Error

I cannot connect to some servers like gmail.com and jabber.ccc.de, but I can connect to almost any other Jabber server. Logs show that some communication is started, but for some reason the negotation fails:

=INFO REPORT==== 2006-01-21 14:58:52 ===
I(<0.1527.0>:ejabberd_s2s_out:104): started: {"myserver.com",
                                              "gmail.com",
                                              {verify,
                                                  <0.1525.0>,
                                                  "2334ASDA2424AASDASDADS124343434343423FAFASFKKG74521",
                                                  "606104456"}}

=INFO REPORT==== 2006-01-21 14:59:12 ===
I(<0.1525.0>:ejabberd_s2s_in:501): terminated: normal

Explanation

Certain Jabber servers are installed in a specific way and your Jabber server must support DNS SRV Records resolving in order to connect to them. Erlang/OTP implements this, but works correctly only when using the command line parameter '-name nodename'. It doesn't work correctly when using the parameter '-sname nodename'.

Solution 1: Use the Host Resolver

1. Create the file /etc/ejabberd/inetrc and put the following line into it:

   {file, resolv, "/etc/resolv.conf"}.

   Do not forget to put the dot at the end of the line.

2. Add the following option to your ejabberd command line:

   -kernel inetrc \"/etc/ejabberd/inetrc\"

   Another way to indicate this file is adding an environment variable to your ejabberd start script:

   ERL_INETRC=/etc/ejabberd/inetrc
   export ERL_INETRC
   erl -sname ...

3. Now try to discover jabber.ccc.de or login on a Google Talk with a Jabber client and try to discover your Jabber server.

Solution 2: Add IP Address Manually

Another possibility is to add manually the IP address. This solution should be avoided.

• To be able to connect to Google Talk (gtalk), add to the /etc/hosts file this line:

  gmail.com 216.239.37.125

  But if you are on Microsoft Windows the file is called C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts and the line to add is slightly different:

  216.239.37.125 gmail.com

Solution 3: In Windows, Add DNS Servers Manually

In Windows, the inetrc file installed by ejabberd in conf/ directory may not work correctly. If DNS SRV does not work correctly even when that file is used, edit it and add manually some DNS servers. In this example the IP addresses of OpenDNS are added:

{nameserver, {208,67,222,222}}.
{nameserver, {208,67,220,220}}.
{registry, win32}.

Related Links

• Original discussion in the ejabberd mailing list
• gtalk federation
• Add contacts and GoogleTalk
• Bug report: srv lookups fail on windows
• FAQ related: SRV-DNS Problem / Cannot build up a s2s to some servers
• Related: 5.7. Setting DNS SRV Records of the Jabberd 2 Documentation Project.