1. Lync Network Readiness Assessment Exam 74-335
Brian Ricks | Principal Consultant, BriComp Computers, LLC
Thom Foreman | Infrastructure Consultant, Wadeware, LLC

2. Network Assessments and the Microsoft Methodology

3. Meet Brian Ricks | @bricomp
5/23/2018
Meet Brian Ricks
Principal Consultant, BriComp Computers, LLC
Unified Communications Architect
Microsoft Certified Solutions Master
Microsoft MVP since 2006
Enterprise Microsoft collaboration solution design, development, configuration, administration & maintenance
More than 20 years experience in IT industry
Network Infrastructure Corp., Resolute, Phelps Dodge
Independent since 2009
Fill in with your title and other info about you.
© 2012 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

4. Meet Thom Foreman Infrastructure Consultant – Course Developer
5/23/2018
Meet Thom Foreman
Infrastructure Consultant – Course Developer
At Wadeware LLC since 2006
Main focus on Lync and MS products
Created learning for Microsoft, including:
Masters, Ignites, MSL/LeX, TAP/RDP, Internal and more
MCSE, MCSA, MCITP, MCTS, MCP, CompTIA’s as well
More than 15 years experience in IT industry
Wife and 2 kids, live in Shoreline, WA
Fill in with your title and other info about you.
© 2012 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

5. Topics Network Assessments and the Microsoft Methodology
01 | Network Assessment Overview
05 | The Simulations Phase
02 | Key Concepts for Network Assessment
06 | Network Controls and Solutions
03 | Microsoft Lync Network Readiness Assessment Methodology Overview
07 | The Recommendations Phase
04 | The Discovery Phase

6. Setting Expectations Target Audience
5/23/2018
Setting Expectations
Target Audience
Professionals with data networking experience who take part in the planning, design, and deployment of Lync UC Solutions in the enterprise.
Candidates must have strong knowledge of data networking, an industry or vendor qualification, and be able to translate business requirements into technical and networking requirements for a UC solution
Suggested Prerequisites/Supporting Material
Lync Server Networking Guide V2
Visit
This slide could potentially change for every course.
© 2012 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

7. Network Assessment Overview
Briefly describe what a NA is.
Network Assessment Overview

8. Network Assessment Overview
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01: Overview of Network Assessments
Network Assessment Overview
Network Assessment Benefits:
Validating an enterprise’s readiness for Unified Communications (UC)
Providing a quantitative assessment of current infrastructure metrics that impact UC
Reducing deployment risk
Highlighting areas that might impact UC readiness
Protecting the customer’s investment in UC
Promoting the best possible user experience
Network Assessment Goals:
Proactive approach
Early discovery
Assess readiness
Layer 7 analysis
Recommendations on Lync deployment
Briefly explain the Network Assessment offering and highlight the process. You should discuss the following key points:
You don’t want to say “I think so.” when customer asks if they are ready for Lync. Quantify it.

9. Out of Scope Activities for a Network Assessment
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01: Overview of Network Assessments
Out of Scope Activities for a Network Assessment
Upgrade network
Configure network
Evaluate configuration
Validate concerns
Dispel misconception. Explain that the network assessment is not intended to perform a holistic assessment or audit on the customer’s network infrastructure.

10. The Importance of Network Assessments
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01: Overview of Network Assessments
The Importance of Network Assessments
Considerations include:
Network impact:
How does real-time communication (RTC) affect your network?
How does your network impact RTC?
User experience:
Properly configured network is fundamental to success
Even a perfect Lync deployment can fail because of the network
The technology is only as good as the last call
Explain why a network assessment is so important when a customer is planning to deploy Microsoft UC.

11. Identifying the Need for a Network Assessment
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01: Overview of Network Assessments
Identifying the Need for a Network Assessment
There are typically two types of situations:
Proactive:
What are your plans for Voice & Video?
Is your network ready for RTC/UC?
Have you considered RTC/UC when planning and building your network?
What are your expectations on usage?
Reactive:
Is your customer having quality issues?

12. Risks of Not Performing a Network Assessment
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01: Overview of Network Assessments
Risks of Not Performing a Network Assessment
Highlight the caveats of not performing a UC network assessment.
Poor user UC experience
High number of help desk tickets
Frustration: Poor perception of the products ability
Saturated networks that can affect other LOB applications
Poor ROI on UC investment
Reduced productivity and collaboration

13. Key Concepts for Network Assessment
Now that we have reviewed what a Net Assessment is, lets briefly go over some key concepts.
Key Concepts for Network Assessment

14. Key Concepts of Networking
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01: Overview of Network Assessments
Key Concepts of Networking
Traffic shaping
Traffic policing
Bandwidth management
Quality of service (QoS)
For each bulleted item, discuss the following key points:
Traffic shaping:
Used to optimize or guarantee performance, improve latency, and increase usable bandwidth for some kinds of packets by delaying other kinds.
Traffic policing:
The process of monitoring network traffic for compliance with a traffic contract and taking steps to enforce that contract.  
Bandwidth management:
The process of measuring and controlling the communications on a network link.
Quality of service (QoS):
Helps ensure a constant, reliable, steady data stream when using real-time communications.

