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Last modified: June 14, 2007
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP)

Contents:

[June 2007] The Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) is a streaming XML technology that enables any two entities on a network to exchange well-defined but extensible XML elements (called "XML stanzas") at a rate close to real time.

The RFC Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP): Core defines the core features of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), a technology for streaming Extensible Markup Language (XML) elements in order to exchange structured information in close to real time between any two network-aware entities. XMPP provides a generalized, extensible framework for incrementally exchanging XML data, upon which a variety of applications can be built. The framework includes methods for stream setup and teardown, channel encryption, authentication of a client to a server and of one server to another server, and primitives for push-style messages, publication of presence and availability information, and request-response interactions between any two XMPP entities. This document also specifies the format for XMPP addresses, which are fully internationalizable.

The XMPP features — mainly XML streams, use of TLS and SASL, and the <message/>, <presence/>, and <iq/> children of the stream root — provide the building blocks for many types of near-real-time applications, which may be layered on top of the core by sending application-specific data qualified by particular XML namespaces. The document Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP): Instant Messaging and Presence describes extensions to the core features of XMPP that provide the basic functionality expected of an instant messaging (IM) and presence application as defined in Instant Messaging Presence Protocol Requirements. describes extensions to the core features of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) that provide basic instant messaging (IM) and presence functionality in conformance with RFC 2779.

As specified in Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP): Core, entity addresses as used in communications over an XMPP network must not be prepended with a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) scheme. However, applications external to an XMPP network may need to identify XMPP entities either as URIs or, in a more modern fashion, as Internationalized Resource Identifiers. Examples of such external applications include databases that need to store XMPP addresses and non-native user agents such as web browsers and calendaring applications that provide interfaces to XMPP services. RFC 4622 "Internationalized Resource Identifiers (IRIs) and Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) for the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP)" specifies how to identify XMPP entities as IRIs or URIs, specifies how to interact with XMPP entities as IRIs or URIs, formally defines the syntax for XMPP IRIs and URIs, specifies how to transform XMPP IRIs into URIs and vice-versa, and registers the xmpp URI scheme.

[January 30, 2004]   IESG Approves XMPP Instant Messaging and Presence Core Specification.    The Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) has approved the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP): Core specification as an IETF Proposed Standard. XMPP Core is a "protocol for streaming XML elements in order to exchange structured information in close to real time between any two network endpoints. While XMPP provides a generalized, extensible framework for exchanging XML data, it is used mainly for the purpose of building instant messaging and presence applications that meet the requirements of RFC 2779." The XMPP Core specification "includes guidelines to ensure that extensions are possible without conflicts or breaking core interoperability. Lack of conflicts is ensured with use of XML namespaces. Interoperability is ensured with careful layering of stanzas of known types, on top of the base stream." The Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) working group is one of three IETF working groups chartered to develop architectural, protocol, and data format specifications supporting internet-scale end-user presence awareness, notification, and instant messaging systems. The Jabber Software Foundation (JSF) "has been working with the IETF for just over a year to add security and internationalization features to the core Jabber protocols, which the JSF has contributed to the IETF under the name XMPP. XMPP now joins other IETF-approved protocols such as HTTP (the World Wide Web) and SMTP (email), thus positioning it as an Internet standard for instant messaging (IM) and presence. In addition, the Jabber community continues to develop specialized application protocols on top of XMPP."

[November 01, 2002] On October 31, 2002 the IETF's Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) approved the charter for a new Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) Working Group. XMPP is "an open, XML-based protocol for near real-time extensible messaging and presence. It is the core protocol of the Jabber Instant Messaging and Presence technology which is currently deployed on thousands of servers across the Internet and is used by millions of people worldwide. The XMPP working group will adapt the XMPP for use as an IETF Instant Messaging and Presence technology." Three IETF Internet Drafts for XMPP will serve as a basis for the deliverables of the IETF working group: XMPP Core describes the core features XMPP which is used by the servers, clients, and other applications that comprise the Jabber network; XMPP Instant Messaging describes the specific extensions necessary to create a basic instant messaging and presence application; XMPP CPIM Mapping describes a mapping of XMPP to the IETF Common Presence and Instant Messaging specification. "The main focus of the Working Group will be on XML streams (including stream-level security and authentication), the core data elements (<message/>, <presence/>, and <iq/>), and the namespaces required to achieve basic instant messaging and presence."

XMPP Working Group description [2002-11-02 charter statement]

XMPP is an open, XML-based protocol for near real-time extensible messaging and presence. It is the core protocol of the Jabber Instant Messaging and Presence technology which is currently deployed on thousands of servers across the Internet and is used by millions of people worldwide. The XMPP working group shall adapt the XMPP for use as an IETF Instant Messaging and Presence technology.

The working group will use XMPP (as described in draft-miller-xmpp-*) as the basis of its work. The final specifications will be consistent as much as practical with both the requirements given in RFC2779 and the interoperability details in the final version of the CPIM specification (draft-ietf-impp-cpim). Note: If a requirement of RFC2779 or the final CPIM specification cannot be met, the working group will document why this requirement cannot be met.

