I have just published Version 2.1 of my FREE eBook on the TechNet Gallery, the Skype for Business Hybrid Handbook. This is a minor revision, with various updates and tweaks throughout the book. Most notably, though, are the updated Features Comparison sections for both Skype for Business Online Cloud PBX, and Exchange Integration.
If you have never grabbed your free copy of the earlier versions of this eBook, you just may find it to be one of the most comprehensive resources for your various Hybrid needs in the Skype for Business world. If you have downloaded a copy in the past, its time to get the most up-to-date version!
https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Skype-for-Business-Hybrid-9218205e
As always, feedback is key. Feel free to let me know what you think here, but also don't be shy about leaving a Rating on the TechNet Gallery site!
Stay Techy, My Friends!
Showing posts with label Skype for Business Hybrid Handbook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skype for Business Hybrid Handbook. Show all posts
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Published: Skype for Business Hybrid Handbook, Version 2.0
It's here! Six months after the initial release of the Skype for Business Hybrid Handbook, I have published Version 2.0 to the TechNet Gallery. Oh, and the best part: it's still FREE!
So, what prompted Version 2.0? Well, I knew when I created this book, and had it pointed out afterwards, that I chose an area within the Skype for Business product that would be a frequently changing and evolving beast, which would in turn be difficult to keep up with in book form. This was proven to be very true, and so to keep the content relevant, frequent updates are necessary. The last 6 months have had a large number of fairly major changes in the Skype for Business Hybrid realm, and so it was definitely time to get a new version out there.
What's new?
Well, I hope you are able to use the link above (below the first picture) to grab the latest and most relevant copy, and that it continues to be of use! If you haven't downloaded a copy in the first place, again, it's FREE, and I really appreciate the feedback. If you like it enough, please feel free to share it!
Stay techy, my friends!
What's new?
Azure AD Connect 1.1
Chapter 6 covered the Azure AD Connect portion of configuring a hybrid environment, and with the release of Azure AD Connect 1.1, there were a few changes. Not only were there functional changes, but the screenshots themselves were not fully up to date. On top of this change, the Office 365 Admin Portal Preview is in full swing, so I wanted to get some of those shots in there as well.Cloud Connector Edition
Cloud Connector Edition was still being called "Min Topology" when the first version of the book was released, and there was much uncertainty about what it would be exactly. All this time later, CCE has been released to General Availability, and people are beginning to kick the tires on it. This was clearly a Skype for Business hybrid scenario that should be accounted for in the book! Here is a preview of one of the diagrams I made for the new Chapter 13 of the of the book:
General House-Cleaning
Besides these more notable updates, there was a lot of grammar cleanup to be done, and just some other rough spots that needed to be smoothed over. Now that Chapter 13 is present, I am sure I will have to go back through and clean up some grammar or punctuation that I missed. That is where all of your awesome feedback comes in handy! ;-)Well, I hope you are able to use the link above (below the first picture) to grab the latest and most relevant copy, and that it continues to be of use! If you haven't downloaded a copy in the first place, again, it's FREE, and I really appreciate the feedback. If you like it enough, please feel free to share it!
Stay techy, my friends!
Thursday, January 21, 2016
A New Year, and A New Journey
I know this is severely belated, but Happy New Year, all! While this blog post serves as my inaugural 2016 blog post, it is more of a personal announcement post than a technical-awesomeness post.
A new year often brings new beginnings, or at least new sets of goals (that usually fall by the wayside after a week or two). For me, there is a little bit of both. I won't bore you with any goals of achieving washboard abs or learning to speak conversational French (I can just use Skype Translator, after all!), but I will highlight some employment news, and talk about my some Skype for Business community-related topics.
A new year often brings new beginnings, or at least new sets of goals (that usually fall by the wayside after a week or two). For me, there is a little bit of both. I won't bore you with any goals of achieving washboard abs or learning to speak conversational French (I can just use Skype Translator, after all!), but I will highlight some employment news, and talk about my some Skype for Business community-related topics.
