Topic Last Modified: 2010-11-07
In order to configure Microsoft Lync Server 2010 to automatically locate clients within a network, you need to either populate the Location database with a network wiremap and publish the locations, or define an external database that already contains the correct mapping. As part of this process, you validate the addresses with the E9-1-1 Services Service Provider. For details, see Configure the Location Database in the Deployment documentation.
 Note: |
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| Locations added to the Location database are not available to the client until they have been published. For details, see Publish the Location Database in the Deployment documentation. |
The following sections discuss considerations you need to take into account when populating and maintaining the Location database.
Populating the Location
Database
To help determine how you will populate the Location database, you should first answer the following questions.
- What process will you use to populate the Location database?
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Where does the data exist, and what steps do you need to take to convert the data into the format required by the location database? Will you add locations individually, in bulk using a CSV file?
- Do you have a third party database that already contains a mapping of locations?
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By using the Secondary Location Information Service to connect to a third party database, you can group and manage locations using an offline platform. A benefit to this approach is that in addition to associating locations to network identifiers, you can associate locations to a user. This means that the Location Information Server can return multiple addresses, originating from the Secondary Location Information Server, to a Lync Server 2010 client. The user can then choose the most appropriate location.
In order to integrate with the Location Information Server, the third party database must follow the Lync Server Location Request/Response schema. For information about deploying a Secondary Location Information Service, see Configure a Secondary Location Information Service in the Deployment documentation.
For details about populating the Location database, see Configure the Location Database in the Deployment documentation.
Maintaining the Location
Database
After you have populated the Location database, you need to develop a strategy for updating the database as the network configuration changes. To help determine how you will maintain the Location database, you should first answer the following questions.
- How will you update the Location database?
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There are several scenarios which require an update to the Location database, including office re-cabling (resulting in new ports) and subnet expansion. Will you directly update each individual location, or will you perform a bulk update of all the locations using a CSV file?
- Will you use an SNMP application to match MAC addresses to port and switch information?
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If you use an SNMP application, you need to develop a process for keeping the port and switch information in synch between the SNMP application and the Location database. If the SNMP application returns a port that is not included in the Location database, the Location Information Server will not be able to return a location to the client.