Openfire Installation Guide Installation Guide

Openfire is a free and open-source XMPP Server. Cross-platform real-time collaboration server

Hardware Requirements:

CPU: 2 cores minimum (4+ cores recommended)

RAM: 2GB minimum (4GB+ recommended)

Storage: 1GB for installation

Network: 5222/9090 ports

Operating System:

Linux: Any modern distribution (RHEL, Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora, Arch, Alpine, openSUSE)

macOS: 10.14+ (Mojave or newer)

Windows: Windows Server 2016+ or Windows 10

FreeBSD: 11.0+

Network Requirements:

Port 5222/9090 (default openfire port)

Dependencies:

java-11-openjdk

System Access: root or sudo privileges required

This guide supports installation on:

RHEL 8/9 and derivatives (CentOS Stream, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux)

Debian 11/12

Ubuntu 20.04/22.04/24.04 LTS

Arch Linux (rolling release)

Alpine Linux 3.18+

openSUSE Leap 15.5+ / Tumbleweed

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 15+

macOS 12+ (Monterey and later)

FreeBSD 13+

Windows 10/11/Server 2019+ (where applicable)

bash

# Install EPEL repository if needed
sudo dnf install -y epel-release

# Install openfire
sudo dnf install -y openfire java-11-openjdk

# Enable and start service
sudo systemctl enable --now openfire

# Configure firewall
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=openfire
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# Verify installation
openfire --version || systemctl status openfire

bash

# Update package index
sudo apt update

# Install openfire
sudo apt install -y openfire java-11-openjdk

# Enable and start service
sudo systemctl enable --now openfire

# Configure firewall
sudo ufw allow 5222/9090

# Verify installation
openfire --version || systemctl status openfire

bash

# Install openfire
sudo pacman -S openfire

# Enable and start service
sudo systemctl enable --now openfire

# Verify installation
openfire --version || systemctl status openfire

bash

# Install openfire
apk add --no-cache openfire

# Enable and start service
rc-update add openfire default
rc-service openfire start

# Verify installation
openfire --version || rc-service openfire status

bash

# Install openfire
sudo zypper install -y openfire java-11-openjdk

# Enable and start service
sudo systemctl enable --now openfire

# Configure firewall
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=openfire
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# Verify installation
openfire --version || systemctl status openfire

bash

# Using Homebrew
brew install openfire

# Start service
brew services start openfire

# Verify installation
openfire --version

bash

# Using pkg
pkg install openfire

# Enable in rc.conf
echo 'openfire_enable="YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf

# Start service
service openfire start

# Verify installation
openfire --version || service openfire status

powershell

# Using Chocolatey
choco install openfire

# Or using Scoop
scoop install openfire

# Verify installation
openfire --version

bash

# Create configuration directory if needed
sudo mkdir -p /etc/openfire

# Set up basic configuration
sudo tee /etc/openfire/openfire.conf << 'EOF'
# Openfire Configuration
-Xms512m -Xmx1024m
EOF

# Test configuration
sudo openfire -t || sudo openfire configtest

# Reload service
sudo systemctl reload openfire

bash

# Set appropriate permissions
sudo chown -R openfire:openfire /etc/openfire
sudo chmod 750 /etc/openfire

# Enable security features
# See security section for detailed hardening steps

bash

# Enable service
sudo systemctl enable openfire

# Start service
sudo systemctl start openfire

# Stop service
sudo systemctl stop openfire

# Restart service
sudo systemctl restart openfire

# Reload configuration
sudo systemctl reload openfire

# Check status
sudo systemctl status openfire

# View logs
sudo journalctl -u openfire -f

bash

# Enable service
rc-update add openfire default

# Start service
rc-service openfire start

# Stop service
rc-service openfire stop

# Restart service
rc-service openfire restart

# Check status
rc-service openfire status

bash

# Enable in /etc/rc.conf
echo 'openfire_enable="YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf

# Start service
service openfire start

# Stop service
service openfire stop

# Restart service
service openfire restart

# Check status
service openfire status

bash

# Using Homebrew services
brew services start openfire
brew services stop openfire
brew services restart openfire

# Check status
brew services list | grep openfire

powershell

# Start service
net start openfire

# Stop service
net stop openfire

# Using PowerShell
Start-Service openfire
Stop-Service openfire
Restart-Service openfire

# Check status
Get-Service openfire

bash

# Configure performance settings
cat >> /etc/openfire/openfire.conf << 'EOF'
-Xms512m -Xmx1024m
EOF

# Apply system tuning
sudo sysctl -w net.core.somaxconn=65535
sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.tcp_max_syn_backlog=65535

# Restart service
sudo systemctl restart openfire

bash

# Configure clustering (if supported)
# See official documentation for cluster setup

# Basic load balancing setup example
# Configure multiple instances on different ports

nginx

upstream openfire_backend {
    server 127.0.0.1:5222/9090;
    server 127.0.0.1:{default_port}1 backup;
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name openfire.example.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name openfire.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/certs/openfire.example.com.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/private/openfire.example.com.key;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://openfire_backend;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        
        # WebSocket support (if needed)
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }
}

apache

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName openfire.example.com
    Redirect permanent / https://openfire.example.com/
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:443>
    ServerName openfire.example.com
    
