Real-Time Communications Product and Kit

Instant messaging, voice, video, and other real-time communications will be supported by a server product and a developer kit coming in the third quarter of 2003, Microsoft has announced. Real-Time Communications Server (formerly code-named Greenwich), based on the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), will eventually replace Exchange as Microsoft’s enterprise real-time communications product, while the kit will help developers add SIP routing to applications such as help desk systems. However, many technical and licensing questions remain on both the product and the kit.

The announcement that Greenwich will be a product, rather than a free add-on to Windows Server, will be welcome to companies such as Cisco and Lotus that have SIP products and might find it difficult to compete with a no-cost offering from Microsoft.

Server Supports Enterprise Real-Time Communications

Real-Time Communications Server (RTC) 2003 will provide server-side support for SIP, which Microsoft already supports in Windows XP and its Windows Messenger real-time communications client. (Windows Messenger also supports the separate protocols used by Exchange instant messaging and the public .NET Messenger service). SIP is a standard for setting up and ending real-time communications sessions, such as instant messaging (IM), voice calls, videoconferences, and application sharing. SIP enables users to locate one another on the network, start communication sessions, and end sessions. SIP itself does not manage data exchanged during sessions or provide features such as IM or video streaming. Other protocols such as SIP Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions, or SIMPLE, provide these functions on top of SIP.