Connecting to instant messaging communities

Add instant messaging communities such as the AOL clearinghouse, AOL Instant Messenger, XMPP, and Office Communications Server to Sametime® Gateway Server.

About this task

When you set up a connection with AOL, you have the option of connecting with AOL users only, or connecting with the AOL clearinghouse community that includes AOL, ICQ, iChat, and other users from AOL Enterprise Federation Partner communities, including external Sametime communities. IBM® recommends that you do not configure both communities, as users served by the AOL clearinghouse are a superset of users served by the AOL community. If you set up AOL only, and later decide to connect with the AOL clearinghouse community, delete the AOL community first before adding the AOL clearinghouse community to Sametime Gateway.

Note: Sametime client users must use the Sametime client version 7.5 or later when exchanging instant messages and presence information with public instant messaging providers such as AOL Instant Messenger and Office Communications Server. Pre-7.5 clients are not licensed to connect with public instant messaging providers. The Sametime server will check and disable the Add external user checkbox if a client of an older version is used. It is the responsibility of the Sametime Gateway administrator to comply with the licensing agreement.
  1. Registering your Sametime Gateway with AOL
    The IBM Sametime Provisioning Application enables you to set up interoperability with certain public instant messaging services such as AOL. The application prompts you for relevant information, validates your organization's entitlement to use IBM Sametime Gateway Server, provides the information to the instant messaging service, and notifies you when you have been added by the service.
  2. Connecting to an AOL community
    Set up a connection by choosing either the AOL instant messenger community or the AOL clearinghouse community, but not both. The AOL clearinghouse is a superset of the AOL instant messenger community.
  3. Connecting to a Microsoft Office Communications Server community
    Connect to a Microsoft Office Communications Server community so that your users can exchange instant messages with Microsoft Communicator users.
  4. 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.
  5. Managing external watching
    The Sametime server allows an external watcher, or user who has someone on his or her contact list that is unaware of being watched, to conduct this activity; however, this capability can be disabled.
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