Loading UCUpdates.cab into Lync

With last week’s release of the first updates for Lync, the question now becomes one of “what do I do?” – and if you know your Monty Python, you’ll know that the correct answer is “Nothing Dear, you’re not qualified”.

OK, actually, that’s not quite correct. There are a couple of steps needed…

Download the UCUpdates.exe file appropriate to the type of OCPE device(s) you have deployed. There are separate update files (although cleverly named the same!) for Aastra, Polycom and LG/Nortel devices, so remember to rename them as you go, or drop them somewhere different.
Each is just a self-extracting archive, so run them in turn to create the “ucupdates.cab” file we’ll upload in a sec.

Again, the file will end up with the same name each time, so either rename them, drop them somewhere else, or run through up to step 5 one at a time. Once the upload is done you can delete them – they’re of no further use to you).

Now identify the web service that hosts the Device Update service. Run this commandlet:
```
get-csService –identity webserver:<FE-FQDN>
```
Extract the “Service ID” from the output of this command, then run this one:

import-csDeviceUpdate –identity service:<serviceID-above> –filename c:\ucupdates.cab

From my experience, the identity is probably going to be “3-webservices-1.<FE-FQDN>” or something very similar – but you only need the service ID in step 4, not the domain.

Repeat step 4 until each of your cab files has been uploaded.
Login to the Lync Control Panel, selecting Clients and the Device Update tab. Note that the firmware you’ve just uploaded should be visible as a “Pending” version.

If you have a mix of handset types in your environment, I strongly recommend you put the brakes on at this stage. Take steps 7 & 8 in turn for each device model or family.

Select the firmware as appropriate, then click the Action pulldown and Approve.
Now power-cycle a working device. Watch it upgrade, reboot, then (hopefully) login. Make sure it works! If not, decide if you need to roll-back in a hurry. (If so, select the offending firmware version and then choose Action / Restore). (My April post on this subject may be of interest/relevance in this scenario).

If you’re a little more conservative or have a vast deployment, create a couple of Test Devices and thoroughly test the new firmware before you deploy it en masse.

– G.

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Updated 4th Jul 2012: you could go through the above, or just run this script from the “Ehlo World” blog instead!