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Skype for Business Server and Flash Player (Desktop Experience)

If you do not want to inadvertently add Adobe Flash to your Skype for Business Server 2015 installation, a desktop application that serves no real purpose on your SERVER operating system (other than making it vulnerable from a security perspective), a review of my previous post* is in order.

This is important as various blog postings, including Microsoft’s #skype4b documentation on TechNet Library (link), continue to make the same (old) suggestion to install this “side application” as part of the prerequisites as of today.
Continue reading “Skype for Business Server and Flash Player (Desktop Experience)”

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Article: Using PowerShell DSC to Deploy Update Packages

I am really excited to share that my latest article “Using PowerShell DSC to Deploy Update Packages” is now published online at WindowsNetworking.com (many thanks to fellow MVP Mitch Tulloch!).

By way of the Desired State Configuration feature, a standards based system management platform delivered as part of Windows PowerShell 4.0 and higher, you can deploy common update packages (.msu) – including Windows Management Framework 5 RTM which comes with PowerShell 5 – using DSC itself.

You are cordially invited to check out this article where your feedback here or via social media (@_leedesmond) is always welcome!

 

 

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Skype for Business Server: Login Failed (Untrusted Domain)

You are login with a Skype for Business Server administrative account holding appropriate rights/permissions on a workstation which is joined to the Active Directory domain. Upon executing a #skype4b command on the Control Panel or management shell, you encountered the error below:

Get-CsAddressBookConfiguration : Login failed. The login is from an untrusted domain and cannot be used with Windows authentication.
At line:1 char:1
+ Get-CsAddressBookConfiguration
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Get-CsAddressBookConfiguration], SqlConnectionException + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.Rtc.Common.Data.SqlConnectionException,Microsoft.Rtc.Management.Internal.GetAddressBookConfigurationCmdlet

If you have recently changed the account’s password, simply lock and unlock the administrative workstation using the updated credentials to fix this issue.

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#skype4b: Active Directory Error “-2147418113”

You are performing operational tasks in Skype for Business Server with the Control Panel when an Active Directory error message similar to the below started popping up for no apparent reason:

Get-CsUser : Active Directory error “-2147418113” occurred when looking for global catalogs in forest “swissitpro.ch“: “The user name or password is incorrect.”
At line:1 char:1
+ Get-CsUser -Identity swissitpro\desmond
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Get-CsUser], ADOperationException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.Rtc.Management.ADConnect.ADOperationExcep
tion,Microsoft.Rtc.Management.AD.Cmdlets.GetOcsUserCmdlet

Continue reading “#skype4b: Active Directory Error “-2147418113””

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Skype for Business: Connection Successful … Error Pre-login Handshake … Timed Out

The error below could result when performing an administrative task with the Skype for Business Control Panel or running a cmdlet in the management shell.

PS C:\Users\administrator> Get-CsUser user01
Get-CsUser : A connection was successfully established with the server, but
then an error occurred during the pre-login handshake. (provider: SSL Provider, error: 0 – The wait operation timed out.)
At line:1 char:1
+ Get-CsUser user01
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Get-CsUser], SqlConnectionExc
eption
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.Rtc.Common.Data.SqlConnectionException
,Microsoft.Rtc.Management.AD.Cmdlets.GetOcsUserCmdlet

To resolve, ensure that the host machine has sufficient RAM memory and/or close unneeded running applications. This fix applies even if the Windows operating system appears to be running with adequate memory. Otherwise, a machine reboot may be in order.

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RTM Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5.0 Packages Republished

Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5.0 RTM packages
(PowerShell 5.0 and supporting framework for down-level OS#)

  • includes updates to Windows PowerShell, Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC), Windows Remote Management (WinRM) and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
  • applies to Windows Server 2012 / R2, Windows 2008 R2 SP1, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1 (download and release notes)
  • replace previously released WMF 5.0 RTM* and Production Preview packages
  • require WMF 4.0 and .NET Framework 4.5 or higher installed to run WMF 5.0 on Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (see Note)
  • described in KB3134758, KB3134759, and KB3134760
  • fix the $PSModulePath issue in the initial release of WMF 5.0 RTM packages# (more here)
  • Systems that are running the following server applications should not run Windows Management Framework 5.0 at this time**:
    – Microsoft Exchange Server 2013
    – Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 SP3
    – Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013
    – Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010
    – System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager

To get the same set of functionality in Windows 10, make sure you upgrade / update to Build 1511 per KB3120677 / KB3124262## via Windows Update (or WSUS, System Center, etc.).

* KB3094174, KB3094175 and KB3094176 must all be uninstalled first
** can run WMF 5.0 on System Center 2012 Configuration Manager
# not applicable to Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview builds
## first release Nov 2015; see [1]

NOTE

  • Windows Management Framework (WMF) 4.0 Update Package for Windows Server 2012 (KB3119938), Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows 7 SP1 (KB3109118) ; link
  • Windows Management Framework 4.0 RTM is a pre-requisite for installing these packages.
  • see Nov 2014 Update Rollup (KB3000850) for Windows 8.1 / RT and Windows Server 2012 R2. Prerequisites KB2919355.

REFERENCE

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Skype for Business: A network-related or instance-specific SQL error #26 … 2/2

One workaround for this strange issue is to explicitly detach from and rejoin the member server FE01 to the AD domain. This should automatically fix the network category of the active network adapter* to “Domain network”.

Lastly, consider running nltest.exe with the /SC_QUERY and /SC_VERIFY switches to verify successful connection to the Active Directory network.

* connected to the production network

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Skype for Business: A network-related or instance-specific SQL error #26 … 1/2

Attempts to manage your UC infrastructure with Skype for Business 2015 Control Panel or Management Shell on a #skype4b Front-End server, FE01 may provoke an error similar to the following:

Get-CsClientVersionPolicy: A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server. The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections. (provider: SQL Network interfaces, error: 26 – Error Locating Server/Instance Specified).

You verified that Windows Firewall exception (port 1433) on the Microsoft SQL Server 201x database backend … Continue reading “Skype for Business: A network-related or instance-specific SQL error #26 … 1/2”