Microsoft Exchange for IM and Presence Service on Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 9.1(1)
Configuration of IM and Presence for Microsoft Exchange Server integration

Configuration of IM and Presence for Microsoft Exchange Server integration

Configure presence gateway for Microsoft Exchange integration

You must configure a Microsoft Exchange server (Microsoft Outlook) as a presence gateway for calendaring information exchange. The Exchange gateway enables the IM and Presence server to reflect the availability information (calendar/meeting status) in the availability status of the user on a per-user basis.

The configuration options in this procedure are specific to your network environment and whether you are integrating:

  • Exchange 2003 with IM and Presence over WebDAV
  • Exchange 2007 with IM and Presence over WebDAV or Exchange Web Services (EWS)
  • Exchange 2010 with IM and Presence over EWS

You can either configure one WebDav server or multiple EWS Servers. You can not mix WebDAV and EWS server types in your deployment. For an overview of each type of Exchange integration, we recommend that you review IM and Presence integration with Microsoft Exchange.

If you add, update or delete an EWS or WebDAV Server, you must restart the Cisco Presence Engine for your configuration change to take effect. If you add multiple EWS Servers one after another, you can restart the Cisco Presence Engine once to effect all your changes simultaneously. IM and Presence notifies you (automated notification) when to restart services and directs you to Cisco Unified IM and Presence Serviceability to restart the Cisco  Presence Engine (select Cisco Unified IM and Presence Serviceability > Tools > Control Center - Feature Services.

Prior to Cisco Unified Presence release 8.6, when you add, change, or delete any exchange gateway, calendaring turns off for every user in the cluster. From Cisco Unified Presence release 8.6, the bulk disabling of user calendaring only happens when you delete the WebDAV gateway or the last EWS gateway.


Note


Prior to Cisco Unified Presence release 8.6, if you want to upgrade or downgrade your server, you need to delete your current server and manually add the target server. This results in calendar presence being disabled for ALL users in the cluster. From Cisco Unified Presence release 8.6, this issue has been addressed. You can now upgrade or downgrade your server and simply change the gateway type on IM and Presence without any impact to the end user. After the upgrade or downgrade, however, you must restart the Presence Engine (PE) and this may impact users.


Consider these implications for DNS configuration:

  • If you have configured DNS on IM and Presence , the Subject CN value of the leaf certificate can be either the FQDN or IP address. The value of the Presence Gateway field must match the Subject CN value of the leaf certificate.
  • If you have not configured DNS on IM and Presence , the Subject CN value of the leaf certificate must be an IP address. If the Subject CN value is not an IP address, you must regenerate this Exchange certificate to specify the IP address of the Exchange server as the Subject CN value. The value of the Presence Gateway field must match the Subject CN value of the leaf certificate.

Configure presence gateway for WebDAV

Before You Begin

Before you configure a presence gateway, you must upload a valid certificate chain to IM and Presence.

Procedure
    Step 1   Sign into Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration.
    Step 2   Select Presence > Gateways.
    Step 3   Select Add New.
    Step 4   Select Exchange -- WebDAV.
    Step 5   Enter a meaningful description in the Description field that will help you to distinguish between presence gateway instances when you have configured more than one type of gateway.
    Step 6   For the Presence Gateway field, enter the server location for the presence gateway and ensure that it matches the subject Common Name (CN) of the IIS certificate of the Exchange server. One of these values must be used to connect with the Microsoft Exchange server:
    • FQDN
    • IP address

    To configure a Presence Gateway for use with a Wildcard Certificate, the server location value that you specify must be part of the subdomain protected by the Wildcard Certificate. For example, if a Wildcard Certificate protects the subdomain *.cup.cisco.com, you must enter a server location value of <server name>.cup.cisco.com in the Presence Gateway field.

    Note   

    If you enter a FQDN, it must match the Subject name on the certificate from the Exchange server. This is the Subject Common Name (CN) value of the leaf certificate of this certificate chain. The FQDN must resolve to the address that services the request and uses the certificate.

