Instant Messaging (IM) Service for Exchange 2000 Server: Frequently Asked Questions

To view information on these issues and their workarounds, see Known Issues on the MSN Messenger site or search the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger are real-time communications clients. Windows Messenger is included with Microsoft Windows XP, while MSN Messenger is available without cost to the public for use with earlier versions of Windows and with Apple Macintosh computers.

Exchange Instant Messaging Service is the back-end service included with Exchange 2000 Server and tailored for corporate enterprises. Microsoft .NET Messenger Service is a free Internet communication service provided by Microsoft and tailored for public use.

You can download either Exchange Instant Messaging Client 4.6 or the Windows Messenger client from the Instant Messaging (IM) Clients for Exchange 2000 Server Instant Messaging Service page.

The client is supporting two different independent services: .NET Messenger Service, which requires .NET Passport for authentication, and Exchange 2000 Server Instant Messaging Service, which uses Windows 2000 Active Directory directory service for enterprise-grade authentication. When you log on, you can present both your Passport information and your Exchange Server user account information to log on.

If you no longer wish to connect to .NET Messenger Service, you can turn it off. To do this, open the Windows Messenger client and in the Options dialog box, on theAccounts tab, clear the My Contacts include users of .NET Messenger Service check box. The next time you log on, you will only be prompted for your password to Exchange 2000 Server Instant Messaging Service.

An updated client that communicates with both .NET Messenger Service and Exchange Instant Messaging Service is available for download from the Instant Messaging (IM) Clients for Exchange 2000 Server Instant Messaging Service page.

Unfortunately, not yet. Microsoft is a major proponent of service federation, which would enable the type of interoperability you are requesting, but so far, most Instant Messaging Service clients work with specific back-end services or servers that do not federate. Users of either Windows Messenger or MSN Messenger can communicate with one another using either .NET Messenger Service or Exchange Instant Messaging Service. This level of federation enables more than 40 million users to communicate with one another and the numbers continue to grow. In addition, Microsoft is optimistic that today's business agreement and technical issues that limit federation will be addressed soon by various vendors in the industry.

This functionality is available with Microsoft Office Live Communication Server 2005 and public instant messaging (IM) connectivity. For information about this service, visit theLive Communications Server 2005 Public IM Connectivity Overview pageon the Microsoft Office Online site.

In order to transfer files or use voice communication with users who are outside of your organization, your company's firewall needs to be configured correctly. For more information about working with firewalls and network address translation devices, see Inside Windows Messenger: How it Communicates.

It does not work directly with Windows NetMeeting in the updated version of the MSN Messenger client. However, vendors that provide multipoint conference units are making progress in providing support that interconnects H.323 clients, such as NetMeeting, and Session Initiation Protocol–based clients, such as Windows Messenger. From within the current Exchange 2000 Server Instant Messaging Service client, you can right-click a contact and invite them to a NetMeeting call. The remote user receives an invitation within a normal Instant Messaging chat window. This invitation names the person who initiated the call and prompts the remote user to accept or decline the call. If the call is accepted, NetMeeting automatically starts.

The MSN Messenger client includes an audio engine that is compatible with MSN Messenger 4.5 and 4.6, but not compatible with earlier versions of the MSN Messenger client.

A Primary Service is the default instant messaging service that you connect to first. To change the service you connect to first, in the Options dialog box, on theAccounts tab, select either Exchange, .NET Passport, or SIP Communication Service to sign in first.

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a scalable, text-based protocol that enables real-time interactive communication through, for example, chat, wireless Web-enabled mobile phones, and Instant Messaging. Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 is built on SIP and SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE). For more information about SIP, see Microsoft Real-Time Communications: Protocols and Technologies. For information about Live Communications Server 2005, visit theLive Communications Server Product Information page on the Office Online site.

In order to search for a contact by first name or last name, the Directory Services client needs to be installed on the client computer.

If your company has a firewall that has not been configured for Exchange 2000 Server Instant Messaging Service, you cannot add external Exchange Instant Messaging Service users to your buddy list. The firewall requires some modification to permit any notifications and actual communications sessions to be passed through the company's router. However, if both parties are connecting through .NET Messenger Service and the HTTP ports are open on your corporate firewall, it’s possible to add a .NET Messenger buddy to your buddy list.

Yes, you can. Windows XP ships with several Session Initiation Protocol–based real-time communications APIs enabled that empower third-party developers to extend the benefits of text Instant Messaging, voice calls, video calls, and other communications tools into any application. These client APIs also are available for use with earlier versions of Windows, for Windows CE 4.0, Windows XP Embedded, and the Windows Server family.

A DNS SRV record enables a service, such as Exchange Instant Messaging Service, to query DNS for the host name for a particular service. An Exchange 2000 Server Instant Messaging Service client performs a DNS SRV lookup for a server that supports the Instant Messaging protocol within the organization that hosts a particular contact. DNS SRV records provide flexibility in the naming of the server. Without this DNS SRV record, the server within the organization would need to be the same as that of the user's domain within their Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) address.

There are two types of Instant Messaging servers within Exchange 2000 Server Instant Messaging Service. A routeris the main point of contact within an organization. It is used to ensure that anyone trying to get information on an Instant Messaging user has one server to initially contact. A home server is used to host Instant Messaging users. It is the final destination for any requests for a particular Instant Messaging user. If the router receives a request for an Instant Messaging user, it ensures that the request goes to the correct home server.

A user enabled for Instant Messaging has two URLs. The URL for Exchange Instant Messaging Service is the public address of the user and is formed from both the user's SMTP e-mail address and the DNS SRV record. The URL for Exchange Instant Messaging Service home server is the private address of the user and is used by the router to determine which home server the user is hosted upon. Both URLs are Exchange Instant Messaging Service properties of the user stored within the Active Directory directory service.

No. They are provided on the same CD and can both be used within the same organization but are not dependent technologies.

Exchange Instant Messaging Service is not an integrated part of Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server, but can be used simultaneously.

For Exchange 2000 Server, you can have approximately 10,000 users located on one Dual Pentium III–based computer running at 550 megahertz (MHz).

Exchange Instant Messaging Service is a standard 32-bit application and, when used with the Windows Messenger update (version 5.1), provides great support for use with Windows XP and Windows 2000 clients.