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: 1)  implementation methodology, including defining methodology phases, identifying phase deliverables, and preparing for traffic simulation; 2) 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; 3) 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; and 4) 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. This course maps to exam 74-335: Network Readiness and Assessment for Lync.

Target Student

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.

Prerequisites

Performance Based Objectives

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.

Course Content

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 pre-deployment 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.