Web-Based Management Tools

Another technology, first seen in Exchange 2010 that is also in Lync Server is the web-based management tool known as the Lync Server Control Panel. This replaces the MMC-based management interfaces of OCS 2007 and OCS 2007 R2.

The real benefit of this web-based interface is that it enables a Lync Server administrator to manage the system from almost anywhere, without the need to install specialized software on a workstation. This is especially useful from a software management standpoint because you no longer need to worry about which systems might have outdated management interfaces installed on them.

The web-based interface operates by calling the Management Shell cmdlets to affect changes in the system. These calls are first passed through the RBAC restrictions to ensure that users are able to perform only the tasks that they have been delegated.

The Lync Server Control Panel requires Microsoft Silverlight 4.0 and supports the following browsers:

• Internet Explorer 7.0

• Internet Explorer 8.0

• Firefox 3.0