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We are in the process of setting up OpenFire as a Jabber/XMPP based IM client for our company. It's connected to our Active Directory server so that everyone automatically has a user account and so that the contact lists are automatically populated.<br />
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It works pretty good. We're using Pidgin for the desktops, and Xabber for the Android phones. I'm sure I'll find something for iPhone.<br />
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Is there a way to set up some kind of structured &quot;group chat&quot; using OpenFire or some XMPP server? Does XMPP support that?<br />
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I know that I can create a conference with serveral people in Pidgin on an ad-hoc basis, but what I'm looking for is more of a &quot;managed&quot; group chat, persistent conversations that I can set up and people are members of to participate in company-wide chatting<br />
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If OpenFire is not appropriate, could you recommend some other on-premises chatting/IM system that integrates with Active Directory and ISN'T Microsoft Lync (it's too expensive and too complicated to deploy at this time)
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We are in the process of setting up OpenFire as a Jabber/XMPP based IM client for our company. It's connected to our Active Directory server so that everyone automatically has a user account and so that the contact lists are automatically populated.

It works pretty good. We're using Pidgin for the desktops, and Xabber for the Android phones. I'm sure I'll find something for iPhone.

Is there a way to set up some kind of structured "group chat" using OpenFire or some XMPP server? Does XMPP support that?

I know that I can create a conference with serveral people in Pidgin on an ad-hoc basis, but what I'm looking for is more of a "managed" group chat, persistent conversations that I can set up and people are members of to participate in company-wide chatting

If OpenFire is not appropriate, could you recommend some other on-premises chatting/IM system that integrates with Active Directory and ISN'T Microsoft Lync (it's too expensive and too complicated to deploy at this time)

Group Chat using OpenFire or XMPP or Jabber based IM

Instant messaging (IM) is a type of online chat that offers real-time text transmission over the Internet. A LAN messenger operates in a similar way over a local area network. More advanced instant messaging can add file transfer, clickable hyperlinks, Voice over IP, or video chat. Non-IM types of chat include multicast transmission, usually referred to as "chat rooms". Depending on the IM protocol, the technical architecture can be peer-to-peer (direct point-to-point transmission) or client-server (a central server retransmits messages from the sender to the communication device).

Chat / IM

Telecommunication occurs when the exchange of information between two or more entities (communication) includes the use of technology. Communication technology uses channels to transmit information (as electrical signals), either over a physical medium (such as signal cables), or in the form of electromagnetic waves. The word is often used in its plural form, telecommunications, because it involves many different technologies.

Telecommunications

Voice over IP (VoIP) is a methodology and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. Other terms commonly associated with VoIP are IP telephony, Internet telephony, broadband telephony, and broadband phone service. The term specifically refers to the provisioning of communications services (voice, fax, SMS, voice-messaging) over the public Internet, rather than via the public switched telephone network (PSTN).  Examples of the VoIP protocols are H.323, Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), H.248 (also known as Media Gateway Control (Megaco)), Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP), Real-time Transport Control Protocol (RTCP), Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP), Session Description Protocol (SDP), and Inter-Asterisk eXchange (IAX).