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by sandGorgon 4910 days ago
here's a question - if I want to setup a company wide IRC server, which (super easy to install) server should I go for ?

Do note that I will be hosting this on EC2, so some semblance of authentication/security would be welcome.
5 comments
lyetzz 4910 days ago
I've been using Inspircd (http://inspircd.github.com) for quite a while, so I'd recommend checking that project out. As far as authentication goes, there's the Atheme (http://www.atheme.net) project that integrates nicely with Inspircd. If you haven't used it or heard of it, it allows you to register channels/rooms, establish a hierarchy of operators and admins, and give users the ability to login and secure their username.

Neither are the friendliest in terms of setting up and configuring, but it's really not too bad. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a message on IRC (irc.flux.cd #flux) or Twitter (@Lyetz) and I could help you out.

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martinp 4910 days ago
At my previous job we setup a internal company IRC server using InspIRCd [0]. We decided to host it on EC2 as well, and restricted access to it by putting the instance in our VPC [1] (only reachable over VPN).

It became pretty popular and it was a great way to communicate between branch offices.

[0] http://inspircd.github.com

[1] http://aws.amazon.com/vpc/

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moepstar 4910 days ago
InspIRCd is an Ok-ish IRCd to set up, however much more complex than the alternatives and had its share of problems in the past (security-wise as well as programming-wise(memleaks etc.))

Event though UnrealIRCd doesn't have the best reputation, it is still a quite easy-to-set-up IRCd and is still in more-or-less active development...

Depending if you'll only use this internally or not you might want to set up Services to provide some facility to register nicknames and make sure of the identity of participants in the chat - take a look at either Anope or Atheme for that.

Another IRCd to keep an eye on is ngIRCd [1], which claims to be small and lightweight - however i haven't had a chance to try it out yet...

[1] http://ngircd.barton.de/index.php.en

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__alexs 4910 days ago
Is there some particular reason you aren't comfortable using one of the public networks? I've worked at several companies that had private channels on Freenode.
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contingencies 4910 days ago
First, consider XMPP instead.
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zaphar 4910 days ago
Or do yourself a favor and don't. For casual group chat IRC blows xmpp out of the water. Every experience I've had with xmpp group chat has been subpar and frustrating.
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contingencies 4910 days ago
Sure, but if it's company-linked, then you can use it for event alerts, automated contact list sharing when employees come and go, and other interesting features. The popular clients easily integrate with single sign-on type stuff on most platforms. You can point non-technical users at it and they understand. IRC is not like that.
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zaphar 4909 days ago
Event alerts on IRC? Check.

Popular clients integrate with it? Check.

Single Sign on? Check.

Non-technical user? They sign in, they type, they see what others type. What's not to understand?

The only thing you mentioned that IRC doesn't have is automated contact list sharing.

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