Controlling Lync 2013 Client Behavior Through GPO's

The Lync 2013 client doesn't have as many in-band GPO options as previous versions of communicator did (hopefully MS will change that), but there are a few reg settings that you can throw into a GPO to control it.
 
Add these settings into your GPO as a User Setting.
 
Minimize to the notification area instead of the task bar:
 
Navigate to:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Communicator\MinimizeWindowToNotificationArea

Set the value to 1 - Lync is minimized to the notification area when the Contact List is closed


Automatically start Lync at logon:

Navigate to:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Communicator\AutoRunWhenLogonToWindows

Set the value to 1 - Lync starts when you log on to Windows


Auto Open Main Window When Startup:

Navigate to:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Communicator\AutoOpenMainWindowWhenStartup

Set the value to 1 - Show Lync in foreground

Deploying the Lync 2013 Client On Mismatched Windows/Office Architecture

Just a quick note when dealing with deploying the Lync 2013 client when the Windows architecture doesn't match the currently installed flavor of Office.

Lync 2013 x64 can only be installed on 64-bit Windows, but what if 32-bit Office is installed on that 64-bit Windows machine? Since a lot of organizations upgrade Office in steps according to budgets, you'll see this quite often.

In order for Lync to install and not throw an error; you have to first uninstall Office, then install Lync, then re-install Office. It's a pain, but there's no way around it.

If you're running something like SCCM, you can create scripts that will roll off Office, install Lync and then re-install Office, silently.

How to install Exchange 2010 Management Tools on Windows 8

Installing Exchange Management Tools on your workstation saves a lot of time from having to RDP to an Exchange server. To install the tools on Windows 8, just follow along!

Requirements:

First, you’ll need  Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 3. After it downloads, extract it somewhere that’s easily accessible.
**Note** Windows 8 and Server 2012 require the SP3 setup files in order to install the Management tools.

You'll need a few prereqs: PowerShell 2.0, .NET Framework, IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility and IIS 6 Management Console features.

Go to Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows Features On or Off.

Expand Internet Information Services and check the boxes for the IIS 6 Management Console and IIS Metabase Compatibility. 

 

 

Setup:

Go to the location where you extracted the SP3 files and run setup.exe.

Click on Step 4 to Install. 

 
Accept the license agreement. Click Next.



 Choose if you want Error Reporting. Click Next.
 

 

On this screen, select the Custom Exchange Server Installation option. Choose your install path or leave as default, and do not check the box for automatic installations. Click Next. 

 

Check the box for Management Tools and leave all others unchecked, or you’ll cause havoc in your Exchange organization J Click Next.  

 

Setup will run through any other prerequisites during the Readiness Check.
If you’ve missed a requirement, it’ll throw the error you need to fix. Click Retry, or click Cancel, correct the problem areas, and rerun the setup. If you restart the setup, it will pick up where you left off. If you pass all the prereqs, click Install. 
 

 

Installation will take several minutes. Click Next after it completes.

 

 

 

 If you check “Finalize this installation using the Exchange Management Console,” the EMC will automatically open and connect to the nearest server in your Exchange organization. Click Finish.

 

The EMC 

 

You’ll also notice shortcuts to the Exchange Management Console (EMC), Exchange Management Shell (EMS) in your Start Menu.

Happy Exchanging!

Useful Lync PowerShell Commands

Here are a few Lync PowerShell commands that I use daily. (Since there's not as many as the Exchange commands I previously posted, I've just listed them out here...but leave a comment if you want them zipped and shared out.)

Create Lync User Account
**Note**
You will need an existing AD account for the specified user account, and the SIP Address is usually the email address unless you're installation is configured differently; if so you'll need to specify that.

--To Create Lync User, run:

Enable-CsUser "User Name" -RegistrarPool "poolname.domain.com" -SipAddressType EmailAddress


Disable/Re-enable Lync User Account
You can  disable a Lync user account without losing the Lync Server settings that you configured for the user account
 
--To Disable a Lync account, run:

Set-CsUser -Identity "User Name" -Enabled $False

--To Re-enable a Lync account, run:

Set-CsUser -Identity "User Name" -Enabled $True

Force Lync Replication and Check Replication Status
After any major changes such as routes or policy changes, its best to force a replication.
**Note**
Invoking replication does not return any values, so you'll need to check replication status like below.
 
--To Force CMS Replication, run:

Invoke-CsManagementStoreReplication

--To Check CMS replication health, run:

Get-CsManagementStoreReplicationStatus

If you have a large topology, run:

Get-CsManagementStoreReplicationStatus | Where {$_.UpToDate -ne $True}

Remove a Lync User Account

-- To remove a Lync account, run:

Disable-CsUser -Identity "User Name"

Revoke a Lync User Certificate
**Note**
If you allow users to save their username/password, they will still be able to use Lync even if you disable their AD account.
 
--To Revoke a User Certificate, run:

Revoke-CsClientCertificate "User Name"

Lync IM/OWA Integration with Wildcard Certs

A lot of organizations use wildcard certificates for Exchange and Lync, and although MS doesn't really like wildcards to be used, it's doable. When integrating Lync with OWA, you'll get a "Instant Messaging isn't available right now" message. The workaround is to install local certs for the IIS service on your CAS hubs.