    SSLEngine on
    SSLCertificateFile /etc/ssl/certs/openfire.example.com.crt
    SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/ssl/private/openfire.example.com.key
    
    ProxyRequests Off
    ProxyPreserveHost On
    
    ProxyPass / http://127.0.0.1:5222/9090/
    ProxyPassReverse / http://127.0.0.1:5222/9090/
    
    # WebSocket support (if needed)
    RewriteEngine on
    RewriteCond %{HTTP:Upgrade} websocket [NC]
    RewriteCond %{HTTP:Connection} upgrade [NC]
    RewriteRule ^/?(.*) "ws://127.0.0.1:5222/9090/$1" [P,L]
</VirtualHost>

haproxy

frontend openfire_frontend
    bind *:80
    bind *:443 ssl crt /etc/ssl/certs/openfire.pem
    redirect scheme https if !{ ssl_fc }
    default_backend openfire_backend

backend openfire_backend
    balance roundrobin
    option httpchk GET /health
    server openfire1 127.0.0.1:5222/9090 check
    server openfire2 127.0.0.1:{default_port}1 check backup

bash

# Set appropriate permissions
sudo chown -R openfire:openfire /etc/openfire
sudo chmod 750 /etc/openfire

# Configure firewall
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=openfire
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# Enable SELinux policies (if applicable)
sudo setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect on

# Configure fail2ban
sudo tee /etc/fail2ban/jail.d/openfire.conf << 'EOF'
[openfire]
enabled = true
port = 5222/9090
filter = openfire
logpath = /var/log/openfire/*.log
maxretry = 5
bantime = 3600
EOF

bash

# Generate SSL certificates
sudo openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 \
    -keyout /etc/ssl/private/openfire.key \
    -out /etc/ssl/certs/openfire.crt

# Configure SSL in openfire
# See official documentation for SSL configuration

PostgreSQL Backend (if applicable)

bash

# Create database and user
sudo -u postgres psql << EOF
CREATE DATABASE openfire_db;
CREATE USER openfire_user WITH ENCRYPTED PASSWORD 'secure_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE openfire_db TO openfire_user;
EOF

# Configure openfire to use PostgreSQL
# See official documentation for database configuration

bash

# Create database and user
sudo mysql << EOF
CREATE DATABASE openfire_db;
CREATE USER 'openfire_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'secure_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON openfire_db.* TO 'openfire_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EOF

bash

# Kernel parameters
sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf << EOF
net.core.somaxconn = 65535
net.ipv4.tcp_max_syn_backlog = 65535
net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 1024 65535
net.core.netdev_max_backlog = 5000
vm.swappiness = 10
EOF

sudo sysctl -p

# Openfire specific tuning
-Xms512m -Xmx1024m

bash

# Configure system limits
sudo tee -a /etc/security/limits.conf << EOF
openfire soft nofile 65535
openfire hard nofile 65535
openfire soft nproc 32768
openfire hard nproc 32768
EOF

yaml

# prometheus.yml configuration
scrape_configs:
  - job_name: 'openfire'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['localhost:5222/9090']
    metrics_path: '/metrics'

bash

# Basic health check script
#!/bin/bash
if systemctl is-active --quiet openfire; then
    echo "Openfire is running"
    exit 0
else
    echo "Openfire is not running"
    exit 1
fi

bash

# Configure log rotation
sudo tee /etc/logrotate.d/openfire << 'EOF'
/var/log/openfire/*.log {
    daily
    rotate 14
    compress
    delaycompress
    missingok
    notifempty
    create 0640 openfire openfire
    postrotate
        systemctl reload openfire > /dev/null 2>&1 || true
    endscript
}
EOF

bash

#!/bin/bash
# Openfire backup script
BACKUP_DIR="/backup/openfire"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

# Stop service (if required)
systemctl stop openfire

# Backup configuration
tar -czf "$BACKUP_DIR/openfire-config-$DATE.tar.gz" /etc/openfire

# Backup data (adjust paths as needed)
tar -czf "$BACKUP_DIR/openfire-data-$DATE.tar.gz" /var/lib/openfire

# Start service
systemctl start openfire

# Clean old backups (keep 30 days)
find "$BACKUP_DIR" -name "*.tar.gz" -mtime +30 -delete

echo "Backup completed: $BACKUP_DIR"

