How to Install BigBlueButton in Ubuntu

BigBlueButton is an open-source web conferencing system designed for online learning and collaboration. It offers features like real-time video, audio, chat, screen sharing, polls, breakout rooms, and session recordings. With the rise of remote education and virtual meetings, BigBlueButton has become a popular choice for schools, universities, and businesses.

At Go4hosting, we support clients who want to deploy BigBlueButton on our cloud infrastructure or dedicated servers. In this knowledgebase article, we will guide you through the step-by-step process of installing BigBlueButton on Ubuntu-one of the most commonly used Linux distributions for hosting this platform.

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have the following:

Supported Ubuntu Version

• BigBlueButton currently supports Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (recommended).
  
  

Hardware Requirements

For a basic installation:

• CPU: 8 cores (modern Intel/AMD processor)
  
  

• RAM: 16 GB minimum
  
  

• Storage: 500 GB SSD (recording requires fast disk I/O)
  
  

• Network: 1 Gbps network interface with public IP
  
  

Note: The more users you want to support, the higher your hardware requirements.

Domain Name

• A fully qualified domain name (FQDN) pointing to your server's public IP address (e.g., bbb.example.com).
  
  

SSL Certificate

• BigBlueButton requires HTTPS for secure communication. We will use Let's Encrypt for a free SSL certificate.
  
  

Clean Ubuntu Installation

• A fresh installation of Ubuntu 20.04 with no additional software or control panels installed.

1. Update Your System

First, connect to your server using SSH and update all packages:

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sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

sudo apt install -y software-properties-common

2. Configure Hostname and Domain

Set your server's hostname to match your domain:

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sudo hostnamectl set-hostname bbb.example.com

Edit /etc/hosts and add the following line (replace IP and domain accordingly):

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YOUR_SERVER_PUBLIC_IP bbb.example.com

3. Install BigBlueButton Repository Key

Add BigBlueButton's GPG key and repository:

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wget https://ubuntu.bigbluebutton.org/repo/bigbluebutton.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

echo "deb https://ubuntu.bigbluebutton.org/bionic-250/ bbb-release main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/bigbluebutton.list

Update your package list:

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sudo apt update

4. Install BigBlueButton

Now install BigBlueButton:

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sudo apt install -y bigbluebutton

The installer will set up:

• BigBlueButton server components (FreeSWITCH, Kurento, Nginx, Tomcat)
  
  

• Greenlight (optional front-end)
  
  

• Redis
  
  

• PostgreSQL
  
  

• Coturn (for WebRTC NAT traversal)
  

5. Set Up Firewall (Optional but Recommended)

Configure ufw firewall to allow necessary ports:

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sudo ufw allow 22/tcp    # SSH

sudo ufw allow 80/tcp    # HTTP

sudo ufw allow 443/tcp   # HTTPS

sudo ufw allow 3478/udp  # TURN (Coturn)

sudo ufw allow 16384:32768/udp # WebRTC media ports

sudo ufw enable

sudo ufw status

6. Install SSL Certificate

BigBlueButton uses Let's Encrypt to install SSL certificates via the bbb-install script.

Install required tools:

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sudo apt install -y python3-certbot-nginx

Run Certbot to generate SSL certificate:

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sudo certbot --nginx -d bbb.example.com

Test automatic renewal:

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sudo certbot renew --dry-run

7. Configure BigBlueButton

BigBlueButton uses a helpful installation script to automate configuration.

Download the bbb-install script:

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wget -qO- https://ubuntu.bigbluebutton.org/bbb-install.sh | sed -e 's/^exit 1/#exit 1/' > bbb-install.sh

chmod +x bbb-install.sh

Run the installer with your domain and SSL enabled:

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sudo ./bbb-install.sh -v bionic-250 -s bbb.example.com -e [email protected]

This will:

• Configure Nginx
  
  

• Install SSL
  
  

• Set up TURN server (Coturn)
  
  

• Configure system tuning
  
  

Note: Replace [email protected] with your real email address (used for SSL certificate renewal notices).

8. Test BigBlueButton Installation

Once the installation is complete, test your BigBlueButton server.

You can access the default demo page:

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https://bbb.example.com

You should see the BigBlueButton Demo landing page where you can create and join test meetings.

9. (Optional) Install Greenlight Front-End

Greenlight is a web-based front-end for BigBlueButton that allows users to:

• Create and manage rooms
  
  

• Invite participants
  
  

• Record sessions
  
  

Install Docker (required for Greenlight):

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sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose

sudo systemctl enable docker

sudo systemctl start docker

Clone the Greenlight GitHub repository:

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git clone https://github.com/bigbluebutton/greenlight.git

cd greenlight

Set up environment variables:

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cp .env.example .env

nano .env

Edit BIGBLUEBUTTON_ENDPOINT and BIGBLUEBUTTON_SECRET (you can find these using bbb-conf --secret).

Start Greenlight:

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docker-compose up -d

You can now access Greenlight at:

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https://bbb.example.com

Create an admin account to start managing rooms and users.

10. Useful BigBlueButton Commands

Here are some helpful commands for managing your BigBlueButton server:

Check server status

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sudo bbb-conf --check

Show secret and API URL

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sudo bbb-conf --secret

Restart BigBlueButton services

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sudo systemctl restart bbb-html5

sudo systemctl restart bigbluebutton

sudo systemctl restart freeswitch

sudo systemctl restart nginx

11. Maintenance Tips

• Update regularly: Keep BigBlueButton and your Ubuntu system updated for security and stability.
  
  

• Monitor performance: Use tools like htop, iftop, and bbb-exporter for Prometheus to monitor usage.
  
  

• Backup: Regularly back up your recordings and PostgreSQL database.
  
  

• Secure server: Use strong SSH keys, disable root login, and keep your firewall active.
  
  

Conclusion

BigBlueButton is a powerful solution for web conferencing and online learning, and running it on Ubuntu server ensures excellent performance and flexibility. By following the steps in this guide, you can successfully deploy BigBlueButton on your own server.

At Go4hosting, we offer BigBlueButton-optimized cloud servers and dedicated servers to deliver maximum performance, scalability, and uptime. We can help you:

• Pre-install BigBlueButton on a fully managed cloud or dedicated server.
  
  

• Optimize server configurations for large-scale online classes and events.
  
  

• Provide 24*7 support and monitoring.
  
  

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