Alexis Kestler
Video conferencing has become an essential tool for remote work and collaboration in the modern workplace. While solutions like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet are popular choices, many organizations are now looking for open source and self-hosted alternatives that give them more control, better security, and lower costs.
One such option that has been gaining significant traction is Jitsi. Jitsi is a set of open source projects that allows you to build and deploy secure video conferencing solutions on your own servers and infrastructure.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explore what Jitsi is, its components, benefits, and how you can get started with hosting your own Jitsi server on different platforms.
What is Jitsi?
Jitsi is an open source project developed by Jitsi.org that provides frameworks and tools to build secure video conferencing solutions.
It is made up of several components:
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Jitsi Meet – This is main video conferencing web application. It supports features like audio/video calls, screen sharing, chat, session recording and more. Jitsi Meet uses WebRTC technology so it works directly in the browser without needing any plugins.
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Jitsi Videobridge – This is the server-side component that handles routing video and audio streams between participants. It uses XMPP for signaling.
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Jitsi Conference Focus – Manages video rooms and controls functions like muting, chat, participants raising hands etc.
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Jigasi – Optional server-side application that allows connecting to SIP phones and audio conferences.
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Jibri – Helps add live streaming and recording capabilities.
Together, these components provide a flexible and fully-featured video conferencing solution. The modular architecture makes it easy to scale individual components as needed.
Jitsi is used by organizations like 8×8, Netways, and Riot Games for their conferencing needs. It has also seen increased use amongst universities and open source projects.
Some key benefits of Jitsi include:
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Open source – Jitsi is released under the Apache 2 license so you have full control over the code. There are no restrictive licenses or proprietary components.
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Secure – It utilizes advanced security technologies like DTLS/SRTP for end-to-end encrypted communications. All components use TLS encryption by default.
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Flexible – You can customize and integrate Jitsi as needed for your use case since everything is open source. Extend with authentication, telephony, and other plugins.
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Scalable – Built with modularity and scalability in mind. Individual components can be scaled up to handle more load.
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Free – There are zero licensing or subscription fees since Jitsi is open source software. You only pay for hosting costs.
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Mobile support – Native iOS and Android apps are available so users can join meetings on the go.
For organizations that want an open source and self-hosted alternative to mainstream proprietary video conferencing solutions, Jitsi checks many important boxes.
Next, let‘s look at how to get a Jitsi server up and running.
Installing Jitsi on Your Own Server
The first step to self-hosting Jitsi is getting it installed on your own Linux server or virtual machine. Jitsi provides very detailed installation guides for both Docker and manual deployments.
The easiest approach is using Docker which lets you get a Jitsi stack up and running in minutes. You‘ll need:
- A Linux system with recent versions of Docker and Docker Compose installed. Ubuntu or Debian are recommended.
- A domain name that points to your host IP address. This will be used to access the Jitsi Meet conferences.
- Basic networking knowledge for firewall rules and TLS certificate setup.
Jitsi provides a preconfigured Docker Compose file that will set up all required containers with sane defaults:
version: ‘3‘
services:
# Frontend
web:
image: jitsi/web
# ...
# Video bridge
jvb:
image: jitsi/jvb
# ...
# XMPP server
prosody:
image: jitsi/prosody
# ...
# Focus component
jicofo:
image: jitsi/jicofo
# More services... To start the stack, simply:
docker-compose up -dThe various Jitsi components will be downloaded as Docker images and started. The web frontend will be accessible on port 80 and 443 using your domain.
From there, you can generate TLS certificates, configure authentication, customize the interface, and integrate with external services as per your needs.
If not using Docker, you can compile the binaries from source and run the different components independently. This involves more effort but allows finer-grained control.
Either way, you will now have your own fully-functioning Jitsi video conferencing server! Participants can simply open your domain in their browser to join meetings.
Hosting Jitsi on Popular Platforms
If you don‘t want to maintain your own servers, Jitsi can also be deployed to various cloud hosting platforms with just a few clicks.
Many providers now offer one-click Jitsi installers that automate the process of deploying and configuring the stack.
Here are some good options:
Kamatera
Kamatera offers preconfigured VMs optimized for Jitsi starting at $4/month.
You can deploy the server to locations across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and China in minutes. All necessary components like Docker are pre-installed and configured.
Kamatera also provides managed support and enterprise features like DDoS protection and targeted SLAs.
DigitalOcean
The Jitsi server is available as a 1-click app on DigitalOcean.
Pricing starts at $10/month for a starter Droplet. During setup you just enter the domain you want to use.
The benefits of DigitalOcean include hourly billing, IPv6 support, private networking, and additional functionality through their Load Balancers.
New users also get a $100 free credit to try it out.
Vultr
Vultr is another solid IaaS platform that offers automated Jitsi deployments.
Their control panel and API make it easy to manage the server. Pricing starts at $5/month for the starter plan.
Vultr has data centers in over 17 locations worldwide so you can pick the ideal location for your Jitsi server.
Amazon EC2
Of course, you can also spin up a Linux VM on AWS EC2 and deploy Jitsi yourself. EC2 offers flexible instance sizing, global infrastructure, and options like auto-scaling groups.
The only caveat is that unlike other platforms, AWS does not provide a pre-packaged Jitsi image. You will need to install and configure it yourself following Jitsi‘s guide.
Microsoft Azure
Similar to AWS, Jitsi can be deployed on a Linux VM in Azure. Azure provides top-notch infrastructure spanning 60+ regions.
Again, Azure does not have a 1-click Jitsi installer so you will need to set it up manually. But once deployed, Azure‘s management capabilities and integrations make it easy to operate.
Google Cloud Platform
Google Cloud is also a viable option for running Jitsi. You can launch a Compute Engine instance and deploy Jitsi using their comprehensive documentation.
Features like load balancing, auto-scaling, and Cloud CDN can help run Jitsi at scale on GCP.
Self-Hosted Pros and Cons
Self-hosting Jitsi on your own infrastructure gives you full control, security, and ownership of your video conferencing solution. No third-party has access to your conferences and metadata.
However, you do take on the overhead of building out and maintaining the stack yourself. This includes tasks like:
- Server and network configuration
- TLS certificate provisioning
- Access control and authentication
- Scaling to handle load
- Applying security patches
- Debugging issues
- Backups and failover
Thankfully, open source platforms like Jitsi have huge communities that help share knowledge and best practices around operating these systems reliably.
Final Thoughts
Jitsi presents an attractive open source alternative for organizations seeking to avoid vendor lock-in and have complete ownership over their video communications.
It offers a feature-rich conferencing solution that can scale from small deployments to massive multi-party conferences supporting thousands of participants.
Getting started is also quite straightforward either using Docker or leveraging pre-configured Jitsi platforms provided by various hosts.
If you have been considering self-hosting your video conferencing stack, Jitsi is definitely an option worth exploring. The ability to fully customize the solution to your needs and avoid recurring licensing fees is a big win for many.
