The ICE server is responsible for user and channel management within an Instant Connect Enterprise system. Clients connect to the ICE Server to be told of which channels they’re able to participate on; be notified (signaled) of incoming private and PSTN telephone calls; be made aware of other users of the system; and learn the presence and location of teammates.

All application-layer configuration of the ICE Server is performed through the ICE Desktop client application. There is no command line interface or special browser-based portal for administering the system. Of course, only users with the 'Administrator' role will see and have access to these configurations (within ICE Desktop, log into ICE Server then click the gear icon to view settings and configuration).

As described in greater detail below, ICE Server is a not a traditional REST or SOAP-based services oriented architecture (SOA). ICE Server is, rather, a message-oriented system that sends and receives messages asynchronously to clients connected to it. This gives clients near-instant response times to changes in configuration, telephone signaling, etc.