#Lync User QuickTip #28: Lync 2013 Now Will Easily Check If Domain Has Federation Enabled

I just realized that Lync 2013 now has a very simple way of checking if a domain has federation enabled. Its just 2 simple steps:

1. Type an SIP URI and open a conversation (the SIP URI can be a bogus user, the domain is all that matters)
2. Now take a look if Lync shows “External Network” after “Presence unknown”, If so, this domain has external facing federation enabled at some level.

If you want to check which of your Outlook contacts have Lync federation enable, even if you don’t have Lync, your welcome to download the free Lync Who Can Federate Tool available here: http://bit.ly/wcftool

If you want to take a look at a list of the thousands of organizations that have Lync you can head over to http://bit.ly/lyncfed.

#Skype to Lync Voice #Federation Seems to Have Started Working for Some

NOTE: We are hearing feedback from users that if you have Lync Server 2013 with Live Messenger PIC enabled and the Skype user has Skype for PC Version 6.2 audio calls should work.

On November 19, 2011 it was noted (see blog/how-to) that Skype to Lync federation seemed to start working at the IM & presence level after users updated to latest version of the Skype application and merged their Live Messenger ID into Skype using the latest Skype client.

At Lync Conference it was announced that indeed, merging LiveMessenger/Microsoft Account and a new version of Skype will be the actions that enable Lync <-> Skype federation. (blogger Greig Sheridan has done a good job of listing the requirements to get Lync <-> Skype federation working here: Click Here) Also noted was that Lync <-> Skype federation IM, Presence & Voice would be here around June 2013 ETA/timeframe. It appears that while no announcements have been made, Lync <-> Skype Voice federation has started to work for some and at various levels for others. See @shawnharry note below.

@voipnorm has it working both ways with Lync 2013

@MichaelVerso Notes it works one-way for him:

At the moment my experience has been that I can make one audio call from Lync (Skype PC version 6.1.x) –> Skype (Skype Android 3.1.0.6458)  and audio flows, but after hanging up I can’t make another call. Also, I’m noticing that the incoming call notification to Skype indicates “unknown caller”.  It is interesting to note that in the Skype call history the call is listed as “undisclosed_pstn:xxx”. I don’t think this necessarily means Skype is using pstn to deliver the call: it may just be a generic message if caller ID is note received correctly?

So, to summarize: Microsoft has not announced Lync <-> Skype voice federation to be ready at this time, so don’t expect it to work. But it does look like it is working for some, so if it does for you: Enjoy.  Also, it appears Microsoft is making progress towards their mid-year ETA release goal.

Lync Federation Directory Project Reaches 10,000 Organizations Milestone: Will UC Federation Ultimately Replace PSTN Cloud?

 

The Lync Federation Directory Project was started September 2011 to make people aware of just how many companies are available to collaborate using Microsoft UC solutions and the benefits of UC Federation. There has been huge interest in this project worldwide and I’m glad to announce that the Lync Federation Directory Project has surpass our goal and milestone of 10,000 organizations! A huge THANKS to the Lync community and Lync administrators worldwide!

Progress at the Lync Federation Directory Project

For all the contributions the community has made I think you are all due an update. I’m very glad to be able to share the below statistics of what has been happening at the Lync Federation Directory Project:

• +10,000 organizations: http://bit.ly/lyncfed
• 11 Months running: Started September 2011
• Over 60 Countries represented
• Nearly 5,000 downloads of the free Lync Who Can Federate Tool: http://bit.ly/wcftool
• 32 Five Start Ratings of Lync Who Can Federated Tool
• Mentions on TechRepublic, TMCnet, NoJitter and blogs all over the web. (Thanks for each mention!)

 

Goals of Lync Federation Directory Project?

I’ve just had someone ask again last week, What do you hope to achieve by the Lync Federation Directory Project? Here is my short answer:

• To communicate the benefits of UC Federation
• To make people aware just how many organizations are available to collaborate via UC Federation
• To Evangelize UC Federation’s viability as a  future “PSTN Cloud Replacer”

As I’ve said in private discussions, I don’t believe that a “big list” of companies using Lync is the primary benefit of the project: the awareness that it brings is the primary benefit.

New Lync Federation Directory Project Features You May Not Know About

• The Lync Who Can Federate Tool can run as a tray app and give you a daily report of people you can  federate with: http://bit.ly/wcftool
• The Lync Federation Directory how lists entries by top level domains

 

Vision for the Lync Federation Directory Project’s Future

As we look to the future we can see a time when the Lync Federation Directory Project current objectives will be about as necessary as a mail server directory. ;-) When that time comes, I’ll be glad because our current goals will obviously be achieved. Once the initial goals of the project are achieved what might be some ways it can continue to deliver value to the community?  Some requests that I get are:

• Is there exchange where Lync administrators can securely connect to each other to negotiate federation arrangements?
• Is there a list of Abusive domains?

Yes, as we look to the future we can see a time when the Lync Federation Directory Project current objectives will be about as necessary as a mail server directory…but not yet!

How Can You Help the Project?

• Add your organization to this list by {clicking here}
• Help yourself and community by seeing who in your Outlook contact list has Lync/OCS by running WCF Tool and submitting entries not currently in Lync Federation Directory Project. Takes 1 min! {click here}
• If you have used the Who Can Federate Tool and like it, please take a second to Rate it! (5star of course ;-) http://bit.ly/wcftool
• Promote http://bit.ly/lyncfed
• Spread the Word: Comment or Tweet how UC Federation helps you.

More Details on the Lync Federation Directory, please see the official page here:
http://bit.ly/lyncfed

Mentions by

TMCnet

nojitter

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/networking/microsoft-lync-federation-enables-cross-organization-communications/5376
http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/microsoft/lync-federation-tool-makes-it-easy-to-find-lync-enabled-business-partn.asp

6 Steps To Getting Your Lync Server 2010 Live Messenger PIC Enabled

I wondered around in the “pineapple fields” a bit trying to get all these pieces together so I thought I’d compile them here. Open your Lync users to 350 million Live Messenger users soon!

1. Make sure your Lync Edge server is working “ship shape” before trying to federate to Live Messenger.
   
2. Before getting started make sure you have NO LiveMessenger ID’s using your Lync domain. To fix these ID’s login to your Skydrive/LiveID account to change the username.
   1. For example if your Lync Server is at “house.com” you need to change any live ID’s that have “vanity” ID ending in “@house.com” to something else. (preferably a default Live domain like "@live.com")
   2. REMEMBER: you can only change your Live ID once every 6months—so get it right the first time!
   3. To avoid issues later I recommend that you remove any other contacts in your Live Messenger contact list that will be transitioning from LiveID accounts to Lync accounts and readd them after they are on Lync.
4. Get provisioned started with Microsoft by heading over to http://pic.lync.com
   1. Microsoft says it could take 30days: My experience was 7hrs later Live Messenger was provisioned. Microsoft Lync PIC provisioning team noted that AIM typically takes a bit longer.
5. Do your Live Messenger federation configuration in Lync Control Panel.
   
6. To enable LiveMesenger you need set Lync to not force encryption. Do this by following these instructions.
   
7. To add Live Messenger clients to your Lync contact list add them to Lync just like Lync clients! 
   1. Note: If the Live Messenger you want to add is using a vanity LiveID enter the contact like this: liveiduser(live-id-vanity-domain)@msn.com. For example: john.martin@house.com would be john.martin(house.com)@msn.com.
8.