Course Description
This is a 3-day instructor Led Training (ILT) Course that targets the
needs of professionals with data networking experience who take part in
the planning, design, and deployment of the Lync Unified Communications
solution in the enterprise. This course focuses on four key areas:
- Implementation methodology, including defining methodology phases,
identifying phase deliverables, and preparing for traffic simulation
- Analyzing the network environment, including review of WAN topology,
Wi-Fi infrastructure, Quality of Server approaches, and media flow
scenarios, analyzing the network for optimal performance, and monitoring
and managing networks
- Performing usage modeling, including modeling RTC traffic media
flows and Lync traffic per location, calculating traffic volume by using
the Lync bandwidth calculator, and analyzing how predicted traffic
impacts a network
- Analyzing customer data and measurements, including policies
collected from the Discovery phase and historical data usage, planning
simulation traffic, analyzing results from traffic simulation, and
formulating recommendations.
Audience Profile
This course targets the needs of network analysts, networking
engineers and system integrators who plan, design, and deploy unified
communications (UC) solutions using Lync Server 2013 in the enterprise.
Students should have strong knowledge of data networking, an industry or
vendor qualification (CompTIA Network+ or similar), and be able to
translate business requirements into technical and networking
requirements for a UC solution. Students should be familiar with Network
Readiness Assessment methodology and related tools, such as the Lync
bandwidth calculator.
This course is also aimed at professionals who may have focused on
third-party UC solutions, which perform network assessments and
readiness evaluations. They will use this course to update their skills
and knowledge to apply to Lync UC solutions in their enterprise.
At Course Completion
After completing this course, students will be able to:
- Understand network assessments.
- Understand common network concepts, terms and processes.
- Use recommended practices for network readiness assessments that pertain to Lync Server and UC solutions in general.
- Understand the Microsoft Lync Network Readiness Assessment Methodology.
Prerequisites
Before attending this course, students must have an understanding of:
- LAN/WAN (COMPTIA Network+ certification or equivalent experience)
- Lync Server 2013 and Lync Online (20336 or equivalent)
- Enterprise voice and VOIP (20337 or equivalent)
Students attending this course should have experience with network
assessments. They should also have sufficient knowledge of Lync Server
2013 and Lync Online to understand the features that impact LAN/WAN
traffic. It is not necessary for students to have a MCSE: Communication,
although many students will have attained this certification.
Completion of MOC courses 20336 and 20337 far exceed the level of
knowledge of Lync required for this class.
Course Outline
Module 1: Overview of Network Assessments
This module will introduce you to the goals and considerations that a
proactive network readiness assessment takes into account, as well as
provide you with the key concepts of networking and telephony that
relate to a Lync network readiness assessment.
Before starting a network readiness assessment, it is important to
understand basic networking concepts, but it is even more important to
identify the reasons to assess your network. The information that you
gain from the assessment will inform decisions related to implementing a
new product, such as Lync 2013.
A network readiness assessment is an important proactive step toward
implementing and deploying new technology in your network. Conducting
such an assessment using reliable tools and techniques can help identify
issues that your organization might not even be aware of, ranging from
possible bottlenecks, to latency problems, to assessing the current
level of your network’s readiness, and serving the future needs of your
organization.
Lessons
- Network Assessment Overview
- Key Concepts for Network Assessment
After completing this module, students should have the knowledge and skills to:
- Explain network readiness assessment goals and activities.
- Apply key concept of networking to a network assessment.
Module 2: Introducing the Microsoft Lync Network Readiness Assessment Methodology
The Microsoft Lync Network Readiness Assessment methodology (MLNRAM)
is comprised of four different phases: discovery, modeling, traffic
simulation, and recommendations. This module provides an overview on
each phase in this methodology.
The objective of the network assessment is to provide insight into
the readiness of the network infrastructure for supporting an excellent
user experience, while using Lync Server for Real-time Communications
(RTC). The network assessment helps to answer the critical predeployment
question, “Is my network infrastructure ready to support Lync Server?”
Lessons
- Microsoft Lync Network Readiness Assessment Methodology Overview
- Discovery Phase
- Modeling Phase
- Traffic Simulation Phase
- Recommendations Phase
Lab: Discussion
- Discuss Your Network Assessment Experiences
After completing this module, students will be able to:
- Explain the four major phases of the Microsoft Lync Readiness Assessment methodology.
- Identify the objectives and goals of each phase of the network assessment.
- Discuss real-world experiences with network assessments, processes, and methodologies.
Module 3: Network Discovery
The objective of the Discovery phase is to gain a full understanding
of all aspects of the network infrastructure, the existing telephony
infrastructure, the conferencing infrastructure, and details of the
planned deployment. You should understand the physical topology of the
customer’s network, the size and type of their most common WAN
connections, and the current levels of data traffic for each site. It is
important to remember that all discovery sessions are unique. This
module examines several of the key goals of the Discovery phase, such
as revealing potential sources of network impairments, raising awareness
of Lync Server traffic flows, confirming the simulation probe placement
choice for the traffic simulation, and offering guidelines for network
devices.
