terena networking conference 2009

Academic Instant Messaging System - Deploying Instant Messaging Over an Existing Session Initiation Protocol and LDAP Service Infrastructure Using the Message Session Relay Protocol

João André Pereira Antunes (Universidade Técnica de Lisboa)

In the last years, proliferation of the Instant Messaging (IM) systems occurred. This growth is propelled by the widespread usage of Internet and people’s innate needs to communicate virtually anywhere and at anytime. Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) is a leading Engineer faculty in Portugal, with a total population of 12,000 users. Network access at IST is available almost anywhere, both in wireless and wired modes. In this and similar academic environments, IM is a powerful collaborating tool, providing virtual and instantaneous access between all academic users. This work consists on planning, developing and possibly deploying an IM system solution for IST’s academic community that is adapted to its current service infrastructure. IM optional addresses and accounts will be associated with the central Identity Provider (IdP) service. This association enables the fast deployment of the optional IM service and its widespread use. The IM system will be supported by the current Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) infrastructures using the SIP Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE) standards. This IM service is based on the development of a Java generic purpose open source Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP) client library, and its integration with a popular Java multiprotocol IM open source client, Sip-Communicator. The end goal is to have an IM system capable of using the existing SIP and directory services. This poster presents some key features and usages of the MSRP protocol and general-purpose library, followed by a high-level architectural description of the IM system.

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