Introduction

This how-to has been tested on FreeBSD and PC-BSD 8.1 and 8.2. It assumes some familiarity with installing software using FreeBSD ports and packages. All commands should be run as the superuser.

Method 1: Using the FreeBSD Port

The recommended way to install BigBlueButton on a FreeBSD or PC-BSD system is to compile the FreeBSD port. Additional instructions will be added here once the FreeBSD package and the PC-BSD PBI become available as they will considerably simplify installing BigBlueButton on these systems.

Obtain/Update the Ports Tree and Compile the Port

If your system does not currently have the ports tree (i.e. there is nothing in /usr/ports), install the ports tree using these instructions: http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/ports-using.html. If your system does have the ports tree but it hasn't been updated in a while, follow the instructions for the heading CVSup Method at that link.

Once you have an updated ports tree, open the file /usr/ports/www/tomcat6/Makefile in your favourite editor and edit this line:

HTTP_PORT?= 8180

so that it reads:

HTTP_PORT?= 8080

Save your change. Next, compile BigBlueButton:

cd /usr/ports/www/bigbluebutton

make install clean

A menu will open with a list of options. The first three determine which asterisk module(s) will be installed:

meetme: requires a Zaptel hardware device to provide timing

konference: (the default selection) doesn't require any specialized hardware

freeswitch: may be a better choice if you will be supporting many simultaneous users

If you don't have a preference, the default selection is fine. Otherwise, use your arrow and enter keys to change the selection.

The last menu option is whether or not to include OpenOffice support. While OpenOffice is mandatory for the proper functioning of BigBlueButton, it requires much time and disk space to compile. If OpenOffice is already installed, you can leave this unchecked. If it is not installed, consider leaving this option unchecked and instead installing the package from ftp://ooopackages.good-day.net/pub/OpenOffice.org/FreeBSD/.

Once you have made your selections, use the tab key to highlight OK and press enter. BigBlueButton will now build on your system.

Start BigBlueButton

Once the installation is complete, a message will be displayed indicating how to start BigBlueButton. If you missed the message or would like to read it again, use the command:

pkg_info -Dx bigbluebutton

Before starting BigBlueButton, you will need to add the hostname and IP address of the system to /etc/hosts. If you forget to do this, BigBlueButton will load in the client's browser but will fail to connect to a meeting. The hostname and ifconfig commands can be used to get the system's hostname and IP address.

Next, add the following lines to /etc/rc.conf:

tomcat60_enable="YES"

mysql_enable="YES"

nginx_enable="YES"

asterisk_enable="YES"

activemq_enable="YES"

openoffice_enable="YES"

red5_enable="YES"

Next, populate the BigBlueButton database with this command:

/usr/local/etc/rc.d/mysql-server start

Finally, install and start BigBlueButton:

bbb-conf install -h <ip_address> -c <konference|meetme|freeswitch>

Replace <ip_address> with the address you input into /etc/hosts and <konference|meetme|freeswitch> with one module type that you selected in the port's configuration menu. You are now ready to start BigBlueButton:

bbb-conf start

You should now be able to connect to your BigBlueButton server. Input the IP address into a flash-capable web browser and input a name to join a demo meeting.

If you wish to stop BigBlueButton, use this command:

bbb-conf stop

Troubleshooting

If you have any issues with functionality please let me know (http://code.google.com/u/dru.lavigne/).

This is a fix for a currently known issue: the latest version of ImageMagick fails to convert uploaded presentations correctly. If you are running a version of ImageMagick higher than 6.6.4.10 (which does work correctly) you can do this:

cd /usr/ports/graphics/ImageMagick make deinstall

replace the existing distinfo file with this one: http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/ports/graphics/ImageMagick/distinfo?rev=1.151;content-type=text%2Fplain

replace the existing Makefile with this one: http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/ports/graphics/ImageMagick/Makefile?rev=1.311;content-type=text%2Fplain

edit the new Makefile so that this line:

USE_AUTOTOOLS= libltdl:22

looks like this:

USE_AUTOTOOLS= libltdl

Now, build the corrected version:

make install clean

Method 2: Reinventing the Wheel

Since the FreeBSD port became available in January, 2011, the remaining instructions can be considered deprecated. They are left here for readers who wish to know what the FreeBSD port is doing or for users who are considering what steps would be required in order to create an OpenBSD port or a NetBSD or DragonFly BSD pkgsrc module.

Install Required Software

Note that some software may already be installed on your system and you can check first with the pkg_info command. JDK must be installed from ports due to licensing restrictions; follow the port's instructions for manually downloading the required software. Jython must be installed from ports as the package does not expect the diablo JDK. Asterisk must be forced with the -f switch on a PC-BSD system as it conflicts with the already installed libiodbc/virtuoso.

cd /usr/ports/java/diablo-jdk16 && make install clean 
cd /usr/ports/lang/jython && make install clean 
pkg_add -r mysql55-server
pkg_add -r mysql-connector-java
pkg_add -r log4j
pkg_add -r slf4j
pkg_add -r tomcat60
pkg_add -r ImageMagick
pkg_add -r swftools
pkg_add -r nginx
pkg_add -r linux_base 
pkg_add -rf asterisk 
pkg_add -r unzip 
pkg_add -rf activemq

Misc Settings

#add to /root/.cshrc:

setenv RED5_home /usr/local/share/red5/

# add after comment section of /usr/local/etc/rc.d/tomcat6:

TOMCAT6_SECURITY=no

# make mysql happy

# add to /etc/hosts.allow

mysqld : ALL : allow 

# add to /etc/rc.conf:

tomcat60_enable="YES" 
mysql_enable="YES" 
nginx_enable="YES" 
asterisk_enable="YES"

