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.
| Parameter |
Required/Optional |
Additional Information |
| Host |
Required |
Hostname or IP of the machine where BigBlueButton |
| Port |
Optional |
Port at which BigBlueButton is set |
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
