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Internal Instant Messaging Client / Server Combo?
strongmantim writes "I manage an internal help desk (25-30 people) for a medium-large company in the healthcare industry. We're looking for an internal, secure, FOSS (if possible) instant messaging / presence awareness client and server combo. Transmission of Protected Health Information is a sensitive issue, so the server has to be able to log any conversations that occur. It is preferred that the client not support outside protocols such as AIM, MSN, Yahoo, etc.; if it does, I will have to promulgate and enforce yet one more policy that my techs not connect to them. All of the computers that will connect run Windows XP. The system should be scalable up to ~100 people (in case we decide to include our entire office in the roll-out). Hardware and OS for the server are not an issue. Oh, and one more thing: It has to be free. Suggestions?"
I wrote about this some time ago, right here.
/. address should be fine).
The short and simple answer, that should fully meet your needs, is to install jabberd2, configure it as needed (should have a logging module/plugin somewhere), and then to use Miranda IM with only the XMPP components as the client. Miranda is very easy to customize; if you don't want a protocol you simply don't include the relevant DLL.
Note: the links on that page are dead, namely the ones to the MSI installer package that I built. If you have a need for it, feel free to drop me an e-mail (the
Perhaps he also wanted some insights from people who have been in similar situations?
There is a big difference between a website found on google and a testimonial from someone who's done it.
I agree, Openfire Server with Spark as the IM client will satisfy your requirements. It is a solid, extensible instant messaging server that should meet all your requirements.
:-). It has easy installs for both Windows and Linux - definitely give it a try.
What is nice about Openfire is that it allows you to centralize the management and security a lot, which gives you a lot of control in information-sensitive situations like this. It has integration with an existing LDAP/AD server if you want to keep your authentication policy centralized on your LDAP server if you have one. Likewise, you can force all users to use SSL for secure messaging if you want.
Likewise, I was working with the open source version over the last couple weeks (I setup a test environment for our company), and based on the menu options it appears that message auditing also is included (I didn't try it), so you can log all your conversations as you would like. I knew they had this feature before in their paid version, but it looks like they made it available in their open source version.
Finally, if you ever grow and need support, you can get it from their list of service providers. And it's free
Good luck!
Openfire Server
Spark XMPP Client