Client Compatibility
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 will reach end of support on January 9, 2018. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.
This topic discusses the ability of Office Communications Server 2007 R2 clients to coexist and interact with clients from earlier versions of Office Communications Server.
There are two types of client compatibility, as follows:
Multiple points of presence (MPOP): the ability of a single user to sign in to an Office Communications Server 2007 R2 server with multiple clients
Interoperability: the ability to interact with another user who is signed in using a different client type, or an earlier version of the same client
This topic also discusses the compatibility of Office Communicator 2007 R2 with various versions of Microsoft Office, Exchange Server, Windows, and with selected public instant messaging clients.
Planning for Compatibility
During migration, users with Office Communicator 2007 installed can sign in to an Office Communications Server 2007 R2 server, and interact with Office Communicator 2007 R2 clients. However, they will not have access to the new Office Communications Server 2007 R2 features.
To ensure that your organization’s migration to the new Office Communications Server 2007 R2 clients goes smoothly, consult the following topics:
Migration overview: Migration from Office Communications Server 2007 documentation and Migration from Live Communications Server 2005 documentation
Client migration: Phase 10: Update Client Software in the Migration from Office Communications Server 2007 documentation and Phase 8: Update Client Software in the Migration from Live Communications Server 2005 documentation
New features: Office Communicator Enhancements in the New Client Features documentation
Note
To coexist and interact with Office Communications Server 2007 R2 clients, earlier client versions must have the most current updates installed.
Compatibility among Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Clients
All Office Communications Server 2007 R2 clients can interoperate with other Office Communications Server 2007 R2 clients.
Most Office Communications Server 2007 R2 clients also support the multiple points of presence scenario, with the following exceptions:
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Attendant users cannot log on at the same time by using the 2007 R2 release of Communicator Mobile for Windows Mobile or the 2007 R2 release of Microsoft Office Communicator Web Access.
2007 R2 release of Communicator Mobile for Windows Mobile users cannot be signed in on two mobile devices at the same time.
Multiple Points of Presence with Previous Client Versions
The following table describes which client versions are supported when a single user is signed in to an Office Communications Server 2007 R2 server at multiple locations.
| Current Client Version | Previous Client Versions Supported (with required updates) |
|---|---|
Office Communicator 2007 R2 |
Office Communicator 2007 Office Communicator 2007 R2 Phone Edition 2007 release of Office Communicator Mobile |
2007 R2 release of Office Communicator Mobile for Windows Mobile |
Office Communicator 2007 Office Communicator 2007 Phone Edition |
Office Communicator 2007 R2 Phone Edition |
Office Communicator 2007 |
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Attendant |
Office Communicator 2007 |
Interoperability with Previous Client Versions
The following table shows which client versions can interact with Communicator 2007 R2 on an Office Communications Server 2007 R2 server.
Client Interoperability on Office Communications Server 2007 R2
| Current Client Version | Previous Client Versions Supported (with required updates) |
|---|---|
Office Communicator 2007 R2 |
Office Communicator 2007 Office Communicator 2007 Phone Edition 2007 release of Office Communicator Mobile 2007 release of Office Communicator Web Access Office Communicator 2005 (basic presence and IM only) |
2007 R2 release of Office Communicator Web Access |
Supports interoperability with the same clients as Communicator 2007 R2, above |
2007 R2 release of Office Communicator Mobile for Windows Mobile |
Supports interoperability with the same clients as Office Communicator 2007 R2, above |
Office Communicator 2007 R2 Phone Edition |
Office Communicator 2007 Office Communicator 2007 Phone Edition 2007 release of Office Communicator Web Access Office Communicator 2005 (basic presence and IM only) |
Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Attendant |
Supports interoperability with the same clients as Office Communicator 2007 R2 Phone Edition, above |
Communicator 2007 R2 Compatibility
This section discusses the compatibility of Office Communicator 2007 R2 with various versions of Microsoft Office, Exchange Server, Windows, and selected public instant messaging clients.
Microsoft Office
The following table describes the Office Communicator 2007 R2 features that are supported by various versions of Microsoft Office.
Communicator 2007 R2 and Microsoft Office compatibility
| Microsoft Office Version | Comments |
|---|---|
Office 2000 |
Not supported |
Office XP SP3 |
Contacts No presence menu—INFO line only |
Office 2003 SP3 |
Access presence menu Make voice calls Reply to IMs Search folders and notifications |
Office 2007 SP1 |
View presence button Access presence menu Reply with IM or conference Tagging Contextual data |
Exchange Server
The following table describes Office Communicator 2007 R2 support for various versions of Exchange Server. Office Outlook must also be installed on the client computer to handle Extended MAPI calls.
Communicator 2007 R2 and Exchange Server Compatibility
| Exchange Server Version | Communicator 2007 R2 Support |
|---|---|
Exchange Server 5.5 |
Not supported |
Exchange 2000 Server |
Extended MAPI only |
Exchange Server 2003 |
Extended MAPI only |
Exchange Server 2007 SP1 |
Free/Busy information and working hours are available only through Exchange Web Services Public folders are optional in Exchange Server 2007 |
Windows
The following table describes Office Communicator 2007 R2 compatibility with various versions of Windows.
Communicator 2007 R2 and Windows compatibility
| Windows Version | Communicator 2007 R2 Support |
|---|---|
Windows Vista 32-bit operating system |
Supported |
Windows Vista 64-bit operating system |
Supported in Windows on Windows 64 mode |
Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or greater |
Supported |
Windows 2003 Server SP2 or greater |
Supported |
Windows 2000 SP4 |
Not supported |
Public Instant Messaging Clients
Communicator 2007 R2 supports IM and basic presence when communicating with the following public instant messaging clients:
Live Messenger
AIM
Yahoo!
Messenger for Mac 7
Presence states are filtered to those supported by the public IM client.