Use this property sheet to define the server ID number, modify the default client-to-server and server-to-server port numbers, and configure authentication for chat users.
Chat Service supports anonymous connections and authentication using NTLM and any SSPI authentication method, such as Distributed Password Authentication (DPA). Clear-text passwords, such as those used with IRC clients, are also supported by Chat Service and the Microsoft Internet Chat (MIC) protocol. Clear-text and NTLM authentication are enabled by default.
Important Chat Service must be paused and then continued before any modifications to the options on this property sheet can take effect.
This property sheet contains the following options.
| Option | Description |
| Authentication | The process that verifies the identity of a user trying to establish a connection to the chat server. Chat Service supports authentication of users with clear-text passwords, Windows NT LAN Manager (NTLM), or any authentication method compatible with the Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI). |
| Server ID number | Designates a unique identification number that identifies a chat server. Each chat server on a network must have a unique server identification (ID) number between 1 and 255. The default number is 1. The server ID number becomes relevant when you are connecting two or more chat servers to form a chat network. When you establish a connection between two chat servers, you create a portal and specify the ID number of the server at the other end of the portal. |
| Client to server | Allows you to assign the Transport Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports that chat clients use to establish a connection to the server. TCP port designates the TCP socket port that clients use to connect to the server. You can set a value from 0 to 65535. A value of 0 disables all client-to-server TCP connections. The default value is 6667. Alternate TCP port designates the alternate TCP socket port that clients use to connect to the server. You can set a value from 0 to 65535. A value of 0 disables all client-to-server TCP connections. The default value is 7000. UDP port designates the UDP socket port that clients use to connect to the server. By default, the UDP socket port is automatically set to zero, which disables UDP messages. You can set a value from 0 to 65535. |
| Server to server | Allows you to assign the Transport Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports that other chat servers use to establish a connection to this server. TCP port designates the TCP socket port that other chat servers use to connect to this server. You can set a value from 0 to 65535. A value of 0 disables all server-to-server TCP connections. The default value is 6665. UDP port Server-to-server UDP messages are not supported in this release of Chat Service. |
| Authentication methods | Designates the name of the Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI) packages installed on this server. If you enter the names of two or more packages, separate each name with a space. Chat Service will try to authenticate a user with each package in the order it is listed. Microsoft Site Server version 3.0 provides these authentication packages through its Authentication Service. To use this option, you must install Site Server on the chat server. If you want to use a third-party security package, you must add it to Site Server. For more information, see the Site Server documentation. Important If you use an SSPI package to authenticate users, you should disable clear-text authentication. |
| Disable NTLM authentication | Disables chat user authentication by Windows NT LAN Manager (NTLM). NTLM is the standard authentication method used by Windows NT clients and servers. Check this box if you want to authenticate chat users with Basic Authentication, the clear-text authentication method provided by Site Server. |
| Disable clear-text authentication | Disables chat user authentication by clear-text password. |