Setting up Federation in Skype for Business
Skype for Business External Connectivity
Skype for Business external connectivity (federation) enables a Skype for Business user to connect with users in other organizations that use Skype for Business as well as those that host their own Skype for Business Server on-premises.
Federated contacts can see presence, communicate by using IM, and make Skype-to-Skype audio and video calls.
There are a couple of federations important to have:
- Skype for Business Online (Office365)
- Exchange Online (Office365)
- Skype for Consumer (Skype.com)
Following are the federation relationships that are supported by Skype for Business and the available modalities:
- Skype for Business Server 2015 IM, Presence, Audio, Video, Conferencing
- Skype for Business Online IM, Presence, Audio, Video, Conferencing
- Lync Server 2010 IM, Presence, Audio, Video, Conferencing
- Lync Server 2013 IM, Presence, Audio, Video, Conferencing
- Office Communications Server 2007 R2 IM, Presence, Audio, Video, Conferencing
- Skype for Consumer IM, Presence, Audio, Video
Configure federation with Other Skype for Business systems
You can run the following commands on your Skype for Business Server Management Shell
Set-CsAccessEdgeConfiguration -AllowFederatedUsers $True
Configure federation with Skype for Business Online
You can run the following commands on your Skype for Business Server Management Shell
Set-CSAccessEdgeConfiguration -AllowOutsideUsers 1 -AllowFederatedUsers 1 -EnablePartnerDiscovery 1 -UseDnsSrvRouting
New-CSHostingProvider -Identity SkypeforBusinessOnline -ProxyFqdn "sipfed.online.lync.com" -Enabled $true -EnabledSharedAddressSpace $true -HostsOCSUsers $true -VerificationLevel UseSourceVerification -IsLocal $false -AutodiscoverUrl https://webdir.online.lync.com/Autodiscover/AutodiscoverService.svc/root
Configure with Exchange Online
You can run the following commands on your Skype for Business Server Management Shell
New-CsHostingProvider -Identity "Exchange Online" -Enabled $True -EnabledSharedAddressSpace $True -HostsOCSUsers $False -ProxyFqdn "exap.um.outlook.com" -IsLocal $False -VerificationLevel UseSourceVerification
Configure Public IM Connectivity (Skype.com)
You can run the following commands on your Skype for Business Server Management Shell
Remove-CsPublicProvider -Identity Skype
New-CsPublicProvider -Identity Skype -ProxyFqdn federation.messenger.msn.com –IconUrl https://images.edge.messenger.live.com/Messenger_16x16.png -NameDecorationRoutingDomain msn.com -NameDecorationExcludedDomainList "msn.com,outlook.com,live.com,hotmail.com" -VerificationLevel UseSourceVerification -Enabled $true -EnableSkypeIdRouting $true -EnableSkypeDirectorySearch $true
Now go to https://pic.lync.com to setup the federation. You will need the following information.
- Microsoft Agreement Number
- Access Edge service fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
- Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) domain(s)
- Any additional Access Edge service FQDNs
- Contact information
It can take up to 30days before it’s activated (my experience is within a day).