Instant Messaging 8 Release Notes

Sun Java System Instant Messaging Software Version 8 Release Notes

This chapter contains important release information about Sun Java System Instant Messaging Software version 8. The release notes contain the following sections:

About Instant Messaging

Sun Java System Instant Messaging software delivers secure presence and extended real-time messaging, enabling user communities to communicate and collaborate instantly and securely. It combines the instant messaging capabilities with conferences, alerts, news, polling, and file transfer, to create a rich collaborative environment. It leverages an existing community that can be managed by using LDAP, Sun Java System Access Manager, or Sun Java System Portal Server.

What's New in This Release of Instant Messaging

See the What's New in Instant Messaging 8 document.

Deprecated and Removed Features for Instant Messaging 8

Instant Messaging 8 does not have any deprecated features or removed features for this release.

Requirements for Instant Messaging 8

See Requirements for Communications Suite 6 Update 1 and Requirements for Instant Messaging.

Instant Messaging Installation and Uninstallation Notes

This section contains important information about installing and uninstalling Sun Java System Instant Messaging software. If you are using Sun Java System Access Manager with Instant Messaging, install the Legacy (version 6 style) Access Manager by using the Sun Java Enterprise System installer. This version of Instant Messaging is not compatible with the Realm (version 7 style) Access Manager.
If you use Access Manager to store policies when configuring Instant Messaging, the following policies are created:

  • Ability to administer Instant Messaging and Presence Services
  • Ability to change your own Instant Messaging settings
  • Ability to manage Instant Messaging Conference Rooms
  • Ability to manage Instant Messaging news channels
  • Ability to send Instant Messaging alerts
  • Ability to watch changes on other Instant Messaging users
  • Default Instant Messaging and presence access

Instant Messaging Compatibility Issues

The following table lists the compatibilities issues in Instant Messaging 8.

Table 5-1 Instant Messaging 8 Compatibility Issues

Incompatibility Impact Comments
Versions of Instant Messenger prior to Sun Java System Instant Messaging 7 2006Q1 do not support XMPP redirection.   If you use a third-party client, ensure that the client supports XMPP redirection before deploying the Instant Messaging redirect server.
The Instant Messaging SDK Java packages are renamed in Sun Java System Instant Messaging software 7 2005Q4 to match the open source community naming conventions. For example, org.netbeans.lib.collab. Instant Messaging will use the new naming scheme exclusively and deprecate the old scheme.  
Sun Java System Instant Messaging 8 is incompatible with Sun Java System Access Manager version 7 2005Q4. The supported version of Sun Java System Access Manager is version 7.1.  
Sun Java System Instant Messaging 8 is incompatible with the 2004Q2 versions of Portal Server and Messaging Server. The supported version of Sun Java System Portal Server are versions 7.1 and 7.1 update 1. The supported version of Sun Java System Messaging Server is version 7.0 Update 1.  
Due to a protocol change the Instant Messaging server version 8 cannot communicate with a server of a version older than 7.3 in federated deployments. Instant Messaging federated deployment sites should upgrade all the servers. The existing deployments who do not wish to upgrade the server should explicitly set the property of collaboration session factory object to use the legacy protocol implementation. Perform the upgrade to limit the length of time during which the servers cannot communicate with each other.
Client-Server Communication Due to a protocol change the older versions of the client and server (2004Q2 and earlier) cannot communicate with the new versions of client and server. Upgrade both the client and server at the same time.
Sun Java System Instant Messaging 7 2005Q4 and 2006Q1 are incompatible with the shared components that ship with Sun Java System Instant Messaging 8. Instant Messaging depends on the Instant Messaging SDK. The Instant Messaging SDK is installed with the shared components. Upgrade the shared components and then upgrade Instant Messaging. The Communication suite installer upgrades Instant Messaging SDK before installing Instant Messaging version 8.
The Instant Messaging SDK implementation of the legacy Instant Messaging Presence protocol is now co-packaged. By default, the Instant Messaging SDK APIs use the implementation based on the XMPP protocol. Applications should explicitly set the property of the collaboration session factory object to use the legacy Instant Messaging Presence protocol implementation.  
The SDK component includes additional JAR files. The Instant Messaging SDK uses the JSO (JABBER Stream Objects) libraries. To use the XMPP protocol effectively, modify the classpath parameter for older applications that use the Instant Messaging SDK.  
Sun Java System Instant Messaging 6 2004Q2 server is incompatible with the default behavior of the latest version of the SDK. To use the Instant Messaging 6 2004Q2 server with the current Instant Messaging SDK, set the property of the collaboration session factory object to use the legacy protocol implementation.  
Instant Messaging 8 Multiplexor might not work correctly with the older versions of the server.   Use Instant Messaging 8 for both the Multiplexor and server. Upgrade or patch systems on which the server is installed and then upgrade systems on which only the Multiplexor is enabled.
Instant Messaging 8 server might not work correctly with the previous versions of the Instant Messaging SDK.   Use the 8 version of the server and the SDK.
URL to the default codebase URL for Sun Java System Instant Messaging 8. The default URL for the codebase is http://server:port/im.  
Default port numbers for Sun Java System Instant Messaging 8 The default server port number is 45222 and the default Multiplexor port number is 5222.  
Instant Messaging 8 server might not work correctly with Multiplexor version 7.3.   Upgrade the Multiplexor to version 8.
Although the 7.3 client is supported on 8 server, all functionalities might not work.   Upgrade the client to version 8.

