Instant Messaging Redirect Server Overview

The redirect server is an instance of the Instant Messaging server whose sole function is to redirect client connections. The redirect server does not perform any other service to end users. Upon startup, the redirect server loads the server configuration and partitions file and creates the following data structures:

• A list of instances to which this server can redirect client connections. This is the redirect server's instance list. The instance list is built from entries in the redirect.hosts file.

• A table that maps partitions to physical hosts. This table is called the partition map. The redirect server builds the partition map by going through the instance list until it reaches the specified maximum number of partitions.

The redirect server uses both data structures to redirect client connections. See Example 7–1 for an explanation of how the redirect server uses this information.