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Haiku #102

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And if I haver

Then I must not be running  

CsReplica.

 

Back in the 1990s, the Scottish folk rock band The Proclaimers released a song – I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) – that included these lyrics:

 

And if I haver

Yeah I know I'm gonna be

I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you

 

Note. Yes, that is remarkably close to being a haiku, isn't it? Spooky.

 

Although he liked the song, the author of today's haiku never knew what it meant to "haver." And every time he's heard that song over the past 15 or 20 years (however long it's been since the song was released) he's always said to himself, "What the heck does it mean to 'haver?'"

 

Note. Seeing as how this is the Age of the Internet, couldn't he have just looked up the word haver? Well, yeah, maybe. But, then again, what with all these daily Lync Server PowerShell haikus and stuff he has been kind of busy the last 20 years.

 

However, this morning, while reading something that had nothing to do with Scottish folk rock, he learned the truth: to "haver" means to talk nonsense, to prattle on endlessly without making the least bit of sense. Case closed!

 

Note. What's that? You say that the author of today's haiku should be an expert on anything having to do with prattling on endlessly without making the least bit of sense? Interesting. Why would you say that?

 

At any rate, having solved one of the two great mysteries of life, the author of today's haiku decided to go for a clean sweep and tackle the other great mystery of life as well: what is the Enable-CsReplica cmdlet, and why would you ever want to use it?

 

Let's start by explaining what the Enable-CsReplica cmdlet actually does. As you know, any computer that runs a Lync Server service server role has to be added to the Lync Server replication path; that's the only way that computer can get updates from the Central Management store. What does the Enable-CsReplica cmdlet do? You got it: it adds the local computer to the replication path, which means that the local store (the copy of the Lync Server configuration settings stored on the local computer) will then start receiving updates sent out by the Central Management store.

 

So much for "What is the Enable-CsReplica cmdlet?" Now let's take a look at the next question: Why would you ever want to use this command?

 

To be honest, as a Lync Server administrator you might never want to use this cmdlet. When you install a Lync Server service or server role the setup program will automatically call the Enable-CsReplica cmdlet for you and, as a result, will automatically add the local computer to the replication path. Setup does the work, and you can spend your time singing Scottish folk songs. We'd recommend My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.

 

Note. In Scottish, the word "bonnie" means pretty or charming. And no, we are not just havering here.

 

However, there's always the possibility that something could go wrong with the setup program; in that case, you might need to call Enable-CsReplica yourself. You might also need to call the cmdlet if you happen to be dabbling in creating your own trusted applications for Lync Server. This is a bit outside our area of expertise (we consider ourselves to be Scottish linguists more than we do developers), but if you're planning to create and activate an auto-provisioned trusted application you need to complete the following procedure:

 

  1. Ensure that any computers on which the application will run are joined to the domain. (Kind of a no-brainer, but, still ….)
  2. Install the Central Management Store replication service. (Something you do using Bootstrap.exe.)
  3. Enable Central Management Store replication. (Something you do – that's right: something you do using our old friend Enable-CsReplica.)
  4. Assign a certificate that lets the Lync Server 2010 topology know about the trusted application computer.

 

But, again, that's something most administrators won't have to worry about.

 

Oh, and if you ever do need to run Enable-CsReplica, well, you're in luck: calling the cmdlet is pretty darn easy. Just run this command from the computer that needs to be added to the replication path:

 

Enable-CsReplica

 

And yes, as a matter of fact we do get paid for writing in-depth technical commands such as the one we just showed you. Why do you ask?

 

And if you want to get really fancy, you can add the Report parameter and specify a location where the log file generated when you run Enable-CsReplica will be stored:

 

Enable-CsReplica –Report "C:\Logs\EnableReplica.htm"

 

Could you have figured that out without our help? Probably. But let's keep that our little secret. The author of today's haiku still has a mortgage to pay off.

 

Before we go today we thought we'd leave you with a verse from the Scottish folk song Braes of Killiecrankie:

 

Where hae ye been sae braw, lad?
Where hae ye been sae brankie-o?
Where hae ye been sae braw, lad?
Cam' ye by Killiecrankie-o?

 

Which means … well, tell you what: we'll get back to you in another 15 or 20 years on that.