Presently the only client that can be used to connect to IM is the MSN Messenger client from version 2.2 onwards. The client needs to support the RVP stack to be able to connect to Exchange 2000

What authentication can you use?

Instant messaging clients can use NTLM and Digest authentication to connect to the server. To use Digest authentication you first need to enable reverse encryptions for passwords in Active directory

Does Outlook support instant messaging?

The new version of Outlook 2002 supports Instant Messaging Integration with the MSN Messaging client

The simple answer is NO messages are sent as unencrypted (XML)-tagged Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) message body parts over the HTTP protocol. To implement secure instant messaging you need to use IPSec

Does Instant Messaging work on NT4 and 9X machines?

To use Instant Messaging on NT4 and 9X you need ADSI 2.5 installed and the DS Client needs to be installed on 9X machines. The DS client can be obtained from the NT installation CD.

Will Instant Messaging work on Terminal Server?

Yes unlike a lot of chat applications that has problem's sharing IP/Port address's IM will work on Terminal Server.

What Protocol and ports does Instant Messaging use?

Instant Messaging uses the new RVP protocol, which is a extension of HTTP 1.1 Instant Messaging starts communication over port 80 then the server sets up a new connection on an ephemeral TCP port above 1024

Are there any limits to the number of user that can be in a conversation?

Currently the maximum number of users per conversation is 5 this can be expanded to 32 with the use of the Instant messaging SDK

What is the difference between the MSN Messenger and MSN Messenger for Exchange?

The MSN Messenger which can be download from msn.com allows only connection to the MSN messenger service. The MSN messenger for Exchange has the additional functionality to connect to both Exchange and the MSN messenger service. The latest Exchange MSN messenger client can be download from here

What is the .Net Messenger Client?

The .Net messenger client is the next version of the MSN messenger service and allows you to use .Net passport to sign into your MSN IM account. The advantage the .NET messenger client is you can now be signed into your MSN messenger account and your Exchange IM account using the same client.

Can you control IM using Group policies

No policies files have every been release but Microsoft have written quite a good white paper that explains the registry entry's and processes for doing this has a look at the whitepaper Deploying Policy Control with Microsoft Windows Messenger 4.6 for Exchange 2000 Instant Messaging Service Deployments

Where can I get the Client SDK runtime components from

The client SDK run time components can be download from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=24779

Server

How are Instant messaging alias’s determined?

Instant messaging alias names are constructed from the user’s primary email address

How do you stop and start the Instant Messaging server?

Instant messaging runs as a virtual directory of the web site you specified during setup (usually the default web site). To stop and start instant messaging you need to stop and start this web site. To do this right click the web site in IIS manger and select stop and start from the context menu.

What database does Instant Messaging use?

Instant messaging uses an instance of the ESE database engine, this is referred to as the node database. This is used to track the online status of users contacts. The file name for the database is msimnode.edb

Do I need to backup the Instant Messaging database?

All Instant Messaging data is dynamic so the only information stored in the Instant Messaging database refers to the users that are currently online. Q270838 gives information on doing a disaster recovery of Instant Messaging.

How do I check performance on an IM Server?

Using Perfmon you can monitor the MSExchangeIM Virtual Servers object and look at the Current Users Online counter and current Subscriptions counter. See the Exchange online help for more details on this

What is IM polling ?

IM polling was a feature that was introduced with Exchange 2000 Service Pack1 and the MSN messenger client version 3.5. This allows a IM client to communicate with an IM home server through a firewall/Proxy server. See Microsoft whitepaper for more details

What is fixed port delivery?

Fixed port delivery was also introduced with Exchange SP1 and allows you to statically define the IM port for communication with an IM home server. This is necessary if you wanted to connect to a IM home server from the outside of a firewall. See this Qbase article

Other

Where can I get the Instant Messaging SDK?

The instant messaging SDK is available as part of the Exchange SDK.

Are there any Instant Messaging White Papers?

Check out http://www.microsoft.com/TechNet/exchange/manuals/planning/c11inst.asp and the Exchange resource Kit

Are there any specific newsgroups for Instant Messaging?

A good newsgroup for instant messaging can be found at http://groups.google.com/groups?group=microsoft.public.exchange2000.realtime.collaboration

How can I add IM users programmatically?

The are no documented Interfaces in the Exchange SDK to do this, you need to look at the IM admin library in the msimadm.dll file. For more information do a search for this file in Google Groups

Troubleshooting

Before you start any troubleshooting ensure that you have enabled logging for Instant messaging- Refer to Q226754

Where can I find Technical information on troubleshooting Instant messaging?

Microsoft Support Web site http://support.microsoft.com/

Microsoft TechNet (This is a must have)

I can’t logon to Instant Messaging (Keeps displaying the authentication box)?

This properly means that the Instant messaging server isn’t running, to verify this look in the IIS log and see if you are getting a return code of –404 this means your IM server is not running (You can also look for the IM stop and start notifications in the NT application event log). See above "how do you stop and start the Instant Messaging server" to restart.

I can’t logon to Instant Messaging (Keeps displaying service unavailable)?

Ensure your Internet Explorer proxy setting have been configure to exclude your Instant Messaging servers from being proxied. (Make sure you use FQDN names see Q242882). Also make sure your client can resolve RVP DNS records.

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