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Prepare Windows for Setup

Topic Last Modified: 2009-07-19

This topic describes tasks you can take to prepare the server before you install Office Communications Server. These tasks involve the following:

  • Apply operating system updates required for Windows Server 2008.
  • Configure Windows Firewall.
  • Disable Windows services.

Windows Server 2008 Windows Updates

The following operating system updates are prerequisites for deploying Office Communications Server 20007 R2:

  • Microsoft Knowledge Base article 953582, "You may be unable to install a program that tries to register extensions under the IQueryForm registry entry in Windows Server 2008 or in Windows Vista," at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=131392.
    This update must be installed before you install Office Communications Server 2007 R2 administrative tools. It applies to Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista.
  • Microsoft Knowledge Base article 953990, “AV at mscorwks!SetAsyncResultProperties,” at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=131394.
    This update applies to Windows Server 2003 SP2 and Windows Server 2008.

Windows Firewall

If you plan to use Windows Firewall, we strongly recommend that you enable and configure it before you install and activate Office Communications Server 2007 R2. If Windows Firewall is running when Office Communications Server is installed, the activation process, if run locally, automatically adds the exceptions needed for Office Communications Server. Windows Firewall must be running before you start the Office Communications Server services during the deployment process because that is when Office Communications Server opens the required ports in the firewall. If Windows Firewall is not running when you start the Office Communications Server services, the required ports are not opened.

If Windows Firewall is not running when you install Office Communications Server, you must start Windows Firewall after installation and then run the activation procedure locally to add the necessary exceptions. Alternatively, you can add the necessary exceptions to Windows Firewall manually. To identify the exceptions, search the installation log for the text string “firewall exceptions.” For details, see “Firewall Rules” in the Windows Server 2008 product documentation at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=144611 or “Managing Program, Port, and System Service Exceptions: Windows Firewall (WF)” in the Windows Server 2003 product documentation at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=144621.

The activation process does not automatically add exceptions needed for Office Communications Server on any Back-End Database Servers. For details, see later in this topic.

SQL Server Access

In an Enterprise pool, if both Windows Server 2008 (any version) and SQL Server 2008 (any version) or both Windows Server 2008 (any version) and SQL Server 2005 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) are installed on the computer that you designate as the back end, you must configure the Windows Firewall to allow SQL Server access to TCP port 1433 (by default) or to another, non-default port. If you have multiple SQL instances on the computer or if the TCP port is dynamically assigned, you can add the SQL Server service, Sqlservr.exe, to the firewall exception list instead.

For details, see Configure Windows Firewall for SQL Server 2008 Access in the Deploying Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Enterprise Edition documentation.

Remote Administration

If you want to use remote administration to deploy or administer Office Communications Server while Windows Firewall is running, you must configure Windows Firewall to enable the remote administration exception. For details, see “Help: Enable or disable the remote administration exception” in the Windows Server 2003 product documentation at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=137361. To remotely deploy or administer the Web Components Server, you must also add Inetinfo.exe to the Windows Firewall exceptions list. For details, see “Help: Add a program to the Windows Firewall exceptions list” in the Windows Server 2003 product documentation at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=137362.

Windows Service Dependencies

We recommend that you disable the Microsoft Windows operating system services that are not required on the computers where you install Office Communications Server. The table below describes the Windows services that Office Communications Server requires. You can safely disable all other services.

Office Communications Server Service Name Windows Service Dependencies

Office Communications Server Front-End (RTCSRV)

HTTP SSL (HTTP, IIS Admin Service, Remote Procedure Call, Security Accounts Manager)

Windows Management Instrumentation (Event Log and Remote Procedure Call)

Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions

If archiving is enabled, Message Queuing (Message Queuing access control, NTLM Security Support Provider [NTLMSSP] service, Remote Procedure Call, RMCAST [Pgm] Protocol Driver, TCP/IP Protocol Driver, IPSEC Driver, Security Accounts Manager)

Office Communications Server QoE Monitoring Agent – (RtcQmsAgent, runs on Front End Server)

Windows Management Instrumentation

Office Communications Server Audio/Video Conferencing (RTCAVMCU)

HTTP SSL (HTTP, IIS Admin Service, Remote Procedure Call, Security Accounts Manager)

Windows Management Instrumentation (Event Log and Remote Procedure Call)

Office Communications Server IM Conferencing (RTCIMMCU)

HTTP SSL (HTTP, IIS Admin Service, Remote Procedure Call, Security Accounts Manager)

Windows Management Instrumentation (Event Log and Remote Procedure Call)

Office Communications Server Telephony Conferencing (RTCACPMCU)

HTTP SSL (HTTP, IIS Admin Service, Remote Procedure Call, Security Accounts Manager)

Windows Management Instrumentation (Event Log and Remote Procedure Call)

Office Communications Server Web Conferencing (RTCDATAMCU)

HTTP SSL (HTTP, IIS Admin Service, Remote Procedure Call, Security Accounts Manager)

Windows Management Instrumentation (Remote Procedure Call)

Office Communications Server Archiving (RTCLOG)

Message Queuing (Message Queuing access control, NTLM Security Support Provider [NTLMSSP] service, Remote Procedure Call, RMCAST [Pgm] Protocol Driver, TCP/IP Protocol Driver, IPSEC Driver, Security Accounts Manager)

Windows Management Instrumentation

Office Communications Server Call Detail Recording (RTCCDR)

Message Queuing (Message Queuing access control, NTLM Security Support Provider [NTLMSSP] service, Remote Procedure Call, RMCAST [Pgm] Protocol Driver, TCP/IP Protocol Driver, IPSEC Driver, Security Accounts Manager)

Windows Management Instrumentation

Office Communications Server QoE Monitoring Service (RtcQms)

Message Queuing (Message Queuing access control, NTLM Security Support Provider [NTLMSSP] service, Remote Procedure Call, RMCAST [Pgm] Protocol Driver, TCP/IP Protocol Driver, IPSEC Driver, Security Accounts Manager)

Windows Management Instrumentation

Office Communications Server Conference Announcement Service (RTCCAS)

Windows Management Instrumentation (Event Log and Remote Procedure Call)

Office Communications Server Conferencing Attendant (RTCCAA)

Windows Management Instrumentation (Event Log and Remote Procedure Call)

Office Communications Server Application Host (RTCAPPSRV)

Windows Management Instrumentation (Remote Procedure Call)

Outside Voice Control (RTCCCS)

Windows Management Instrumentation (Remote Procedure Call), but only via Outside Voice Control’s dependency on unified communications application server

Office Communications Server Response Group Service (RTCACD)

Windows Management Instrumentation (Remote Procedure Call), but only via Response Group Service’s dependency on unified communications application server