One Chapter Closes...
Tomorrow, Friday, the 22nd of January, is my last day as a "Racker". Yes, after nearly 4 years at Rackspace, I am moving on. As goes the cliche, it is very bittersweet. While I am very excited about the adventure that lies ahead of me in my new position, and the next step in my career, Rackspace has been a phenomenal company to work for. Racker's are truly like an extension of family (the good kind, lol), and the culture is the envy of many companies.
I would like to thank Rackspace, my fellow Rackers, and especially my incredible managers, for all the years of opportunity to be a part of something unique and amazing. Rackspace prides itself on its Fanatical Support, and I truly believe it has built a solid reputation around this principle in the hosting industry. I am proud to have been a part of that!
Another Chapter Begins
So, what's next? This Monday, January 25th, will be my first day as a Unified Communications Architect at Deloitte Services, LP. I could not be more excited and grateful for this opportunity, and am really looking forward to getting oriented, meeting my team, and digging into some awesome UC deployments! I believe this role will bring tremendous opportunity to grow my knowledge and skill sets, and to give me exposure to a plethora of new (to me) configurations that I have been eager to sink my teeth into.
As you can imagine, I have been busy winding things down at Rackspace, and getting all my ducks in a row for starting at Deloitte, and as a result this blog has been a little quiet over the last month (que the cricket noise). While I am sure that I will remain quite busy in the coming months as I get settled into my new role and start taking on various responsibilities and tasks, I will try to do better at keeping up with fresh content and how-to posts here.
What else is new?
So, aside from a new job, what else have I been up to?
#Skype4BRecap Episodes
While the blog has been fairly quiet, I have managed to keep up with my weekly #Skype4BRecap episodes. I have really begun to enjoy doing these episodes, and while viewership is not exactly in the "viral" category, I fully intend to keep these up. However, I may end up shifting recording to Thursday nights. As the show is not being done in a "live broadcast" format yet, this does not really impact much (unless big news gets delivered to the community first thing Friday morning!). If you have not see these, check them out on my YouTube channel, and don't forget to Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKUU9Qm3DxJepggtAaO3q3w
My eBook: Skype for Business Hybrid Handbook, Version 1.2
When I released my FREE eBook on December 1st last year, it was pretty well received, but there was some work to be done. Thanks to some awesome feedback from various individuals in the community, I was able to update a chapter on User Management with accurate information and more detailed procedures, including new screenshots. I also update the few other areas in the book to reflect current information (Office 365 changes A LOT!).
About a week ago I released a newly updated version of the book, Version 1.2. This version replaced the available download on the Technet Gallery. I was quite blown away by the level of support I got from the community on this follow-up release. You all Shared, Re-Tweeted, and "Liked" the heck out the links to the Download page, and as of right now, I am just under 2,000 downloads! THANK YOU ALL! I would like to give a special Thank You to Fabrizio Volpe, Office Servers and Services MVP, for your kind blog review of the book.
If you are interested in the downloading a copy yourself, you can grab it FREE here: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Skype-for-Business-Hybrid-9218205e.
To read Fabrizio's review, check out the post here: http://www.absoluteuc.org/reading-the-skype-for-business-server-2015-hybrid-handbook.
Something's Cooking in the Kitchen...
I am also working on a little something-something that I will be sharing soon, once I get the details figured out. About this initiative:
- It will be video in nature
- My hat will likely be present
- And there will be relief from concentrated screen time on my ugly mug
But that's all I'm saying for now! Stay tuned...
Stay techy, my friends!
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
New eBook Annoucement: Skype for Business Hybrid Handbook
Good morning, everyone, and Happy December! Today is a big day, both for me, and for Skype for Business and Office 365. Today, Office 365 begins selling their brand new premium license: E5, making Cloud PBX with PSTN Calling Generally Available. On my side of things, I am launching a new, free, e-book titled, Skype for Business Hybrid Handbook!