Problems Fixed in Instant Messaging Version 8

This section contains a list of problems fixed in the Instant Messaging version 8 release.

6682522

During a voice chat, a user should have an option to change the user status to On the Phone.

6722661

User must have an option to disallow incoming voice calls.

6631440

A second httpbind request from the same Jabber ID (JID) or resource fails.

6669612

When the number of users connecting to the server crosses 5000, the server rejects new incoming users. The maximum rate of rejection is five users per second for a total count of 25000 users.

6683577

Cannot connect through IMPS with a mobile device that supports a four-way login.

6726238

In IMPS, users are unable to see messages that are sent to the conference room by other members.

6726323

In IMPS, a user with no admin privilege is able to create a group.

6738630

In IMPS, when a user with no admin privilege tries to create a room, the user is logged out of the Instant Messaging client.

6739012

Cannot connect to the MSN server if the host name or the IP address of the MSN server is not manually added to the host field in the pymsnt.xml file.

6739339

The JID and password of the MSN gateway is not added to the pymsnt.xml file if you choose the Enable local component option in the Configurator tool.

6740354

In IMPS, a LeaveGroupResponse message should be sent to the members of a room before the room is deleted.

6740436

In IMPS, users who are rejected from a conference are able to send messages to the conference.

6742567

The Configurator tool skips the MSN gateway configuration if you do not select the AIM gateway option.

6748787

Conference that users create is not saved in the conference list.

6751533

Unable to start the MSN gateway on a Red Hat Linux 32-bit operating system.

6752548

Installation of Instant Messaging by using the Communication Suite installer fails on a Red Hat Linux 32-bit operating system.

6761760

The remote host name text box does not appear during configuration if you select the Multiplexor-only option in the Network Access Point panel.

6763126

In a client-only configuration, the Configurator tool completes the configuration process even if you provide an incorrect port number for the HTTP port.

6777845

The Instant Messaging client should provide an option to enable and disable the SMS gateway feature.

Known Issues and Limitations in Instant Messaging Version 8

This section contains a list of known issues at the time of release of Instant Messaging version 8.

Instant Messaging Agent Issues

6777467

Offline messages are not sent as an SMS to a user if the user has not logged in to the Instant Messaging client at least once.
Workaround:
Log in by using the Sun Java System Instant Messaging client at least once.

6724472

Offline SMS messages are sent to user even after you block messages from a particular user.

6745138

Text formatting changes made in the AIM client do not appear in the Sun Instant Messaging client.

6646700

Sending an alert from the Instant Messaging client to a user in the MSN client results in an alert being delivered as a chat conversation. The delivery status of the alert is not updated correctly. For example, although the user of the MSN client has read the message, the status is not updated as read.

6646702

The subject of the alert sent from the Instant Messaging client to the MSN client is not displayed in the MSN client. Only the content of the alert message is displayed.