1. Request new certificates using the Web Server Template on each of your CAS hubs from your local CA. Add the Trusted Application FQDN of the CAS hub you are working on, as the Subject Name. You can name them whatever you like. Make note of the thumbprint(s) of the new certs(s).

**Note** If the Web Server Template isn't available, you'll need to allow your Exchange Servers as "Allowed to Enroll" on the Template's Security Tab on your Root CA.

2. Assign the new certificates to IIS and OWA by running:

Get-OwaVirtualDirectory | Set-OwaVirtualDirectory -InstantMessagingCertificateThumbprint <New Certificate Thumbprint>
 
3. Restart IIS with a iisrest/noforce command

4. Add the CAS hubs to the Trusted Application Pool in Lync Topology Builder

5. Log on to OWA and check that it works

**Note** The new "local" certs you just created and assigned are only for the IM integration, they will have no effect on OWA functionality...OWA will still work as it has been.

Exchange Domain Prep Error: "Microsoft Exchange Server setup cannot continue because a restart from a previous installation or update is pending"

I've come across this error many times, especially when prepping a Child Domain.

The fix is easy:

1. Open Regedit on the machine you're running the prep against

2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\

3. Delete the PendingFileRenameOperations String

4. Rerun your Domain Prep

Useful Exchange 2010 PowerShell Commands

This is a folder of Exchange Shell commands that I use regularly and I thought I'd share it with the masses. It contains a wide range of commands in .txt files.

Here's a listing of the commands:

Exchange 2010 Add Besadmin Permissions to New MDB.txt                                                                 
Exchange 2010 Add Full Access Without AutoMap.txt                                                                     
Exchange 2010 ADRMS.txt                                                                                               
Exchange 2010 BES Commands.txt                                                                                        
Exchange 2010 Bulk Convert User Mailbox To Shared.txt                                                                 
Exchange 2010 Bulk Remove User Mailboxes From CSV.txt                                                                 
Exchange 2010 Check Build and Rollup Number.txt                                                                       
Exchange 2010 Clear Disconnected Mailboxes.txt                                                                        
Exchange 2010 Clear Export Import Move Requests.txt                                                                   
Exchange 2010 Clear Move Request.txt                                                                                  
Exchange 2010 Convert User Mailbox To Other Type.txt                                                                  
Exchange 2010 Create and Connect a Mailbox to User.txt                                                                
Exchange 2010 Create Shared Mailbox.txt                                                                               
Exchange 2010 DagHealth.txt                                                                                           
Exchange 2010 Delete Messages from User Mailbox -Bulk-.txt                                                            
Exchange 2010 Disable User Mailbox.txt                                                                                
Exchange 2010 Environment Report HTML.txt                                                                             
Exchange 2010 Export All Email Addresses.txt                                                                          
Exchange 2010 Fix CAS Cert Security Warning.txt                                                                       
Exchange 2010 Force a GAL Update.txt                                                                                  
Exchange 2010 Get A List Of All Email Addresses.txt                                                                   
Exchange 2010 Get All Databases Size With WhiteSpace.txt                                                              
Exchange 2010 Get All Databases Size.txt                                                                              
Exchange 2010 Get Database Backup Status.txt                                                                          
Exchange 2010 Get Folder Count In a Mailbox.txt                                                                       
Exchange 2010 Get Full Access Permissions.txt                                                                         
Exchange 2010 Get Largest Mailboxes.txt                                                                               
Exchange 2010 Get List of Aliases from Display Names.txt                                                              
Exchange 2010 Get List of IP Relays.txt                                                                               
Exchange 2010 Get List of Messages Sent From a Domain.txt                                                             
Exchange 2010 Get Mailbox Count On Each Database.txt                                                                  
Exchange 2010 Get Mailbox Quotas.txt                                                                                  
Exchange 2010 Get Mailbox Size For an OU.txt                                                                          
Exchange 2010 Get Mailbox Stastics On Each Server.txt                                                                 
Exchange 2010 Get Mailboxes With Forwarding Set.txt                                                                   
Exchange 2010 Get Public Folder Database Report.txt                                                                   
Exchange 2010 Large Batch Mailbox Move.txt                                                                            
Exchange 2010 Mailbox Export.txt                                                                                      
Exchange 2010 Mailbox Import.txt                                                                                      
Exchange 2010 Recall Emails.txt                                                                                       
Exchange 2010 Redistribute Databases Across DAG.txt                                                                   
Exchange 2010 Remove Database and DB Copy.txt                                                                         
Exchange 2010 Set Higher Corrupted Item Limit.txt                                                                     
Exchange 2010 Test Health of Servers.txt                                                                              
Exchange 2010 View Export Request Statistics.txt                                                                      
Exchange 2010 View Mailbox Size List.txt                                                                              
Exchange 2010 View Move Request Statistics.txt                                                                                             

Link: Exchange PowerShell Commands.zip

**Note** Its on Google Drive and you can choose individual files to download, or hit CTRL+S to get the whole archive.