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Install and set up your video conferencing server for Linux in 15 minutes

March 9, 2023
Dimitrii Zuikov

Dimitrii Zuikov

TrueConf Server for Linux is now available for Debian 10/11. Enjoy the benefits of our enterprise-grade video collaboration platform on Linux distros! Only 64-bit versions of the OS are supported.

Choose your OS

TrueConf Server can also be run in a Docker container. Read our guide to learn more.

This guide explains how to install and set up TrueConf Server v.5.2.8.10219 for Linux.

Please note

TrueConf Server contains its own web server. To prevent any possible conflicts or clashes, please deploy TrueConf Server on a computer running on Linux without a pre-installed web server.

Step 1. Download TrueConf Server for Linux and get your registration key

Fill in the TrueConf Server Free registration form. Press Submit & Download to receive your registration key on the email address you’ve specified.

Install and set up your video conferencing server for Linux in 15 minutes 1

The email containing your registration key will be sent within 15 minutes. If you cannot find the email containing your registration key in your inbox, please check the SPAM folder. You can also request the key via live chat or contact us in any other way convenient to you.

Step 2. Set up your operating system

Add the user who will install TrueConf Server and get access to the TrueConf Server control panel to your OS. You can use the account that was created when installing your OS.

To install TrueConf Server successfully, please make sure that there is no user named trueconf in the OS.
You can use sudo to execute the commands listed below. Alternatively, you can first switch to administrator mode by running su - from the terminal and entering the root password. Additionally, when using an operating system with a graphical environment it is possible to install TrueConf Server package via a package manager available in your system, e.g. GDebi in Debian (you can install it by running sudo). Please note that sudo may be unavailable by default in your OS. You can check its availability using the sudo -V command.

Add a new user on Debian

  1. Run this command

    where [user_login] is the login of the user who will be added.

  2. When a command prompt is displayed, enter and confirm your password.
  3. If necessary, you can provide additional information about the user, e.g., his/her full name, phone number, etc.

Step 3. Install TrueConf Server for Linux

Two installation options are possible:

  • Install manually from the downloaded file
  • Add the TrueConf repository to your system.

If you prefer the first option, select the Linux version to download the TrueConf Server v.5.2.8.10219 installation package:

Debian 11

Debian 10

How to create a file on Linux

To install TrueConf Server from a repository, you will need to create a file with specified text in the system catalog of your operating system. You can do it both with your file manager and with your terminal by running the following command (it is necessary to use the administrator account or add sudo before tee):

where

[text] – the text to be added to the file

[file_path] – the file path.

For example, to create the file /etc/apt/sources.list.d/trueconf.list with this text deb https://mirror.trueconf.ru/debian bullseye non-free, run the following command in the terminal:

Manual install from the package

Proceed to the directory with downloaded TrueConf deb-package and start the installation by running the following command in the admin mode:

where trueconf-server-name.deb is the name of the installation package.

You can also run the installation with the following command sequence:

Install from repository

  1. Create a file /etc/apt/sources.list.d/trueconf.list with the following content:

    For Debian 11

    deb https://mirror.trueconf.com/debian bullseye non-free

    For Debian 10

    deb https://mirror.trueconf.com/debian buster non-free

  2. Run the sequence of the following commands in the admin mode:

    If the operating system does not have the gnupg cryptographic utility pre-installed, the following error will appear:

    In this case, install the missing package by running the following command:

Step 4. Add a user to get access to the control panel

When installing TrueConf Server on Debian, you will see a field will open where you will be able to enter OS user accounts who will have admin access to the TrueConf Server control panel. Enter the user account you’ve previously created.

If you have entered an incorrect username or non-existing login, the installation on Debian may end with the following error:
Install and set up your video conferencing server for Linux in 15 minutes 2

In this case you need to run the following command as a superuser:

This command will clear all the data about the package settings from the OS. Please check the official documentation for more details.

Then, start the installation process once again.

Step 5. Installation test

The following TrueConf services will be added to the OS: the trueconf-web web server, the main trueconf server service, and the service of the manager needed for working with the database and the trueconf-manager settings file.

The web server and manager will start automatically after installation. Run the following commands to check their status:

If necessary, you can start them manually by running these commands:

The server service cannot start until you register the server (see the next step).

Step 6. Register your server

  1. If you are within the local (corporate) network, take these steps:
    1. Learn the IP address of the computer with Linux by running this command ip a.
    2. From another computer within the local network, go to the page of the installed server by using its IP. Then, proceed to part 3.
  2. If you are installing TrueConf Server on a remote computer outside the local network, e.g., a cloud-based virtual machine, you will need to edit the settings file to access the control panel. Due to security reasons, the control panel is available only inside the local network. To get access from outside, you will need to:
    1. Learn the external IP address in the virtual machine control panel or by running the following command:

    2. Open the file below with any text editor(e.g., vim) as an administrator:

    3. Comment out with the # character all the lines that start with Require and add this line Require ip x.x.x.x/32 where x.x.x.x is the external IP address. As a result, the file should look like this:

    4. Restart the TrueConf Server web service with this command:

  3. Since Trueconf Server is not registered yet, an admin login page will be displayed instead of the guest page. Sign in with the user account you have previously created:
    Install and set up your video conferencing server for Linux in 15 minutes 3
  4. On the page that opens enter your registration key in the corresponding field and register your server.

If you want to update TrueConf Server to a major version (the first two digits change, e.g., from 4.5 to 4.7 or from 4.7 to 5.0) you will need to re-register your TrueConf Server instance. Contact our technical support in any convenient way and share your server ID for us to reset the binding. After that you can re-register your TrueConf Server instance with your key.

Step 7. Start your server

After you’ve registered your server, it will restart automatically. The corresponding message will be displayed in the Server status field.

You can also view your server status directly in Linux by running the following command:

Step 8. Add user accounts and start video conferencing

The process of adding user accounts and creating video conferences is described in detail in our TrueConf Server for Windows installation guide.

More useful articles

Find other helpful guides on TrueConf software solutions in our knowledge base.

If you have any questions, please contact us at sales@trueconf.com or reach us by phone at +1 (833) 878-32-63. We are always happy to help!


Still have questions? Please contact our support team directly via online chat.

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