Archive for October, 2009

New OCS 2007 R1/R2 Download Pages on TechNet

The new download pages on TechNet have just about any link you need for OCS 2007 R1/R2. My only criticism is there should be a section for all the latest hotfix patches. The Updates Resource Center has all the latest hotfix patches and firmware. Thanks Adam!

Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and Clients Downloads

Office Communications Server 2007 and Client Downloads

Updates Resource Center for Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and Clients

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Remote Desktop 7.0 client now available for XP and Vista

New features were introduced in Remote Desktop Connection (RDP) 7.0 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Now these features are available to XP SP3 and Vista SP1/SP2 with update KB969084.

New features in the RDC 7.0 client update
Web Single Sign-On (SSO) and Web forms-based authentication
Access to personal virtual desktops by using RD Connection Broker
Access to virtual desktop pools by using RD Connection Broker
Status & disconnect system tray icon
RD Gateway-based device redirection enforcement
RD Gateway system and logon messages
RD Gateway background authorization & authentication
RD Gateway idle & session time-outs
NAP remediation with RD Gateway
Windows Media Player redirection
Bidirectional audio
Multiple monitor support
Enhanced video playback

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Using PowerShell to Modify OCS 2007 R2 WMI Values

So you’re in the middle of an OCS deployment and you need to change a WMI value. It’s easy to use PowerShell to view and modify OCS 2007 R2 WMI values and I find it to be much easier and faster than using the alternatives, WBEMTest or VBScript.

The PowerShell command that makes this possible is Get-WmiObject.

To view WMI values, use the following syntax:

PS > Get-WmiObject -computer HOSTNAME -query "select * from WMI_CLASS where
 backend='SQL_SERVER\\SQL_INSTANCE'"

Enterprise Edition Example:

PS > Get-WmiObject -computer ocsent_hostname -query "select * from
 MSFT_SIPGroupExpansionSetting where backend='SQL01\\OCSInstance'"

Standard Edition Example:

PS > Get-WmiObject -computer ocsstd_hostname -query "select * from
 MSFT_SIPGroupExpansionSetting where backend='(local)\\rtc'"

Depending on where the WMI value lives, you may not need the

where backend='SQL_SERVER\\SQL_INSTANCE'

For example, the where clause is not necessary when using WMI to query Mediation server config settings. This is because a Mediation server is not associated with a particular pool. Any value that is associated with a particular Enterprise Pool or Standard Server will need this where clause.

Mediation Server Example:

PS > Get-WmiObject -computer ocsmed1 -query "select * from
 MSFT_SIPMediationServerConfigSetting"

This should produce output that looks like this:

__GENUS                  : 2
__CLASS                  : MSFT_SIPMediationServerConfigSetting
__SUPERCLASS             :
__DYNASTY                : MSFT_SIPMediationServerConfigSetting
__RELPATH                : MSFT_SIPMediationServerConfigSetting.InstanceID="{...
__PROPERTY_COUNT         : 17
__DERIVATION             : {}
__SERVER                 : OCSMED1
__NAMESPACE              : root\cimv2
__PATH                   : \\OCSMED1\root\cimv2:MSFT_SIPMediationServer...
DefaultCodec             : RTA_NB
GatewayEncryptionLevel   : DoNotSupportEncryption
GatewayListeningAddress  : 205.134.81.3
GatewayListeningPort     : 5060
GatewayNextHopAddress    : 205.134.81.2
GatewayNextHopPort       : 5060
GatewayTransportType     : TCP
InstanceID               : {3338C248-FA9C-4151-AAE5-75A556E8C73E}
MediaPortRangeFrom       : 60000
MediaPortRangeTo         : 64000
ProxyEncryptionLevel     : SupportEncryption
ProxyListeningAddress    : 192.168.133.79
ProxyListeningPort       : 5061
ProxyNextHopFQDN         : CORPOCS3.contoso.com
ProxyNextHopPort         : 5061
QoSEnabled               : False
RemovePlusFromRequestURI : False

So now we can view WMI values in PowerShell, let’s see how to change a WMI value. I’ll show you how to configure the Mediation server to strip the leading (+) plus sign from outbound calls. For this example, the Mediation server is named ‘ocsmed1′.

First, I want to store the Mediation server WMI values in a temporary variable.

PS > $temp = Get-WmiObject -computer ocsmed1 -query "select * from
 MSFT_SIPMediationServerConfigSetting"

You can verify that the values were stored correctly by typing the variable and hitting Enter. It should return the exact same output as shown above:

PS > $temp

Now set the ‘RemovePlusFromRequestURI’ value to true:

PS > $temp.RemovePlusFromRequestURI = $true

Next, write the changed values back to WMI:

PS > $temp.Put()

On Windows 2008, use the following command to install PowerShell:

Servermanagercmd.exe -install powershell

Other platforms can download PowerShell here.

OCS 2007 R2 WMI Reference

Office Communications Server and WMI

Where OCS Finds Data for WMI Classes

OCS, WMI, and PowerShell

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Confirmed Issue with KB 974571 on OCS 2007 R1/R2

UPDATED: Install OCSASNFix.exe on OCS Servers before installing KB974571.

Applies to the following OCS/LCS Roles:

  • Standard Edition Server
  • Director server role
  • Enterprise Edition Consolidated
  • Enterprise Edition Distributed – Front End
  • Edge Server
  • Proxy server role
  • Office Communicator 2007 Evaluation version only
  • Office Communicator 2007 R2 Evaluation version only
  • Office Communicator 2005 Evaluation version only

RT from Aaron Tiensivu’s Blog
I didn’t discover this one, so I’m just the messenger passing word on – KB 974571 (part of Patch Tuesday today – specifically related to Crypto-API/ASN1) will make OCS think it is an evaluation version that has expired. Uninstall KB 974571 and OCS works again. You will want to apply the KB once an updated patch, or an updated patch for OCS becomes available. I’ve verified this problem in my lab too.

Originally documented here, and here.

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