Jabber SRV records

This page describes how to add DNS records for XMPP, which are needed (mainly) so that you can view authorized Gmail/Gtalk people on your XMPP client. Please note, not all XMPP clients will be able to work with the SRV records. For example, some older versions of Psi doesn't like the SRV records, (but works fine without them), but Psi RC4 does. Another one that likes the SRV records is Meebo. If your client still can't see the Gmail/Gtalk contacts after adding those records, try another one!

It's really easy.

During this discussion, the domain with XMPP on it is referred to as yourdomain.com. This can also be a subdomain, if you have XMPP enabled on it (so blah.yourdomain.com).

Find the DNS section of the panel
First log in to http://panel.dreamhost.com. Go to the manage domains section (https://panel.dreamhost.com/index.cgi?tree=domain.manage). Under each domain you'll see a link marked DNS. This is how you get to your DNS settings.

Make the SRV subdomains
All you have to do is add two subdomains to yourdomain.com.

First subdomain
Go to "Add a custom DNS record to yourdomain.com."


 * 1) Where it says name enter "_xmpp-server._tcp".
 * 2) Select a domain type of SRV
 * 3) Enter a value of 5 0 5269 yourdomain.com.

The ending period is needed (random fact - all domain names are technically supposed to end in a period. If one is not given it is assumed - a domain with a period is called a Fully Qualified Domain Name, or FQDN).

Second subdomain
Make another subdomain, exactly like before, with the following values:

Name: _xmpp-client._tcp Type: SRV Value: 5 0 5222 yourdomain.com.

From Google Apps Help
See this link

Google makes it possible for your users to chat with people using other messaging services through a process known as federation. Go to Google Talk and open communications to learn more about federation and who we're federating with.

While we're federating with a number of other services, some services aren't currently accessible through the Google Talk network, and your users won't be able to chat with users of those services.

If you'd like your users to have the ability to chat with people connected to the Google Talk network through federated networks, you'll need to edit your Service (SRV) records. You don't need to edit your SRV records for your users to chat with other Google Apps and Gmail users. SRV records are managed by your domain host. We suggest contacting your domain host to find out if you have access to SRV records and how you can make modifications.

When you enter the following information, make sure to replace gmail.com with your domain. Don't replace google.com.

_xmpp-server._tcp.gmail.com. IN SRV 5 0 5269 xmpp-server.l.google.com. _xmpp-server._tcp.gmail.com. IN SRV 20 0 5269 alt1.xmpp-server.l.google.com. _xmpp-server._tcp.gmail.com. IN SRV 20 0 5269 alt2.xmpp-server.l.google.com. _xmpp-server._tcp.gmail.com. IN SRV 20 0 5269 alt3.xmpp-server.l.google.com. _xmpp-server._tcp.gmail.com. IN SRV 20 0 5269 alt4.xmpp-server.l.google.com.

Because there are many different domain hosts offering varying options for SRV records, we recommend contacting your domain host directly for assistance. This includes entering the SRV record data, assigning protocols and weights, and other configuration questions. Some domain hosts will allow you to copy and paste the information above exactly as it's offered while other domain hosts require granular data entry.

Final Note
If it doesn't work, you have to go at your Google Apps account of your domain (eg. http://google.com/a/yourdomain.com) and disable Google Talk service, otherwise google server will try to use own server to delivery messages and you won't be able to receive incomming messages from any of your Gmail/Gtalk contacts.

Lastly, apparently the Psi XMPP client has problems with XMPP SRV records.