This chapter describes remote access and federation for common scenarios in Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2. This chapter does not cover all of the possible scenarios or configurations; it covers the configurations that are most widely deployed.
Basic remote access topologies are identified, and then each of the primary and extended remote access scenarios is explained. An overview of each remote access scenario is shown from the user’s perspective, and then the technical details that make the scenario possible are presented.
If your organization has remote users, remote access enables them to have the same technologies that they would if they were inside your enterprise. Because the workplace is always changing and more users are located where they can work most effectively, IT professionals can no longer assume that users will be at a desk at the office logged into a machine that is safely inside the corporate firewall. Remote access enables users to use the familiar Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2 or Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007 R2 tools and collaborate with their team members wherever they are located. Whether the user is at home, at the coffee shop down the street, or at a remote location in another country, the experience and the tools should be the same.
Federation enables users in partnering businesses to collaborate and communicate in real time to provide better and faster service to customers. For example, federation enables users in Litware, Inc. to add contacts for their colleagues at Fabrikam. This allows for real-time collaboration through instant messaging (IM) and other communication tools. Similar to remote access, use of the familiar Office Communicator 2007 R2 and Office Live Meeting 2007 R2 provides for a rich toolset and easy access to information workers. This chapter also discusses the roles that the Edge Servers play in remote access and federation.
Note
The collocation of server roles has changed since Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. What is presented in this chapter is the supported server role collocation strategy. As of this writing, no supported scenario allows for the Access Edge, Web Conferencing Edge, or Audio/Video Edge Servers to exist as standalone components or in load-balanced arrays. Also, note that it is now supported to locate Access Edge Servers in any or all locations and not just in the primary data center, which is the only possible location in Office Communications Server 2007.
Considerations for enterprises that have multiple locations are also discussed. The following list contains the three main server roles, which have been discussed in earlier chapters, as well as some special roles that are involved in remote access and federation.
Access Edge Server role Handles Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) for signaling purposes and is the basis of instant messaging (IM)
Uses Office Communicator to log on to the enterprise network
Requires that the enterprise deploys the Access Edge Server role
Web Conferencing Edge Server role Provides services that are necessary for Live Meeting conferences
Uses the Live Meeting 2007 R2 client remotely to connect to a data conference
Requires that the Access Edge Server role and Web Conferencing Edge Server role are deployed by the enterprise
Audio/Video (A/V) Edge Server role Provides services for audio as well as streaming video
Uses Office Communicator remotely for A/V conferences
Requires that the Access Edge Server role and the A/V Edge Server role are deployed by the enterprise
Microsoft Office Communicator Web Access Server A special-purpose server that enables users to access some functions (for example, presence, conferences, application sharing, and IM) from any compliant browser
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 offers the following three topologies in which remote access can be deployed:
Single Edge Server topology
Scaled single-site Edge Server topology
Multisite Edge Server topology
Choosing a topology for your organization is based mainly on cost and the number of users in your organization. The single Edge Server topology is simple and easy to manage, but it does not handle a large number of users or offer high availability. The multisite Edge Server topology can be scaled to suit a worldwide enterprise with multiple locations, can provide a high-availability strategy, and will support thousands of users, but it is more complex to administer. One of the four topologies described in this chapter will work for most organizations.
In each topology, firewalls protect the edge network from the Internet and protect the enterprise network from malicious traffic from the edge network. The consolidated Edge Server validates traffic and connects to the internal servers in the organization server.
Note
Previous versions of Live Communications Server and Office Communications Server support load-balanced Standard Edition Servers as Directors. Office Communications Server 2007 R2 does not support load-balanced Standard Edition Servers. You will need to use load-balanced Enterprise Edition front-end servers to accomplish this requirement.