Setup Jitsi Meet on AWS-Developer Guide

Set up your own Jitsi video conferencing platform for one hundred concurrent users and unlimited hosts. This setup has been tested to run as expected using the best-in-class open-source WebRTC video conferencing platform, Jitsi Meet.

This guide will help you to set up Jitsi Meet in an AWS environment.

Launching the AMI

Step 1: Find and Select AMI

Log in to your AWS Management Console.

Follow the provided links to access the Jitsi Meet product you wish to set up.

(If you want to install Jitsi Meet with recording using Jibri, please follow this guide: Setup Jitsi Meet with Recordings)

• Jitsi Meet 100 concurrent user video conferencing setup
• Jitsi Meet 250 concurrent user video conferencing setup
• Jitsi Meet 500 concurrent user video conferencing setup

Step 2: Initial Setup & Configuration

1. Click the "Continue to Subscribe" button.
2. After subscribing, accept the terms and conditions by clicking "Accept Terms".
3. Wait for a few minutes for processing, then click "Continue to Configuration".
4. Select your preferred region and click "Continue to Launch".
5. From the "Choose Action" dropdown, select "Launch CloudFormation", and then click "Launch".

Create CloudFormation Stack

Step 1: Create stack

1. Ensure the "Template is ready" radio button is selected under "Prepare template".
2. Click "Next".

Step 2: Specify stack options

Provide the necessary parameters for your Jitsi deployment.

After filling in the details, click Next.

Step 3: Configure stack options

1. Under "Stack failure options," choose "Roll back all stack resources".
2. Click "Next".

Step 4: Review

1. Review all the details you've entered.

2. Acknowledge that CloudFormation might create IAM resources by ticking the checkbox.

3. Click "Submit".

You will be redirected to the CloudFormation stacks page, where you can monitor the deployment progress. The stack creation typically takes 5-10 minutes.

Update DNS

Step 1: Copy IP Address

Once the stack is created, go to the Outputs tab and copy the value of MeetPublicIp.

Step 2: Update DNS

1. Go to your DNS provider (e.g., AWS Route 53).
2. Create an A record for the domain you specified (jitsiDomainName).

3. Point the record to the MeetPublicIp you copied.

4. Save the record.

Generate SSL

Step 1: Log in to the server

1. Copy the "MeetPublicIp" from the CloudFormation outputs.
2. Open your terminal and use the following command to connect:

ssh -i "your-key.pem" ubuntu@<MeetPublicIp>

3. Type "yes" and press Enter to log in.

Step 2: Generate SSL certificate

You can run the command below to automatically set up SSL. If this fails, follow the manual Certbot steps.

sudo /root/certificate_generate_standalone.sh

For manual generation, execute sudo certbot and follow the prompts:

1. Enter your email.

2. Agree to the terms.

3. Choose whether to share your email.

4. Select your domain name from the list.

5. Choose to redirect HTTP to HTTPS (recommended).

The SSL certificate will then be generated.

Create a Meeting

Open your web browser and navigate to your domain name. You will be directed to the Jitsi Meet dashboard. Enter a meeting name and click 'Start meeting' to begin.

502 Bad Gateway Error?

If you see a "502 Bad Gateway" error, the application is likely still starting up. Please wait about 5 minutes and then refresh the page.

Managing Your Jitsi Meet Instance

Shutting Down Jitsi Meet

To shut down the setup, you need to stop all the running servers if available. The number of instances deployed will depend on your setup.

1. In the CloudFormation stack's Resources tab, click the link for the EC2 instances.

2. Select an instance and use the Instance state dropdown to Stop instance. You can restart it later by selecting Start instance.

Removing Jitsi Meet

To completely remove the application and all associated resources, delete the CloudFormation stack from the AWS console.

Check Server Logs

To check logs, log in to each server via SSH and use the following commands:

Jitsi Meet Server Logs:

sudo tail -f /var/log/jitsi/jicofo.log
sudo tail -f /var/log/prosody/prosody.log
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

JVB Server Logs:

sudo tail -f /var/log/jitsi/jvb.log

Troubleshooting

1. vCPU Quota Error: If you see an error about vCPU limits, please follow this guide to request an increase.

2. Insufficient Capacity: If you get an "insufficient instance capacity" error, try launching the stack in a different AWS region or at a later time.

3. Dashboard Error: If the dashboard doesn't load immediately, wait 5-10 minutes for the services to initialize and then try again.

4. Other Issues: For other issues, check the server logs for detailed error messages.

Conclusion

This guide provides a comprehensive resource for integrating Jitsi Meet into your AWS setup. By following these steps, you can deploy a scalable and secure video conferencing platform tailored to your needs. Whether for virtual meetings, remote classes, or connecting with loved ones, Jitsi Meet empowers you to stay connected from anywhere in the world.