Rename a Skype for Business Server (Front end or others)

Rename a Skype for Business Server (Front end or others)


The procedure is explained in simple step's. I had this a couple of times, not only why a customer wanted to change the name. Its the same if you made a typo ;)

Today a came across with an double task to do. Upgrading a SBS from Lync 2013 to Skype for Business. This ahs put me into a dilemma of the chicken egg problem.
Should I do an in-place upgrade first or a rename or or or?

The answer to me was straight forward. Since the servers to be reinstalled, I decided removing the SBA entirely and do a re-deployment with SfB. Since it was an SBS, equal with an Front End server, please make sure there are no user hosted or anything else.

Renaming Process:

  1. Remove Skype for Business server from topology
  2. Publish topology.
  3. Run Skype for Business Server Deployment Wizard local setup on server to remove Lync components (or run the bootstrapper)
  4. Uninstall SQL Server. Front-ends have LyncLocal and RTCLocal instances. Remove both, rebooting between instance removal.  Edge only has RTCLocal instance. 
  5. Remove SQL Server 2012 Management Objects (x64)
  6. Remove SQL Server 2012 Native Client (x64)
  7. Remove Microsoft System CLR Types for SQL Server 2012 (x64)
  8. Remove Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015, Front End Server
  9. Remove Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015, Core Components
  10. Delete leftover data:
    Delete C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server
    Delete C:\Program Files\Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015
    Delete C:\CSData
  11. Rename server and restart
  12. Wait until AD replication completes with new server name.
  13. Open Topology Builder, add a new server to existing pool and publish. (If this is a SBA or Standard Edition Server, the pool and the server FQDN is identical.)
  14. Reinstall Skype for Business Server 2015components and all cumulative updates
  15. Generate new certificate with updated server name and assign to appropriate services using Skype for Business Server 2015 Deployment Wizard.
  16. Restart all servers in pool at same time (only relevant for front-end servers in an Enterprise pool).



Note and Warnings:
Careful if this is the Pool where CMS is located. There you need to migrate the CMS to another pool first and starte the rename procedure. than you can move back the CMS.
Same to users or other applications. simply move them to a different server and move back after the rename procedure has finished.

Note:
This procedure applies to Lync server too.

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