    Step 7   In the Account Name field, enter the name of the Receive-As account that IM and Presence uses to connect to the Microsoft Exchange server, in this format: <domain>\<username>, bearing in mind the following:
    • If the Exchange server is configured to specify a default domain, it may not be necessary to include the domain as part of the user name.
    • Otherwise, specify the domain in front of the account name to avoid potential certificate errors (401 and 404 authentication responses).
    Step 8   Enter and confirm the Microsoft Exchange Account Password required for IM and Presence to connect to the Microsoft Exchange server. Enter the password again to confirm it. This value must match the Account Password of the previously configured account on the Microsoft Exchange Server.
    Step 9   Enter the port that is used to connect with the Microsoft Exchange server. IM and Presence integration with Microsoft Exchange must occur over a secure HTTP connection. We recommend you to use port 443 (default port) and not to change to other ports.
    Step 10   Select Save.
    Step 11   Verify that the connection between IM and Presence and the Exchange server succeeded. The Troubleshooter on the Presence Gateway configuration window reports the connection status. If you need to take corrective action, see the topic related to troubleshooting the Exchange server connection status.
    Step 12   Verify that the status of the Exchange SSL certificate chain is correct (Verified). The Troubleshooter on the Presence Gateway configuration window indicates if there is a certificate Subject CN mismatch. If you need to take corrective action, see the topic related to troubleshooting the SSL connection.
    Step 13   [Optional] If you are localizing your Calendaring integration, verify that the Exchange server URL contains the localized word for "Calendar”. If you need to take corrective action, see the topic related to known issues for Microsoft Exchange integration.

    Related References

    Configure presence gateway for EWS

    Before You Begin

    Before you configure a presence gateway, you must upload a valid certificate chain to IM and Presence.

    Procedure
      Step 1   Sign into Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration.
      Step 2   Select Presence > Gateways.
      Step 3   Select Add New.
      Step 4   Select Exchange -- EWS Server.
      Step 5   Enter a meaningful description in the Description field that will help you to distinguish between presence gateway instances when you have configured more than one type of gateway.
      Step 6   For the Presence Gateway field, enter the server location for the presence gateway and ensure that it matches the subject Common Name (CN) of the IIS certificate of the Exchange server. One of these values must be used to connect with the Microsoft Exchange server:
      • FQDN
      • IP address

      To configure a Presence Gateway for use with a Wildcard Certificate, the server location value that you specify must be part of the subdomain protected by the Wildcard Certificate. For example, if a Wildcard Certificate protects the subdomain *.cup.cisco.com, you must enter a server location value of <server name>.cup.cisco.com in the Presence Gateway field.

      Note   

      If you enter a FQDN, it must match the Subject name on the certificate from the Exchange server. This is the Subject Common Name (CN) value of the leaf certificate of this certificate chain. The FQDN must resolve to the address that services the request and uses the certificate.

      Step 7   Enter the name of the Impersonation account that IM and Presence uses to connect to the Microsoft Exchange server, in the form of either a User Principal Name (for example, user@domain), or a Down-Level Logon Name (for example, domain\user).
      Step 8   Enter and confirm the Microsoft Exchange Account Password required for IM and Presence to connect to the Microsoft Exchange server. Enter the password again to confirm it. This value must match the Account Password of the previously configured account on the Microsoft Exchange Server.
      Note   
      • If you add an EWS server and then proceed to add another server, the Account Name and Password fields will default to the credentials that you entered for the first server.
      • If you change the Account Name and Password credentials on an EWS server, the new credentials will be replicated on all configured EWS servers.
      Step 9   Enter the port that is used to connect with the Microsoft Exchange server. IM and Presence integration with Microsoft Exchange must occur over a secure HTTP connection. We recommend you to use port 443 (default port) and not to change to other ports.
      Step 10   Select Save.
      Step 11   Verify that the connection between IM and Presence and the Exchange server succeeded. The Troubleshooter on the Presence Gateway configuration window reports the connection status. If you need to take corrective action, see the topic related to troubleshooting the Exchange server connection status.
      Step 12   Verify that the status of the Exchange SSL certificate chain is correct (Verified). The Troubleshooter on the Presence Gateway configuration window indicates if there is a certificate Subject CN mismatch. If you need to take corrective action, see the topic related to troubleshooting the SSL connection.
      Step 13   [Optional] If you are localizing your Calendaring integration, verify that the Exchange server URL contains the localized word for "Calendar”. If you need to take corrective action, see the topic related to known issues for Microsoft Exchange integrations.

