It comes with IPv6 support, H.264 video codec, Persistent Chat Server and more

Jul 24, 2012 13:45 GMT  ·  By

In addition to making available the preview flavor of its Office 2013 productivity suite, Microsoft also provided a series of details on the new features included in Lync Server 2013 last week.

Also available in a preview form for the time being, Microsoft’s Lync Server 2013 comes with instant messaging (IM), presence, conferencing, and telephony solutions for enterprises.

The communication software offers support for enterprise-level collaboration requirements, and delivers a nice range of enhancements when compared to the previous releases.

According to an entry on Microsoft’s TechNet website, Lync Server 2013 Preview comes with full support for IPv6 addresses.

Moreover, it also offers a new series of video features, such as support for HD 1080P calls, the H.264 video codec included as default for encoding, and support for gallery view for times when a video conference has more than two participants.

Additionally, the product comes with unified contact store, so that users can keep all of their contact information in Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 Preview.

With the inclusion of Persistent Chat Server, Microsoft allows people to participate in multiparty, topic-based conversations that persist in time.

The preview release of Lync Server 2013 also enables users to take advantage of Lync Archiving integration, or to set high-resolution photos for contacts (648x648 pixels).

An optional monitoring feature is available on all Front End Servers in an Enterprise Edition deployment, along with a series of new routing features that enhance Enterprise Voice.

Lync Server 2013 Preview brings along new features that extend communications methods for users, along with changes to integrate and extend the services already available for businesses.

Lync Server 2013 was designed to take advantage of Office Web Apps and the Office Web Apps Server, while offering support for opening a meeting in the clients that include Windows Phone 7, Android devices, Apple iOS devices, Windows 8 Release Preview, and Internet Explorer 10.

According to ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, the new product release also comes with VDI plugin, allowing full A/V support in virtual desktop environments, as well as with Skype federation support, and with Audio and Video added to Lync Web App.

You can learn some more info on the new release by heading to the aforementioned post on TechNet.