Description

TrueConfAbout 14 min

Description

Why do you need a video conferencing server

TrueConf Server is a software-based video conferencing and team messaging platform. With our solution, your employees can communicate and collaborate remotely, organize webinars and remote training.

This guide is intended for TrueConf Server administrators. For information on the personal area, call strings, and other useful features for subscribers and guests of your video conferencing server, refer to the user manual TrueConf Server.

TrueConf Server operates in LAN/VPN and can be used as a unified communication system that connects users of your local network, remote employees, and SIP.H.323/RTSP devices:
/docs/server/media/scheme/en.png

Capabilities

TrueConf Server core features can be extended by the following solutions:

Supported Protocols and Codecs

Protocols

  • Proprietary SVC-based TrueConf protocol used by all client applications.

  • H.323 protocol set: H.239 for content sharing; H.281, H.224, Q.922 for camera control; H.235 for media stream encryption; H.225, H.241, H.245 signaling protocols.

  • SIP protocol suite: BFCP for content sharing; FECC for camera control; SRTP for media stream encryption; TLS for the secure signaling protocol (SIPS).

  • WebRTC: SRTP and DTLS for media stream encryption.

  • Connection of IP cameras and external streams (e.g., conferences) via the RTSP protocol.

  • Stream your conferences to third-party services via RTSP and RTMP protocols.

  • Integration with mail servers via the SMTP protocol.

  • QoS support: DSCP, DiffServ.

  • Integration with directory services using LDAP and LDAPS protocols. There are ready-made templates available for Active Directory, OpenLDAP, 389 Directory Server, FreeIPA.

  • Working with TrueConf API via the OAuth 2.0 protocol.

Supported Video Compression Standards

  • VP8 SVC, VP8, AV1, VP9, H.264, H.264 AVC, H.264 SVC, X-H264UC, H.263, H.263+, H.263++, H.261

Supported audio compression standards

  • Opus, G.711, G.722, G.722.1, G.722.1C, G.723, G.728, G.729A, Speex, MP3, AAC, PCM

Modules of the video conferencing server and their functionality

TrueConf Server is a software-based solution with several components that can be deployed on Windows and Linux.

You can also expand your video conferencing capabilities with the help of TrueConf software development kit (SDK).

You can find the main features of each component below.

System Services

This component is a software video conferencing server which is installed as multiple services of the operating system. This component ensures:

Administrator Control Panel

This component is used to control and modify server configuration during its operation. The control panel provides the following capabilities:

  • Manage user accounts and personal settings.

  • Create, edit and delete groups, change group rights.

  • Store TrueConf Server user account data either locally or using a third-party service via LDAP protocol.

  • Configure authentication in the video conferencing system (via login/password; through SSO; using two-factor authentication providers, such as AD FS, Keycloak);

  • Add aliases for SIP/H.323/RTSP devices or for users from another TrueConf Server instance to make it easier to call them.

  • Create webinars for guest connections.

  • Schedule conferences with weekly recurrence on specific days.

  • PIN-protected conferences to prevent unauthorized access.

  • Customize registration settings for public conferences (webinars)

  • Create conferences supporting simultaneous interpretation for international online events

  • Create a general layout for all participants, for SIP/H.323/WebRTC participants or individual layout for each user.

  • Manage cameras and microphones of active conference participants, change their devices remotely.

  • Add and remove participants from ongoing conferences.

  • conference streaming configuration: Wowza Streaming Engine, Wowza Streaming Cloud, YouTube, etc. (extension required Streaming);

  • Send email invitations and newsletters to users via external SMTP server.

  • configure the media traffic transmission directly between conference participants bypassing the server (extension UDP Multicast Conferences required);

  • Store and access conference recordings in the TrueConf Server control panel, view records with video and chat synchronized, download and delete them.

  • Store the files shared in conferences on the server side.

  • Create and start surveys, both internal and public (for external participants)

  • Create backups and restore server settings.

  • Customize your guest page and indicate administrator’s contact info.

  • Limit access to the TrueConf Server control panel for certain admin roles or using IP filters.

  • Monitor server performance both in real time and for a certain time range.

  • View server reports (log files) and all user actions (call history, message history, connection history, etc.).

  • Check information about the mail plugins that can be used to create conferences when adding new events to the calendar (MS Outlook and Thunderbird are supported)

  • Configure access to the TrueConf Server API.

Administrator control panel with the Security Admin role

Individual administrators can be added to the TrueConf Server Security Admin group. They will be able to view the server's operational details in its control panel without the configuration capabilities available to the TrueConf Server administrator.

The rights of TrueConf Server Security Admin provide access to:

  • information about the current server state

  • the list of addresses for administrative access

  • history of settings changes

  • server operation logs

  • call and conference history

  • current connections to the server

  • chat history.

Personal area

Personal Area is a dedicated web page available to every user registered in TrueConf Server. The Personal Area allows you to:

  • view features available to them

  • access their address book

  • use different conferencing modes to create meetings, launch and end conferences

  • invite new users to ongoing conferences

  • set different layouts when creating or holding meetings

  • manage users’ devices

  • view detailed analytics about ongoing and past conferences

  • download conference recordings saved on the video conferencing server

  • save conference templates for further use

  • edit their profiles (if LDAP/AD extension is enabled, users can only change their avatars).

Guest Page

The guest page TrueConf Server is a webpage where you can download client applications for connecting to this server. The link can be shared with all employees and guests who will participate in conferences.

On the guest page, users can:

  • log in to their personal area

  • download client applications for various operating systems

  • schedule a meeting (authorization required)

  • connect to the conference with conference ID

  • refer to the user guide;

  • view administrator contacts for TrueConf Server.

Selecting the Server Version

We provide a free TrueConf Server Free, a fully functional trial version for 3 weeks, and a paid version. A comparison of all three versions is available here. You can calculate the cost of the right license with our pricing calculator.

To obtain a fully functional version of TrueConf Server for 3 weeks of testing, contact us using any method convenient for you.

Thus, you can obtain a solution with all the necessary features by using the free version of TrueConf Server Free, although with some minor limitations. This will be sufficient to deploy a video conferencing system for small and medium-sized businesses and to experience all its benefits.

Advantages

The video conferencing system TrueConf Server offers several advantages and unique technologies:

Useful Resources

We offer administrators and TrueConf users plenty of helpful links to our resources and communities: