[This is pre-release documentation and subject to change in future releases. This topic's current status is: Milestone-Ready]

Topic Last Modified: 2010-07-17

You can install and run Topology Builder on a workstation or server that meets the requirements described in this section. This makes it possible to use Topology Builder outside of the production environment. However, when it is time to publish your topology and start deployment, you must publish it by running Topology Builder on the first Front End Server (after meeting all the prerequisites described in this section).

This topic provides the installation, publishing, and administration requirements for Topology Builder. Topology Builder is installed along with the Communications Server 2010 Administration Tools.

Requirements for Installing Topology Builder

To install the Administration Tools, including Topology Builder, make sure the computer is running the following:

  • Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 (64 bit), Windows Server 2008 R2 (64 bit), Windows Vista with SP2 (64 bit), or Windows 7 (64 bit)

  • Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 with SP1. After installing the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 package, you should immediately install the updates described in the following Knowledge Base articles:

    • For details about addressing a set of known application compatibility issues, see Knowledge Base article 959209, “An update for the .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 is available,” at KB959209.

    • For details about addressing a file association issue for XPS documents, see Knowledge Base article 967190, “Fix: You cannot open an XPS document by using the Microsoft XPS Viewer on a Windows Vista x64 edition-based computer that has .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 installed,” at KB967190.

  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable x64 9.0.30729 Package, which is available from the Microsoft Download Center at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=BD2A6171-E2D6-4230-B809-9A8D7548C1B6&displaylang=en.

  • Windows PowerShell V2 RTM. Windows PowerShell V2 is already available on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7. To install Windows PowerShell V2 RTM on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista, you must first uninstall any previous versions of Windows PowerShell prior to installing this required version.

Requirements for Publishing a Topology

You can publish your topology only by running Topology Builder on the first server to be deployed (the Front End Server). The following is required before you can publish and enable a topology from Topology Builder:

  • The SQL Server back-end server must be joined to the domain in which you are deploying the servers, online, and accessible during topology publishing.

  • The computers referenced in the topology must be joined to the domain and in Active Directory Domain Services, but do not need to be online when you publish the topology (except for the SQL Server back-end server, as described in the previous bullet).

  • The file share location must be established and accessible by the user account used to publish the topology.

  • The SQL Server 2005 backward compatibility components (SQLServer2005_BC.msi, which is included on the installation media) must be installed on the server on which you are using Topology Builder to publish the topology. This should be installed automatically when you install the Administration Tools.

  • Permission requirements for publishing are Domain Group membership in the following groups:

    • DomainAdmins Group

    • RTCUniversalServerAdmin Group

    A member of the DomainAdmins Group can follow Setup Delegation steps to delegate this task to other users or groups. For details, see Delegate Setup Permissions.

Requirements for Administering the Topology

The permission required to administer the topology by using the Communications Server Control Panel is Domain Group membership in the CSAdministrator Group.