Delivering Lync Real-Time Communications Over Wi-Fi

First published on TECHNET on May 18, 2012

The Delivering Lync Real-Time Communications Over Wi-Fi white paper is now available from the Microsoft Download Center. This white paper describes how Lync 2010 communications software, and previous releases, Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and Office Communications Server 2007, can be successfully implemented over wireless local area networks (Wi-Fi), even though these workloads have not yet been validated with voice and video (real-time media) over wireless networks.

This overview of issues and mitigations helps ensure a high-quality voice and video Lync experience for all users. To optimize the wireless infrastructure, particularly for real-time media traffic, you’ll find details regarding Wi-Fi (WLAN) technology, configuration settings, and optimization. In addition, this white paper presents deployment recommendations and evaluates typical enterprise, public hotspot, and home Wi-Fi deployments for real-time bidirectional media quality.

To download the white paper see Delivering Lync Real-Time Communications over Wi-Fi .

Author : Peter Schmatz, Microsoft Senior Program Manager

Publication date : October 26, 2012

Product version : Office Communications Server 2007, Office Communications Server 2007 R2, Lync Server 2010

Introduction

Wi-Fi connectivity is ubiquitous, and users expect to find Wi-Fi access in the office, at home, in public hotspots, in hotels, and on the road. However, the Quality of Service (QoS) in Wi-Fi varies widely, ranging from the ability to support basic email sync and web traffic, to the ability to support of a full range of multimedia applications and real-time communications.

This deployment guide discusses different usage scenarios of wireless connected devices, coverage, capacity, and QoS aspects, specifically for delivering real-time communication workloads, such as audio, video, and application sharing. You’ll also find deployment recommendations for enterprise, hotspot, and home Wi-Fi deployments, and a full discussion of issues and mitigations. Finally, the extensive appendix provides a detailed overview of legacy, current, and future Wi-Fi standards, Wi-Fi frequencies, Wi-Fi security, and Wi-Fi WAP handover and resource management.

By successfully deploying Lync 2010 over wireless networks—optimizing your wireless infrastructure for real-time media traffic, prioritizing types of usage, preparing for specific scenarios, and applying appropriate mitigations—you can help to ensure the best possible Lync 2012 experience for all users.

This white paper includes the following sections:

• Usage Scenarios




• Enterprise Wi-Fi usage scenarios


• Home Wi-Fi usage scenarios


• Public Wi-Fi hotspots usage scenarios




• Issues that Affect Wi-Fi Performance for Real-Time Application




• General issues (wireless NIC drivers, wireless NIC chipsets and hardware, legacy interoperability issues)


• Issues in enterprise Wi-Fi deployments


• Issues in public Wi-Fi hotspots


• Issues in home Wi-Fi deployments




• Enterprise Wi-Fi




• Mixed or Wi-Fi-only enterprise deployment


• Device types, usage patterns, legacy devices


• Usage patterns in enterprise Wi-Fi


• Legacy devices in enterprise Wi-Fi


• WMM QoS and Power Save support


• Enterprise WLAN controller


• Recommended Wi-Fi feature support and Wi-Fi configuration settings


• Wi-Fi policies


• Wireless network card recommendations


• Enterprise Voice Certifications




• Home Wi-Fi




• Home Wi-Fi deployment recommendations




• Public hotspot Wi-Fi




• Basic hotspot configurations

Lync Server Resources

• Lync Server 2010 Documentation Library


• DrRez blog


• NextHop blog


• Lync Server and Communications Server resources

We Want to Hear from You

• Fan us on Facebook


• Follow us on Twitter


• Send us e-mail

Keywords : Wi-Fi; wireless; wireless local area network; WLAN; wireless access point; WAP; AP; wireless infrastructure; real-time media; real-time communications; voice; video; communications software; communications workload; deployment guide; Lync 2010; Office Communications Server R2; Office Communications Server 2007; Lync experience; hotspot; public hotspot; hotspot Wi-Fi; enterprise Wi-Fi; home Wi-Fi