where to being ============== lets start with the system management server. to begin with, when installed the sms will ask which xmpp server to talk to. (server needs conference capabilities). The main server will be the service responce daemon, once server is connected to, it'll try and attach as the user "hostname@domain/system". This service is basically responsible for arbitrating interactions with the server. if the server is "localhost" it'll also try and be the system@domain/super user which means its essentially responsible for "everything" in its domain (i.e. the local machine). Think of it like an active directory server. The first task of the sms is to be the manager of xmpp server. So, if its localhost, it'll need to know how to create users/conferences and stuff. the system@domain/super will be the thing other machines will talk to if they connect to that host. there will also be a user created called root@domain which will be how people "join" the domain. once a machine has a domain, its then up to the user to connect as a priveledge user (root for eg) then create users and assign them priveledges on multi-machine domains, things get blah blah ok, so what each user does: 1) system@domain/super is responsible for naming. i.e. you can ask it what machines exist on that domain, what users and what groups, plus creation of them 2) hostname@domain/system is responsible for managing the system. if you want to restart a daemon or change its config, messages go to that user. what im trying to sya here is that system will be responsible for managing users and assigning them to groups and so forth, but hostname@domain will be responsible for allowing access to resources based on the group or user of a person initial interaction will be via text via a good ol xmpp chat client... i.e. to system: list users, list groups, list computers i.e. to hostname: list services, restart service, etc. i.e. from hostname to user: log messages of importance (crash errors, filesystems filling up, things like that). i.e. from system to user: log messages of importance (creation/deleteion of users and stuff). lets start with that, and see where it takes us.