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ConferenceRoom Update
November 25, 2009
ConferenceRoom 4.0 is a wrap up bug fix version of the
3.x series servers. This is a free update for any licensed
3.5 server. The main feature that this version resolves
is the changes that are required to run the flash client
by adding a built in policy server.
July 12, 2007
ConferenceRoom 3.5 has very few new chat server features
but does introduce the new Flash client interface. We think
our clients will be pleased with the speed and stability
of this new client.
History...
10 years, it seems like such a long time but that is how
old ConferenceRoom is. When CR was first released in August
of 1996 it was the first written from scratch IRC compliant
commercial chat server on the market, it was also the very
first chat server on the windows platform. The only other
commercial chat product was Global Stage (long since gone)
and shortly after our release iChat was released. The first
java client to connect to an IRC server was written by Dimension
X in San Francisco (also long since gone), their chat client
connected to one of the 2.8.21 ircd versions - ConferenceRoom
was released maybe a month later.
Why is all of this important? When a customer chooses a
technology base that they rely on it's very nice to know
that the company and the product have withstood the test
of time. The product has changed but our drive toward innovation
is what keeps ConferenceRoom one of the most popular chat
products on the Internet.
- Queue - Channel queuing system 'Take-a-Ticket' now
has estimated wait times.
- Virtual Hosting - Chat and Web Server Virtual hosting
with tree based channel topography.
- DNSBL - Domain Name Service Black List.
- TV Style Channel Ratings.
- Personal Logs.
- Enhanced server language support.
- Java Client themes switch on the fly and have language
options.
- Integrated Server Commands.
- And more...
ConferenceRoom 3.0 brings many significant technical enhancements.
This not only improves performance on all platforms in all
configurations but also makes possible sophisticated features
that would slow competing products to a crawl.
Support for Ultrasparc processors running Solaris 10 has
been added in this release. This includes the SunFire T1000
and T2000 servers. ConferenceRoom runs extremely well on
these platforms, and their advanced management features
make them particularly worth consideration in unattended
server rooms or where low power consumption and high reliability
are important.
Support for Apple's OSX (Darwin) operating system on Pentium-class
processors has been added as well. Now you will not need
to use emulation to run ConferenceRoom on these platforms.
Significant improvements were made in the x86-specific
core code. These improvements help Win32, Linux, FreeBSD,
and Apple computers with Pentium processors. Support for
hyper-threading has been improved. On Linux, support for
the 'epoll' I/O mechanism has been added and synchronization
primitives have been redesigned using futexes, significantly
reducing the number of system calls on fast paths. On Win32,
our locking synchronization primitives were redesigned to
reduce register clobbers, a suprisingly significant micro
optimization.
ConferenceRoom's best in class memory manager has been
improved further. The memory manager in 3.0 increases the
independence of its memory pools so that threads have a
greater ability to access pools concurrently. A new locking
design has reduced the amount of time threads hold memory-manager
locks and a new system of lookaside pools allow threads
to access memory from alternate pools when primary pools
are in use. An asynchronous memory defragmenter ensures
performance does not decrease over time for long-running
servers without cluttering the fast paths in the allocator.
ConferenceRoom 3.0 now supports personal logging. This
feature allows a user to have a log of his session made
on the server. The log will be encrypted, signed, and mailed
to the user, providing cryptographic proof of what transpired
in his session. Excerpts are independently signed, sequenced,
and timestamped. If you want to, you can now prove exactly
what happened in your chat session.
ConferenceRoom 3.0 also includes a 'virtual server' functionality.
You can change the channel view based on the host and port
used to access your server. You can also create server operators
or operators whose authority is restricted to a specific
zone. The web server also supports virtual hosting now.
A new URL filtering scheme allows chat messages to be filtered
for URLs that are spamvertized. Improved denial-of-service
attack resistance and proxy checking is included as well.
A major change in ConferenceRoom 3.0 is the switch to a
security model based on public key encryption. Instead of
server keys, ConferenceRoom now uses server certificates
which are signed by a master key. The certificate allows
a server to cryptographically prove that it owns its serial
number. This not only has security benefits but convenience
benefits as well. For example, instead of having to carefully
set matching passwords on both ends to establish a server-server
link, now all you need to do is configure each end with
the other end's serial number. All server-to-server traffic
is encrypted and authenticated.
Networks can install their master network credentials on
hubs and have signed authorization broadcast to leaves periodically.
Disconnected leaves have their authorization to represent
the network expire automatically. Just install your network
certificate on your hub(s) and all connected servers will
be identified as members of your network automatically.
Contact WebMaster for a trial certificate to allow you
to test out these advanced features for yourself.
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