15. Key Concepts for Wireless Networking
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01: Overview of Network Assessments
Key Concepts for Wireless Networking
Wireless network design:
Rogue Access Points (APs)
WLAN controllers
Wireless AP Planning
Channel distribution 
Security
Wireless network management:
Intrusion Detection System (IDS)
Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS) 
Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM)
Stress the wireless design and management sections of this topic, as it is not covered extensively elsewhere in the course.
WiFi MM is a feature in most routers, and needs to be turned on.

16. Overview of Telephony Components
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01: Overview of Network Assessments
Overview of Telephony Components
Integrated Services for Digital Network (ISDN)
Basic Rate Interface (BRI) and Primary Rate Interface (PRI)
T1/Partial T1
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunks
Discuss the flowing key points for each bullet on the slide:
Integrated Services for Digital Network (ISDN):
A digital phone service that is provided by regional and national phone companies, using existing copper telephone cabling.
Basic rate interface (BRI) and primary rate interface (PRI):
PRIs are the standard for providing services to businesses using T1/E1 circuits.
BRIs provide lower levels of service than PRIs.
Non North America for the most part
T1/Partial T1:
T1 is a typical Telco allocation of digital circuits or channels consisting to 24 channels:
1 D channel
23 B channels
A partial T1 is a portion of T1 channels.
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunks:
An IP connection that establishes a SIP communications link between two phone systems.
That would even include between Lync and a PBX

17. Common Terms, Definitions and Descriptions
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01: Overview of Network Assessments
Common Terms, Definitions and Descriptions
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Site-to-Site VPN
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
Frame Relay
Bandwidth
Codecs
Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) / Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP) Information
Private Branch Exchange (PBX)
Traditional (legacy) PBX
IP-PBX
Firewalls and Routers
You should have the students open their manual to this section and review the key terms defined in the next section.
Common Terms, Definitions and Descriptions
The following is a list of key terms and concepts that you will encounter while working on any stage of a network assessment.
Common Network Configurations
There are various methods to configure connections between endpoints in your environment. The following is a list of common configurations:
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a service provided by a public carrier that uses routing based on predefined paths instead of next hop lookups mimicking a private network between network routers. This connection type does not require a virtual private network (VPN), which uses the public Internet. A potential drawback is that excessive IP traffic can interfere with RTC traffic unless it is given priority.
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Virtual private networks (VPNs) are point-to-point connections across a private or public network, such as the Internet. A VPN client uses special TCP/IP-based protocols, called tunneling protocols, to make a virtual call to a virtual port on a VPN server. In a typical VPN deployment, a client initiates a virtual point-to-point connection to a remote access server over the Internet. The remote access server answers the call, authenticates the caller, and transfers data between the VPN client and the organization’s private network. The drawback of VPN connections are encryption overhead and packet delays. The benefit of VPN connections is cost savings.
Site-to-Site VPN
Site-to-site VPN connections (also known as router-to-router VPN connections) enable organizations to route connections between separate offices or with other organizations over a public network while helping to maintain secure communications. A routed VPN connection across the Internet logically operates as a dedicated WAN link. When networks are connected over the Internet, a router forwards packets to another router across a VPN connection. To the routers, the VPN connection operates as a data-link layer link.
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
A Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) provides a direct, persistent connection to the Internet using a connection that allows high-speed digital transmission services over standard copper telephone wiring.
(More notes on the next slide)

18. Microsoft Lync Network Readiness Assessment Methodology Overview

19. Phases of the Network Assessment
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02: Introducing the Microsoft Lync Network Readiness Assessment Methodology
Phases of the Network Assessment
Discovery Phase
Modeling Phase
Simulation Phase
Recommendations Phase
Lync Server Networking Guide, V1 and V2, look for it on TechNet.
A lot of this course and the exam are based off of this document.

20. The Discovery Phase

21. Discovery Phase Discovery process 20335
02: Introducing the Microsoft Lync Network Readiness Assessment Methodology
Discovery Phase
Discovery process

22. Discovery Phase Overview
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02: Introducing the Microsoft Lync Network Readiness Assessment Methodology
Discovery Phase Overview
Discovery Objective:
Gain a full understanding of all aspects of the:
Network infrastructure
Existing telephony infrastructure
Conferencing infrastructure
Details of the planned unified communications application deployment
Discovery Goals:
Uncover current or future topologies
Confirm simulation probe placement choice
Ensure that information is collected for calibration of usage models
Last bullet of Objectives: emphasis that part of the discovery is not just discovering what they have, but what their business requirements and plans are.

23. Discovery Areas Network overview Site details
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Discovery Areas
Network overview
Site details
WAN technology and link speeds
LAN/ Wi-Fi technology in the enterprise
Quality of Service (QoS) strategies
PSTN setup
Existing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) on WAN
Historical metrics
Usage profiles
Application sharing
Conferencing in enterprise
Real-time communication (RTC) applications [Instant Messaging (IM)/presence/voice/video]
Legacy voice architecture
 I am sure you might be able to come up with a few more, depending on the industry, company type, etc

24. Scope Considerations Topology—is it documented?
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Scope Considerations
Topology—is it documented?
Quality of Service (QoS)
LAN/wireless infrastructure
Lync deployed?
Network security
Firewall architecture
 Topology? Do they know what they have? Often not.

25. Discovery Process Email Large group meetings Smaller 1-on-1 meetings
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02: Introducing the Microsoft Lync Network Readiness Assessment Methodology
Discovery Process
Large group meetings
Smaller 1-on-1 meetings
Phone calls
Conference calls

26. The Modeling Phase

27. Modeling Phase Personas and usage models 20335
02: Introducing the Microsoft Lync Network Readiness Assessment Methodology
Modeling Phase
Personas and usage models

28. Modeling Phase Overview
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02: Introducing the Microsoft Lync Network Readiness Assessment Methodology
Modeling Phase Overview
Modeling Phase Objective:
To properly estimate the amount of bandwidth Lync might consume on the customers network
Modeling Phase Goals:
Define the personas
Define usage models
Provide a basis for the traffic simulation phase

29. 20335
02: Introducing the Microsoft Lync Network Readiness Assessment Methodology
Modeling Is a Process
Define usage models
Identify sites, links, and users
Identify and define personas
Calculate and interpret results
Usage models define how much users are communicating using a specific modality
Personas define groups of users with common communication characteristics and work habits
Sites, links, and users provide customer data taken straight from the Discovery Phase of the network assessment

30. Identifying Sites and Links
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Identifying Sites and Links
Sites and links that have been identified in the Discovery Phase of the network assessment:
Central sites
Branch sites
For each site:
Total size of WAN link
Amount of WAN link that might be used by Lync RTC:
Does the customer have QoS?
Industry standard—30%
Internet links (if applicable)
MPLS Network
Data center
Branch office
Head office

31. Identifying Users Consider the following:
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Identifying Users
Consider the following:
Users must be identified in each site:
Total user population is not enough
How many employees and how do they work?
Refer to ”Usage models” and ”Personas”
Include non-office and part-time workers Will there be Hot-desking space or similar scenarios? Will there be a significant number of guests or vendors?
Visitors add to the traffic requirements
Will the sites handle a particularly large number of meetings?

32. Bandwidth Estimation The Lync Bandwidth Calculator:
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Bandwidth Estimation
The Lync Bandwidth Calculator:
Is the tool for usage modeling
Requires Microsoft Excel (macros must be enabled)
Requires data gathered earlier and agreed upon with the customer
Actually, network estimation would be a more apt term, because the communication streams within Lync Server rely more on latency and packet loss than they do on raw available network bandwidth.

33. Personas and Usage Models
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Personas and Usage Models
Personas:
Represent the behavior of user classes present in a customer’s environment
Up to 10 personas in the Lync Bandwidth Calculator
Personas are typically independent of location
Characteristics of a persona include:
Utilization of Lync modalities as defined in usage models: none, low, medium, high:
Can be job-related (for example, “our sales reps make plenty of PSTN voice calls”)
Can be related to administrative policy (for example, “video calls are not allowed for vendors in our organization”)
Percentage of users working remotely: 0% – 100%
Others factors related to administrative policies or user behavior

34. The Simulation Phase

35. Traffic Simulation Phase
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Traffic Simulation Phase
Simulation tools
 After taking info from Discovery Phase, you have created your models. You will now use simulation tools, that will use the modeling data.

36. Traffic Simulation Phase Overview
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Traffic Simulation Phase Overview
Traffic Simulation Phase objective:
Identify areas of network infrastructure that could cause a sub-optimal user experience for the Lync application
Traffic Simulation Phase goals:
Uncover current or future potential sources of network impairments
Place real traffic on the network to observe how it really operates

37. 20335
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Simulation Tools
Generate network traffic that simulate specific modalities
Are configured between two nodes in disparate locations
Can be used to validate network configuration

38. The Recommendations Phase

39. Recommendations Phase
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Recommendations Phase
Possible outcomes and recommendations

40. Recommendations Phase Overview
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Recommendations Phase Overview
Recommendations Phase objectives:
Correlate the information obtained from the previous three phases into a summary
Outline the customer’s readiness from a network perspective for unified communications
Recommendations Phase goals:
Describe how Lync affects the customer’s network
Provide input to the network engineering team
Analyze traffic simulation to assess UC Readiness
 Part art, part science

41. Possible Outcomes and Recommendations
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Possible Outcomes and Recommendations
Potential bottlenecks and problem areas
WAN links that should be upgraded
Behavior of the network when using RTC traffic
Input to the design of Lync, including:
Policies
Server Placement
Call Admission Control (CAC)
Explain some examples of recommendations that come out of a Network Assessment report after the assessment has been completed.

42. What We Learned – Module 1: Microsoft Dynamics GP Overview
Understand some of the key functionality available in Microsoft Dynamics GP
How transactions flow and integration occurs within the application
Identify options for user’s to personalize how the product works
Understand basic security options in Microsoft Dynamics GP