E-guide Skype for Business: Deployment & Call Quality Guide Find expert advice on Skype for Business & test your knowledge E-guide In this e-guide In this e-guide: Businesses looking to upgrade their unified communications Section 1: Getting to Know Skype for Business p.2 services will most likely consider Skype for Business, thanks to Skype's popularity and penetration in the market. Section 2: Deploying & Testing Skype for Business p.24 But is Skype for Business right for your enterprise? And how should you deploy it? We’ve set out to answer all of your Section 3: Managing Skype for questions by compiling the latest information on the product. Business Call Quality p.43 This guide provides an in-depth look at Skype for Business to Section 4: Skype for Business help you get acquainted. Uncover recent top expert articles to Study Guide & Quiz p.53 help you: Getting even more exclusive • Get to know Skype for Business content p.56 • Deploy and test Skype for Business • Manage and maintain call quality • Study up for Skype for Business exams Page 1 of 56 E-guide In this e-guide Section 1: Getting to Know Skype for Section 1: Getting to Know Skype for Business p.2 Business For those of you who want to know more about Skype for Business, this Section 2: Deploying & Testing section offers an overview of Skype for Business Server as well as the Skype for Business p.24 cloud-based Skype for Business Online. Read further to learn about partners and platforms that can integrate with and support your deployment. Section 3: Managing Skype for Business Call Quality p.43 Section 4: Skype for Business Study Guide & Quiz p.53 Getting even more exclusive content p.56 Page 2 of 56 E-guide In this e-guide Microsoft Skype for Business Server: Section 1: Getting to Know Product overview Skype for Business p.2 Chris Partsenidis, Founder - Firewall.cx Section 2: Deploying & Testing Microsoft's position as a leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for unified Skype for Business p.24 communications is no mistake. The Microsoft Skype for Business Server, formerly known as Microsoft Office Communications Server and Lync Server, doesn't require any special introduction. Section 3: Managing Skype for Business Call Quality p.43 Millions of people use Skype for Business services on a daily basis for their communication needs, making it a trusted and proven solution. Businesses Section 4: Skype for Business looking to upgrade their UC services will most likely consider Skype for Study Guide & Quiz p.53 Business, thanks to Skype's popularity and penetration in the market. The Microsoft Skype for Business Server is a complete UC platform and Getting even more exclusive approach; however, it's not what we're used to with other UC vendors. For content p.56 instance, Microsoft does not manufacture its hardware IP PBX systems, such as voice gateways, IP phones or similar systems. Therefore, this solution is completely Windows Server-based, which may make some IT administrators and telecom engineers unhappy. The Microsoft Skype for Business Server can support a range of business sizes, including small enterprises with up to 4,000 users at their central site, medium enterprises with up to 80,000 users with multiple remote sites, and Page 3 of 56 E-guide large organizations with more than 100,000 users spread across multiple In this e-guide remote sites. Depending on the size of the enterprise and number of users at Section 1: Getting to Know headquarters and remote sites, multiple servers are required to ensure Skype for Business p.2 proper load balancing and high availability of services. Section 2: Deploying & Testing Skype for Business p.24 Setting up servers for internal and external tasks In its simplest deployment, a Skype business solution would require one Section 3: Managing Skype for Business Call Quality p.43 Skype for Business Server installed on a Windows 2012 R2 64-bit server that would handle user registration, databases, call routing, instant messaging, presence services and more for internal users. Additionally, the Section 4: Skype for Business deployment would need one Edge Server to give users Skype for Business Study Guide & Quiz p.53 Server functionality outside the office for mobile or remote users, while at the same time allowing participation during meetings, IM and other communications with outside users. Getting even more exclusive content p.56 Redundancy is covered with the installation of multiple on-site Skype for Business servers in an active-active configuration. In this redundant model, users are balanced between the servers. If a server fails, other servers can provide uninterrupted service to users. In larger-scale deployments, the Skype business server splits its roles into separate servers, creating pools of servers for specific tasks. Organizations can have a pool of front-end servers and back-end servers. The