      Related References

      Enable calendar integration

      By default, Cisco Jabber automatically determines the availability status of each person. It detects when a person is signed into the application or on the phone. Your system administrator can also integrate your Microsoft Outlook calendar to show you are in a meeting. You can choose if you display your phone and meeting status by setting an option.

      Follow the steps below to set an option to display your phone and meeting status.


      Note


      Calendar integration can only be enabled on an individual basis, however calendar integration can be disabled for all users by removing the last calendar presence gateway from the configuration.


      Before You Begin

      Ensure the presence gateway is configured on IM and Presence. For more information, see Configure presence gateway for Microsoft Exchange integration.

      Procedure
        Step 1   Sign into the Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence User Options page.
        Step 2   Select User Options > Preferences.
        Step 3   Under Calendar Settings, set the Include Calendar Information in my Presence Status to On.
        Step 4   Select Save.

        [Optional] Configure frequency of Microsoft Exchange calendar notifications on EWS

        Note that this procedure only applies if you are integrating Microsoft Exchange server 2007 or 2010 over EWS. These steps are not required for WebDAV calendar integration.

        The EWS Status Frequency parameter specifies an interval (in minutes) that determines how long it will be before the Exchange server updates the subscription on IM and Presence. By default this parameter is 60 minutes. Shorten this duration if you want the Presence Engine on IM and Presence to detect that it has lost the subscription more frequently than every 60 minutes (default). Error detection improves if you shorten the duration but there is a corresponding increased load on the Exchange server and the IM and Presence server.

        Procedure
          Step 1   Select Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration > System > Service Parameters.
          Step 2   Select the IM and Presence server from the Server menu.
          Step 3   Select Cisco UP Presence Engine (Active) from the Service menu.
          Step 4   Edit the parameter value in the EWS Status Frequency field. By default this parameter is 60 minutes.
          Step 5   Select Save.

          What to Do Next

          EWS Status Frequency parameter changes will be updated incrementally as calendar integration occurs on a per user basis. However, we recommend that you restart the Cisco Presence Engine to effect the parameter change for all users at once. Select Cisco Unified IM and Presence Serviceability > Tools > Service Activation.

          Troubleshooting Tips

          This parameter limit is 1440 minutes.

          [Optional] Configuration of multilingual support for calendar integration

          Note that this procedure only applies if you are integrating Microsoft Exchange server 2003 or 2007 over WebDAV. These steps are not required for EWS calendar integration.

          User locales are country-specific, and user locale files provide the translated text for user applications and user web pages in a given locale. If you want to expand your Microsoft Exchange deployment to support multiple languages, you must configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager and IM and Presence to support the user locales that you require in your calendaring integration. There is no limit to the number of supported languages.

          Install locale installer on Cisco Unified Communications Manager

          Before you begin this procedure, consider the following caveats:

          • You must install Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Release 6.x or a higher release) on every server in the cluster before you install the Cisco Unified Communications Manager locale installer.
          • The default setting for installed locales is "English, United States”. We strongly recommend that you install the appropriate language/locale on Cisco Unified Communications Manager and select the appropriate language/locale on the Exchange server the first time the user signs in. Note the following considerations that apply to WebDAV integrations only:
            • If you set the default language (English) on the Exchange Mailbox of an end user when there is a different language/local installed on Cisco Unified Communications Manager, you cannot change the locale for the user later. For more information about this issue, see Localization caveat with WebDAV calendar integrations.
            • If you set a locale other than English, you must install the appropriate language installers on both Cisco Unified Communications Manager and on IM and Presence. Ensure the locale installer is installed on every server in the cluster (install on the Publisher server before the Subscriber servers).
          • User locales should not be set until all appropriate locale installers are loaded on both systems. Users may experience problems with calendaring if they inadvertently set their user locale after the locale installer is loaded on Cisco Unified Communications Manager but before the locale installer is loaded on IM and Presence. If issues are reported, we recommend that you notify each user to sign into Cisco Unified Communications Manager User Options pages and change their locale from the current setting to English and then back again to the appropriate language. Yo u can also use the BAT tool to synchronize user locales to the appropriate language.
          • You must restart the server for the changes to take effect. After you complete all locale installation procedures, restart each server in the cluster. Updates do not occur in the system until you restart all servers in the cluster; services restart after the server reboots.
          • Make sure that you install the same components on every server in the cluster.

