DICE

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DICE is multi-protocol hybrid server that offers simultaneous connectivity from IRC clients, opennap clients, and HTTP clients (browsers). IRC is media of pure chat experience, while opennap is directory-publishing service accompanied by chat rooms. HTTP is the best known protocol on the internet to deliver contents to the users. Opennap-compliant system implemented in DICE is called VirtualDirectory. DICE publishes those three unique interfaces to access one object, which is conference space called channels shared between users who can communicate one another by their different protocols translated by DICE.

In the same way as general web servers offer public interface to file-system, DICE publishes those three unique interfaces to access one object, which is conference space - called channels - shared between users who can communicate one another by their different protocols mutually translated by DICE.

Its base framework is totally multi-threaded/multiprocessor-ready and fully optimized to Microsoft Windows® 2000 / Windows® XP / Windows® Server 2003 platforms with scalable asynchronous I/O. It runs as Windows Service in background. DICE is compatible with Windows XP SP2 and Windows Firewall.

Though it lacks server-link facility seen in standard IRC or opennap servers, its monolithic and compact design produces enough scalability for most cases. According to test results, stand-alone DICE can host over 2 thousands of opennap clients with ease on standard DSL connection, and can handle 10,000 concurrent opennap connections on broader uplinks such as T1 and higher. For IRC connection that requires very little bandwidth compared to opennap, the stats reach even higher, well beyond 10,000 concurrent connections. As HTTP service DICE supports HTTP/1.1 keep-alive connection and when possible sends files directly from OS file cache to achieve high availability.

Some of the DICE features include:

• RFC 1459/2812 compliant IRC clients connectivity (See here for the list of intentional deviation from RFC)
• Opennap-compliant directory-publishing service ("VirtualDirectory")
• HTTP (RFC2616)-compliant WWW service
• Interoperability of IRC clients and opennap clients in chat channels
• IRC user-shell that provides single-signon to registered user / channel management
• IRC host-spoof scanner (SOCKS4/5/Wingate/HTTP)
• Secure remote administration via GUI shell (DICEAdminShell) over internet
• Customizable multi-locale XML resources
• Unique hostname masking
• Binding TCP/IP ports to multiple NIC
• NET application container with C#/VB.NET/JScript script on-demand compilation ability
• Configurable HTTP MIME type handler
• WWW channel browser protected by JavaScript vector digits generation
• Built-in spam killer bot for private message spamming
• Compulsive channel-join
• IRC over SSL
• Run as Windows Service
• Compatible with Windows XP SP2 / Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Windows Firewall
• Optimized to Windows 2000 / Windows XP / Windows Server 2003

What things can you start with DICE then?

• Create open chat rooms to which people can connect with both IRC and opennap clients
• Set up a private hub where users can search and transfer files each other with opennap clients
• Create a chat server and browse / post in channels with a web browser by publishing them in HTTP service
• Set up a web site via HTTP service, and build your dynamic web pages with .NET framework languages
• You can achieve all these thing with one DICE running in your PC.