front-end servers handle user authentication and registration, presence information, Page 4 of 56 E-guide IM, conferencing and more. Back-end servers are SQL servers providing In this e-guide database services to front-end servers. Microsoft provides a plethora of documentation on different deployment Section 1: Getting to Know models supported and technical requirements. This is one of the big Skype for Business p.2 advantages with Microsoft-based solutions -- IT departments will find a healthy amount of information that will help them deal with pretty much any Section 2: Deploying & Testing problem they encounter. Skype for Business p.24 Section 3: Managing Skype for Capitalizing on consumer Skype, touting ease of Business Call Quality p.43 use The Microsoft Skype for Business Server client has a similar interface to the Section 4: Skype for Business free consumer-based Skype. Contacts, presence status, buttons and icons Study Guide & Quiz p.53 are the same as the consumer Skype application. Getting even more exclusive The recent facelift Microsoft gave to its Skype client has made the interface content p.56 easier to work with and less cluttered. Functions such as Quick Actions buttons have migrated from Lync to the new Skype client, allowing users to access call, instant message, video conference functions and more, with just a few clicks. Organizations with PBX desk phones can use their phones to place calls to other Skype contacts. From the Skype client, users select the person they want to call and simply initiate the call from within the client. The Skype business client then sends the signal to the Skype for Business server, Page 5 of 56 E-guide which in turns signals the PBX to open the user's line and make the call via a In this e-guide desk phone. With the Skype business client, users can make calls, share files, have voice Section 1: Getting to Know or video conferences, share desktops, send instant messages, view real- Skype for Business p.2 time presence information for other users and much more. The Skype client runs on Windows and Linux operating systems, Android phones, tablets and Section 2: Deploying & Testing Apple's iOS. Skype for Business p.24 Section 3: Managing Skype for Connecting Skype for Business with external Business Call Quality p.43 services Skype for Business offers a variety of methods to connect enterprises to the Section 4: Skype for Business rest of the world, including Internet, PSTN/ISDN and telecom providers. Study Guide & Quiz p.53 As mentioned earlier, Edge Servers are used primarily to connect an Getting even more exclusive enterprise with the Internet and provide a number of services, including: content p.56 • Access Edge Service: Used for inbound and outbound SIP protocol traffic. • Presence and IM Proxy Service: Allows mobile and remote users access to presence/IM through the XMPP Proxy Service. • Audio and Video Edge Service: Allows application sharing, audio and video and file transfers for remote or mobile users. Page 6 of 56 E-guide • Web Conferencing Edge Service: Makes it possible for external users In this e-guide to join meetings hosted on the internal Microsoft Skype for Business Server. Section 1: Getting to Know Reverse proxies are another essential component in WAN deployment Skype for Business p.2 models. Reverse proxies work with Edge Servers and help external users download meeting content, update clients and devices, download files from Section 2: Deploying & Testing Address Book Server, connect to meetings using URLs, and discover front- Skype for Business p.24 end servers offering mobility services. Mediation Server is a Skype for Business component responsible for Section 3: Managing Skype for translating signals between the internal VoIP infrastructure and PSTN Business Call Quality p.43 network or SIP trunks. The Mediation Server undertakes the important role of media transcoding between phone calls, encrypting and decrypting SRTP Section 4: Skype for Business on the internal side of the network where the Skype for Business Server Study Guide & Quiz p.53 resides. The server also handles SIP connections to telecom providers and IP PBXs that act as gateways for the PSTN/ISDN network. Getting even more exclusive Organizations that need to connect Skype business services with their content p.56 PSTN/ISDN network need to use the Mediation Server along with an IP PBX gateway. The IP PBX gateway acts as a termination point for the PSTN/ISDN network, and communicates with Skype for Business via the Mediation Server using SIP. Skype for Business offers a list of certified vendors that have passed their testing requirements by conforming to the specifications provided by Microsoft. This does not mean other non-certified vendors/equipment will Page 7 of 56 E-guide not work with Skype for Business -- it just might take more effort and there In this e-guide is no support provided.