          To complete this procedure on Cisco Unified Communications Manager, see the Cisco Unified Communications Operating System Administration Guide here:

          http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​en/​US/​docs/​voice_ip_comm/​cucm/​cucos/​8_0_1/​cucos/​iptpch7.html#wp1054072

          What to Do Next

          Install locale installer on Cisco Unified Communications Manager

          Install locale installer on IM and Presence

          Before You Begin
          • Install the locale installer on Cisco Unified Communications Manager. If you want to use a locale other than English, you must install the appropriate language installers on both Cisco Unified Communications Manager and on IM and Presence.
          • If your IM and Presence cluster has more than one node, make sure that the locale installer is installed on every server in the cluster (install on the Publisher server before the Subscriber servers).
          • User locales should not be set until all appropriate locale installers are loaded on both systems. Users may experience problems with calendaring if they inadvertently set their user locale after the locale installer is loaded on Cisco Unified Communications Manager but before the locale installer is loaded on IM and Presence. If issues are reported, we recommend that you notify each user to sign into Cisco Unified Communications Manager user options pages and change their locale from the current setting to English and then back again to the appropriate language. Yo u can also use the BAT tool to synchronize user locales to the appropriate language.
          • You must restart the server for the changes to take effect. After you complete all locale installation procedures, restart each server in the cluster. Updates do not occur in the system until you restart all servers in the cluster; services restart after the server reboots.
          Procedure
            Step 1   Browse to this location on Cisco.com to locate the IM and Presence locale installer.
            Step 2   Select the version of the IM and Presence locale installer that is appropriate for your working environment.
            Step 3   After downloading the file, save the file to the hard drive and note the location of the saved file.
            Step 4   Copy this file to a server that supports SFTP.
            Step 5   Sign into Cisco Unified IM and Presence Operating System Administration using your administrator account and password.
            Step 6   Select Software Upgrades > Install/Upgrade.
            Step 7   Select Remote File System as the software location source.
            Step 8   Enter the file location, for example /tmp, in the Directory field.
            Step 9   Enter the name of the server that contains the locale installer file (the server that you specified in Step 4). This copies the file to your IM and Presence server where you can install it.
            Step 10   Enter your username and password credentials in the User Name and User Password fields.
            Step 11   Select SFTP for the Transfer Protocol.
            Step 12   Select Next.
            Step 13   Select the IM and Presence locale installer from the list of search results.
            Step 14   Select Next to load the installer file and validate it.
            Step 15   After you complete the locale installation, restart each server in the cluster.
            Step 16   The default setting for installed locales is "English, United States”. While your IM and Presence server is restarting, change the language of your browser, if necessary, to match the locale of the installer that you have downloaded.

            If you use this browser:

            Configuration Steps

            Internet Explorer

            Version 6.x

            1. Select Tools > Internet Options.
            2. Select the General tab.
            3. Select Languages.
            4. Use the Move Up button to move your preferred language to the top of the list.
            5. Select OK.

            Mozilla Firefox

            Version 3.x

            1. Select Tools > Options.
            2. Select the Content tab.
            3. Select Choose in the Languages section of the window.
            4. Use the Move Up button to move your preferred language to the top of the list.
            5. Select OK.
            Step 17   Verify that your users can select the locale(s) for supported products.

            Troubleshooting Tips

            Make sure that you install the same components on every server in the cluster.