Lessons
- Documenting Current Network Infrastructure
- Documenting Current Client Devices
- Locating Network Impairments and Roadblocks
- Overview of Transport Reliability IP Probe Tools
Lab: Using Network Assessment Discovery Tools
- Reviewing the Contoso IT Infrastructure
- Document Discovery Findings
- Start the Network Emulator for Windows Toolkit
After completing this module, students will be able to:
- Discover current network infrastructure and utilization.
- Identify client and Lync devices.
- Locate network impairments and roadblocks.
- Use common network assessment tools.
Module 4: Analyzing Server, Network, and Client Health
The deployment and monitoring portion of the Lync Server lifecycle is
where you keep the Lync Server infrastructure running in optimal
condition. If planning was properly handled, you will not be expected to
fix a backlog of infrastructure issues. Instead, you will be watching
for new signs of service degradation and usage trends.
During the Discovery phase of your network assessment, you will use
monitoring and managing methods to determine server, network, and client
health. This information will help you pose your recommendations to the
customer, as well as supply valuable information for the next phases of
your network assessment.
Lessons
- Determining Server, Network and Client Health Indicators
- Monitoring and Managing Methods
Lab: Analyzing Monitoring Data
- Start the Performance Monitor System Data Collector Sets
- Generating Network Load Tests
- Review the Performance Monitor System Health Data
- Continue Discovery Findings Documentation
After completing this module, students will be able to:
- Determine server, network, and client health.
- Use monitoring and managing methods to analyze network data.
Module 5: Usage and Traffic Modeling
Usage and traffic modeling is a key part of a network readiness
assessment because you need to know the usage patterns and the actual
traffic on the network in order to properly estimate the bandwidth Lync
or Unified Communications (UC) might consume on the network.
This module introduces the different usage scenarios, usage models,
and personas needed for usage modeling. It covers the process of
calculating expected data usage for traffic modeling. Modeling tools,
such as the Lync Bandwidth Calculator and Microsoft Lync Server 2013
Planning Tool, will also be covered.
Lessons
- Performing Usage Modeling
- Performing Traffic Modeling
- Lync Bandwidth Calculator
Lab: Using Modeling Tools
- Entering information into the Lync Bandwidth Calculator
- Reviewing Calculated Results
- Using the Lync Server 2013, Planning Tool
- Designing Simulations Based on Modeling Tool Results
After completing this module, students will be able to:
- Perform usage modeling and traffic modeling.
- Use the Microsoft Lync Server 2013 Planning Tool.
- Use the Lync Bandwidth Calculator.
Module 6: Performing Traffic Simulations
Traffic simulation is an important step in a network readiness
assessment because it provides a way of predicting how a network will
perform. This module covers how to perform traffic simulations to
understand traffic patterns on a network. By sending representative
real-time communication (RTC) traffic through a network, a full
readiness picture can be determined.
Lessons
- Overview of Traffic Simulations
- Lync Server 2013 Stress and Performance Tool
Lab: Using Network Readiness Tools to Validate the Network
- Starting the Performance Monitor System Data Collector Sets
- Using the Lync Server Stress and Performance Tools
- Reviewing the Performance Monitor Lync Server Health Data
- Analyzing Monitoring Reports
- Performing Traffic Simulations Using the Iperf Tool
After completing this module, students will be able to:
- Perform a traffic simulation as part of a network readiness assessment.
- Use traffic simulation best practices.
- Use the Lync Server Stress and Performance Tool to perform stress and performance tests.
Module 7: Understanding Network Controls and Solutions
Customers are often not equipped to manage the complexity of Lync. In
addition to completing a network assessment, you can take many
proactive steps to prevent the most common scenarios that generate
support calls, and potentially leave Lync functionality compromised and
unreliable. This module covers the various solutions that might be
recommended to meet business and technical requirements to achieve
network readiness.
Lessons
- Quality of Service
- Bandwidth Management with Call Admission Control
- Troubleshooting and Diagnostics Tools
Lab: Understanding and Verifying Quality of Service (QoS)
- Configuring Quality of Service (QoS)
- Verifying Quality of Service Application
Lab: Using Call Admission Control to Manage Bandwidth Usage
- Reviewing Call Admission Control to Manage Bandwidth
- Verifying Call Admission Control is Being Applied
Lab: Troubleshooting
- Using the Lync Centralized Logging Service
- Using Synthetic Transactions for Monitoring
- Using Synthetic Transactions
- Fixing Network Link Bandwidth Issues
After completing this module, students will be able to:
- Describe Quality of Service.
- Implement bandwidth management with Call Admission Control.
- Use troubleshooting and diagnostic tools.
Module 8: Making Recommendations for Network Readiness
After completing the previous phases of a network readiness
assessment, it is now time for recommending areas to be investigated.
This could include implementing different software based strategies,
such as Quality of Service (QoS) or call admission control (CAC). It
could also include networking and topology changes or hardware and
device changes. Sometimes it may just be troubleshooting and fixing
problems with the current network or configuration. This module examines
how to analyze the data that you compile, how to make recommendations
based on that data, and how to create reports based on those
recommendations.
Lessons
- Forming and Documenting Recommendations
Lab: Making Network Readiness Assessment Recommendations
- Write a Network Assessment Report for Contoso
- Discussion: Network Readiness Assessment Report
After completing this module, students will be able to:
- Form recommendations based on network assessment analysis.
- Document and summarize their recommendations for network preparedness.