok, you are convinced. You have been waiting for this, and now want to start testing this out with some pilot users (because you should not be deploying a Preview toolset into Production!). How can you go about getting signed up. To be considered for the Preview, your organization must have a tenant that is currently using Skype for Business Online with Cloud PBX and be under NDA with Microsoft. First go to the Skype Preview website, click on Organization (this is not available to Individuals, check the box next to Tenant Dial Plans, and lastly click Sign Up. You can figure the rest out from there, I think.

Important Points to Remember

There are several important things to remember about using Tenant Dial Plans. I will cover a list of them here in Q/A format, and will also provide a look to a good Skype Academy video in which this information is covered and demoed.

Q: So, how many Normalization Rules can I add to a Dial Plan?
A: Good question! You can add up 25 normalization rules per Dial Plan?

Q: If I create a new "Tenant Dial Plan", will it apply to all of my Cloud PBX users?

A: A Tenant Dial Plan can either be scoped at the Global level, where it will apply to all of your Cloud PBX users, or it can be scoped and assigned at the User level. The below screenshot is from Scott Stubberfield's Skype Academy video demoing Tenant Dial Plans, and lays out the difference between the scopes and types of dial plans nicely:

Q: What about my Cloud PBX users that are in a Hybrid configuration? Do these Tenant Dial Plans apply only to PSTN Calling users, or also to On-Premise PSTN Connectivity and Cloud Connector Edition users?

A: Tenant Dial Plans apply to ALL Cloud PBX users. Regardless of the direction the user's PSTN calls go (Online through Microsoft services, or on-prem through CCE or existing telephony infrastructure), their dialing habits can be supported by Tenant Dial Plans.

Q: Yeah, so I assume that I will be able to manage these Dial Plans and normalization rules in a shiny new GUI, like with Skype for Business Server 2015?
A: Currently, the Preview only provides the ability to create and manage dial plans and normalization rules via remote PowerShell cmdlets; there is no sign of any of this in the Skype for Business Admin Center. Scott Stubberfield mentions a possible distant GUI companion to these cmdlets in the works "down the line" via his tutorial video, but no solid dates or commitments around that at this time.

Q: Do the Dial Plans in Cloud PBX work the same way as they do On-Prem, with the most granularly-scoped Dial Plan taking effect for a user?
A: Actually, no, and this is a good thing. If this were the case, and you assigned a Tenant Dial plan rather than leaving the existing default Service Dial Plan in place, you would have to create normalization rules for all of your user's dialing scenarios. Instead of the most granular dial plan taking effect, Cloud PBX merges the rules for the default Service Dial Plan for the user's location with the rules for any Tenant Dial Plans have been assigned to the user. The benefit to this is that all the normal dialing rules that already apply to Cloud PBX users do not have to be re-created in the new Tenant Dial Plans; instead, the normalization rules in the Tenant Dial Plans can be limited only to the additional dialing scenarios that you want to account for. Brilliant, right?! Below is another screenshot from Scott Stubberfield's demo Skype Academy video shows this concept in a clear and concise format:

Summary

In this blog post I have given a brief introduction to what Tenant Dial Plans is, what it currently looks like in Preview, and why it is freakin' awesome. I hope many of you that have been exploring and testing with Cloud PBX are as excited about this as I am! In the next post, we will go over some of the cmdlets that were introduced for the purposes of managing these new Tenant Dial Plans. In the meantime, if you want to learn more about Tenant Dial Plans, check out the Skype Operations Framework training via the Skype Academy:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Skype-Operations-Framework-Skype/Tenant-Dial-Plans-Preview-training/ba-p/43521

Stay techy, my friends!