Installation of BigBlueButton 0.71a

1. Install the BigBlueButton apt-get repository key

First, install the BigBlueButton apt-get repository key and URL (note: The URL has changed from 0.70).

   # Install the package key
   wget http://ubuntu.bigbluebutton.org/bigbluebutton.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

   # Add the BigBlueButton repository URL and ensure the multiverse is enabled
   echo "deb http://ubuntu.bigbluebutton.org/lucid/ bigbluebutton-lucid main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/bigbluebutton.list
   echo "deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid multiverse" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
2. Install a Voice Conference Server
BigBlueButton now lets  you choose to use either Asterisk or FreeSWITCH for voice conferencing.   We provide configuration packages for both, so it's easy to install  either one.  We recommend FreeSWITCH.

To install FreeSWITCH:

  sudo apt-get install python-software-properties
  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:freeswitch-drivers/freeswitch-nightly-drivers
  sudo apt-get update
  sudo apt-get install bbb-freeswitch-config

Or, instead, to install Asterisk (WARNING: Do not install both):

   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install bbb-voice-conference

Again, install only one of the above

3. Install BigBlueButton

We’re now ready to install BigBlueButton. Type:

   sudo apt-get install bigbluebutton

This single command is where all the magic happens. This command will install all of BigBlueButton components with with their dependencies.

Here’s a screen shot of the packages it will install.

Type ‘y’ and press Enter. Then sit back. After a few moments, if you don’t have mysql installed, the mysql package script will ask to specify a password for the mysql ‘root’ user.

Enter a password for mysql’s ‘root’ user (you’ll need to enter it twice). Almost immediately, the package script for bbb-web will prompt you for that mysql root password (shown below). BigBlueButton needs to access the mysql to create a database. Enter the the same password your did a moment ago for mysql.

Note: The mysql password should not contain the following characters as ! # [ ^ $ ] ( ) as they will cause the bbb-web install script to break.

Finally, you’ll be prompted to access an End User License Agreement (EULA) for the installation of the Microsoft TrueType Fonts. These fonts help OpenOffice to convert Microsoft Office documents into PDF files.

4. Do a Clean Restart

To ensure BigBlueButton has started cleanly, enter the following commands:

   sudo bbb-conf --clean
   sudo bbb-conf --check

The output from sudo bbb-conf --check will display your current settings and, after the text, “ Potential problems described below “, print any configuration or startup problems it has detected. Normally, there is no text following this message.

Trying out your server (14:42 minutes later)

Change the hostname for port forwarding.

http://code.google.com/p/bigbluebutton/wiki/BBBConf

Introduction

bbb-conf is the BigBlueButton configuration script for modifying BigBlueButton’s configuration, managing the BigBlueButton processes (start/stop/reset), and troubleshooting your installation.

If you are installing BigBlueButton from source, you can download bbb-conf from here.

When installed from packages, bbb-conf is located in /usr/local/bin/bbb-conf. If you are a developer, look through the source for bbb-conf (it’s a shell script) will help you understand the various components of BigBlueButton and how they work together.

Options

If you type bbb-conf with no parameters it will print out the list of available options.

BigBlueButton Configuration Utility - Version 0.71a
http://code.google.com/p/bigbluebutton/wiki/BBBConf

   bbb-conf [options]

Configuration:
   --setip <host>                   Set IP/hostname for BigBlueButton
   --conference [konference|meetme|freeswitch]
                                    Switch conference module
   --setsalt <salt>                 Change the security salt in bigbluebutton.properties

Monitoring:
   --check <verbose>                Check configuration files and processes for problems
   --debug                          Scan the log files for error messages
   --watch                          Scan the log files for error messages every 2 seconds
   --salt                           View the URL and security salt for the server

Administration:
   --restart                        Restart BigBueButton
   --stop                           Stop BigBueButton
   --start                          Start BigBueButton
   --clean                          Restart and clean all log files
   --zip                            Zip up log files for reporting an error

Some of the bbb-conf options require that you run the command as root user. bbb-conf will print out a message prompting you to run the command with sudo if needed.

--setip <hostname_or_ip>[:<Port>]

Sets the IP/Hostname and port for BigBlueButton’s configuration.

Example Usage:

   bbb-conf --setip 192.168.0.211

or

   bbb-conf --setip 192.168.0.211:8081

or

  bbb-conf --setip bbb.mybbbserver.com

Enabling the root account

Enabling the Root account is rarely necessary. Almost everything you need to do as administrator of an Ubuntu system can be done via sudo or gksudo. If you really need a persistent Root login, the best alternative is to simulate a Root login shell using the following command…

sudo -i

To enable the Root account (i.e. set a password) use:

sudo passwd root

Use at your own risk!

Logging in to X as root may cause very serious trouble. If you believe you need a root account to perform a certain action, please consult the official support channels first, to make sure there is not a better alternative.

Re-disabling your root account

If for some reason you have enabled your root account and wish to disable it again, use the following command in terminal…

sudo passwd -dl root

You can reset the root password by running the server with –skip-grant-tables and logging in without a password by running the following as root (or with sudo):

# /etc/init.d/mysql stop
# mysqld_safe –skip-grant-tables &
$ mysql -u root

mysql> use mysql;
mysql> update user set password=PASSWORD(“YOUR-NEW-ROOT-PASSWORD”) where User=’root’;
mysql> flush privileges;
mysql> quit

# /etc/init.d/mysql stop
# /etc/init.d/mysql start
$ mysql -u root -p

Now you should be able to login as root.

It is also possible to find the query that reset the password in /home/…/.mysql_history or /root/.mysql_history of the user who reset the password, but the above will always work.