I planned the launch of this book to fall closely in line with the arrival of E5 and Cloud PBX, as I feel that this new subscription option will really bolster the implementation of Hybrid models across many organizations. The fact that I finished in time to actually launch on the same day is just icing on the cake to me!
For now, this ebook is available exclusively in the Technet Gallery. It is 100% FREE, and will remain so, at least for this first edition. To download your own copy, whether for educational purposes or for a handy resource to guide you in your own Hybrid Skype for Business efforts, visit the Technet Gallery: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Skype-for-Business-Hybrid-9218205e.
As with all my community contributions, I am one of the most open individuals to thoughts and feedback that there is. So, with that in mind, I would GREATLY appreciate your thoughts. Accolades, constructive criticism, and outright sarcasm are all welcome!
For a preview of the structure of the book, below are the included chapters and sub-sections:
I planned the launch of this book to fall closely in line with the arrival of E5 and Cloud PBX, as I feel that this new subscription option will really bolster the implementation of Hybrid models across many organizations. The fact that I finished in time to actually launch on the same day is just icing on the cake to me!
For now, this ebook is available exclusively in the Technet Gallery. It is 100% FREE, and will remain so, at least for this first edition. To download your own copy, whether for educational purposes or for a handy resource to guide you in your own Hybrid Skype for Business efforts, visit the Technet Gallery: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Skype-for-Business-Hybrid-9218205e.
As with all my community contributions, I am one of the most open individuals to thoughts and feedback that there is. So, with that in mind, I would GREATLY appreciate your thoughts. Accolades, constructive criticism, and outright sarcasm are all welcome!
For a preview of the structure of the book, below are the included chapters and sub-sections:
Terminology
Review
Chapter
1: Introduction to Skype for Business Environments
- Skype
for Business Server 2015 (On-Premises)
- Skype
for Business Online
Chapter
2: On-Premises vs. Online: Feature Comparison
Chapter
3: Supported Hybrid Configurations and Available Features
- Exchange
Server On-Premises Integration
- Exchange
Online Integration
- SharePoint
ServerOnPremises Integration
- SharePoint
Online Integration
Chapter
4: Hybrid Prerequisites and Requirements
- Skype
for Business Online Management with PowerShell
- On-Prem
Infrastructure Requirements
- Supported
(Required) Topologies
- Federation
in a Hybrid Environment
- DNS
and Port Requirements
Chapter
5: User Data, Features, and Policy Limitations
- Notes
About User Data
- Notes
About Policies
Chapter
6: Configure Directory Synchronization with Azure AD Connect
Chapter
7: Set Up Federation with Skype for Business Online Tenant
- GUI-Based:
Set up Hybrid with Skype for Business Online Wizard
- PowerShell-Based:
Configure Federation with the Management Shell
- Federating
with an Audio Conferencing Provider
Chapter
8: Move Users from On-Prem to Skype for Business Online
- Pilot
Users First
- Move
Users in the Control Panel
- Move
Users in the Management Shell (PowerShell)
Chapter
9: User Management in a Hybrid Environment
Chapter
10: Deploy Hybrid in a Multi-Forest Environment
- Forest
Topology
- Forest
Trusts
- Hybrid
User Placement Considerations
- Notes
on AD FS Configuration
- Notes
on Azure Active Directory Connect
Chapter
11: Configure Hybrid in Reverse: Online-to-On-Prem
Chapter
12: Cloud PBX with PSTN Connectivity via On-Premises Environment
- Feature
Comparison
- Enabling
a User for Cloud PBX with PSTN Connectivity
- Configure
& Assign Voice Routing Policy
- Assign
Licensing in Office 365
- Move
the User to Skype for Business Online
- Enable
for Enterprise Voice and Cloud PBX Voicemail
I hope you have a chance to download a copy for yourself, and more importantly, I hope it is useful in your pursuit of a Hybrid environment!
Stay techy, my friends!
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