XMPP – Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol

Vidya Satyanarayanan

XMPP

The base protocol used for XMPP is

RFC 2779

(

Instant Messaging /Presence Protocol Requirements

). There are 2 drafts namely

XMPP Core

and

XMPP Instant Messaging

currently on XMPP.

Presence and Instant Messaging

• Presence –

Presence is a means for finding, retrieving, and subscribing to changes in the presence information (e.g. "online" or "offline") of other users.

• Instant Messaging –

It is a means for sending small, simple messages that are delivered immediately to online users. 2

Requirements of RFC 2779

1. Scalability 2. Access Control 3. Message Encryption & Authentication 4. Presence Lookup & Notification 5. Presence Caching & Replication 6. Reliability 7. Performance

3

XMPP Core Overview

• XMPP is an open protocol

for streaming XML elements

in order to exchange messages and presence information in close to real time. • XMPP has been implemented via a typical

client-server architecture

, wherein a client utilizing XMPP accesses a server over a

TCP socket

. 4

Addressing Scheme JID – Jabber Identifier

.

format: [node@]domain[/resource] E.g.

(where "room" is the name of the chat room and "service" is the hostname of the multi-user chat service)

(where "nick" is the occupant's room nickname)

(could be a server-side script or service ) 5

•

Domain Identifier –

– – – Only Required identifier of JID.

Represents the n/w gateway or primary server to which entities connect.

Not always a server, can be service that is addressed as a sub domain of a server.

•

Node Identifier –

– – – optional secondary identifier.

represents a client or a chat room associated with a multi-user chat service etc.

is called a "bare JID" and is of the form .

6

•

Resource Identifier –

– optional tertiary identifier.

– represents a specific session, connection (e.g., a device or location), or object (e.g., a participant in a multi-user chat room).

– typically defined by a client implementation.

7

XML Streams and Stanzas

 

XML Streams

 container for the exchange of XML elements between any two entities over a network.

 The start and end of the XML stream is denoted by tag and tag.  An XML stream is unidirectional.

XML Stanza

 is a discrete semantic unit of structured information.

 is at a depth=1 of the XML stream. 8

XML Stanzas

•

Message Stanza

– include single messages, – Types of messages are chat, error, group chat, headline, normal.

– Child elements are and . I implore you! Where are you, Romeo? 9

•

Presence Stanza

– to express an entity's current availability status.

– Types of Presence are unavailable, subscribe etc.

– Child elements are , , . dnd •

IQ Stanza

– is a request-response mechanism – Types of IQ are get(request roaster), set(add item on roaster), result, error.

– Client requests current roster from server : 10

: A Basic Session:

C: S: C: C: C: S: S: S: C: S: ….authentication ... Hi Romeo Hi Juliet. 11

Stream Encryption & Authentication

XMPP includes a method for securing the stream from tampering and eavesdropping. This channel encryption method makes use of the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol, along with a "STARTTLS“. Example Step 1: Client initiates stream to server: Step 2: Server responds by sending a stream tag to client: 12

Step 3: Server sends the STARTTLS extension to client along with authentication mechanisms and any other stream features: DIGEST-MD5 PLAIN Step 4: Client sends the STARTTLS command to server: Step 5: Server informs client to proceed: Step 6: Client and server attempt to complete TLS negotiation over the existing TCP connection. Step 7: If TLS negotiation is successful, client initiates a new stream to server: 13

DIGEST-MD5 PLAIN EXTERNAL Step 9: Client selects an authentication mechanism: Step 10: Server sends a base64-encoded challenge to client: The decoded challenge is: nonce="gx0P01RRVoOfJVrIJ6aNkFlinh9nM/Up9dazVTFTq1c=",\ realm="capulet.com",qop="auth,auth-int,auth-conf",\ cipher="rc4-40,rc4-56,rc4,des,3des",maxbuf=2048,\ charset=utf-8,algorithm=md5-sess 14

Step 11: Client responds to the challenge: The decoded response is: username="juliet",realm="capulet.com",\ authzid="[email protected]/balcony",\ nonce="gx0P01RRVoOfJVrIJ6aNkFlinh9nM/Up9dazVTFTq1c=",\ cnonce="bdi7U/Duhd97ffXpS9mNhhK3ciY0FGO9xuqIlapBK4o=",\ nc=00000001,qop=auth-conf,cipher="rc4",maxbuf=2048,\ digest-uri="xmpp/capulet.com",\ response=8e0ac6010833b1224fcc4742afbdb352 Step 12: Server informs client of successful authentication: Step 13: Client initiates a new stream to server passing happens.

and the rest of the message 15

Order of Layers

The order of layers in which protocols MUST be stacked is as follows: 1. TCP 2. TLS 3. SASL 4. XMPP The rationale for this order is that TCP is the base connection layer used by all of the protocols. Stacked on top of TCP is TLS and is often provided at the operating system layer, SASL is often provided at the application layer, and XMPP is the application itself. 16

Summary of XMPP- IM

• • • •

Establishing a Session Exchanging Messages Exchanging Presence Information Managing One's Roster

17