Packt has released a new book on Openfire a Java based Instant Messaging server.
Openfire Administration by Mayank Sharma is a step-by-step guide for everybody who wants to setup an internal IM server for private or corporate use. It walks you through the whole installation and configuration process including integration with external authentication sources like OpenLDAP and Active Directory and covers a bunch of useful plugins.
In contrast to other similar products Openfire is based on open standards as it uses the same XMPP protocol that is also used by Google Talk and Apple’s iChat. Openfire is available under the GNU General Public License so there are no license fees and it’s maintained by a vibrant community. There are a lot of free and commercial clients that you can use to connect to Openfire like Spark and the Flash based SparkWeb, Psi, iChat and many more.
Additional free plugins are available that cover a wide range of requirements like connection to other IM networks like MSN, ICQ/AIM and Yahoo!, server side archiving for compliance and integration with the Asterisk PBX.
If you are new to running IM infrastructure and interested in setting up a proven enterprise ready solution Mayank’s book is for you and will provide you with the information required to install and run a professional IM solution.
References
- Openfire product page at igniterealtime.org
- Openfire Administration at Packt
- “Openfire: Effectively Managing Users”, extracted from the book