            What to Do Next

            Set user locales for multilingual calendar integration

            Set user locales for multilingual calendar integration

            Before You Begin
            • Install the Cisco Unified Communications Manager and IM and Presence locale installers that contain all the available languages. User locales should not be set until all appropriate locale installers are loaded on both systems.
            • The default setting for installed locales is "English, United States". We strongly recommend that you install the appropriate language/locale on Cisco Unified Communications Manager and select the appropriate language/locale on the Exchange server the first time the user signs in. Note that if you set the default language (English) on the Exchange Mailbox of an end user when there is a different language/local installed on Cisco Unified Communications Manager, you cannot change the locale for the user later. For more information about this issue, see topics related to localization caveats with WebDAV calendar integrations.
            • You may experience problems with calendaring if you inadvertently set your user locale after the locale installer is loaded on Cisco Unified Communications Manager but before the locale installer is loaded on IM and Presence. To force the system to use the appropriate language, we recommend that you sign into Cisco Unified Communications Manager user pages and change the user locale from the current setting to English. Then reset the locale to the language that you require.
            Procedure
            Complete the procedure specific to your role (administrator or user), as follows:
            1. If you are an administrator, do the following:
              1. Sign in to Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration using the administrator account and password.
              2. Select User Management > End User.
              3. Use the Find and List functionality to search for and locate the user that you require.
              4. Select the User ID hyperlink for the user that you require.
              5. Select the appropriate language for the user from the User Locale drop-down list.
            2. If you are a user, do the following:
              1. Sign in to Cisco Unified Communications Manager User Options using the user account and password.
              2. Select User Options > User Settings Configuration.
              3. Select the appropriate language for the user from the User Locale drop-down list.
              4. Select Save.

            [Optional] Configure Microsoft Exchange notification port

            This topic only applies if you want the Presence Engine to listen for incoming notifications from the Exchange server on another port specific to your network configuration. This procedure can apply to both WebDAV and EWS Exchange configurations.

            If you have a WebDAV integration, UDP port 50020 is used by default to receive the HTTPU notifications. If you have an EWS integration, a TCP port is used by default to receive the HTTP notifications.

            Before You Begin

            If you change from the default port, make sure that the replacement port that you assign is not already in use.

            Procedure
              Step 1   Select Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration > System > Service Parameters.
              Step 2   Select the IM and Presence server from the Server menu.
              Step 3   Select Cisco Presence Engine (Active) from the Service menu.
              Step 4   Edit the parameter value for the Microsoft Exchange Notification Port field in the Presence Engine Configuration section. By default this parameter is 50020 for WebDAV configurations.
              Step 5   Select Save.

              What to Do Next

              We recommend that you restart the Cisco Presence Engine to effect the parameter change for all users at once. Select Cisco Unified IM and Presence Serviceability > Tools > Service Activation.

              Troubleshooting Tips

              • If you change from the default port, the Presence Engine will continue to use the existing calendar information for users, (including the number of meetings and the start and end times) until such time as the Exchange subscription for the user is renewed. It may take up to an hour for the Presence Engine to receive notifications that a user’s calendar has changed.
              • We recommend that you restart the Cisco Presence Engine to effect the change for all users at once.

              [Optional] Configure duration range of Microsoft Exchange calendar notifications

              By default, the Presence Engine allows for meeting/busy notifications to be sent 50 seconds after the top-of-minute. If you have a small user base, we recommend that your shorten this delay using the formula specified in this procedure. However, note that this topic is optional and only applies if you want to change the duration range for any reason specific to your network configuration.

              Before You Begin

              Use this formula to configure this field value (in seconds): Maximum number of assigned users / 100. For example, if a node has a maximum number of users of 1000, then the offset range is 10 seconds.

              Procedure
                Step 1   Select Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration > System > Service Parameters.
                Step 2   Select the IM and Presence server from the Server menu.
                Step 3   Select Cisco Presence Engine (Active) from the Service menu.
                Step 4   Edit the parameter value in the Calendar Spread field. By default this parameter is 50.
                Step 5   Select Save.

                What to Do Next

                Calendar Spread parameter changes are updated incrementally as calendar integration occurs on a per user basis. However, we recommend that you restart the Cisco Presence Engine to effect the parameter change for all users at once. Select Cisco Unified IM and Presence Serviceability > Tools > Service Activation.

                Troubleshooting Tips

                • This parameter limit is 59 seconds. If meetings start or end more than one minute late, it interferes with meeting start/end counters and notifications.
                • If a very large number of users transition either in and/or out of meetings, a mass notification event occurs that may delay some notifications up to a few minutes.

                Other Microsoft Exchange parameters

                There are three other Microsoft Exchange calendaring parameters that you can configure in the Service Parameters window of Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Administration:

                • Exchange Timeout (seconds)—the duration, in seconds, before a request made to a Exchange server times out.
                • Exchange Queue—the length of the request queue.
                • Exchange Threads—the number of threads used to service Exchange requests.

                Caution


                We do not recommend that you change the default settings of these parameters because any changes to these parameters may adversely affect your Microsoft Exchange integration. Contact Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) for support.