Question

Best IM or chat over small LAN?

Asked by: dspangenberg

I am looking for a small application for my users to be able to message or IM internally on our LAN. We restrict the use of any IM app that goes out over the net, so ICQ, Yahoo or Msn Messenger are out.  This will be used mainly for quick internal business communication among workers. I have approximately 30 users and really don't want to roll out a server.
Video or camera use in not needed, but file transfer could be nice.  It would also be nice to be able to have a group discussion or "chat room"  amongst several workers.

There are several out there, does anyone have any experience with them?

Thanks
Dan

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2005-02-08 at 19:04:01ID21307306
Tags

chat

,

lan

,

over

Topics

Miscellaneous Networking

,

TCP/IP

,

Peer to Peer

Participating Experts
4
Points
500
Comments
5

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. AI CHAT BOT on MSN MESSENGER
    Hi, I'm looking for a way to get an AI chat bot to talk to my friends on MSN messenger. I want to prove a point to someone, about how much attention they pay to the conversation when chatting. Have I posted this question in the right place? Can't afford many points I'm afraid.
  2. Allowing MSN and YAHOO messengers Voice Chat
    Dear All, i have a redhat linux box, acting as a firewall using iptables over 2.4.18 kernal. all the machines are beyond the linux box are having its ip address as a gateway and they are using private ip addresses, the linux box has 2 network cards, one connected to the inte...
  3. How to make a MSN Messenger Chat Monitor?
    I want to make a little spy service to monitor MSN Messenger Chat. I know that I have to listen to 1863 TCP-IP port. Take a look what I did till now. I dropped IdTCPClient1, IdLogStream1, memo1, btnConnect and btnDisconnect to a form. unit Unit1; interface uses Windows...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: ruddgPosted on 2005-02-08 at 20:02:12ID: 13260923

A customer of mine tested this chat client out and found that it met their internal needs very well (not free, but inexpensive, functional and serverless):

http://www.vypress.com/products/chat/

 

by: HypercubeTechPosted on 2005-02-09 at 01:10:14ID: 13262029

ICQ has an Intranet only version which works great in a corporate environment. I initially deployed and tested it in the Arthur Anderson network and it was accepted by corporate and is now used by the company globally.

Here is another one that looks good though. http://www.rolesoft.com/english/

 

by: gothicbloodyPosted on 2005-02-09 at 02:24:54ID: 13262350

hi there , i hope this those links help u .

------------------------
Akeni Web Chat :
Akeni Web Chat is an IM system with its browser based client there is no need to install any client side software. It is also firewall friendly and can be used whenever you have access to a web browser. The rich client supports chat, notification and conferencing. This product can be deployed as a stand alone HTTP server
http://www.instantmessagingserver.com/en/home/home.php
-------------------------
AltME :
AltME - The Alternative Messaging Environment is a communication system with private chat rooms, messaging forums, and instant applications like checklists & calendars. It downloads and runs on your own PC where you are the master with full control over users. Security is provided through encrypted data transfer and authenticated user logon. AltME has a built-in update feature so you are always running the most current version
http://www.altme.com/
-------------------------
Chatjet :
Chatjet is a flexible chat server system. The client frontend is based on HTML/HTTP, Java or plugins are not required. The server backend is based on a template system that allows to create any kind of chat room - sales chats, moderated event chats, customer support, help desks and more. Chatjet easily can be integrated into existing websites and other server software. A wide range of database systems and interfaces are supported. The server backend includes its own optimized HTTP server and runs on both Windows and Linux (x86).
http://www.chatjet.com/
--------------------------
ChatSpace :
ChatSpace Community Server is a real-time communication tool. It contains an array of real-time community and support applications including chat, live events, queued help and instant messaging.

www.akiva.com
-----------------------
IRCXpro :
IRCXpro is an Internet Relay Chat (IRCX) Server that allows IRC clients such as mIRC to connect to your computer as an IRC based chat server. IRCXpro is rich in features such as server-to-server linking, remote administration, message content filtering, auditing, transcript logging, Client Connection Classes, IP Masking & Ident Lookups, News Flash Broadcasting and more
www.ircxpro.com
-----------------------
123 Flash Chat Server :
123 Flash Chat server software will allow you to build your own chat room with Java used for server mode and Flash for the client. You can build your real-time chat room to put on your website, in forums, intranet and internet portals. 123 Flash Chat allows you to organize chat-events, collaborative work sessions or online meetings. You can also monitor chat sessions invisibly to check for suspicious users. Windows NT/2000/XP are supported.

www.123flashchat.com
--------------------------
DBabble :
DBabble is a Chat and Discussion Server, which allows users to send instant messages, have private conversations, and create and participate in private or public chat rooms and discussions. Users communicate with the server using either a web browser, or a client for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP. The server can optionally be set up so that users can also interact with other users on remote servers, and participate in remote chat rooms and discussions. Discussions can optionally be linked to external usenet (NNTP) groups.
www.netwinsite.com
--------------------------
Pino 3-Server :
PINO is a TCP/IP based client/server chat system for Windows. PINO 3 is the client application. PINO 3-Server is the central server software managing the individual user connections, verifying user authorizations and ensuring general security.

www.alcomp.net
---------------------------
Esvon Java Chat :
Esvon Java Chat helps you to connect with your website visitors quickly, easily and inexpensively. You can: create your own chat community: it will make your visitors get back to your web site and chat service repeatedly; moreover attract new ones; organize live conferences and other online events in real time; achieve the highest standards of services, assissting your customers via live pre-sales or consulting support
--------------------------

Mohammed.A.A
MCSE,CCNA

 

by: j4boatPosted on 2005-02-09 at 19:20:49ID: 13271840

Have you tried netmeeting  its free and already install on Windows computers -works great for chat -voice -program sharing.  We us it  a lot for training and meetings.

NOTE FOR WINDOWS 2000 USERS: Windows 2000 comes with Netmeeting already installed. You can find it in the Programs group of the Windows Start Menu.

NOTE FOR WINDOWS XP USERS:  If you are using Windows XP, the version of NetMeeting that comes with the camera software is incompatible with Windows XP. However, a compatible version of NetMeeting is available within the Windows XP operating system itself. If you want to use NetMeeting, this is how to activate it in XP.

Click Start, then Search.
Make sure you are looking in all files and folders.
Search for "conf.exe".
Double-click on the one found in the Program Files folder; NetMeeting should open.

 

by: ruddgPosted on 2005-02-21 at 20:29:59ID: 13368830

dspangenberg, do you need further assistance with this question?  Lots of suggestions here -- please let us know if more information is needed.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...