6646704

The Offline Alert functionality does not work when alerts are sent from the Sun Java System Instant Messaging client to users in the MSN and AIM clients.

6646712

In the Instant Messenger client, the MSN or AIM transport credentials that a user provides to log in are not displayed.

Instant Messaging Installation, Upgrade, and Uninstallation Issues

6758197

If the server is reconfigured, the iim.conf file does not retain the previous configuration details.

6768193

The propstore_migraton.conf file does not exist when Instant Messaging is upgraded from version 7.2 to version 8.

6643628

The Configurator tool does not connect to the Sun Java System Directory Server SSL port number 636.
Workaround:
Manually add the SSL port number as 636 in the iim.conf file.

6672605

The Instant Messaging server takes the property store migration source from the iim.conf file even though the migration options are specified by using the command line.

6677138

The Configurator tool should be able to handle a scenario where Instant Messaging server and web server run as different users.
The Instant Messaging server defaults to running as inetuser and inetgroup. Web server defaults to running as webserverd. In this case, all the Instant Messaging configuration files that are generated by Configurator are readable only by inetuser. The Configurator tool must change the ownership of these files to the web server runtime user, so that they can be read by web applications.

6689151

The init-config utility should provide an option to perform Calendar Agent integration with JMQ, ENS, and None.
The Instant Messaging init-config utility provides the option to configure the Calendar Agent configuration settings. The Instant Messaging configure utility currently assumes that the integration with the Calendar Server uses the ENS (Event Notification Service) mechanism. As JMQ is also an option for notifications, it would be advantageous to provide the ability to configure JMQ during initial configuration.

Hence, the three options JMQ (preferred), ENS (legacy), and None with the defaults values for each mechanism should be provided during configuration.
Workaround:
Do not integrate the calendar agent during initial configuration. After the initial configuration process, manually configure the preferred mechanism, that is, ENS, JMQ, or None in the iim.conf file.

6689323

After upgrade, the redeploy command displays an error message even though the command is successful.

6709951

Deploying the client resources fails if the web server has multiple HTTP listeners configured for the same virtual server.

6498428

The Configurator tool fails if you specify a user ID and a group ID other than root.
If you use any user ID or group ID other than root to install Instant Messaging, the user does not have permission to modify the iim.conf file. In this situation, when you invoke the Configurator tool after installing the Instant Messaging components, the tool fails.
Workaround:
After installing and before starting the Instant Messaging components, manually set permissions for imuser and imgroup. To do this, type the following command:

chown -R imuser:imgroup /var/opt/sun/comms/im/default
chown -R imuser:imgroup /etc/opt/sun/comms/im/default

imuser and imgroup are the user and group that you use to install Instant Messaging.

6766504

The LDAP bind password is in clear text in console when you configure the Instant Messaging server in the debug mode.

6197343

The Configurator tool prompts for policies and SSO options even if the user does not select the Identity service.

6444431

The Configurator tool accepts values for Use Assess Manager for Policy and Use Assess Manager for SSO options and succeeds in configuration even when Sun Java System Access Manager is not installed.

Instant Messenger Issues

This section contains a list of known issues at the time of release of Instant Messenger version 8.

Instant Messenger General and Usability Issues

6739173

If the Alert if user status changes option is set for a MSN user, three alert messages are sent to other users when the status of the MSN user changes.

6770412

Status of the AIM users is not updated in the Sun Java System Instant Messaging client.

6766505

Conference history is not displayed in the Instant Messaging client if a user joins the conference before the owner of the conference.

6751392

The names of MSN and AIM Transport is not displayed consistently in the Instant Messaging Client File->Add Services menu.

6750943

MSN and AIM Transport users are not shown in roster on a Red Hat Linux platform.

6750250

Entering a conference room with a multibyte nickname sometimes fails.

6649550

A Status Unknown message is displayed when offline users relogin in a server-to-server setup.

6626931

Users with self-JID (Jabber ID) encounter authorization issues in the Instant Messaging client.

6626943

Subscribe news channel displays an org.jabberstudio.jso.JIDFormatException error in a Schema2 hosted domain setup.

6486498

If you send an alert containing an image of a URL and a text message, the recipient receives only the text message.

6576575

The Authorize Contact message is not sent when a user is added from the Alert and Chat windows.

