Adrian Moya's picture

 

Forget about DimDim (they forgot about you anyway!). This TKLPatch will convert turnkey-core-beta-lucid-x86 image to a BigBlueButton appliance which is a wonderfull web conference system that integrates 14 opensource projects and is being actively developed. It has integrated webcam support, VoIP, Desktop Sharing, and all the features needed for this type of software. 
 
Developers also included a web front-end in past versions, but it's being dumped in favor to develop the API, but some examples are included in how to use the API to manage the rooms and private conference. 
 

Features:

Complete opensource conferencing system.
Based on Ubuntu 10.04
Script added to run bbb-conf --setip when there is a change on the IP (convenience)
 

What it does:

1. Set hostname to bigbluebutton
 
#Set hostname
HOSTNAME=bigbluebutton
echo "$HOSTNAME" > /etc/hostname
sed -i "s|127.0.1.1 \(.*\)|127.0.1.1 $HOSTNAME|" /etc/hosts
2.  Update package information
apt-get update
 
3. Install gnupg to required to add bigbluebutton package key
apt-get -y install gnupg
 
4. Add the package key
wget http://archive.bigbluebutton.org/bigbluebutton.asc
apt-key add bigbluebutton.asc
5. Add the archive for BigBlueButton Ubuntu 10.04
echo "deb http://archive.bigbluebutton.org/lucid bigbluebutton-lucid main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/bigbluebutton.list
6. Ensure the multiverse is in the souces list (needed for msttcorefonts)
echo "deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid multiverse" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/sources.list
7. Install required packages
install asterisk bigbluebutton ghostscript
 
8. Stop running services
service mysql stop
service nginx stop
service tomcat6 stop
service red5 stop
service asterisk stop
service activemq stop
service bbb-openoffice-headless stop
9. Clean apt cache
cleanup_apt
 
Enjoy. Comments, bugs, feedback are welcome.
Forum: 
Tags: 

I built the ISO using ur patch ,  When i issue the IP address on the browser , i got an option to enter a name and proceed , but nothing is happening afterwards. The load of the machine goes up high and it even doesn't reply to ssh requests. Also after some time i got " page unavailable error ".

 

Also i think you forgot to add script to change mysql root password during installation.

Adrian Moya's picture

Are you running live or installed? How much memory does the VM has? Also, be sure to have latest adobe flash plugin installed on the client browser. 

The fact that doesn't reply to ssh request suggests that maybe the vm is dying. Which hypervisor are you using? (ex Virtualbox, VMWare)? 

I don't usually change mysql root password when the app doesn't manage sensitive data. Either way, we may as community stablish some recommendations about this topic. I can add that to this patch in a future version. 

Thanks for your comments! Please keep me informed is you could successfully run this appliance.

I tried running live , later i installed it too .

256 MB was given to the VM.

Some version 10 of adobe flash is installed . I can use the BBB demo on Project website in the same browser.

 

I 'm using VirtualBox 3.2.8

Adrian Moya's picture

WOW, 256mb is a small amount of memory for this appliance. Pump the memory to 1GB. This appliance is running a lot (A LOT!) of software underneath. That's why your appliance is hanging. I'll paste here the requirements from the bigbluebutton page:

We recommend you run BigBlueButton on dual core machine with at least 1 Gig of memory and a 2.0+ Ghz processor. Any new PC you buy today will be sufficent for a BigBlueButton server. You'll need good upstream and downstream bandwidth from the server.

Sorry , In the current scenario, i 'm unable to give 1GB memory to VM.

Liraz Siri's picture

With at least 4GB of RAM. Better yet 8GB. :)
Liraz Siri's picture

Excellent find Adrian! When I wrote the TKLPatch contest post I didn't realize DimDim sold out and gave the middle finger to the open source community.

BigBlueButton wasn't even on my radar but it looks like an excellent alternative to DimDim and a perfect match for cloud deployment to boot!

I see those guys maintain their own Ubuntu package repository. That not only makes the integration easier, but will also make BigBlueButton's components easier to update.

The only thing I might look into improving is enabling SSL access to the web application part.

