Spectrum 2 introduces backends. Backends are external application which provides a way how to connect to legacy networks, so it's possible to use

even different libraries than Libpurple to connect the legacy network. However, Libpurple is still the best library to use so far.

This page contains the list of currently supported backends with the basic information about them.

h2. How to change backend

Backends are switched in Spectrum 2 config file using the following option:

|_. Section|_. Option|_. Value|

|service|backend|Full path to the backend binary|

h2. List of backends

|_. Name|_. Supported networks|_. Default path to backend|

|Libpurple backend|AIM, Jabber, Facebook, GTalk, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo|/usr/bin/spectrum2_libpurple_backend|

|Swiften backend|Jabber, Facebook, GTalk|/usr/bin/spectrum2_swiften_backend|

|SLibCommuni backend|IRC|/usr/bin/spectrum2_libcommuni_backend|

|Frotz backend|Allows playing interactive-fiction games|/usr/bin/spectrum2_frotz_backend|

|Skype backend|Skype using the official client|/usr/bin/spectrum2_skype_backend|

|SMSTools3 backend|SMS using connected mobile phone|/usr/bin/spectrum2_smstools3_backend|

|Twitter backend|Twitter|/usr/bin/spectrum2_twitter_backend|

h2. Install Boost and libidn

You have to have boost-devel and libidn-devel installed before compiling Swiften, otherwise it will compile against bundled version of Boost and libidn and Spectrum compilation will fail.

h2. Install Swiften from git repository:

<pre>

git clone git://swift.im/swift

cd swift

git checkout swift-2.0beta1

./scons V=1 swiften_dll=1 Swiften SWIFTEN_INSTALLDIR=/usr/local force-configure=1

sudo ./scons V=1 swiften_dll=1 Swiften SWIFTEN_INSTALLDIR=/usr/local /usr/local

</pre>

*Note* - If the output of "./scons" command contains following during the configure stage, you don't have boost-devel or libidn-devel installed during the compilation and *Swiften won't work properly*:

<pre>

Checking for C++ header file boost/signals.hpp... no

....

Checking for C library idn... no

</pre>

The proper configure script output looks like this:

<pre>

scons: Reading SConscript files ...

Checking whether the C++ compiler worksyes

Checking whether the C compiler worksyes

Checking for C library z... yes

Checking for C library resolv... yes

Checking for C library pthread... yes

Checking for C library dl... yes

Checking for C library m... yes

Checking for C library c... yes

Checking for C library stdc++... yes

Checking for C++ header file boost/signals.hpp... yes

Checking for C library boost_signals... yes

Checking for C++ header file boost/thread.hpp... yes

Checking for C library boost_thread... no

Checking for C library boost_thread-mt... yes

Checking for C++ header file boost/regex.hpp... yes

Checking for C library boost_regex... yes

Checking for C++ header file boost/program_options.hpp... yes

Checking for C library boost_program_options... yes

Checking for C++ header file boost/filesystem.hpp... yes

Checking for C library boost_filesystem... yes

Checking for C++ header file boost/system/system_error.hpp... yes

Checking for C library boost_system... yes

Checking for C++ header file boost/date_time/date.hpp... yes

Checking for C library boost_date_time... yes

Checking for C++ header file boost/uuid/uuid.hpp... yes

Checking for C function XScreenSaverQueryExtension()... yes

Checking for package gconf-2.0... yes

Checking for C header file gconf/gconf-client.h... yes

Checking for C library gconf-2... yes

Checking for C header file libxml/parser.h... no

Checking for C header file libxml/parser.h... yes

Checking for C library xml2... yes

Checking for C header file idna.h... yes

Checking for C library idn... yes

Checking for C header file readline/readline.h... yes

Checking for C library readline... yes

Checking for C header file avahi-client/client.h... yes

Checking for C library avahi-client... yes

Checking for C library avahi-common... yes

Checking for C header file openssl/ssl.h... yes

</pre>

Note that you have to have at least Python 2.5 to build Swiften.

h2. Install Google protobuf

In Fedora, you just have to install following packages:

<pre>

sudo yum install protobuf protobuf protobuf-devel

</pre>

h2. Install Libpurple for libpurple backend

You should definitely have latest libpurple, so download Pidgin and compile it, because your distribution probably doesn't have the latest one.

h2. Install libCommuni for libCommuni IRC backend

The instructions are defined on "libCommuni wiki":https://github.com/communi/communi/wiki.

h2. Install Spectrum 2

<pre>

git clone git://github.com/hanzz/libtransport.git

cd libtransport

cmake . -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug

make

</pre>

Before running make, check cmake output if the supported features are OK for you. If not, install libraries needed by Spectrum to provide specific feature.

You can also install spectrum using "sudo make install"

h2. 1. Description

LibCommuni backend is IRC backend which uses "Communi IRC library":https://github.com/communi/communi/wiki. It's specialized IRC backend and it should replace libpurple IRC support.

h2. 2. Configuration

You have to choose this backend in Spectrum 2 configuration file to use it:

<pre>

[service]

backend=/usr/bin/spectrum2_libcommuni_backend

</pre>

LibCommuni backend can then work in two modes.

h3. 2.1. One transport per one IRC network

This is preferred way if you know that you or your users will need to connect just one IRC network. It's also good mode of you maintain IRC server and want to provide XMPP access to it.

In this mode users can:

* connect the IRC network without joining the IRC channel.

* identify to NickServ (or any other service like that) using username and password from transport registration.