6727849

In a server-to-server installation, the File->Import Contacts option does not work.

Instant Messaging Server Issues

6777818

If you try to register a duplicate user in the domains that are blocked, a message You have already been registered is displayed.

6744631

Subscription does not work if the Sun Java System Identity Server is used for policy storage.

6742973

Only users who are recently added to the AIM client are synchronized with the Sun Java System Instant Messaging client. Users who are removed from the AIM client are not synchronized.
Workaround:
If a user is deleted in the AIM client, manually delete the user in the Sun Java System Instant Messaging client.

6742857

SMS messages are not delivered if the SMS gateway is enabled on a single peer in a server pool.
Workaround:
Enable the SMS gateway on all peers. For more details about the SMS gateway, see SMS Gateway for Instant Messaging.

6740782

Private conference communication does not work between users who have the same user names but are on different domains.
Workaround:
Users should log in with a different resource and start a chat session.

6739701

MSN and AIM gateways cannot connect to the Instant Messaging server in the SSL mode.

6739134

Restarting the Instant Messaging services removes the MSN Transport from the Instant Messaging client.

6646034

The imadmin assign_services command fails if Instant Messaging interacts with the LDAP server in the SSL mode.
Workaround:
Ensure that the Instant Messaging interacts with the LDAP server in the non-SSL mode. Invoke the assign-services command and change the interaction back to the SSL mode.

6628423

In a server-to-server setup, users that log in through third-party messaging clients such as AIM and MSN are unable to search conferences.

6632080

In a server-to-server setup, users are unable to join the conference rooms on a server that has the TLS (Transport Layer Security) enabled.

6620273

Data migration fails for user IDs that contain uppercase characters.

6724468

The migratepropstore process does not migrate the vcard-temp.xml file from LDAP to a file property store.

6752716

Null pointer exception is seen in the xmppd.log file even if a MSN user is deleted from the Sun Java System Instant Messaging roster.

6599164

The Configurator tool should create the im.war and httpbind.war files if the web container used for Instant Messaging is not a supported web container.

Instant Messaging Voice Issues

6678951

Voice chat fails if users do a side chat in a conference that has only two users.

6768190

If VoIP is enabled, the participant list option in the View menu of the Chat window does not work.

6730494

When user1 and user2 are in a voice chat, a third user user3 is unable to start a voice chat with user1 or user2.

6727794

Inconsistent issues with voice chat.

6714770

If you use the Instant Messaging VoIP client to communicate with a remote peer that blocks the UDP (User Datagram Protocol) traffic due to a firewall, the VoIP connection is not established.

6689918

Voice chat does not work correctly on a Sun Ray machine.

6665839

Voice chat status displays as Connected even after the server shuts down.

6723424

User with admin privileges should be able to specify a default port range in the jnlp file.

6705989

In one-to-one conversation, the Voice Chat icon should be enabled by default.

Instant Messaging Administration Issues

6763462

The imadmin assign_services and migratepropstore commands do not work if the primary LDAP server is down.
Workaround:
Restart the primary LDAP server and rerun the imadmin assign_services and migratepropstore commands.

6719455

The ./iwadmin redeploy all command does not redeploy IMPS.
Workaround:
To redeploy IMPS, type the following command:
/opt/SUNWiim/sbin/iwadmin -v redeploy imps

6740272

ACL file behavior is different for identity and file-based policy management.
If the policy is identity, the Manage Conferences and Manage News Channel options are not enabled by default. However, these options are enables by default in file-based ACLs (Access Control List).

Instant Messaging Archive Issues

6738078

The Disabling Archive option does not work during a chat session.

Instant Messaging Interoperability Issues

6621474

Cannot kick the participants from a conference room.

Other Known Issues

6742967

The status of AIM (AOL Instant Messaging) user is always shown as offline in the Sun Java System Instant Messaging client.

6740263

In IMPS, when a user sends a message, the message is not delivered. The XMPP log file shows an error but the IMPS log files states that the message is sent successfully.

6746794

In IMPS, a user in the virtual domain is not able to send messages to the user in the primary domain.

6738075

The Instant Messaging client does not display nicknames that have special characters.

