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How To Build an Openfire Chat Server On Debian 5

Posted by kdawson on from the take-aim-first dept.

palegray.net writes "Inspired by a recent Ask Slashdot, I've written a step-by-step tutorial for setting up an Openfire server on Debian Linux, for those interested in running their own open source collaboration server. Aimed at those just getting started with collaboration software, the tutorial shows precisely how to get Openfire up and running quickly on a base Debian install, and offers a basic feature tour of the software's plugin and IM gateway functionality."

9 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. What's openfire? by zx-15 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I did RTFA, it does explain how to install it, but besides that what does openfire actually do? Jabber support, graphs showing who is online, what else?

  2. Re:very odd by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think that that was grandparent's point: To see somebody write an article on setting up a jabber server, then casually note, near the end, that XMPP seems to work OK for him, as though it were some sort of esoteric peripheral configuration option, tends to cause one's eyebrow to start migrating up the forehead.

  3. Finally... by smooth+wombat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    someone who knows how to document a procedure. I don't use linux but even I could follow the instructions.

    This is one of the key reasons for a slow adoption rate among interested users. Instead of getting the usual, "RTFM newb!", if there was more explicit documentation such as this that people could be pointed to, people would not be so readily turned off.

    And no, MAN pages do not count as documentation. Some people (dare I say most?) need step-by-step instructions on how to do something the first time so they are sure they are doing things correctly. Afterwards, they're free to tinker til their hearts delight.

    *gives a mold-friendly thumbs up*

    --
    We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    1. Re:Finally... by Samschnooks · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And no, MAN pages do not count as documentation. Some people (dare I say most?) need step-by-step instructions on how to do something the first time so they are sure they are doing things correctly. Afterwards, they're free to tinker til their hearts delight.

      *gives a mold-friendly thumbs up*

      Damn straight about the Man Pages! Man pages are for reference for experienced users. In other words, for those who are wondering, "What are the parameters again?" Why?

      You see, when you read the man pages, parameters have all these "[]" and "-" and other things. I've occasionally come across programs that had "optional" parameters in their man pages that ended being required.

    2. Re:Finally... by value_added · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And no, MAN pages do not count as documentation.

      I appreciate the general sentiments in your post, but the above is simply not correct. Putting aside issues of writing style, quality, completeness, etc., along with the abomination called info pages, manpages ARE documentation.

      What you are looking for or expecting is a Tutorial. And most likely one written in a friendly style that includes a breadth of related topics (like "How do I install this thing?" or "What's a protocol?" or "How does XMMP work?". For that, I'd suggest a Google search. Programmers are expected to document their work, but it's unreasonable to expect them to write Tutorials.

      To put things in a reverse perspective, the frustrating thing for non-Windows users is that on Windows, almost nothing is documented. Lots recursive clicky links that pop up HowTo's with explanatory or descriptive verbage, but no real documentation.

    3. Re:Finally... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      "What I'm saying is that most programmers write the documentation after they're done coding"

      They are bad programmers then. Full stop.

  4. Re:What about a better conferencing solution? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "would be great to collaborate on or point to a file"

    It sounds like you should use a URL.

  5. Re:Fluff Articles? by palegray.net · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This was a direct response to an Ask Slashdot article a few days ago. The community seemed more than interested to offer tips for what software they advised using, but nobody seemed to offer any concrete installation instructions. The Openfire community documentation is great, but kinda hard to wrap your brain around for Debian installs (mostly because it doesn't cover prerequisites and some other points).

    --
    512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
  6. Re:"Collaboration"? "More than chat"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Jive software has 'collaboration' tools. They all suck, but they have them.

    "Jive Software has always envisioned one world, in which everyoneâ"employees, customers, partners, prospectsâ"has a voice. We've strived to eliminate the top-down, outbound, one-way communication that dominates most enterprises and makes work harder than it needs to be."

    And that is why they make closed source software!! ... wait ...