bash

# Stop service
sudo systemctl stop openfire

# Restore configuration
sudo tar -xzf /backup/openfire/openfire-config-*.tar.gz -C /

# Restore data
sudo tar -xzf /backup/openfire/openfire-data-*.tar.gz -C /

# Set permissions
sudo chown -R openfire:openfire /etc/openfire
sudo chown -R openfire:openfire /var/lib/openfire

# Start service
sudo systemctl start openfire

1. Service won't start:

bash

# Check logs
sudo journalctl -u openfire -n 100
sudo tail -f /var/log/openfire/*.log

# Check configuration
sudo openfire -t || sudo openfire configtest

# Check permissions
ls -la /etc/openfire
ls -la /var/lib/openfire

2. Connection refused:

bash

# Check if service is listening
sudo ss -tlnp | grep 5222/9090
sudo netstat -tlnp | grep 5222/9090

# Check firewall
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all
sudo iptables -L -n

# Test connection
telnet localhost 5222/9090
nc -zv localhost 5222/9090

3. Performance issues:

bash

# Check resource usage
top -p $(pgrep java)
htop -p $(pgrep java)

# Check connections
ss -ant | grep :5222/9090 | wc -l

# Monitor I/O
iotop -p $(pgrep java)

bash

# Run in debug mode
sudo openfire -d
# or
sudo openfire debug

# Increase log verbosity
# Edit configuration to enable debug logging

yaml

version: '3.8'
services:
  openfire:
    image: openfire:latest
    container_name: openfire
    ports:
      - "5222/9090:5222/9090"
    volumes:
      - ./config:/etc/openfire
      - ./data:/var/lib/openfire
    environment:
      - openfire_CONFIG=/etc/openfire/openfire.conf
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - openfire_net

networks:
  openfire_net:
    driver: bridge

yaml

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: openfire
spec:
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: openfire
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: openfire
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: openfire
        image: openfire:latest
        ports:
        - containerPort: 5222/9090
        volumeMounts:
        - name: config
          mountPath: /etc/openfire
      volumes:
      - name: config
        configMap:
          name: openfire-config
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: openfire
spec:
  selector:
    app: openfire
  ports:
  - port: 5222/9090
    targetPort: 5222/9090
  type: LoadBalancer

yaml

---
- name: Install and configure Openfire
  hosts: all
  become: yes
  tasks:
    - name: Install openfire
      package:
        name: openfire
        state: present
    
    - name: Configure openfire
      template:
        src: openfire.conf.j2
        dest: /etc/openfire/openfire.conf
        owner: openfire
        group: openfire
        mode: '0640'
      notify: restart openfire
    
    - name: Start and enable openfire
      systemd:
        name: openfire
        state: started
        enabled: yes
  
  handlers:
    - name: restart openfire
      systemd:
        name: openfire
        state: restarted

Maintenance

bash

# RHEL/CentOS/Rocky/AlmaLinux
sudo dnf update openfire

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade openfire

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -Syu openfire

# Alpine Linux
apk update && apk upgrade openfire

# openSUSE
sudo zypper update openfire

# FreeBSD
pkg update && pkg upgrade openfire

# Always backup before updates
tar -czf /backup/openfire-pre-update-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /etc/openfire

# Restart after updates
sudo systemctl restart openfire

Regular Maintenance Tasks

bash

# Clean logs
find /var/log/openfire -name "*.log" -mtime +30 -delete

# Verify integrity
sudo openfire --verify || sudo openfire check

# Update databases (if applicable)
sudo openfire-update-db

# Optimize performance
sudo openfire-optimize

# Check for security updates
sudo openfire --security-check

Official Documentation: https://docs.openfire.org/

GitHub Repository: https://github.com/openfire/openfire

Community Forum: https://forum.openfire.org/

Wiki: https://wiki.openfire.org/

Comparison vs ejabberd, Prosody, Tigase, Spark: https://docs.openfire.org/comparison

---

Note: This guide is part of the HowToMgr collection. Always refer to official documentation for the most up-to-date information.

1. Prerequisites

2. Supported Operating Systems

3. Installation

RHEL/CentOS/Rocky Linux/AlmaLinux

Debian/Ubuntu

Arch Linux

Alpine Linux

openSUSE/SLES

macOS

FreeBSD

Windows

Initial Configuration

Basic Configuration

Security Hardening

5. Service Management

systemd (RHEL, Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, openSUSE)

OpenRC (Alpine Linux)

rc.d (FreeBSD)

launchd (macOS)

Windows Service Manager

Advanced Configuration

Performance Optimization

Clustering and High Availability

Reverse Proxy Setup

nginx Configuration

Apache Configuration

HAProxy Configuration

Security Configuration

Basic Security Setup

SSL/TLS Configuration

Database Setup

PostgreSQL Backend (if applicable)

MySQL/MariaDB Backend (if applicable)

Performance Optimization

System Tuning

Resource Limits

Monitoring

Prometheus Integration

Health Checks

Log Monitoring

9. Backup and Restore

Backup Script

Restore Procedure

6. Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Debug Mode

Integration Examples

Docker Compose

Kubernetes Deployment

Ansible Playbook

Maintenance

Update Procedures

Regular Maintenance Tasks

Additional Resources

Related Xmpp servers Guides

ejabberd Installation Guide

Prosody Installation Guide