6726738

In IMPS, an incorrect message is displayed when a user joins a conference with the duplicate nickname.

6687708

Unable to restart the server with the -d64 option when Instant Messaging is used with Sun Java System Access Manager.

6673225

The imadmin start and imadmin stop commands do not invoke the SMF (Service Management Facility) command to start and stop the server or Multiplexor.
If you require the SMF, disable the SMF by typing the following command:
svccfg delete application/sunim

6671297

SMF does not support multiple Instant Messaging instances.

6641777

Selecting the Stop Moderating option in a conference room does not remove the moderate conference pane.

6635262

The httpbind parameters are not updated in the iim.conf and httpbind.conf files when the httpbind option is enabled in the Configurator tool.

6726335

In IMPS, a null pointer exception is displayed when a user with a nickname that has a special character leaves a group.

6726347

In IMPS, a mobile phone user is listed twice in the member list when the user leaves and joins the group with different nicknames.

Performance, Scalability, and Sizing Considerations for Instant Messaging

This section describes how to enhance tuning and performance of Instant Messaging in the following topics:

Tuning Instant Messaging Server Memory

Use the J2SE (Java 2 Platform Standard Edition) platform, version 6 for running the Instant Messaging server, because of increased performance. The J2SE platform does not require command-line tuning as it supports ergonomic features.

For more information about the use of J2SE, see http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/

The Instant Messaging server uses the iim.jvm.maxmemorysize parameter in the iim.conf file to set the maximum size of the JVM (Java Virtual Machine) software heap to allocate. The default value of this parameter is 256 Mbytes. However, a large active deployment of Instant Messaging needs more memory. Determining the amount of memory to allocate for the Instant Messaging server depends on the number of concurrent active users that you need to support.

Additional load per user, use of additional Instant Messaging services like news or file transfer, and use of features such as message filters, archiving, or SSL require more memory. You should perform load profiling of typical user activity before deploying Instant Messaging into a production environment. Contact Sun Support Services for more information about load profiling an Instant Messaging deployment.

Instant Messaging Thread Pooling and Service Port Configuration

Instant Messaging provides a set of configuration options to tailor the size and behavior of thread pools used to service client-to-server and server-to-server requests. These thread pools combined with the associated service ports can improve the throughput of an Instant Messaging server.

Option Name Description Default Value
iim_server.maxthreads Maximum number of threads for the default thread pool 50
iim_server.threadpool List of independent thread pools All parameters use the default thread pool
iim_server.threadpool.capacity Capacity of the default thread pool 10 * maxthreads
iim_server.threadpool.aaa.maxthreads Maximum threads for the named thread pool aaa:
maxthreads(aaa) 		4
iim_server.threadpool.aaa.capacity Capacity of the named thread pool aaa. 10 * maxthreads aaa

The following table lists the defined thread pools for Sun Java Communications Suite

Name Use
s2s-in All server-to-server inbound communications. If the port allows server-to-server inbound communications, Instant Messaging uses this thread pool.
s2s-out All server-to-server outbound communications. If the port allows server-to-server outbound communications, Instant Messaging uses this thread pool.
s2s All server-to-server communications. The combination of s2s-in and s2s-out.

Defined thread pools can be specified and used with an associated server-only service port, as described in Service Port Configuration. You can edit the thread and port configurations in the iim.conf file. You need to restart the server after making changes to the thread and port configurations.

Service Port Configuration

The following are the service port configuration options.

Option Definition Default Value
iim_server.useport Open normal ports (allow StartTLS) true
iim_server.usesslport Open SSL ports (non-negotiable TLS) false
iim_server.usemuxport Open Multiplexor ports true
iim_server.port List of normal ports 5269
iim_server.sslport List of SSL ports 5270
iim_mux.serverport List of Multiplexor ports 45222
iim_server.port.port .sndbuf Socket send buffer size none
iim_server.port.port .rcvbuf Socket recv buffer size none
iim_server.port.port .interface List of specific network interfaces to bind none (Indicates any)
iim_server.port.port .protocol List of protocols permitted on this port. The value can be client, server, component, or peer all or any
iim_server.port.port .nodelay Enables the Nagles algorithm false

The throughput of a service port can be improved by adjusting the send or receive buffer of the port.

The following example shows the service ports configuration for Instant Messaging

iim_server.port = 5269, 45269, 15222
iim_server.port.5269.protocol = s2s
iim_server.port.45269.protocol = component
iim_server.port.45269.sndbuf= 512000
iim_server.port.45269.recvbuf= 512000
iim_server.port.15222.protocol = c2s

Sample Load Test of the Instant Messaging Server

The following table shows a sample load test of the Instant Messaging server.

Platform Details System Configuration Server Heap Size No. of Users No. of Concurrent Sessions User Cache Load Per 10 Seconds
  • Sun Fire T1000 Server
  • Solaris 10 OS
  • RAM 16 GB
 Server and Multiplexor installed in the same box 1 GByte for Mux
5 GBytes for server		 100,000 60000 128 count
  • 50 users login to the server
  • 50 users logout
  • 1450 presence updates
  • 350 messages sent to offline destinations
  • 2400 messages sent to online destinations
  • 850 messages sent to random destinations
  • 50 roster additions
  • 50 roster rename
  • 50 roster removal

The above sample has the following configuration parameters in the iim.conf file.

iim.jvm.maxmemorysize = "4096" 
iim_server.memory.user.cache_count="128"
iim_server.scratch_directory="/tmp/imscratch"
iim_ldap.maxconns=70
iim_server.maxthreads=50
iim_server.jvm.options="-d64"
iim_mux.jvm.options="-d64"
iim_mux.maxsessions="100000"
iim_server.maxsessions="150000"

where,

  • iim_server.memory.user.cache_count specifies the memory user cache size. In the above sample, the value is set to 128 for a user base of 100,000. If the user base is more than 100,000, increase this value proportionately.
  • iim_server.scratch_directory specifies the directory where the user cache is written to the disk. It is recommended to have the scratch directory on tempfs. For 100,000 user base in the Solaris 10 OS, around 500 to 600 MBytes of space is required on a filesystem and around 4 to 5 GBytes of space is required on tempfs.
  • iim_ldap.maxconns specifies the LDAP context pool size. In case of more roster operations and in a server pool environment, increase this value appropriately.
  • iim_server.maxthreads specifies the size of the thread pool. If you do not have sufficient memory to keep user cache in tempfs, you can increase the value of the thread pool.
  • iim_server.jvm.options enables you to run the 64-bit JVM thereby enabling big heap sizes.
  • iim_mux.jvm.options enables you start the multiplexor in the 64-bit mode.
  • iim_mux.maxsessions specifies the maximum number of concurrent client connection a multipexor can accept.
  • iim_server.maxsessions specifies the number of sessions allowed through an instance of multipexor connected to the server.
Warning
Disable the watchdog by setting the iim_wd.enable parameter to false in the iim.conf file.

Redistributable Files for Instant Messaging

Sun Java System Instant Messaging software 8 does not contain any files that you can redistribute.

The individuals who post here are part of the extended Sun Microsystems community and they might not be employed or in any way formally affiliated with Sun Microsystems. The opinions expressed here are their own, are not necessarily reviewed in advance by anyone but the individual authors, and neither Sun nor any other party necessarily agrees with them.

Copyright 1994-2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Powered by Atlassian Confluence Sun Guidelines on Public Discourse Privacy Policy Terms of Use Trademarks Site Map Employment Investor Relations Contact

Enter labels to add to this page:
Please wait 
Looking for a label? Just start typing.

Comments (1)

 

  1. Jan 13, 2009

    IanBalmer says:

    iim_server.scratch_directory mentions "1 lakh user base" This needs translating.

    iim_server.scratch_directory mentions "1 lakh user base" This needs translating.

Sign up or Log in to add a comment or watch this page.


The individuals who post here are part of the extended Sun Microsystems community and they might not be employed or in any way formally affiliated with Sun Microsystems. The opinions expressed here are their own, are not necessarily reviewed in advance by anyone but the individual authors, and neither Sun nor any other party necessarily agrees with them.

Copyright 1994-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Powered by Atlassian Confluence Sun Guidelines on Public Discourse Privacy Policy Terms of Use Trademarks Site Map Employment Investor Relations Contact