A major goal of the working group will be to extend the current XMPP protocols to provide finished support for RFC 2779-compliant security mechanisms, including authentication, privacy, access control and end-to-end as well as hop-by-hop message security. Mandatory-to-implement security mechanisms will be specified as needed in order to guarantee secure protocol interoperability.

The working group shall also add support for internationalization and localization to XMPP.

Instant messaging differs from email primarily by requiring relatively short delivery latency guarantees and, typically, less robust transport service. In addition, instant messaging includes the notion of presence information so authorized users can determine if their correspondents are available.

BCP 41 will be the basis for working group consideration of the transport implications of the XMPP design with respect to network congestion.

From the Jabber announcement 2002-10-31:

"Today [2002-10-31] the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) approved the formation of an XMPP Working Group within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). This Working Group will be dedicated to discussion and improvement of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol that is used throughout the Jabber community."

"Because the Jabber community has always been focused on the importance of true interoperability in the domain of instant messaging and presence, prominent individuals within the community have been interested and involved in the IETF standards process for the last three years; see the history page for details. However, the formation of a dedicated working group provides an opportunity to receive feedback from the broader Internet community, and to ensure that the protocol used in the Jabber community adheres to IETF standards regarding security, internationalization, and the like."

"As defined in the charter, the scope of the Working Group is to explore and, where necessary, modify the existing protocol in order to meet the requirements defined in RFC 2779 as well as the interoperability requirements defined in the CPIM specification. The main focus of the Working Group will be on XML streams (including stream-level security and authentication), the core data elements (<message/>, <presence/>, and <iq/>), and the namespaces required to achieve basic instant messaging and presence."

"Parallel to the Working Group, the Jabber Software Foundation (JSF) will continue to use its Jabber Enhancement Proposal (JEP) Process, itself modelled on the IETF's standards process, to explore requirements not addressed in RFC 2779, such as multi-user chat, publish-subscribe systems, file transfer, whiteboarding, and calendaring. As such specifications are defined and adopted within the Jabber community, they too may be submitted to the IETF for consideration on top of the XMPP framework."

Principal References

Earlier references (some URIs not maintained by IETF):

Specifications

[Selected specifications (not a maintained list)]

"IETF Publishes XMPP RFCs Core Jabber Protocols Recognized As Internet-Grade Technologies." Publication of four key documents which formalize the XML streaming protocols first developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999, and are the result of two years of work by the IETF's Extensible Messaging and Presence Working Group and represent the state of the art in open instant messaging (IM) and presence technologies.

Note: The IETF policy of physically removing a document from server access in order to (a) create a newer version or (b) signify that the document has "expired" results in routine link breakage, and a server message "The page you are looking for cannot be found." XMPP documents have undergone rapid revision, leading to many broken links (unsupported URLs). The best solution is to follow the advice from the IETF document server: "Please visit search.ietf.org and enter in keywords or the name of the draft without the version numbers." Apologies to users of the Cover Pages website for this inconvenience, and for this (arguably) poor design decision by IETF. Link persistence is difficult to ensure in the face of a corporate policy which equates expiration (terminating the authority of a resource by date) with mandatory link breakage.

  • Some I-Ds. See the WG Charter page for current references:

  • [April 23, 2003] "SIMPLE-XMPP Interworking." By . IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. Reference: 'draft-mierla-simple-xmpp-interworking-00'. April 23, 2003, expires October 22, 2003. This document describes the behavior for the logical entity known as the SIMPLE-XMPP Interworking Function (SIMPLE-XMPP IWF) that will allow the interworking between the SIMPLE (Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions) and XMPP (eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol - also known as Jabber protocol) protocols... SIMPLE [Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Extension for Instant Messaging] extends the Session Initiation Protocol with Instant Messaging and Presence functionality. The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) [SIP: Session Initiation Protocol] was designed to initiate and manipulate media 'sessions' between communicating parties. XMPP is an XML-based streaming protocol designed for Instant Messaging and Presence. The primary objective of a SIMPLE-XMPP Interworking function (IWF) is to provide protocol conversion between SIMPLE and XMPP protocols. The document describes the requirements and behavior of the SIMPLE-XMPP Interworking function for conversion of the SIMPLE and XMPP protocols. How to use SIP to initiate XMPP chat sessions or how to initiate sessions over XMPP are not the subject of the present document..." [cache]

  • [April 22, 2003] "End-to-End Object Encryption in XMPP." By Peter Saint-Andre (Jabber Software Foundation) and Joe Hildebrand (Jabber, Inc). IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. Reference: 'draft-ietf-xmpp-e2e-02'. April 21, 2003, expires October 20, 2003. 18 pages. "This document describes an end-to-end signing and encryption method for use in the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) as defined by XMPP Core and XMPP Instant Messaging. Object signing and encryption enable a sender to encrypt an XML stanza sent to a specific recipient, sign such a stanza, sign broadcasted presence, and signal support for the method defined herein. This document thereby helps the XMPP specifications meet the requirements defined in RFC 2779 ['Instant Messaging / Presence Protocol Requirements']... For the purposes of this document, we stipulate the following requirements: (1) Encryption must work with any stanza type (message, presence, or IQ). (2) The full XML stanza must be encrypted. (3) Encryption must be possible using either OpenPGP or S/MIME. (4) It must be possible to sign encrypted content. (5) It must be possible to sign broadcasted presence. (6) Any namespaces used must conform to The IETF XML Registry..." [cache]

  • [April 7, 2003] "XMPP Instant Messaging." By Peter Saint-Andre and Jeremie Miller (Jabber Software Foundation). IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. Reference: 'draft-ietf-xmpp-im-08'. April 7, 2003. "This document describes the specific extensions to and applications of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) that are required to create a basic instant messaging and presence application, such as the servers and clients that comprise the Jabber network. The core features of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol are defined in XMPP Core. These features -- specifically XML streams, stream authentication and encryption, and the <message/>, <presence/>, and <iq/> children of the stream root -- provide the building blocks for many types of near-real-time applications, which may be layered on top of the core by sending application-specific data scoped by particular XML namespaces. This document describes the extensions to and applications of XMPP Core that are required to create the basic functionality expected of an instant messaging and presence application as defined in RFC 2779."

  • [April 7, 2003] "XMPP Core." By Peter Saint-Andre and Jeremie Miller (Jabber Software Foundation). IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. April 7, 2003. Reference: 'draft-ietf-xmpp-core-08'. "This document describes the core features of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), a protocol for streaming XML elements in order to exchange messages and presence information in close to real time. XMPP is used mainly for the purpose of building instant messaging (IM) and presence applications, such as the servers and clients that comprise the Jabber network."

  • [March 26, 2003] "XMPP Instant Messaging." By Peter Saint-Andre and Jeremie Miller (Jabber Software Foundation). IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. Reference: 'draft-ietf-xmpp-im-06'. March 26, 2003, expires September 24, 2003. 73 pages. "The core features of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol are defined in XMPP Core. These features -- specifically XML streams, stream authentication and encryption, and the <message/>, <presence/>, and <iq/> children of the stream root -- provide the building blocks for many types of near-real-time applications, which may be layered on top of the core by sending application-specific data scoped by particular XML namespaces. This document describes the extensions to and applications of XMPP Core that are used to create the basic functionality expected of an instant messaging and presence application as defined in RFC 2779. [cache]

  • [March 26, 2003] "XMPP Core." By Peter Saint-Andre and Jeremie Miller (Jabber Software Foundation). IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. Reference: 'draft-ietf-xmpp-core-06'. "This document describes the core features of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), a protocol for streaming XML in near- real-time that is used mainly for the purpose of instant messaging (IM) and presence by the servers, clients, and other applications that comprise the Jabber network." [cache]

  • [March 26, 2003] "End-to-End Object Encryption in XMPP." By P. Saint-Andre and J. Hildebrand. IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. Reference: 'draft-ietf-xmpp-e2e-00'. February 03, 2003, expires August 4, 2003. "This document describes an end-to-end encryption method for use in the eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) as defined in XMPP Core and XMPP IM. Object encryption enables a sender to encrypt a message sent to a specific recipient and assists the XMPP specifications in meeting the requirements of RFC 2779. Object encryption is accomplished by sending the encrypted form of the message body along with a unique message ID to help prevent replay attacks. The public key used for message encryption SHOULD match the KeyID sent when signaling support for this protocol via presence broadcast. All operations described herein may be completed using standard OpenPGP software. All program output is US-ASCII armored output with the headers removed, which allows for straightforward encapsulation of the program output directly as XML CDATA. It is assumed that keys may be exchanged using OpenPGP key servers; for example, the key of another user may be retrieved automatically when an appropriate presence stanza is received from that user..." [cache]

  • [January 21, 2003] "XMPP Core." By Jeremie Miller and Peter Saint-Andre (Jabber Software Foundation). IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. Reference: 'draft-ietf-xmpp-core-01'. January 17, 2003, expires July 18, 2003. Formal definitions (namespaces, DTDs, Schemas) in Appendix B. 23 references. "This document describes the core features of the eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), which is used by the servers, clients, and other applications that comprise the Jabber network... The eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) is an open XML protocol for near-real-time messaging and presence. The protocol was developed originally within the Jabber community starting in 1998, and since 2001 has continued to evolve under the auspices of the Jabber Software Foundation and now the XMPP WG. Currently, there exist multiple implementations of the protocol, mostly offered under the name of Jabber. In addition, there are countless deployments of these implementations, which provide instant messaging (IM) and presence services at and among thousands of domains to a user base that is estimated at over one million end users. The current document defines the core constituents of XMPP; XMPP IM [XMPP Instant Messaging] defines the extensions necessary to provide basic instant messaging and presence functionality that addresses the requirements defined in RFC 2779..." See: "Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP)." [cache]

  • [December 11, 2002] "XMPP Core." By Jeremie Miller [WWW] and Peter Saint-Andre [WWW] (Jabber Software Foundation). IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. December 06, 2002, expires June 6, 2003. Reference: 'draft-ietf-xmpp-core-00'. Relevant XML DTDs/Schemas are presented in appendices. "This document describes the core features of the eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), which is used by the servers, clients, and other applications that comprise the Jabber network... The eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) is an open XML protocol for near-real-time messaging and presence. The protocol was developed originally within the Jabber community starting in 1998, and since 2001 has continued to evolve under the auspices of the Jabber Software Foundation and now the XMPP WG. Currently, there exist multiple implementations of the protocol, mostly offered under the name of Jabber. In addition, there are countless deployments of these implementations, which provide instant messaging (IM) and presence services at and among thousands of domains to a user base that is estimated at over one million end users. The current document defines the core constituents of XMPP; XMPP IM defines the extensions necessary to provide basic instant messaging and presence functionality that addresses the requirements defined in RFC 2779 ['A Model for Presence and Instant Messaging'].

  • [December 11, 2002] "XMPP Instant Messaging." By Jeremie Miller [WWW] and Peter Saint-Andre [WWW] (Jabber Software Foundation). IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. December 06, 2002, expires June 6, 2003. Reference: 'draft-ietf-xmpp-im-00'. Appendices present 4 XML DTDs/Schemas. "This document describes the specific extensions to and applications of the eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) that are necessary to create a basic instant messaging and presence application... The core features of the XMPP protocol are defined in XMPP Core. These features, specifically XML streams and the 'jabber:client' and 'jabber:server' namespaces, provide the building blocks for many types of near-real-time applications, which may be layered on top of the core by sending XML stanzas that are scoped by specific XML namespaces. This document describes the specific extensions to and applications of XMPP Core that are used to create the basic functionality expected of an instant messaging and presence application as defined in RFC 2779. Extended namespaces for many other functionality areas have been defined and continue to be defined by the Jabber Software Foundation, including service discovery, multi-user chat, search, remote procedure calls, data gathering and forms submission, encryption, feature negotiation, message composing events, message expiration, delayed delivery, and file transfer; however, such functionality is not described herein because it is not required by RFC 2779..."

  • XMPP Core. IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. By Jeremie Miller and Peter Saint-Andre (Jabber Software Foundation). Reference: 'draft-miller-xmpp-core-02'. November 03, 2002, expires May 4, 2003. "This document describes the core features of the eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), which is used by the servers, clients, and other applications that comprise the Jabber network. [cache]

  • XMPP Core. IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. Reference: 'draft-miller-xmpp-core-01'. October 23, 2002, expires April 23, 2003. "This document describes the core features of the eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), which is used by numerous applications that are compatible with the open-source Jabber instant messaging system." [cache]

  • XMPP Instant Messaging. IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. Reference: 'draft-miller-xmpp-im-02'. November 03, 2002, expires May 4, 2003. "This document describes the specific extensions to and applications of the eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) that are necessary to create a basic instant messaging and presence application (specifically, an application that is compatible with the open-source Jabber instant messaging system)." [cache]

  • XMPP Instant Messaging. IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. Reference: 'draft-miller-xmpp-im-01'. October 23, 2002, expires April 23, 2003. "This document describes the specific extensions to and applications of the eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) that are necessary to create a basic instant messaging and presence application (specifically, an application that is compatible with the open-source Jabber instant messaging system)." [cache]

  • XMPP CPIM Mapping. IETF Network Working Group, Internet-Draft. Reference: draft-miller-xmpp-cpim-00'. June 21, 2002, expires December 20, 2002. "This document describes a mapping of the eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) to the Common Presence and Instant Messaging specification." [cache]

  • See also: Common Presence and Instant Messaging (CPIM). August 14, 2002. [cache]

  • See also: Common Profile for Instant Messaging (CPIM)

  • See also: "Jabber XML Protocol." - Main reference page

General: Articles, Papers, News, Reports

  • [October 4, 2004] "IETF Publishes XMPP RFCs Core Jabber Protocols Recognized As Internet-Grade Technologies." - "The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) today officially published the specifications for the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) as RFCs within the Internet Standards Process. These documents, which formalize the XML streaming protocols first developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999, are the result of two years of work by the IETF's Extensible Messaging and Presence Working Group and represent the state of the art in open instant messaging (IM) and presence technologies. The specifications published today are as follows: (1) RFC 3920: Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP): Core — The core XML streaming technology that powers Jabber applications, including advanced security and internationalization support. (2) RFC 3921: Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP): Instant Messaging and Presence — Basic IM and presence extensions, including contact lists, presence subscriptions, and whitelisting/blacklisting. (3) RFC 3922: Mapping the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) to Common Presence and Instant Messaging (CPIM) — A mapping of XMPP to the IETF's abstract syntax for IM and presence. (4) RFC 3923: End-to-End Signing and Object Encryption for the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) — An extension for interoperable, end-to-end security... "Combined with XMPP development and integration by the likes of Apple, HP, Oracle, and Sun, publication of these RFCs is yet another vote of confidence in the power of Jabber technologies," said Peter Saint-Andre, Executive Director of the Jabber Software Foundation and editor of the XMPP specifications. "We now have a stable, secure foundation for developing a wide range of presence and messaging applications and for building out the real-time Internet." In contributing XMPP to the Internet Standards Process, the JSF ceded change control over its core technologies to the IETF. Now that the protocols have passed through the IETF's rigorous cross-area and security review, attention turns to the enormous base of Jabber servers, clients, and code libraries, which are currently being upgraded to comply with the XMPP specifications. In addition, the JSF continues to develop many popular XMPP extensions through its JEP series, covering everything from advanced IM and extended presence, to real-time content syndication, to bindings for SOAP and other application protocols..." See: (1) "Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP)"; (2) "Jabber XML Protocol."

  • [September 22, 2004] "Jabber Readying IM Appliance for SMBs." By Ryan Naraine. From InternetNews.com (September 22, 2004). "Instant messaging software firm Jabber Inc. has announced plans to release a plug-and-play IM appliance designed for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The new appliance is scheduled to ship in the first quarter of next year and will run on the Jabber Extensible Communications Platform (Jabber XCP). Jabber, which is working on an XMPP-to-SIP Gateway to achieve interoperability with IBM's Lotus IM product, said the release of an SMB instant messaging appliance will coincide with a new version of the Jabber XCP Platform and an upgraded Jabber Messenger desktop client. Jabber XCP is a presence, messaging and XML routing infrastructure that is used to create real-time applications, systems and services. Enterprise customers use Jabber XCP to presence-enable real-time application like workflow systems, transactional financial trading systems, alert and notification systems and customer service portals... It will also support Web Services to embed presence and messaging into other applications using SOAP-based APIs and a Presence Mirror to allow access to users' availability information via a database connection. Jabber said the product suite will also include wireless instant messaging clients for RIM (BlackBerry), PocketPC, SmartPhone, J2ME, Symbian, SMS and WAP..."

  • [December 24, 2003] "Jabber XCP Generates Corporate IM." By Michael Caton. In eWEEK (December 16, 2003). "Jabber Inc.'s Jabber Extensible Communications Platform has a lot under the covers that brings IM beyond user-to-user communications. Unfortunately, Jabber XCP lacks the graphical management tools found in competing products. Jabber XCP 2.7 is available now, priced at $30 per user. In eWEEK Labs' tests, we found a good deal to like in the way Jabber XCP and its included Jabber Messenger work together to deliver instant messaging, but the lack of a management console is a troubling shortcoming of the platform. In terms of base price, Jabber XCP is competitive with Microsoft Corp.'s Live Communications Server 2003. It costs much less than IBM's Lotus Sametime 3.1 but doesn't offer Sametime's Web conferencing features. Jabber Inc. originated out of the Jabber Open Source Project, when Webb Interactive Services Inc. created a software company around the core developers of the original open-source Jabber server. Open-source versions of products that leverage XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol), the XML-based Jabber communications protocol, are available through the Jabber Software Foundation at www.jabber.org. The JSF manages the standardization process for adding extensions to XMPP for backward compatibility. The Jabber XCP product differs from the open-source Jabberd server in that it is a multithreaded and modular application. Jabber offers an interesting wrinkle on IM As a framework application, Jabber XCP offers companies a flexible platform for delivering IM- and presence-aware applications. Overall, we liked the IM experience Jabber XCP provides, including its default options for indicating presence, which are broader than those in competing enterprise IM clients, and its ability to customize the Jabber IM client... Because Jabber XCP relies heavily on XML as the core to communications, seeing how the product works and making modifications can be relatively straightforward. For example, customizing the client's look and feel essentially involves making changes to three XML files..."

  • [October 24, 2003] "Messaging Worlds on Course to Merge. XMPP, SIMPLE Groups Discuss Interoperability." By Cathleen Moore. In InfoWorld (October 24, 2003). "Talks are under way to bridge the gap between rival IETF instant messaging protocols, paving the way for development of new collaboration technologies. Speaking last week at an IM Planet Show panel in San Jose, Calif., representatives from the XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) and SIMPLE (Session Initiation Protocol for IM and Presence Leveraging Extensions) standards camps said preliminary talks have begun. 'The groups plan to talk more about interoperability at the IETF meeting in November,' said Joe Hildebrand, chief architect at Jabber. Hildebrand said once interoperability work begins, the standards groups will look at combining existing IM technology and developing new technology. Other panelists included Jonathan Rosenberg, SIP and SIMPLE co-author and CTO at dynamicsoft; and Maxime Seguineau, founder, chairman, and CEO of Antepo. Illustrating the potential for interoperability, the nonprofit Jabber Software Foundation also announced last week the public availability of two gateways designed to extend XMPP networks to SIMPLE and Wireless Village IM implementations. The SIMPLE gateway is built for IBM's Lotus Instant Messaging implementation of SIMPLE. Both SIMPLE and XMPP are nearing final ratification by the IETF. IM standards development is 'a big-time issue' due to the significant development and market opportunities in enterprise IM and presence technology, said Rob Batchelder, president of Relevance... Although the initial talks between XMPP and SIMPLE camps stayed safely within the bounds of interoperability, the possibility of merging the efforts into a single standard would yield the most benefit to the industry, Batchelder said..."

  • [June 02, 2003] "HP Turns to Jabber for Enterprise IM." By John K. Waters. In Application Development Trends (June 02, 2003). "Instant messaging (IM) is fast emerging as a useful and productivity-enhancing enterprise technology, and many businesses have begun to embrace it in a serious way. In fact, according to the Gartner Group, instant messaging is proving to be a real driver of enterprise communications as companies seek to integrate IM and so-called presence technologies into their enterprise applications. Gartner analyst Maurene Caplan Grey believes that vendor alliances in the IM space are fueling the current drive toward adoption of a common IM and presence protocol... One example of this trend can be seen in the alliance between industry heavyweight Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Jabber, a Denver-based IM and presence technology developer. The two companies announced last week that HP will resell a version of Jabber's enterprise instant-messaging framework that the two companies developed jointly for the HP-UX platform, as well as for Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 servers. According to the terms of the agreement, the two companies will sell the Jabber framework jointly on these platforms and on the existing Linux-based platform to HP's worldwide customer base beginning in Q2 of this year. Financial details of the agreement were not available at press time. The Jabber Communications Platform is an enterprise/carrier-grade IM and presence solution. ('Presence' refers to the ability of an application to tell when a user is online and available to receive a message.) The Jabber commercial product and its open-source counterpart, Jabber.org, are based on the eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP). XMPP is an XML-based data-transport technology that its proponents contend is better suited to handling IM and presence than a signaling technology. XMPP can be extended across disparate applications and systems because of its XML base. XMPP is being developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)... XMPP's competitor, Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (Simple), is also under construction by the IETF. Simple is a set of extensions to the established SIP protocol that initiate, set up and manage a range of media sessions, including voice and video. Simple extensions define SIP signaling methods to handle the transport of data and presence. Microsoft has said that it prefers Simple largely because of its capacity to unify voice, video and data messaging. Jabber recently formed an alliance with another industry heavyweight, Intel. Under the terms of that agreement, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker will invest in Jabber and help the company to develop wireless products. Jabber plans to release an SMS Gateway for carriers and the enterprise in Q3 of this year..."

  • [May 27, 2003] "XMPP vs SIMPLE: The Race For Messaging Standards." By Cathleen Moore. In InfoWorld (May 27, 2003). ['As IM bounds ahead in the enterprise, a behind-the-scenes battle is taking place between competing IETF standards.'] "There's a race on for the future of the enterprise messaging system. The contestants are backing competing protocols for IM and presence awareness. Which standard takes home the prize may depend less on technical merits than on brute force. At the head of the competition are SIMPLE (Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions) and the open-source, XML-based XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol). Both are currently being developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). SIMPLE backers extol the broad media possibilities of a SIP-based signaling protocol with natural affinities for voice, video, and conferencing. XMPP proponents, on the other hand, tout an XML-based data transport technology that is built to manage IM and presence. SIMPLE is a set of extensions to the established SIP protocol that initiate, set up, and manage a range of media sessions, including voice and video. SIMPLE extensions define SIP signaling methods to handle the transport of data and presence. SIMPLE's designers set out to develop a system that represented the communications state as broadly as possible, supporting presence not just for PC messaging applications but also for devices such as phones and PDAs, says Jonathan Rosenberg, chief scientist at Parsippany, N.J.-based dynamicsoft and co-author of SIP and SIMPLE. 'We realized a long time ago that presence and IM [are] just another facet of communications, and that is what SIP is all about. IM is just like voice and video; it is another aspect of real-time, person-to-person communications,' Rosenberg says. SIMPLE's capability of unifying voice, video, and data messaging appealed greatly to Microsoft, according to Ed Simnett, lead product manager of RTC (Real Time Communications) Server at the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant. According to observers, one potential problem with SIMPLE is that it is a paging protocol meant to perform signaling but not to carry anything else... Because of the inherent limitations of SIP and because many SIMPLE extensions are still under construction, the existing implementations of the protocol from Microsoft and IBM have included proprietary extensions. Furthermore, SIMPLE is missing core IM-related functionality such as contact lists and group chat capabilities, according to observers. Another potential pitfall with SIMPLE is that SIP uses both TCP and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) as transport layers. TCP includes congestion control, whereas UDP does not, thereby opening the door for packet loss during times of network congestion... Meanwhile, proponents of XMPP contend that an XML-based data-transport technology is better suited than a signaling technology to handle IM and presence. According to its designers, one major benefit of XMPP is that it can be extended across disparate applications and systems because of its XML base..."

  • [April 29, 2003] "Open Source and Open Standards." By Peter Saint-André. In O'Reilly ONLamp.com (April 29, 2003). ['On the intersection of protocol, source, and community.'] "How critical are open standards to the viability of the open source community? And which is a stronger guarantee of openness in the technology ecosystem: open standards or open code? ... What is a standard? Some people think that when the IETF or W3C approves a protocol or format, it thereby becomes a standard. But standardization is not a matter of approval; rather, it is a matter of acceptance in the market. And what is the market? It's a complex stew of projects and organizations who develop and use the emerging standard. In fact, it looks a lot like the ecosystem of developers and users, but written on a global scale. Not all standards are open (for example, MS Word and PowerPoint). However, when formats and protocols are open, then open implementations that are technically strong usually (but not always) tend to be accepted by the marketplace as standards. Indeed, often a particular implementation of a certain protocol becomes not only a standard but the dominant market-maker. For example, Apache is the dominant web server and a protocol like HTTPng failed to catch on in large part because it lacked support in the Apache community... In the Jabber community, we have pursued something of a hybrid approach. First we simultaneously created the core protocol and open source implementations, then we grew the developer community and user base (as well as the number and range of companies involved in development and deployment). Once that foundation was strong, we finally sought standardization of the core protocol through the IETF's XMPP Working Group, while maintaining a more nimble Jabber-specific community standards process managed by the open Jabber Software Foundation. Only time will tell if Jabber/XMPP becomes a standard for real-time messaging and presence. But the Jabber community is definitely focused on strengthening all three legs of the stool: protocol, source, and community. And given everything that's happening with Jabber and XMPP these days, we may well be witnessing the emergence of an Internet standard..."

  • [April 18, 2003] "XMPP Rises to Face SIMPLE Standard, Vendor Coalition Challenges Standard Used by Microsoft and IBM." By Cathleen Moore. In InfoWorld (April 18, 2003). "With the lure of presence-aware applications and systems dangling before them, competitors are warming up for a heated race to establish an industry standard protocol for presence awareness and instant messaging interoperability. Lines are drawn between two protocols currently working their way through the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards body: the SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)-based SIMPLE (SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions) and the open-source, XML-based protocol XMPP (eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol). Vendors are placing bets, hoping to choose the correct side of the market's eventual shakeout. Whereas Microsoft and IBM have thrown their weight behind SIMPLE, a groundswell of support is rising behind XMPP, as Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Hitachi , Sony, and others invest in the technology. Intel's Wireless Communications and Computing Group chose XMPP-based IM vendor Jabber last month. HP plans to deepen its XMPP support with a forthcoming distribution and systems integration deal with Denver-based Jabber. Often referred to as the Linux of IM, XMPP was developed in the open-source community during the late 1990s and then submitted to the IETF for standards consideration. This month XMPP reached working group final-call status within the IETF. The protocol is within months of reaching final ratification as an IM and presence awareness standard, according to PeterSaint-Andre, executive director of the Jabber Software Foundation, the Jabber-sponsored, open-source organization fostering XMPP's development... Whereas enterprise-focused vendors are at least attempting to build toward standards, the consumer networks such as AOL and Yahoo have made no strides toward SIMPLE or XMPP. Those companies have millions of dollars invested in their own protocols and networks and do not have much economic motivation to interoperate at this time. The need for IM and presence-awareness interoperability will eventually reach a critical juncture as enterprises seek to selectively expose elements of a private presence infrastructure to outside parties such as business partners and suppliers, according to Batchelder. 'Companies will build private presence infrastructures and they will want to tie them to the public IM network and clouds,' he said. SIMPLE may eventually glue IBM and Microsoft together, but it won't work industrywide and will be of limited value. In the end, the industry will most likely rally behind a standard that blends both protocols, Batchelder said. 'What the industry ultimately converges around will likely be a hybrid of XMPP, propriety ideas, and some generic work in IETF around SIP and SIMPLE,' he said..."

