Types of configuration fields

Following types are used:

integer - Examples: key=0

string - Examples: key=something

boolean - Examples: key=0 or key=1

list - List of strings (or Jabber IDs). You can specify this options more than once:

allowed_servers=domain.tld
allowed_servers=example.com

database.database

This option configures full path to database (in case of SQLite3) or the name of database.

database.password

For server-client databases, this option configures password to be used to connect the database.

database.port

For server-client databases, this option configures port on which database listens for incoming connections.

database.prefix

This option configures the prefix for the Spectrum 2 tables in database. When tables are created, they are prefixed with this prefix.

database.server

For server-client databases, this option configures the hostname of server.

database.type

This option configures type of database where Spectrum 2 stores its data. It can be none, mysql, sqlite3 or pqxx for PostgreSQL.

database.user

For server-client databases, this option configures username to be used to connect the database.

logging.config

This option configures full path to log4cxx config file which is used for Spectrum 2 instance logs.

logging.backend_config

This option configures full path to log4cxx config file which is used for backends logs.

registration.auto_register

If this option is enabled and user sends available presence to Spectrum 2 instance (tries to login it), he is registered automatically. If the available presence was join-the-room request, legacy network name used for registration is determined according to resource of this presence. This basically means that if user wants to join for example IRC room #test%irc.freenode.org as “HanzZ”, then Spectrum 2 registers him as “HanzZ” automatically and he does not have to fill registration form manually.

registration.enable_public_registration

This option configures if registration is allowed publicly. This option can be used to disable public registration or, together with service.allowed_servers to create white-list of domains from which users can register.

registration.instructions

This option configures instructions string showed in registration form.

registration.username_label

This option configures label for username field in registration form.

registration.username_mask

This option configures mask which is used to generate legacy network username from username field in registration form. An example of this option could be [email protected]. If the user registers account “my_name”, Spectrum 2 will use “[email protected]” as legacy network username.

service.admin_jid

This option configures list of Jabber IDs, which has ability to use Admin Interface. In server-mode, you also have to specify service.admin_password to set password for Admin Interface. In gatewa-mode, you just specify the list of Jabber IDs, Spectrum 2 does not check any password in gateway-mode.

service.admin_password

This option configures the password which is used by clients defined in service.admin_jid to use Admin Interface.

service.backend

This option configures path to backend executable. When user connects, Spectrum 2 spawns new backend process to handle this user’s session. Usually single backend is shared by more users. This can be configured using service.users_per_backend.

service.backend_host

This option configures hostname or IP to which backend connects. When Spectrum 2 is started, it listens on service.backend_port to communicate with backends. When new backend is started, it connects to the hostname configured by this option and starts handling new users sessions.

service.backend_port

This option configures port on which Spectrum 2 listens on for backends connections. If the value of this option is 0, then Spectrum 2 uses randomly generated port number.

service.group

This option configures name of group under which Spectrum 2 instance runs. When Spectrum 2 is started, it switches from current group to this group.

service.jid

This option configures Jabber ID of particular Spectrum 2 instance. Usually it is a hostname on which this Spectrum 2 instance runs, so for example icq.domain.tld. Note that you have to have DNS records configured for this hostname, so clients will be able to find out your Jabber server (in case you are running Spectrum 2 in gateway-mode) or the Spectrum 2 itself (if you are running Spectrum 2 in server-mode).

service.password

This option configures port on which Spectrum listens to in server-mode or to which connects in gateway-mode. In server-mode the default port for XMPP servers is 5222, so you should use this port. In gateway-mode, you have to at first configure your server to allow Spectrum 2 to connect it as its component. On many servers, the default component port is 5347, but this option depends on particular XMPP server and its configuration.

service.pidfile

This option configures path to file when Spectrum 2 stores its process ID. This file is later used by spectrum2_manager to determine, if this particular Spectrum 2 instance runs.

service.user

This option configures name of user under which Spectrum 2 instance runs. When Spectrum 2 is started, it switches from current user (usually root) to this user.

service.users_per_backend

This option configures maximum number of users who share single backend process. Value of this option depends on number of online users on your Spectrum 2 instance in the same time. There is no strict consensus on what is the best value. Every backend is separated process and you probably want to keep the number of processes per Spectrum 2 instance less than 30. So if you have 1000 users, it could be sane to use users_per_backend=50. Another idea is to have the same number of backends as the number of CPU cores of the machine where Spectrum 2 is running.

If you have too big value of users_per_backend, you have just single backend process for all users and Spectrum 2 will not perform so well as if you have more backends running for the same user-base. Also, if there is some problem with single backend, it will affects only users connected using this particular backend, so it is good idea to have more backends running. However, the more backends you have the more processes the machine has and since some point, it will become less useful. There is also some memory overhead, so if you run 500 users on single backend, it will take little bit less memory than 500 users on 5 backends (but it is not significant unless you decide to have hundreds of backends).

If you presume to have just few users on your personal server, it can be useful to configure service.users_per_backend=1. Ever user will get his own separated backend process.

For bigger user-base, you have to increase the service.users_per_backend value, but there is no optimal value to be suggested yet.

service.web_directory

When Spectrum 2 has some image or file for the user and this option is set, the image or file is stored in this directory and and link based on service.web_url is sent to the user so he can download the file.

You can read more about this configuration on Web Storage page.

service.web_url

When Spectrum 2 has some image or file for the user and this option is set, the image or file is stored in the service.web_directory directory and and link based on service.web_url is sent to the user so he can download the file.

You can read more about this configuration on Web Storage page.

service.working_dir

This option configures path to directory when Spectrum 2 stores its data files like for example SQLite3 database.