Introduction

Apache OpenMeetings is an open-source web conferencing and collaboration platform that provides features such as online meetings, video conferencing, chat, whiteboard sharing, and online training sessions.

This guide explains how to install OpenMeetings on a Linux server, including the required dependencies such as Java, OpenOffice, FFmpeg, ImageMagick, Ghostscript, and other supporting packages.

Prerequisites

Before starting the installation, ensure the following requirements are met:

  • A Linux server with root access
  • MySQL server installed and running
  • Internet connectivity for downloading packages
  • Basic knowledge of Linux command line operations
  • Sufficient system resources for OpenMeetings and media processing

Implementation

Follow the steps below to install OpenMeetings on a Linux server.

Step 1: Configure MySQL UTF-8 Encoding

First, verify that MySQL is installed on the server.

Edit the MySQL configuration file:

vi /etc/my.cnf

Add the following entries:

default-character-set=utf8
character-set-server=utf8

Save the file and restart MySQL after making the changes.

Step 2: Remove Existing ImageMagick and SoX Packages

Remove older versions of ImageMagick and SoX from the server.

rpm -e ImageMagick-6.2.8.0-4.el5_1.1

rpm -e --nodeps sox-12.18.1-1

Step 3: Install RPMForge Repository

Install the RPMForge repository using the following command:

rpm -Uvh http://pkgs.repoforge.org/rpmforge-release/rpmforge-release-0.3.6-1.el3.rf.x86_64.rpm

Step 4: Configure OpenOffice Auto Start

Edit the rc.local file:

vi /etc/rc.local

Add the following line:

/usr/lib/openoffice.org3/program/soffice "-accept=socket,host=localhost,port=8100;urp;StarOffice.ServiceManager" -nologo -headless -nofirststartwizard &

This ensures OpenOffice starts automatically after reboot.

Step 5: Install Required Packages

Install the required development libraries and dependencies:

yum install freetype freetype-devel fontconfig fontconfig-devel java-1.6.0-openjdk-devel libtiff libtiff-devel libjpeg-devel libjpeg giflib giflib-devel libpaper libpaper-devel xml-commons-apis libpng libpng-devel libxml2 libxml2-devel fftw3 fftw3-devel cairo cairo-devel flac flac-devel wavpack wavpack-devel libsndfile libsndfile-devel libmad libmad-devel yasm-devel yasm gcc gcc-c++

Step 6: Install OpenOffice Packages

Install OpenOffice and its headless components:

yum groupinstall 'Office/Productivity'

yum install openoffice.org-headless

Install Additional Required Modules

1. Install Ghostscript

cd /usr/src
wget http://ghostscript.com/releases/ghostscript-8.71.tar.gz
tar zxvf ghostscript-8.71.tar.gz
cd ghostscript-8.71
./configure --prefix=/usr
mkdir obj
mkdir bin
make all
make install

2. Install LAME

cd /usr/src
wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/lame/lame/3.98.4/lame-3.98.4.tar.gz
tar zxvf lame-3.98.4.tar.gz
cd lame-3.98.4
./configure --prefix=/usr
make all
make install

3. Install SWFTools

cd /usr/src
wget http://www.swftools.org/swftools-0.9.1.tar.gz
tar zxvf swftools-0.9.1.tar.gz
cd swftools-0.9.1
./configure --prefix=/usr
make all
make install

4. Install ImageMagick

cd /usr/src
wget ftp://ftp.imagemagick.org/pub/ImageMagick/ImageMagick-6.6.4-10.tar.gz
tar zxvf ImageMagick-6.6.4-10.tar.gz
cd ImageMagick-6.6.4-10
./configure --prefix=/usr
make all
make install

5. Install SoX

cd /usr/src
wget http://sourceforge.net/projects/sox/files/sox/14.3.1/sox-14.3.1.tar.gz/download?use_mirror=space
tar zxvf sox-14.3.1.tar.gz
cd sox-14.3.1
./configure --prefix=/usr
make all
make install

6. Install SVN

yum install subversion

7. Install FFmpeg

cd /usr/src
svn checkout svn://svn.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg/trunk ffmpeg
cd ffmpeg
./configure --enable-libmp3lame --enable-postproc --enable-gpl --enable-pthreads --enable-avfilter --prefix=/usr
make all
make install

8. Install Java

yum -y install java-1.6.0-openjdk java-1.6.0-openjdk-devel

Install OpenMeetings

Download and install OpenMeetings using the following commands:

wget http://openmeetings.googlecode.com/files/openmeetings_1_9_1_r4707.zip
unzip openmeetings_1_8_8_r4555.zip -d om
cd om/red5/
chmod 755 red5.sh
./red5.sh

Access the OpenMeetings Installation Page

Open your web browser and access:

http://IPADDRESS:5080/openmeetings/install

Complete the installation wizard by providing:

  • Administrator username
  • Password
  • Database details
  • Other required configuration values

Click Install and wait for the setup process to complete.

Access OpenMeetings

After successful installation, access OpenMeetings using:

http://IPADDRESS:5080

Conclusion

You have successfully installed OpenMeetings on your Linux server. The platform is now ready for web conferencing, online meetings, and virtual training sessions. Ensure that all required services such as MySQL, OpenOffice, and Red5 remain active for smooth OpenMeetings functionality.

It is recommended to regularly update system packages and monitor service logs for better performance and security.

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