See Also
Microsoft Office Communicator Web Access supports instant messaging (IM) and presence, as well as conferencing, on computers that do not have a software desktop client and that do not connect through a virtual private network (VPN). Communicator Web Access provides Web server-based access to users who are enabled for Office Communications Server 2007 R2 through a browser-based client. IIS is the Web server that hosts Communicator Web Access.
The 2007 R2 version of Microsoft Office Communicator Web Access requires a supported Office Communications Server 2007 R2 deployment prior to installation. Communicator Web Access can be deployed as part of any supported Office Communications Server topology, including a branch office deployment.
The following considerations apply to Communicator Web Access topologies:
- Communicator Web Access servers must be deployed in the
internal network.
- The server where Communicator Web Access is installed must be a
member server in the same Active Directory forest as an Office
Communications Server 2007 R2 server.
- The 2007 R2 version of Communicator Web Access and Communicator
Web Access (2007 release) cannot be collocated on the same
computer.
In a mixed Communicator Web Access environment, the following client/server topologies are supported:
- The 2007 R2 version of Communicator Web Access with users homed
on Office Communications Server 2007 R2
- Communicator Web Access (2007 release) with users homed on
Office Communications Server 2007 R2
The following server topologies are supported:
- A single Communicator Web Access server
- Two or more physical (as opposed to virtual) Communicator Web
Access servers behind a hardware load balancer
- The 2007 R2 version of Office Communicator Web Access deployed
side-by-side with a Communicator Web Access (2007 release) server
Internal and External User
Support
The following topologies for internal and external users are supported:
- Separate server arrays for internal and external users
- Separate single servers for internal and external users
- One server for both internal and external users
It is strongly recommended, but not required, that internal and external user traffic be physically separated through the use of different physical Communicator Web Access server computers. Separation of internal and external user traffic through the use of application isolation mode in IIS 6.0 is also supported.
For external users, Communicator Web Access supports SSL Web publishing of the external Communicator Web Access virtual server by using a reverse proxy (recommended).
Internal clients do not need to be domain members. For details about supported browsers and the operating systems they can run on, see Web-Based Accessin the Planning and Architecture documentation.
IIS 6.0 Virtual Server
Configuration
Communicator Web Access supports any combination of internal and external virtual server instances on the same or different computers.
SSL Web Publishing
Configuration
The use of a reverse proxy with SSL to publish an external Communicator Web Access virtual server instance to the Web for remote users is recommended but not required.
Communicator Web Access Reverse
Proxy Configurations
Deploying one or more reverse proxies is supported and recommended, but not required, for Communicator Web Access.
Communicator Web Access supports any firewall or
reverse proxy configuration for creating a perimeter network,
including the Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA)
Server. If single sign-on (SSO) is enabled for a Communicator Web
Access virtual server, however, the only supported reverse proxy is
ISA Server 2006 with SSO enabled on the Web listener. For details
about ISA Server, visit the ISA Server Web site at