Adding the required registry keys for Lync 2013 VDI Plug-In for Integration on a Thin Client

As some administrators may know, one of the requirements for configuring the Lync 2013 VDI plug-in for redirecting local audio and video devices on the client requires registry keys to be added to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER of the user who is logged on to the client connecting to their VDI:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Lync

"ConfigurationMode"=dword:00000001" <—DWORD (32-bit) Value

"ServerAddressInternal"="yourLyncServer.domain.local" <—String Value

"ServerAddressExternal"="yourExternalEdge.domain.com" <—String Value

This isn’t usually a problem for environments where thin clients are joined to the domain as this can be easily configured via Group Policy but is a challenge for non domain joined thin clients because the user login on, say, a HP t610 Thin Client with Windows 7 embedded where the user login prohibits and restricts access to the command prompt, registry editor any most other configuration consoles in the operating system.  I was presented with this challenge and the first thought I had was to create a .reg file adding the registry keys required, place the file on the user profile’s desktop, log in as the user account, execute the .reg file and type in the administrator credentials to apply the registry changes.  This didn’t end up working for me so after a bit of thought, the following was what worked:

1. Log into the thin client as the administrator
2. Start the remote registry service in the Services Console
3. Log into the thin client as the user account
4. Log into another Windows desktop that allows you to launch the registry console
5. Use the Connect Network Registry option to connect to the thin client’s name or IP
6. Authenticate with the thin client’s administrator credentials
7. Add the registry keys

This got the registry keys in for the user account and I was then able to redirect the Lync 2013 client to the local audio and video devices.

For those who are interested in a step by step walkthrough of configuring Lync and VDI integration, see one of my previous posts:

Deploying Microsoft Lync 2013 audio and video within a Citrix XenDesktop 5.6 VDI
http://terenceluk.blogspot.com/2013/10/deploying-microsoft-lync-2013-audio-and.html