XMPP Server SRV Record Tutorial

With the new Openfire Version (3.7.0) released in March. I noticed a change in the S2S (federation) integration and would like to share the tips to help the setup to be done by other XMPP System Admins.

To prevent connection issue among the Servers it is required the registration of the SRV records according to the example:

In the case of the domain minhaempresa.com.br and the jabber domain to be  xmpp.minhaempresa.com.br the following records are required:

• _jabber._tcp.xmpp.minhaempresa.com.br
• _jabber._tcp.minhaempresa.com.br
• _xmpp-server._tcp.xmpp.minhaempresa.com.br
• _xmpp-server._tcp.minhaempresa.com.br

All the registration must point to your jabber domain, as noticed below:

marcelo@hellboy:~$ dig srv _xmpp-server._tcp.minhaempresa.com.br

; <<>> DiG 9.7.3 <<>> srv _xmpp-server._tcp.minhaempresa.com.br
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 11368
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;_xmpp-server._tcp.minhaempresa.com.br. IN SRV

;; ANSWER SECTION:
_xmpp-server._tcp.minhaempresa.com.br. 86297 IN SRV 0 1 5269 xmpp.minhaempresa.com.br.

;; Query time: 16 msec
;; SERVER: 200.175.5.139#53(200.175.5.139)
;; WHEN: Sun May 15 00:24:00 2011
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 89

I've have faced this situation when migrating a customer server that was upgraded a from a previous version of Openfire. If you don't register the domain fixing SRV record, S2S functionallity will not work.

* This is an authorized translation from the Blog Mundo OpenSource written by Marcelo Terres.  Especial thanks for the great and simple guide for setting up DNS SRV records required for an XMPP server.

Open Discussion Day - 19th May

On May 19^th is celebrated Open Discussion Day, a promotion day dedicated for open communication systems and protocols.
Communication is a natural necessity and should be open and available for everyone.
If you care about your own freedom of choice on how you IM and Call your friends, like you currently have with your email, from which you can send and receive emails from every server. Consider using an XMPP solution for such.

XMPP is free to use, and they don't restrict you to one provider or one client or even server.

Related Posts:

• IM Freedom? Not yet... 
• http://opendiscussionday.org/ 

XBox Skype 3D Video Call Support

Right after Skype acquisition by Microsoft, I already have sources talking about Skype native support on XBox 360. That will be great as it is quite handy, well positioned camera in millions of living rooms around the world.
Besides the comfort of having Video Calls sitting in your couch, you also need to expand the possibilities of the experience, as XBox Kinect Camera has much more than just lens. It is equipped with:

• Multi-Array Mic
• Dynamic Motorized Tilt
• 3D Depth Sensors

Put it all together and the result will be an awesome:

Video Call with 3D support

If Microsoft is smart enough to foresee all those possibilities, they have a great and vast ground to explore with Skype.

Skype acquired by Microsoft

Mourning post about Skype future...
Although it have the policy to be closed and stuff. It was nice to have it at least providing the platform choice for their users. I hope that at least in that aspect Microsoft doesn't come to screw up.

In other aspects it may help the World to get rid of MSN Live Network, which has being the biggest technical / protocol failure all time for Instant Messaging and Communications. Including yearly Protocol Hacks and Updates, with fallback servers and periodical outage.
It would be a superb evolution for Microsoft to get rid of the technical garbage pile of MSN Live Network and applications, replacing it by Skype.

Phone Numbers and Telecoms will be affected and we are getting closer and closer to a phone number extinction. This acquisition not only confirms it, but also will speed it up. In that sense it is a positive move.

If you want to see yourself free of those monopoly battles use:

• Jitsi.org - Open Source Fully Featured Jingle and SIP Video Client
• Used in combination with fastvoip.com you get a very cheap (sometimes free) solution for calling international phone numbers
• OneTeam.im - Open Source Jingle Client with Native Jingle Nodes Support