  • [November 10, 2002] "IETF Approves XMPP Working Group. Jabber-Based Open Instant Messaging and Presence Technology on Internet Standards Track." - The Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) has announced "the approval of an XMPP Working Group within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the group that sets the technical standards for the Internet. The Working Group has been formed to adapt the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) for use as an IETF instant messaging and presence technology. XMPP is the core protocol used in the popular Jabber open source and Jabber, Inc. commercial instant messaging systems and is the result of the collaborative efforts of a worldwide group of software architects, developers and companies that comprise the Jabber community. Managed and organized by the non-profit Jabber Software Foundation (www.jabber.org), XMPP is an open XML-based protocol for near real-time extensible messaging and presence. It has enjoyed widespread popularity and adoption and is currently deployed on thousands of servers across the Internet and used by millions of people worldwide. 'Progress and work towards a common, open IM standard on any front will benefit the entire emerging IM marketplace,' said Jabber founder Jeremie Miller, now a Jabber Software Foundation board member. 'Jabber.org has always been a collaborative project driven by those interested in creating open, interoperable IM technologies based on XML. For those protocols to have gained enough popularity and use to warrant a standards effort is a sign that openness and interoperability are still deeply valued attributes on the Internet.'... Interoperability has always been a core objective of the Jabber project. Prominent individuals within the Jabber community have been involved in the IETF standards process for the last three years. The formation of a dedicated working group provides an opportunity to include the broader Internet community in adapting XMPP to IETF established standards for security, internationalization and inter-domain message exchange... In a related effort, the Messaging and Presence Interoperability Consortium (MPIC) is considering the XMPP as a key interoperability technology. The MPIC initiative is being driven by a group of carriers and service providers to establish interoperability standards for instant messaging and presence. Frustrated with the lack of workable interoperability standards from instant messaging and presence providers, the group intends to embrace emerging open standards like XMPP and collaborate towards interoperability among their respective systems..."

  • [November 03, 2002] "IM Compatibility Closer to Reality." By Robert Lemos. In CNet News.com (November 01, 2002). "The Internet's governing technical body quietly gave its stamp of approval Thursday to a group intent on creating an open standard for instant messaging. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the group that sets the technical standards for the Internet, gave the go-ahead to the creators of open-source instant-messaging application Jabber to create a working group based on that technology. These such groups plan the specific implementations of the technologies that make up the Internet... Called the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), the group's instant messaging standard gives Internet users hope of one day being able to send messages to anyone on the Net, no matter what software they are using. The group is also charged with adding security -- including authentication, privacy and access control -- to instant messaging, according to the group's charter. Currently, AOL Time Warner, Yahoo and Microsoft divide nearly all instant messenger users among them. Yahoo and Microsoft, as well as smaller IM clients, have in the past called on America Online to open its instant messaging system to rivals... Calls for interoperability have quieted among consumers, but business users have become more earnest in their exhortations for a single standard. In October, seven brokerage firms formally announced the Financial Services Instant Messaging Association to promote standards in the instant messenger industry... The new working group could have some competition from IBM and Microsoft, which have promoted a separate standard known as SIMPLE (SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions) based on SIP or the Session Initiation Protocol. SIP is a way of signaling applications on the Internet to enable conferencing, telephony, presence, events notification and instant messaging. The IETF approved SIMPLE as a proposed standard in September. That technology is being developed by the Session Initiation Protocol Working Group..."

  • [August 30, 2002] "Out with AOL, in with Jabber." By Paul Festa. In CNET News.com (August 30, 2002). "When America Online closed its door on efforts to standardize instant messaging, a new one may have opened for Jabber. Jabber, the XML-based instant messaging application that interoperates with multiple IM services, is close to winning approval for its own dedicated working group within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a development that would elevate the technology from one of many competing IM also-rans to that of a potential industry standard. 'They're pushing for a working group,' said Ned Freed, the IETF's co-area director for applications and member of the group's decision-making Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). 'I suspect we will be approving it in the very near future.' ... The IETF-proposed standard for instant messaging that AOL abandoned is still in progress. Dubbed SIMPLE (SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions), it is an instant-messaging application of the IETF's Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), a technology with numerous applications apart from IM. SIMPLE proponents, however diminished in strength without AOL's backing, are putting up a fight to resist the Jabber invasion, arguing that the IETF's energies are divided enough as it is without adding another instant messaging protocol to the mix. In fact, there is a large handful of IM-related activities, variously competing and complementary with each other, in progress under the IETF's auspices. In addition to SIMPLE, they include Application Exchange (APEX), a still-ongoing project that even its working group chair acknowledges is unlikely to prosper; the now moribund Presence and Instant Messaging Protocol (PRIM), which backers hope to revive in the future; and the Instant Messaging and Presence Protocol (IMPP), a group working on Common Presence and Instant Messaging (CPIM)... Jabber proponents argue that an XML-based protocol would find a warm reception on the Internet, where the number of XML-based documents and applications is burgeoning. And should the IETF approve a Jabber working group, it would start out with an installed base that no other IETF instant messaging activity can match. Jabber now claims that 'as many as 100,000 of its servers are running across the Internet, with millions of people using the application. Licensees of Jabber's enterprise-grade software include AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, Walt Disney, BellSouth, France Telecom and VA Linux Systems...Jabber -- which exists as both the for-profit Jabber.com and the open-source development group 'The Jabber Software Foundation' -- has much to gain from the potential IETF working group. In addition to the prestige and possible surge in adoption that IETF recognition would bring, Jabber backers are hoping that in exchange for ceding control of the technology to the IETF, they might get valuable technical help in areas where Jabber badly needs it -- namely security and internationalization..." See: "Jabber XML Protocol."
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