Top 10 Facts when Planning a Lync 2010 Client Deployment

If you are in the early stages of planning the deployment of the Lync 2010 client in your organization, the following top 10 points provide some basic starting points and references to common questions and issues.

1. The Lync 2010 Installation is an Executable; not an MSI.
   • Previous versions of the UC client (aka Communicator) were *.msi files. The Lync 2010 client is shipped as an executable.
   • There were some advantages to going the executable route including the ability to better handle the removal of any previous client (e.g. Communicator), better handling or pre-requisites, and the ability to repair the client at a later date if it needs to.
   • There is an MSI installation available but it can only be used if the target PC is completely prepared to install the Lync client (i.e. any previous clients have been uninstalled and the pre-requisites have been installed), and a required registry modification has been made. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2477965 for more information.
2. There are Two Lync 2010 Clients Available for Download: 32-bit and 64-bit
   • The Lync client itself is actually only 32-bit – the 64-bit download is a 64-bit installer wrapping the 32-bit client.
   • The 32-bit installer will not allow installation on 64-bit Windows and vice-versa.
   • The 64-bit installer installs the Lync client in the "Program Files\x86" directory.
3. The Lync Client Download Includes the Outlook Add-In (now called the "Online Meeting Add-In for Lync 2010")
   • The Lync client .exe installs the Outlook Add-In which allows you to schedule Lync meetings.
   • The 64-bit download of the Lync 2010 client installs the 64-bit version of the add-in so that it is compatible with the 64-bit version of Office and Outlook.
4. The 64-bit Lync 2010 Installation Works with the 32-bit Version of Microsoft Office.
   • If you have a 64-bit machine with a 32-bit Office 2010, you can use the 64-bit Lync Installer.
   • The 64-bit Lync client installation will install the 32-bit version of the Online Meeting Add-In for Lync 2010 for Outlook.
5. Lync 2010 Client Integration is Supported with Office 2007 and Office 2003.
   • http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/communicator-help/work-smart-using-lync-2010-with-office-2003-and-office-2007-HA101856401.aspx
   • For the presence indicator and contact menu to appear in Word or Excel, smart tags must be enabled. For instructions about how to enable smart tags, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article 300950, "How to troubleshoot custom Smart Tags in Office," at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=147183.
   • See the Office and Lync 2010 section of the Lync 2010 Compatibility document on Microsoft TechNet.
6. The Lync 2010 Client Does Integrate with Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2007
   • See the Exchange Server and Lync 2010 section of the Lync 2010 Compatibility guide in TechNet for more information on feature support. The Lync integration features made possible with Exchange Web Services (EWS) is not available if Exchange 2003 is being used.
7. The Lync Client Install Removes any Previous version of Communicator and Installs the new Online Meeting Add-In for Lync 2010.
   • Previous clients are silently uninstalled before the Lync 2010 client is installed.
   • User Contact Lists are preserved because they are stored on the Lync server.
   • Most registry customizations from Communicator 2007 R2 carry-over.
8. The Lync Client can be Installed Silently (** but be aware any open Outlook sessions will be forced closed and restarted **)
   • To install the client with no user interaction, you can use the /Silent and /Install parameters to the Lync installation executable.
   • All of the Lync 2010 Setup Command-Line Arguments can be found here:  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg425733.aspx
   • You can deploy the Lync client along with the latest Lync client Windows Installer patch (.msp file) and using the following command:
     • "msieexec.exe /patch lync.msp /quiet" <assuming the Lync.msp contains the patches install of the Lync client>
   • The Lync client will run immediately after it is installed.
   • Outlook Note: most of the time the Outlook client will have be closed to do the Lync install.  I have seen two different scenarios for silent installs depending on what was client was previous installed on the machine and the O/S version:
     1. The Lync client successfully installs without closing Outlook but the Lync Online Meeting Add-In is not installed.
     2. The Lync client forces a shutdown of Outlook and restarts it after Lync is installed.
9. The Lync Client Can be Configured with Lync Client Policies, the Lync Client GPO, or a Customer GPO
   • Many former Communicator settings can now be set in Lync Client Policies. See Key Client Policies and Settings for more information.
   • See Configuring Client Bootstrapping Policies for Lync 2010 for which customization method takes precedence.
   • There is still a client-side GPO. See the Microsoft Lync 2010 Client Group Policy Documentation for more information.
   • A good overview of the Lync client registry settings can be found here: Working with Microsoft Lync Registry Settings.
10. Supported MAC Client Versions
    • Both the Microsoft Lync for Mac 2011 and the Microsoft Communicator for Mac 2011 are supported.
    • See the 'Macintosh and Lync 2010' section in the Lync 2010 Compatibility guide for more information.
11. Be Aware of the Client Address Book Download Time Lag (bonus tip ).
    • After the Lync client is installed, the client will need to download the address book. The client is hardcoded to wait anywhere between 1 – 60 minutes to do the download to avoid a download storm (i.e. if many clients were installed at the same time).
    • This often leads to the user not having address book functionality. Users will see the message "The address book is preparing the synchronize" in the address search field until the address book is downloaded.

Deploying via SCCM and GPO

Several people have experienced an issue when deploying the Lync client via SCCM whereby the Lync client is started in the SYSTEM context after installation; instead of the USER context, which does not allow the user to run Lync (e.g. http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/ocsinterop/thread/6b638a43-e3a5-4e08-bdfd-16f84b51e2b1/).

The Lync client can be deployed via  Group Policy Object (GPO). There are two important requirements:

1. You must extract the Windows Installer (.msi) file from the Lync installation executable, and,
2. You must use the Group Policy setting UseMSIForLyncInstallation to allow the .msi to run on client computers

This is detailed more here: IT-Managed Installation of Lync 2010 and in this good Lync server forum posting.

Other good deployment references:

1. • Microsoft KB 2477965: The installation of Lync 2010 by using Windows Installer (MSI) fails
   • Microsoft TecNet - What's New in Client Deployment

If you are deploying Office 2010 at the same time, you should read this TechNet Article on the Who, What, Where, Why, and When for 64-bit Office 2010 Applications:

> 64-bit editions of Office 2010 (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee681792.aspx)

In a nutshell, Microsoft generally recommends the 32-bit version of Office 2010 (even on 64-bit machines), largely because of the backward compatibility of any 3rd-party 32-bit Office add-in's you might currently be running. The above article contains good information about the specific scenarios where you should install the 32-bit version of Office instead of the 64-bit. Many Lync 2010 deployments have been running fine with the 64-bit version of Office 2010 for some time now

http://blog.insidelync.com/2012/02/top-10-faq-for-planning-a-lync-2010-client-deployment/.