Adrian Moya's picture

We all were newbies once. So don't feel stupid. The procedure is not very easy right know, as this is a patch and not the final appliance (which will install very easy). I'll try to give you a quick explanation:

1. Download TKL Lucid Core beta here. Click on the 144MB ISO link. 

2. Create a VM in vbox with 512mb ram and set network to bridge and OS to linux/ubuntu. And install TKL Lucid Core. You can use this as a guide. Follow the iso instructions. The current VBox version differs a bit but you shouldn't find any problems.

3. Run your new Core system and apply the patch following this instructions.

4. You'll end up with an iso file which you can install as point 1. 

 

Sorry there is no easy way yet to apply patches, I'm working on it and I hope to have a web interface to apply patches soon. 

Hope this helps a bit!

Adrian Moya's picture

You need a lot of new packages which are surely not available in debian 4. If you still want debian, maybe you can try with debian 5, although installation instructions specifically say ubuntu 10.04.  

Please keep the forum post in english as it's the official language. In the future, there might be a spanish forum for TKL. 

***

No podrás instalar en debian 4 por ser una distribución muy vieja que no tiene en sus repos oficiales los paquetes que necesita BBB. Asi que debes utilizar ubuntu 10.04, o quizá intentar con debian 5 a ver si tienes suerte. Te recomendaría utilizar este appliance una vez que salga la versión oficial. 

Si puedes mantener la conversación en inglés, es el lenguaje oficial del foro. Saludos!

Adrian Moya's picture

And import it on XenServer, however, XenServer doesn't support ubuntu as guest OS (at least in XS5.5). So you'll be missing a kernel for your VM to run the server in paravirtualization mode (and enable xentools), as Citrix makes they own kernels for XenServer. You're left with HVM mode. 

You can check a post I wrote more than a year ago on how to create a functional ubuntu server running on XenServer, but I don't know if will work for ubuntu 10.04 on XS5.6. But you could try and post your results!

http://adrianmoya.web.ve/?p=10

Anyway, I'd recommend you if it's possible to change from XS to other solution. Maybe VMWare Server or Proxmox? Which already support ubuntu. 

Adrian Moya's picture

Nice to see it's easiest than before! From BBB official page, they say that they support 64 bits packages under ubuntu 10.04. So it may work, but I haven't tested. 

This patches are aimed at the TKL-Core-Lucid-beta, did you install that one? There is a bug in the Core which prevents the VM to get a gateway on boot. To overcome this issue, just use the confconsole to reset network settings (Advanced menu->Networking->DHCP). Verify you get a gateway, and then apt-get update and apt-get install tklpatch. 

The result of the patching will be an iso which you can use to install BBB. Just remember the resulting iso will inherit the same network problem. Today Alon twitted that the RC for TKL 10.04 is about to see the light, so keep in touch as this new TKL-Core-Lucid will surely have this problem fixed and be more stable. 

OTOH, 64 bit images are planned but currently none exists. 

I changed from XenServer to Proxmox for many reasons, but the main one is that Proxmox-VE is completely free and opensource, and has a webpanel, so you don't need XenCenter which made me had an extra VM (As my main OS is ubuntu). I'd recommend that you take a look at it. VMWare Server (ESXi or something) is also free, but not opensource solutions, and I always end with the feeling that there will come the time I'll need something thats not free (Like access to the whole API for automation tasks)

L. Arnold's picture

I need, at least to do an Asterisk system.  There is an Adrian's Asterisk Patch.  Big Blue Button seems interesting...

Debian TKL is here now.

Best to just use Lucid and get up and running or is there a TKL Build in the system now - perhaps under a different name?

L. Arnold's picture

I will try Adrian's patch first, but I did also just find this how to that should be helpful in Debian.

http://www.fatofthelan.com/technical/how-to-install-asterisk-voip-pbx-on-debian-linux/

More on the technical side..  wondering if I can run as a VM or do I need a dedicated box.  Should I run from My office or my CoLo?  Basically wanting a mobile operations ability, though porting into our old phone is always attractive (where a dedicated box might make sense I expect).

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