Add and manage domain on XMPP service on your own from the XMPP client.

For everybody interested in using our service to host own XMPP domain I have good news. You do not have to ask administrator to add your domain or add users for your domain anymore. You can do it on your own.

Please note, this is very new stuff. Something may go wrong or may not be polished. Please report any problems, notices or suggestions.

This is the guide to walk you through new functions and describes how to add a new domain and new users within your domain.

Firstly, maybe not so good news. There is no web interface yet. You have to do all the stuff from your XMPP client. I recommend Psi because of its excellent support for parts of the XMPP protocol which are used for domains and users management. You may use any other client as well, there is no limitation but I can only offer support and help if you use Psi client.

Secondly, you need an account on the server. This is because all the commands and features described here are available to local users only. Therefore, if you do not have a registered domain with us yet, please go ahead and register an account on the website either the Jabber.Me or Tigase.IM.

Adding a new domain

Once you register an account on one of the websites connect to the XMPP server using the account on the Psi client. I have an example, nice account: green [at] tigase [dot] im which is used for this guide.

MenuWhen you are ready right click on the account name in Psi roster window to bring up context menu. Select Service Discovery element.

Service DiscoA new windows pops up as in the example on the right. Service discovery window is where all the stuff installed on XMPP service should show up. Most of elements on the list are well known transports, MUC and PubSub components. The new stuff on the list, which is interesting for us now, are 2 elements: VHost Manager and Session Manager.

VHost Manager component in the Tigase is responsible for managing and controlling virtual hosts on the installation. It provides virtual hosts information to all other parts of the system and also allows you to add new hosts and remove/update existing virtual hosts.

Session Manager component in the Tigase is responsible for managing users. In most cases online users but it can also perform some actions on user repository where all user data is stored.

Menu Add VHostSelect VHost Manager and double click on it. A new windows shows up (might be hidden behind the service discovery window). The window contains another menu with a few items: Add..., Remove... and Update.... These are for adding, removing and updating VHost information. For now, just select the first element Add....

Add VHost WindowPress Execute and you get a new window where you can enter all of your VHost configuration details. I think all the fields are pretty much self explanatory. Leave blank field for Other parameters for now. Owner is you, that is Jabber ID which controls the domain and can change the domain configuration settings or can remove the domain from the service. Administrators field can be left blank or can contain comma separated list of Jabber IDs for people who can manage users within the domain. Of course the owner can always manage users for his domain too.

When you are ready press Finish button. All done, hopefully. You can get either a window confirming everything went well or a window printing an error message if something went wrong. What can be wrong? There are some restrictions I decided to put on the service to prevent abuse. One of the restrictions is the maximum number of domains a user can register for himself which is 25 right now. Another restriction is that the domain which you add must have a valid DNS entry pointing to our service. The guide here describes all the details about DNS settings. Please refer to these instructions if you need more details.

Adding a new user

SM SelectedAdding a new user process is quite similar, almost identical to adding a new domain. This time, however we have to select Session Manager in the service discovery window.

Command Menu Add UserDouble click on the Session Manager and a window with SM's commands list shows up. Right now, there is only one command available to domain administrators - Add user. I am going to make available more commands in the future and I am waiting for your suggestions.

add_user_windowIf you press Execute a window presented on the left shows up. Fill all fields accordingly and press Finish.

If everything went well you have just added a new user and you should get a window confirming successful operation. If something was wrong a window with an error message should show up. What can be wrong? You may try to add a user which is already added, you may try to add a user for a domain to which you do not have permission or to non-existen domain. I hope nothing more.

What else?

Well, there are plans, very close plans, to add SSL certificates management for your domains. I want to also add more user administration commands but for this I am waiting for your suggestions. You are users, you tell me what you want.

One more thing.
There is quite a few domains already registered by an administrator for people who asked for it using website form. These people cannot control their domains right now. Everybody who is interested in taking control over his domain, please send me an e-mail with his domain details and account for which the ownership should be granted and I will update domain configuration. To make sure the correct person asks for this I require you to send the request as a response to the e-mail I sent you after the domain has been registered in our service.