Set up your own instance of Jitsi
The whole process below took me 3 hours.
Set up a Virtual Private Server (VPS)
Set up a Virtual Private Server (VPS). I picked a free GNU/Linux distribution, Trisquel. I documented the whole process there: https://yctct.com/trisquel-vps
Next step is to set up a SSH connection between our laptop and the VPS.
Generate a SSH key pair and set up a SSH connection
Follow the instruction from: https://landchad.net/sshkeys/
Install Uncomplicated Firewall on your VPS
From Landchad:
Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW) is a front-facing program for the more involved
iptablesfirewall program installed in most GNU/Linux distributions. We can use UFW to restrict machines on the internet to only access the services (SSH, websites etc) you want them to, but it can also be used to prevent programs on the computer itself from accessing parts of the internet it shouldn’t.
Follow the instruction from the sections “How to get it” and “First-Time Setup” from: https://landchad.net/ufw/
Update the operating system on your VPS:
# apt update
# apt upgradePoint subdomain to the VPS
Set up the DNS for meet.domain.com (e.g. mine is talk.yctct.com) to point to the IP address of the VPS. Follow the instructions from Jitsi’s guide.
Install required packages and repository updates
Install the required packages and repository updates:
# apt install gpg apt-transport-https nginx python3-certbot-nginx curlLook at Jitsi’s documentation to check whether your system requires other packages.
Set up the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN)
Follow the instruction on Jitsi’s guide.
Add Prosody and Jitsi package repository
Add the Prosody package repository. Copy the command from Jitsi’s guide. That is if you want to restrict access to your instance. I personally don’t restrict access but I installed it for eventual use.
Add the Jitsi package repository. Copy the command from Jitsi’s guide.
Update all package sources:
# apt updateConfigure the firewall with UFW
We installed UFW earlier.
Open required ports with UFW. Run:
# ufw allow 80/tcp
# ufw allow 443/tcp
# ufw allow 10000/udp
# ufw allow 22/tcp
# ufw allow 3478/udp
# ufw allow 5349/tcp
# ufw enableSome explanations from Jitsi’s documentation:
80 TCP => For SSL certificate verification / renewal with Let’s Encrypt. Required
443 TCP => For general access to Jitsi Meet. Required
10000 UDP => For General Network Audio/Video Meetings. Required
22 TCP => For Accessing your Server using SSH (change the port accordingly if it’s not 22). Required
3478 UDP => For querying the stun server (coturn, optional, needs config.js change to enable it).
5349 TCP => For fallback network video/audio communications over TCP (when UDP is blocked for example), served by coturn. Required
Check status:
# ufw status verboseshould print this:
Status: active
Logging: on (low)
Default: deny (incoming), allow (outgoing), disabled (routed)
New profiles: skip
To Action From
-- ------ ----
80/tcp ALLOW IN Anywhere
443/tcp ALLOW IN Anywhere
10000/udp ALLOW IN Anywhere
22/tcp ALLOW IN Anywhere
3478/udp ALLOW IN Anywhere
5349/tcp ALLOW IN Anywhere
80/tcp (v6) ALLOW IN Anywhere (v6)
443/tcp (v6) ALLOW IN Anywhere (v6)
1000/udp (v6) ALLOW IN Anywhere (v6)
22/tcp (v6) ALLOW IN Anywhere (v6)
3478/udp (v6) ALLOW IN Anywhere (v6)
5349/tcp (v6) ALLOW IN Anywhere (v6) Generate a SSL certificate for your subdomain
Two options:
- If that is the first time you have nothing else running on your VPS, you could follow the suggestion of Landchad.
- If you already have a website running on this VPS and have followed my other tutorial Set up your own webserver (& a webpage) with nginx, LetsEncrypt and Certbot, follow the second Fedfree option.
Landchad option
Run:
# certbot --nginx certonly -d meet.domain.com --register-unsafely-without-emailI read from Landchad that the command will ask for an email address email. Landchad explains why: “this is so when the certificates need to be renewed in three months, you will get an email about it.” However, Landchad writes that we don’t need to give an email address. We can renew the certificate from the command line, and then automate renewal. The instructions to do so are in the section titled “Setting up certificate renewal” on the page: https://landchad.net/basic/certbot/
Fedfree option
You want to read: https://fedfree.org/docs/http/debian-nginx.html#add-the-new-tls-certificate to add a new TLS certificate.
If, when you set up a first website on this VPS you’ve generated 2048-bit when you created dhparam.pem1 then you need not to pass any options. The default is 2048-bit.
However, if you generated a 4096-bit key size, then you need to pass –rsa-key-size 4096.
You might also want to add –must-staple. To learn more, read https://fedfree.org/docs/http/debian-nginx.html#ocsp-must-staple
In the end, to generate a SSL certificate to talk.yctct.com, I run:
# certbot certonly --webroot --must-staple --rsa-key-size 4096 --agree-tos -w /var/www/letsencrypt -d talk.yctct.com --register-unsafely-without-emailYou can verify that the certificate exists by checking that directory meet.domain.com exists in /etc/letsencrypt/live.
Back it up: https://yctct.com/backup-letsencrypt-folder-from-remote-to-local
Install Jitsi
# apt install jitsi-meetThe install set up differs from the instructions give in the Jitsi’s guide we generated our own certificate. Thus I will paraphrase the instructions from Landchad below.
First, the interface will ask for the subdomain: i.e. meet.domain.com. Then, select: I want to use my own certificate and input the paths to the certification key and the cert files which you should find further up in the shell where we generated a SSL certification, i.e. /etc/letsencrypt/live/meet.example.org/privkey.pem and /etc/letsencrypt/live/meet.example.org/fullchain.pem, respectively.
Run:
# nginx -tWe are done.
Go to your subdomain. Your instance of Jitsi should be up and running.
First issue
I had one issue when I first tried to start a call: one participant would get disconnected as soon as the other join. The interface of Jitsi would print “You’ve been disconnected” on the screen.
I found on the forum of Jitsi a user with a similar issue who wrote that Jitsi worked fine after he ran:
# systemctl restart prosody
# systemctl restart jicofo
# systemctl restart jitsi-videobridge2
# systemctl restart nginxThis also worked for me.
See debugging tips from Jitsi if you have issues.
Uninstall Jitsi
To uninstall Jitsi, copy the command from Jitsi’s guide.
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I do self-funded research and I'm writing a book.
> What's the book about?
About technologies and agency.
Meaning, technologies can foster agency. No doubt. But I am also asking:
Can usage of technologies give us a sense of empowerment while in fact undermining our abilities?
I posted a summary of the prologue on the homepage: https://yctct.com/
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