• Статья

Designing the Topology by Using the Planning Tool

 

Topic Last Modified: 2011-01-31

The Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Planning Tool is a wizard driven, interview-like tool that asks questions about the Microsoft Lync Server 2010 topology that you are designing. The Planning Tool uses the information supplied, coupled with preferred practices for topology design and capacity, to present a recommended topology based on the answers supplied.

Ultimately, the goal of the Planning Tool is to ease the potential complexity of designing a complete Lync Server 2010 topology. The tool also provides contextual references to planning and deployment documentation inside the tool, provided that an Internet connection is available to connect to the Microsoft TechNet website.

After customizing the topology with the infrastructure’s TCP/IP addresses and fully qualified domain names (FQDNs), the Planning Tool makes available a series of reports that cover Domain Name System (DNS) naming, firewall rules, certificates, and more.

The Planning Tool also provides the ability to export information in three formats:

  • Microsoft Excel 2010 (recommended) or Excel 2007

  • Microsoft Visio 2010 (recommended) or Visio 2007

  • Lync Server 2010 Topology Builder

The capability of the Planning Tool to export the design to Topology Builder allows the designer to visually define and construct a simple to a complex topology, export to Topology Builder, and prepare to publish and deploy Lync Server in a test environment or production. Additionally, the Planning Tool can be used to refine and enhance the design as new deployment options – such as additional sites – are needed. Reloading the existing topology, designing in the new features, sites, or servers, and then exporting to Topology Builder simplifies the decision criteria inherent in most design sessions.

The following topics introduce and detail the Planning Tool, discuss an example topology, and then discuss exporting the topology to Topology Builder. The topics on Topology Builder discuss the final fix-ups and edits that are required to ready the topology for publishing to the computers running Lync Server.