# tell tomcat to use 8080 instead of default of 8180

# in /usr/local/apache-tomcat-6.0/conf/server.xml

Configure Asterisk

cd /usr/local/etc/asterisk
fetch http://bigbluebutton.org/downloads/0.70/bbb_extensions.conf
fetch http://bigbluebutton.org/downloads/0.70/bbb_sip.conf

# add these 2 lines to extensions.conf in #include section:

#include bbb_extensions.conf
#include bbb_sip.conf

cd /usr/local/lib/asterisk/modules
fetch http://bigbluebutton.org/downloads/0.70/32bit/app_konference.so
chmod 755 app_konference.so
echo "load => app_konference.so" >> /usr/local/etc/asterisk/modules.conf

# edit /usr/local/etc/asterisk/manager.conf, change enabled = no to = yes, and add these lines:

; BigBlueButton: Enable Red5 to connect 

[bbb]

secret = secret

permit = 0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0

read = system,call,log,verbose,command,agent,user

write = system,call,log,verbose,command,agent,user

Configure Webserver

cd /usr/local/etc/nginx
fetch http://bigbluebutton.org/downloads/0.70/nginx-bigbluebutton.conf

#edit nginx-bigbluebutton.conf to change the server_name IP, change /var/www/ paths to /usr/local/www/, and correct nginx-dist to nginx-default

mkdir sites-available sites-enabled
mv nginx-bigbluebutton.conf sites-available/bigbluebutton
ln -s /usr/local/etc/nginx/sites-available/bigbluebutton /usr/local/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/bigbluebutton
mkdir /var/log/nginx
touch /var/log/nginx/bigbluebutton.access.log

#replace /usr/local/etc/nginx/nginx.conf with:

worker_processes 1; 

events {

    worker_connections  1024;

}

http {

    include       mime.types;

    default_type  application/octet-stream;

    sendfile        on;

    keepalive_timeout  65;

include /usr/local/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/*;

    }

cd /usr/local/www
fetch http://bigbluebutton.org/downloads/0.70/packages/bbb-default.tar.gz
tar xzvf bbb-default.tar.gz && rm bbb-default.tar.gz
mkdir bigbluebutton && cd bigbluebutton
fetch http://bigbluebutton.org/downloads/0.70/packages/client.tar.gz
tar xzvf client.tar.gz && rm client.tar.gz

# edit client/conf/config.xml and edit 192.168. URLs

Configure Red5

cd /usr/local/share
fetch http://bigbluebutton.org/downloads/0.70/red5-0.9.1.tar.gz
tar xzvf red5-0.9.1.tar.gz
mv red5-0.9.1 red5 && cd red5/webapps
fetch http://bigbluebutton.org/downloads/0.70/packages/bigbluebutton-apps.tar.gz
tar xzvf bigbluebutton-apps.tar.gz && rm bigbluebutton-apps.tar.gz
fetch http://bigbluebutton.org/downloads/0.70/packages/video.tar.gz
tar xzvf video.tar.gz && rm video.tar.gz
fetch http://bigbluebutton.org/downloads/0.70/packages/sip.tar.gz
tar xzvf sip.tar.gz && rm sip.tar.gz
chmod +x red5.sh

#vipw and add line:

red5:*:1935:1935::0:0:Red5 User:/usr/local/share/red5:/sbin/nologin

#add lines to /etc/group:

red5:*:1935

cd /usr/local/share/red5/log
touch deskshare.log sip.log video.log

Configure Tomcat

cd /usr/local/apache-tomcat-6.0/webapps
fetch http://bigbluebutton.org/downloads/0.70/packages/bigbluebutton.war
mkdir bigbluebutton && cd bigbluebutton
unzip ../bigbluebutton.war

#edit IP in bigbluebutton/WEB-INF/classes/bigbluebutton.properties

# edit IP in /usr/local/apache-tomcat-6.0/webapps/bigbluebutton /demo/bbb_api_conf.jsp

mkdir /usr/local/etc/bigbluebutton

Various BBB Configuration

# create /usr/local/etc/bigbluebutton/nopdfmark.ps with:

%!
/pdfmark {cleartomark} bind def

mkdir /var/log/bigbluebutton
touch /var/log/bigbluebutton/bbb-web.log
chmod 777 /var/log/bigbluebutton/bbb-web.log
mkdir -p /var/bigbluebutton/blank
fetch http://bigbluebutton.org/downloads/0.64/blank/blank-slide.swf
fetch http://bigbluebutton.org/downloads/0.64/blank/blank-thumb.png

Create Database

/usr/local/etc/rc.d/mysql-server start

mysql -u root 

mysql> create database bigbluebutton_dev;

mysql > grant all on bigbluebutton_dev.* to 'bbb'@'localhost' identified by 'secret';  

mysql> commit;

mysql> quit

Start Services

/usr/local/etc/rc.d/asterisk start
/usr/local/etc/rc.d/nginx start
/usr/local/etc/rc.d/tomcat6 start
/usr/local/lib/activemq/bin/activemq &
cd /usr/local/share/red5/&& ./red5.sh &

Testing

Use your browser to go to localhost. You should see a BBB page and be able to successfully Join a session.

If necessary, open these ports in firewall:

80 (nginx); 8080 (tomcat); 8088, 5080, 1935 (red5); 5080 (deskshare); 8161, 61616 (activemq)