Jabber Service at ISI 0. Information Jabber is an instant messaging (IM) service based on a set of streaming XML protocols (RFC3920 & RFC3921). Refer to for more information. #################################################################### # This service is provided for ISI users only; that is, only users # # with valid ISI login/email accounts can access the ISI jabber # # service hosted at jabber.isi.edu. # #################################################################### Contact and support: o Mailing List for questions and announcements: jabber-users@isi.edu Subscribe: Archive: o Administrator email: jabber - admin@isi.edu Server Software: o ejabberd 0.9.1 1. Instructions The following instructions are specific to the ISI Jabber service. Terminology and examples are based on a couple of popular Jabber clients (Psi & Gaim), but should be similar on other clients. 1.1 Jabber ID and Account Registration #################################################################### # Your Jabber ID will be "USERNAME@jabber.isi.edu" where USERNAME # # is your ISI login name. Your password will be the same as your # # ISI UNIX login/email password, NOT the Windows/VPN password if # # you have different ones. # #################################################################### Your jabber account will be created automatically when you access the service for the first time. THERE IS NO NEED TO REGISTER YOUR ACCOUNT. Every user is allowed one jabber account, and you could not change either your Jabber ID nor your jabber password. 1.2 Jabber Client Software You need a Jabber client software to use the jabber service. Most IM software also supports Jabber. Check the following link for an extensive list of client software: Gaim and Psi are popular among active Div7 users due to their cross platform support. Exodus is another popular Windows-only client. But any client would work for the basic IM & group chat functionality. If you are already using an IM service such as AIM, MSN, or Yahoo, you might want to check if your current IM software also supports Jabber, or find a Jabber client that supports the IM service you already use. (Gaim supports almost all existing IM services.) 1.3 Account and Server Connection Parameters Once the client software is installed, you need to add a jabber account to access the service. Create or add an account on your jabber client application with the following parameters: (replace "USERNAME" with your ISI username) o Jabber ID: USERNAME@jabber.isi.edu Some clients separate the Jabber ID into two fields: Screen Name: USERNAME Server: jabber.isi.edu o Server: jabber.isi.edu o Connection Settings: Because your ISI login and password are used, the server requires encrypted connection (SSL/TLS) to secure your login data. The following settings are required: Select [x] Use TLS if available / STARTTLS (if the client applications support TLS such as Gaim) Or [x] Use SSL encryption / Force old SSL (Psi does not support TLS) Check [x] Allow Plaintext Login / Allow plaintext auth over unencrypted streams Note that despite the description, your password is still protected by the SSL/TLS encryption selected above. It is the same protection and setting when you access your ISI emails through POP3 or IMAP4 with SSL. o Ports: For reference only, should be the same as the default on most clients. 5222: TLS (STARTTLS) or unencrypted 5223: SSL 2. Proxy Setup This is only needed when you are behind a firewall that blocks the default jabber ports (5222/5223). We are currently testing the proxy support to ensure the communication is still protected by SSL or TLS. 3. MUC - Multi-User Chat (Chatroom) Service MUC services is enabled on jabber.isi.edu. Users could create chatrooms and invite other users to join. To create or join a chatroom: o Server/Host: conference.jabber.isi.edu o Room: (the name of the chatroom) o Handle/Nickname: (the name you will appear in the room) o Password: (blank) Note that to create a chatroom, a user simply needs to join an unused room. You can also get a list of active or permanent rooms either through "Room List" menu or "Service Discovery" on your ISI account. Specify "conference.jabber.isi.edu" as the conference server when prompted. On service discovery, chatrooms are listed under "ejabberd/mod_muc." 4. Notes 4.1 Psi Warning on Self-Signed Certificates Because we use self-signed certificate on the server side for SSL/TLS encryption, some clients will generate warning message such as this: "The jabber.isi.edu certificate failed the authenticity test. Reason: Certificate is self-signed." This only means the certificate for jabber.isi.edu is not signed by any one of the commercial certificate authority.($199+ per year). You also get similar messages when connecting to ISI email servers for the first time because those are also self-signed. There are two ways to avoid the warning message: (1) Under "Account Properties" => "Preference" tab: Check or select "Ignore SSL warnings". (2) Download the following certificate file and copy it to the Psi root certificate directory: Psi root certificate directory: FreeBSD: /usr/local/share/psi/certs Linux: Mac OSX: /Applications/Psi.app/Contents/Resources/certs Windows: