Connecting to an XMPP community

IBM® Sametime® Gateway Server users can exchange instant messages with an XMPP community over the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol, or XMPP. To communicate with an XMPP community, you must first set up a DNS service (SRV) record and publish it to DNS so that users and local Sametime users can discover each other and establish a connection. This topic instructs you to create a DNS SRV record first, and then add XMPP domains as an external community.

nslookup sip.oscar.aol.com
nslookup 64.12.162.119
nslookup -type=all -class=all _xmpp-server._tcp.google.com

1. Create an individual DNS SRV record (_xmpp-server._tcp) for each domain name that you will support.

   For example, you might support two local domain names, called example1.com and example2.com. For each of the domain names you want to support, you must create an individual DNS SRV record. The records will be identical except for the domain name field's value.

2. Verify that the DNS SRV record that you added to DNS is correct by using the nslookup command:
   1. Open a command window and run nslookup.
   2. Type set type=SRV.
   3. Type set class=IN.
   4. Search the _xmpp-server.tcp record using the supported domains added in the previous step.
   Using the previous example, you enter _xmpp-server._tcp.example1.com and repeat the searching for _xmpp-server._tcp.example2.com. Using example1.com, the full command and returned value appears as follows:

   nslookup>set type=SRV 
   >set class=IN 
   >_xmpp-server._tcp.example1.com.

   Make sure the correct hostname of the Sametime Gateway server and IP address are returned. See the following example:

   Server:  sbydns01.srv.example2.com
   Address:  9.0.4.1
   
   Non-authoritative answer:
   _xmpp-server._tcp.example1.com       SRV service location
             priority       = 5
             weight         = 0
             port           = 5269
             svr hostname   = sttest.example1.com
   
   example1.com       nameserver = stgw-ns1.example1.com
   example1.com       nameserver = stgw-ns2.example1.com
   example1.com       nameserver = ns0.example1.com
   sttest.example1.com        internet address = 129.42.249.45
   >

3. In the Integrated Solutions Console, click Sametime Gateway > Communities .
4. In the table that lists communities, click New.
5. In the Name field, type a logical name for the new community, such as XMPP.
   Restriction: After you name and save a community, the name cannot be changed. To rename a community, you must remove the original community and add the community again with the new name.
6. In the Community Type field, select External.
7. In the Domains field, type the domains provided by the XMPP community.
   Attention: Wildcards are not supported in this field, you must type each complete domain name.
8. Select XMPP as the translation protocol.

   When you select XMPP as your protocol, the Host Name field defaults to "Localhost" as its value while Sametime Gateway resolves the domain value that you entered in step 5; once the domain is resolved, an appropriate value is entered automatically into the Host Name field.

9. In the Port field, the default port is 5269.
10. In the Transport protocol field, select either TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) or TLS (Transport Layer Security). If you select TCP, proceed to step 11 without performing step 10 a - d.
    1. Click custom properties.
    2. On the Add custom property page, set the Name field to dialbackOverTls.
    3. In the Value field, enter either True to use the dialback method for XMPP server identity verification or enter False to use Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL).
       Note: In this step (step 10.c.) use the method that is the same as that used by the external community.
    4. Configure TLS/SSL for Sametime Gateway as described in the topic Configuring TLS/SSL for Sametime Gateway.
11. Click OK to save the new community.
12. On the Communities panel, select the name of the community that you created, scroll to the end, and click Assign local users to this community to assign local users access to the external community.
13. The following steps are optional, but be sure to restart the Sametime Gateway servers if you make any changes to the community. In a cluster deployment, first restart the XMPP proxy server and wait until it is running; then start the other servers.
    1. Click Custom Properties to include additional host names for XMPP servers. Sametime Gateway uses these IP addresses to determine which XMPP requests originate from this community. Note that the Custom properties link is available only after the community is saved.
    2. In the Route properties field, set the maximum sessions for instant messaging or presence for this community. The session numbers set for this community cannot exceed the global maximum sessions set for Sametime Gateway. If Route properties are not visible, you must connect to a local community first.
    3. Select the check box to disable the route to the community.
    4. Click the Translation Protocol link to set custom properties for the translation protocol. The Custom properties links are available only after the community is saved.