* have IRC contacts in their rosters. (Not done yet, but it's planned)

* see channel list in the service discovery. (Not done yet, but it's planned)

To use this mode, you have to configure irc_server variable like this:

<pre>

[service]

irc_server=irc.freenode.org

</pre>

h3. 2.2 One transport for more IRC networks

In this mode users can connect more IRC networks, but they can't connect the network without being in the room. Currently this mode is not finished yet in Spectrum 2.

h2. 3. All configuration variables

|_. Key |_. Type |_. Default |_. Description |

| irc_server | string | | IRC server hostname for "One transport per one IRC network" mode. |

| irc_identify | string | NickServ identify $name $password | The fiirst word is nickname of service used for identifying. After the nickname there's a message sent to that service. $name is replaced by the username defined by user in the registration. $password is replaced by password. |

h2. Description

Libpurple backend is backend based on Librpurple library supporting all the networks supported by libpurple

h2. Configuration

You have to choose this backend in Spectrum 2 configuration file to use it:

<pre>

[service]

backend=/usr/bin/spectrum2_libpurple_backend

</pre>

There is also special configuration variable in "service" called @protocol@ which decides which Libpurple's protocol will be used:

|_. Protocol variable|_. Description|

|prpl-jabber| Jabber/Facebook/GTalk|

|prpl-aim|AIM|

|prpl-icq|ICQ|

|prpl-msn|MSN|

|prpl-yahoo|Yahoo|

|prpl-gg|Gadu Gadu|

|prpl-novell|Groupwise|

h2. Description

Skype is supported by Spectrum 2, but in quite specific way. It's not possible to connect the Skype network without official Skype client running. Therefore you have to have official Skype client installed. Official Skype client is then run for every connected user and Spectrum 2 communicate with it using the DBus interface. One Skype client instance needs approximately 50MB of RAM, therefore Skype transport needs lot of memory (50MB per user).

h2. Configuration

You have to have:

* Official Skype client installed in Linux PATH

* DBus installed and have running DBus daemon

* xvfb-run tool installed

If you have those depencencies ready, you just have to set the proper backend configuration variable:

<pre>

[service]

backend=/usr/bin/xvfb-run -n BACKEND_ID -s "-screen 0 10x10x8" -f /tmp/x-skype-gw /usr/bin/spectrum2_skype_backend

</pre>

Spectrum2 manager is tool for managing Spectrum 2 instances. It can manage local instances and also do some basic management of remote instances.

h2. Configuration

Spectrum 2 manager normally checks all configuration files (*.cfg files) in /etc/spectrum2/transports and do some for Spectrum 2 instances declared there.

This directory can be changed by changing Spectrum 2 manager configuration file, which is stored in /etc/spectrum2/spectrum_manager.cfg by default.

h3. spectrum_manager.cfg - [service] section:

|_. Key |_. Type |_. Default |_. Description |

| config_directory | string | /etc/spectrum2/spectrum_manager.cfg | Directory where Spectrum2 configuration files are stored. |

h2. Managing all local instances

h3. spectrum2_manager start

Starts all Spectrum2 instances according to config files defined in config_directory. This command can be called repeatedly. It has no effect on already running instances.

h3. spectrum2_manager stop

Stops all Spectrum2 instances according to config files defined in config_directory.

h3. spectrum2_manager status

Checks if all local instances (defined in config files in config_directory) are running. Returns 0 if all instances are running. If some instances are not running, returns 3.

h2. Managing particular Spectrum 2 instance

Spectrum 2 manager can be also used to manage one particular Spectrum 2 instance. For example following command starts Spectrum 2 instance with JID "icq.domain.tld":

<pre>

spectrum2_manager icq.domain.tld start

</pre>

Following command stops that instance:

<pre>

spectrum2_manager icq.domain.tld stop

</pre>

h2. Querying Spectrum 2 instance

You can get various information from running Spectrum 2 instance. To check all information you can get from Spectrum 2 instance with JID "icq.domain.tld, just run:

<pre>

spectrum2_manager icq.domain.tld help

</pre>

You will get something similar to this list of available commands:

<pre>

General:

    status - shows instance status

    reload - Reloads config file

    uptime - returns ptime in seconds

Users:

    online_users - returns list of all online users

    online_users_count - number of online users

    online_users_per_backend - shows online users per backends

    has_online_user <bare_JID> - returns 1 if user is online

    register <bare_JID> <legacyName> <password> - registers the new user

    unregister <bare_JID> - unregisters existing user

Messages:

    messages_from_xmpp - get number of messages received from XMPP users

    messages_to_xmpp - get number of messages sent to XMPP users

Backends:

    backends_count - number of active backends

    crashed_backends - returns IDs of crashed backends

    crashed_backends_count - returns number of crashed backends

Memory:

    res_memory - Total RESident memory spectrum2 and its backends use in KB

    shr_memory - Total SHaRed memory spectrum2 backends share together in KB

    used_memory - (res_memory - shr_memory)

    average_memory_per_user - (memory_used_without_any_user - res_memory)

    res_memory_per_backend - RESident memory used by backends in KB

    shr_memory_per_backend - SHaRed memory used by backends in KB

    used_memory_per_backend - (res_memory - shr_memory) per backend

    average_memory_per_user_per_backend - (memory_used_without_any_user - res_memory) per backend

</pre>

h2. Description

Swiften backend is backend based on Swiften XMPP library. This backend can be used to connect XMPP based networks like Jabber, Facebook or GTalk. In comparison with Libpurple backend, it doesn't need so much memory and CPU time and therefore scales better for XMPP networks.

h2. Configuration

You have to choose this backend in Spectrum 2 configuration file to use it:

<pre>

[service]

backend=/usr/bin/spectrum2_swiften_backend

</pre>