Lync Server 2013 Update – December 2014

Another one! We seem to be on a three-weekly cycle at the moment! (November’s I wrote up here).

This update takes Lync Server 2013 from 5.0.8308.834 to 5.0.8308.857.

What’s Fixed?

Of the four MSIs in this update, only ONE has any specific fixes mentioned, with the others containing the usual improvements to the “reliability, stability, and performance” of the product. Here are the fixes we know of:

  • kb3018165 Agents in a response group cannot receive a call in a Lync Server 2013-based Lync client
  • kb3018167 External user cannot sign in to a Lync client by using a SIP address of a new domain in a Lync Server 2013 environment

What’s New?

  • Nothing apparently.

What’s Changed?

The meeting join experience has changed for users of Chrome: “Google Chrome no longer supports Lync Web App”.

ChromeNoLongerSupportsWebApp

Changes to Chrome broke Outlook Web Access earlier in the year, and now it appears to be Lync’s turn – but I suspect this is a pre-emptive strike on behalf of the Lync product team to at least minimise the issue for users.

Updated Dec 18th: The change is referenced in this kb.

Download

Installation

before-Dec2014-8308.857

 

The September update listed as a pre-req that “You must make sure that all instances of the Event Viewer and Performance Monitor windows are closed before you install this cumulative update” so it’s best to follow that guidance here – especially if your servers AREN’T presently already at least at 5.0.8308.815. Other than that requirement, the update process remains much the same as usual, although the installation process for the Windows Fabric update (NOT required this time if you’re already on 5.0.8308.815 or later, as per my image above) also requires all Lync services are stopped before you run the installer.

If your server is running at version 5.0.8308.291 or later (which I think just about covers everything BUT an unpatched brand new server) you only need to run my steps 1-5 below:

  1. Check you’re ready for this: run “Get-CsPoolUpgradeReadinessState”
  2. Stop-CsWindowsService
  3. Get-CsWindowsService – just to make sure
  4. Run the update – it won’t want a reboot but it WILL drop your users off!
  5. Update “configured databases”, making sure you don’t overlook your Persistent Chat, Monitoring and Archiving Databases. NB: Take extra care – and read the kb guidance – if you’re Mirroring, or have co-located databases
  6. Update the CMS (ONLY if it’s hosted on a Lync 2013 server & ONLY if you’re still on RTM, aka 5.0.8308.0)
  7. Enable the Mobility service (with Enable-CsTopology)
  8. Enable UCWA by running bootstrapper.exe on all Front-End and Director servers

A good test after applying the updates is to run Pat’s “Get-CsDatabaseUpdateStatus” script just to make sure you didn’t miss anything.

Don’t Overlook Exchange!

There’s an update to the UCMA Runtime in this bundle, so if your Exchange 2013 server has the UM role installed is integrated with Lync it’ll want an update too! (If in doubt, just run the installer – it will tell you if UCMA is installed and needs the update. You can then back out and schedule it at a suitable time).

Exchange-After-Dec2014-8308.857

 

Revision History

Updated 16Dec: Added “What’s Changed” and the Chrome image.

5th Jan 2015: Removed some ambiguous wording in “Don’t Overlook Exchange!”.

– G.

7 Comments

  1. You said this:
    “There’s an update to the UCMA Runtime in this bundle, so if your Exchange is integrated with Lync it’ll want an update too!”

    My notes:
    1) why this serious step is nowhere mentioned in any of the Lync (or Exchange) update KB articles on support.microsoft.com? Pure ignorance of MS? Should tell them this is a serious hole in their patching instruction guide!

    2) I suspect this update is needed only on the server that runs Unified Messaging server role, and not on the generic CAS server role (as the UM role requires UCMA binaries, CAS itself does not need this prereq).

    “if Exchange is integrated with Lync..” Well, this is very poorly worded, as its ambiguous and can both mean the UM-like integration, or the OVA-Lync integration), so proper describing the exact nature of the integration is a welcome next time :)

    Wonder if anybody on the planet is actually updating Exchange UM server every time the Lync UCMA update is released. I doubt anybody is doing this, due to the lack of knowledge on this little-known detail…

    • Additionally, I tried to install the UCMARuntime.msp on a Exch 2010 SP3 CAS+MBOX+UM server, and the error message said there are no products installed on the server that can apply this MSP patch file. Checking the KB article:

      http://support.microsoft.com/KB/3018162
      December 2014 Cumulative Update 5.0.8308.857 for Lync Server 2013 Unified Communications Managed API 4.0 Runtime
      –> To apply this cumulative update, install the UcmaRuntime.msp package on computers that are running the following server roles:

      Lync Server 2013 – Standard Edition Server
      Lync Server 2013 – Enterprise Edition Front End Server
      Lync Server 2013 – Edge Server
      Lync Server 2013 – Stand-Alone Mediation Server
      Lync Server 2013 – Director Server
      Lync Server 2013 – Persistent Chat Server
      —> no exchange 2010 / 2013 UM server here

      Applies to

      Microsoft Unified Communications Managed API 4.0 Runtime
      Microsoft Lync Server 2013
      —> no exchange 2010 / 2013 UM server here

      So the circumstances of when and where to apply this patch are even less clear to me than before I posted my previous comment.

  2. Hi Richard,

    You’re right – the wording of the KBs and installation instructions – and my own post – could be improved. I’ve fed this ongoing omission back to my Microsoft uplink concerning the former and taken a note re the latter.

    The UCMA Runtime is a pre-requisite for the UM role on Exchange 2013:
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd638120(v=exchg.150).aspx

    … but it was something you added in the separate Lync *OWA* integration stages back in 2010 – and “2010” is the clue here: it’s the Lync 2010 updates and version of UcmaRuntime.msp that your 2010 Exchange server should be patched with. Run this one on your UM server and see what it thinks:
    http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=11551

    Thanks for the input!

    – Greig.

  3. We have 2 Enterprise Edition Front end pool with separate SQL store with mirroring and witness
    Each pool has 3 FE Enterprise pool

    currently we are running with CU3

    what is the procedure we need to follow at database end

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