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IRC itself is a teleconferencing system, which (through the use of the client-server model) is well-suited to running on many machines in a distributed fashion. A typical setup involves a single process (the server) forming a central point for clients (or other servers) to connect to, performing the required message delivery/multiplexing and other functions. – J. Oikarinen, D. Reed; Internet Relay Chat Protocol; RFC 1459; May 1993. |
IRC client programs connect over the Internet to central IRC servers that distribute the messages around the network. The following sections provide more information: