Skype for Business – Install Steps

As Skype for Business bits are now available on MSDN, I started a deployment in my lab.

There is no previous Lync deployed in this lab, so this will be a fresh install steps post.

Skype for Business Setup

First, load the setup using the <DVD drive>\setup\amd64\setup.exe file

 

I choose to check if there is any updates – even if I’m pretty sure that right now there is no update for SfB

As usual, accept the license agreement if you want to install Skype for Business

 

As I chose to check for update, the setup let me know if there were available updates or not – as expected there is no update right now

 

So let’s continue while the setup installs SfB core components

 

The interface to setup Skype for Business has not changed; so if you are familiar with the Lync one, you will not be lost

 

Prepare Active Directory

So the first steps is to update Active Directory schema with SfB schema updates: just hit Prepare Active Directory

 

And then run each step – for step 5, if you have more than 1 domain deployed within your AD Forest, you may have to run this step on each other domain too

 

Prepare AD Schema

 

Prepare Current Forest

 

Prepare Current Domain

 

Standard vs Enterprise Deployment

As for Lync you can deploy both Standard and Enterprise edition using the same media; if you want to deploy Standard edition you just have to run the Prepare first Standard Edition server wizard from the right side of the setup wizard or for Enterprise start by installing the administrative tools using the Install Administrative Tools option

 

For the purpose of this post, I’m going to deploy Enterprise edition

Administrative Tools Deployment

 

Ok, so Skype for Business is ready to be configured as Enterprise Edition

Configure Skype for Business Enterprise Edition

Start the Skype for Business Topology Builder

 

Then I choose to create a new topology

 

Define the SIP primary
domain to use

 

Add additional SIP domains if you need to add more domains – don’t forget these domains will have to be included in the certificate

 

Define the first SfB site

 

And the details of this site

 

Then you will be able to start to configure the first Skype for Business site

 

New Front End Pool

After setting up the first site, you have to create a front end; this process is exactly the same for Lync

You can use a SQL Always On Availability Group