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

October 16, 2023

Dimitrii Zuikov

Categories: Knowledge Base, Linux, TrueConf Server deployment

TrueConf Server for Linux is now available for Debian 10/11/12 and CentOS Stream 9. 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.5.3.4.10060 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.

Table of Contents

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.

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

Run this command

adduser [user_login]

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adduser [user_login]

where [user_login] is the login of the user who will be added.
When a command prompt is displayed, enter and confirm your password.
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 (the repository will be automatically added to the list of sources needed for installing applications in the OS)
Add the TrueConf repository to your system.

Any TrueConf repository is available both via https and http. It is only necessary to replace the prefix in the repository address. The use of http may be helpful if https access is restricted at the OS level due to some reason.

If you prefer the first option, select the Linux version to download the TrueConf Server v.5.3.4.10060 installation package:

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):

echo '[text]' | tee -a [file_path] > /dev/null

1	echo '[text]' \| tee -a [file_path] > /dev/null

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:

echo 'deb https://mirror.trueconf.ru/debian bullseye non-free' | tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/trueconf.list > /dev/null

1	echo 'deb https://mirror.trueconf.ru/debian bullseye non-free' \| tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/trueconf.list > /dev/null

For Debian

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:

apt install -yq ./trueconf-server-name.deb

1	apt install -yq ./trueconf-server-name.deb

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

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

dpkg -i trueconf-server-name.deb

1	dpkg -i trueconf-server-name.deb

apt -f install

1	apt -f install

Install from repository

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

printf "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture)] https://mirror.trueconf.ru/debian $(lsb_release -cs) non-free" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/trueconf.list

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printf "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture)] https://mirror.trueconf.ru/debian $(lsb_release -cs) non-free" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/trueconf.list
Run the sequence of the following commands in the admin mode:

wget -O- https://mirror.trueconf.com/deb.trueconf.pub | gpg --no-default-keyring --keyring gnupg-ring:/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/trueconf.gpg --import

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wget -O- https://mirror.trueconf.com/deb.trueconf.pub | gpg --no-default-keyring --keyring gnupg-ring:/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/trueconf.gpg --import

chmod 644 /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/trueconf.gpg

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chmod 644 /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/trueconf.gpg

apt-get -y update

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apt-get -y update

apt-get -y install trueconf-server

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apt-get -y install trueconf-server

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

E: gnupg, gnupg2 and gnupg1 do not seem to be installed, but one of them is required for this operation

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E: gnupg, gnupg2 and gnupg1 do not seem to be installed, but one of them is required for this operation

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

sudo apt install gnupg2

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sudo apt install gnupg2

For CentOS

Regardless of the installation method, you will need to take these preliminary steps:

Disable SELinux, the system that controls process access to OS resources. To do it, execute this command as the administrator:

sed -i 's/^SELINUX=.*/SELINUX=disabled/g' /etc/selinux/config

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sed -i 's/^SELINUX=.*/SELINUX=disabled/g' /etc/selinux/config
Connect the EPEL repository by running this command as the administrator:

dnf install epel-release

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dnf install epel-release

Only at this point, one can install TrueConf Server.

Manual installation from the file

Go to the directory where the downloaded rpm package is stored. Next, run this command as the administrator to install the package:

dnf install -y trueconf-server-name.rpm

1	dnf install -y trueconf-server-name.rpm

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

Installation from the repository

Create the file /etc/yum.repos.d/trueconf.repo with this record inside:

[trueconf] name=TrueConf Repository baseurl=https://mirror.trueconf.com/centos-stream/$releasever/$basearch/release enabled=1 gpgcheck=1

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[trueconf]
name=TrueConf Repository baseurl=https://mirror.trueconf.com/centos-stream/$releasever/$basearch/release
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
Run these commands as the administrator:

rpm --import https://mirror.trueconf.ru/rpm-v3.trueconf.pub dnf install -y trueconf-server

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rpm --import https://mirror.trueconf.ru/rpm-v3.trueconf.pub
dnf install -y trueconf-server

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

When installing TrueConf Server, 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:

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

echo PURGE | debconf-communicate trueconf-server

1	echo PURGE \| debconf-communicate trueconf-server

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

Multiple TrueConf services (called daemons in Linux) will be added to the OS. Two of them are the web server trueconf-web and trueconf-manager, the manager working with the database and settings files. They are supposed to start automatically after installation. Run the following commands to check their status:

systemctl status trueconf-web

systemctl status trueconf-manager

systemctl status trueconf-web

systemctl status trueconf-manager

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

systemctl start trueconf-web

systemctl start trueconf-manager

systemctl start trueconf-web

systemctl start trueconf-manager

The main trueconf service cannot be started until the server is registered. So, at first, one should configure access to the control panel.

Step 6. Access to the control panel

If you are within the local (corporate) network, take these steps:

Learn the IP address of the computer with Linux by running this command ip a.
From another computer within the local network, go to the page of the installed server by using its IP. Then, proceed to part 3.

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:

Learn the external IP address in the virtual machine control panel or by running the following command:

curl ident.me; echo

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curl ident.me; echo
Open the file below with any text editor(e.g., vim) as an administrator:

/opt/trueconf/server/etc/webmanager/opt/local_only_admin_24.conf

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/opt/trueconf/server/etc/webmanager/opt/local_only_admin_24.conf

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:

<Location /admin>
 
   Require local
 
   Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
 
   Require ip 192.168.0.0/16

   Require ip 172.16.0.0/12
 
   Require ip x.x.x.x/32
 
</Location>

Require local

Require ip 10.0.0.0/8

Require ip 192.168.0.0/16

Require ip 172.16.0.0/12

Require ip x.x.x.x/32

</Location>

Restart the TrueConf Server web service with this command:

systemctl restart trueconf-web

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systemctl restart trueconf-web

Changing the access port for the control panel

By default, the server control panel is available via the standard HTTP 80 port and it does not have to be specified. However, if you cannot access the panel by IP, it means that the port 80 had already been taken at the moment when TrueConf Server was installed, and it is necessary to replace the port with a different one (e.g., 8080 or 8888).

For Windows OS

Go to the TrueConf Server installation directory (C:\Program Files\TrueConf Server by default).
Open the \httpconf\conf\listen.conf file using a text editor (administrator rights required).
Change the port number in the Listen parameter (e.g. Listen 8888) and save changes.
Open the \manager\etc\manager.toml file as an administrator and specify the same port in the connection parameter:

[web] connection = "http://127.0.0.1:8888"

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[web]
connection = "http://127.0.0.1:8888"
Please reboot the computer on which TrueConf Server is installed.

For Linux OS

Go to the /opt/trueconf/server/etc/webmanager/ directory with superuser rights.
Open the httpd.conf file with any text editor.
Change the port number in the Listen parameter (e.g. Listen 8888) and save changes.
Open the /opt/trueconf/server/etc/manager/manager.toml file with any text editor and specify the same port in the connection parameter:

[web] connection = "http://127.0.0.1:8888"

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[web]
connection = "http://127.0.0.1:8888"
Please restart the web server service using the following command:

systemctl restart trueconf-web

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systemctl restart trueconf-web

After changing the port and restarting the web service, try again to access the control panel.

Step 7. Register your server

Since Trueconf Server is not registered yet, an admin login page will first be displayed when accessing by IP (check step 6). Sign in with the user account you have previously created:
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 8. 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:

systemctl status trueconf

1	systemctl status trueconf

Step 9. Add user accounts and create video conferences

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