Topic Last Modified: 2010-07-19
With Microsoft Communications Server 2010, configuration data about servers and services in Communications Server 2010 is moved to a new feature, the Central Management database. The Central Management database provides a more robust, schematized storage of the data needed to define, set up, maintain, administer, describe, and operate a Communications Server 2010 deployment. It also validates the data to ensure configuration consistency.
All changes to this configuration data happen at the Central Management database, eliminating “out-of-sync” problems. Read-only copies of the data are replicated to all servers in the topology, including Edge Servers.
Active Directory Domain Services is still used to store basic Communications Server user information, such as the user’s SIP URI and phone number. User policy information is stored in the Central Management database. The use of Active Directory Domain Services also provides backward compatibility with earlier releases of Communications Server.
To administer and manage servers and services, you use Communications Server Management Shell or the Communications Server Control Panel, which then make the settings in the Central Management database. Configuration changes are replicated to all the servers in your deployment by the Central Management Server, which runs on one Front End pool or one Standard Edition server in your deployment.