BigBlueButton module

The virtual classroom BigBlueButton is activated in the system administration:
Administration > External tools > BigBlueButton

This article describes the configuration of multiple BigBlueButton servers, the distribution of the online meetings across these servers and setting up system-wide room templates.

Instructions on how to configure individual online meetings for course owners are described in the chapter Course Element "BigBlueButton".

Tab "Configuration"

frentix customers

For frentix customers, their customer advisor at frentix takes care of the settings in the tab "Configuration".

Module "BigBlueButton": Activation of the functionality
Activate for: Activation of the functionality individually for course element "BigBlueButton", course events , course element "Appointment scheduling", groups and supervisor chat
Online-Meetings without date: Additional option to activate permanent reservations without a date in addition to online meetings. These are not visible in the calendar and count as booked at any time in the limits of the room template.
Import profile picture: The profile picture from the OpenOlat user profile is shown as an avatar in the online meeting. Guests and users without a profile picture get no avatar
Servers: In the configuration the available BigBlueButton servers per OpenOlat instance are entered.
Button "Add server": see below for details >
Recording handler: Native or Opencast
Never delete recordings: The recordings are kept on the external server, even if the online meeting or the course in OpenOlat is deleted. The option only appears if "Opencast" is selected as recording handler
Default settings for the publication of recordings: Default setting for who can see new recordings. The available options are "Owners and coaches", "Course / group participants", "All meeting's attendees (without guests)" and "Guests". When creating an online meeting, the default setting can be overridden
Delete meetings automatically: x days after meeting end
Limit of all presentation files per meeting (MB): Mandatory field with specification of permitted megabytes

Activation per area, server list, recording handler and deletion period of the online meetings

Add BigBlueButton server

Click on the "Add server" button in the "Configuration" tab to open a pop-up for the details.

BigBlueButton API URL: URL of the BBB server
Shared secret: API key of the BBB server
Capacity factor: Weighting of the server when the online meetings are distributed
Activate server: The server is available for new online meetings
Manual selection only: The server only takes online meetings for which it was selected by hand
Button "Check server connection": Checks the access to the server specified here.

API URL and shared secret are mandatory, Check server connection verifies the entries before saving

Tab "Servers"

The tab shows how heavily the BigBlueButton servers of this OpenOlat instance are currently loaded and whether they can be reached. Per server it shows the capacity, running meetings, number of people by role and medium, and the load. The column "Status" shows "Available" with a check mark or "Seems to be offline" with a warning icon.

Status column framed: eight servers with a warning icon, only the one with a check mark carries meetings and participants, the filter switches between all OpenOlats and this OpenOlat

Distribution across the servers

OpenOlat distributes the load of simultaneous online meetings across the available BigBlueButton servers itself. It counts the number of videos and the number of participants in the running online meetings. At the start of an online meeting, OpenOlat selects the server with the lowest load. Depending on the configuration, a moderator or the first participant starts it. The load results from these values, weighted with the value in the "Capacity factor" field.

Use the filter to show the key figures for all OpenOlat instances on the BigBlueButton server ("All OpenOlats") or only for the online meetings of this instance ("This OpenOlat").

Capacity factor

The "Capacity factor" field takes a value between 1 and 100 per server. The calculated number of users on the server is multiplied by this value. In this count, video users weigh most, then audio users, then viewers. This way, a server with stronger performance (RAM/CPU/disk) adapts to a weaker one.

Server "Seems to be offline"

frentix customers

For frentix customers, their customer advisor at frentix takes care of maintaining the servers.

If a server shows the warning icon "Seems to be offline" in the column "Status", it has not answered the query from OpenOlat. In the image above, only one of nine registered servers answers. If several servers are activated, OpenOlat distributes new online meetings only to the servers that answer. If only one server is activated, OpenOlat uses it without this check. Automatic distribution never chooses a server with "Manual selection only".

How to clarify a server with a warning icon:

Check whether the server is running and can be reached at the registered URL. To do so, open the server in the tab "Configuration" and click "Check server connection".
If the server is permanently out of service, remove the checkmark "Activate server" in the same dialog. The column "Status" then shows "Disabled", and OpenOlat no longer distributes new online meetings to this server.

Online meetings assigned to a disabled server show the message "Server is currently not available." in the detail view.

Attention

If you delete a server, OpenOlat also deletes all online meetings and recordings of this server. For a server out of service, disabling it is enough.

Tab "Room-templates"

frentix customers

For frentix customers, their customer advisor at frentix takes care of the settings in the tab "Room-templates".

The room templates are available for selection when creating a new online meeting. The templates control:

The available functions and standard settings in the online meeting.
The number of possible simultaneous participants per room.
Limits regarding the duration and the number of online rooms available.

Use the "New room template" button to create a new room template. The system templates delivered with OpenOlat (column "System") can be edited but not deleted.

Per room template rooms, participants and duration, Delete only for own templates, not for system templates

Configuration of a room template

Room name: Name of the room template
Description: Description of the room template (e.g. learning scenario, field of application)
Number of participants: Maximum number of participants (viewers)
Duration (minutes): Maximum length of the online meetings
Enable room-template: Activated room templates are available in courses/groups for new online meetings and can be chosen by course owners
Number of rooms: Maximum number of concurrent rooms of this room template
Open for external users: OpenOlat automatically generates a direct link for external users so that they can enter the BigBlueButton room without calling OpenOlat first. The link is displayed in the room configuration and can be changed by course owners or coaches if necessary and passed on to guests.
Accept joining users:
- Disabled (Everyone can enter immediately.)
- All users (Every entry must be confirmed.)
- Only guests and external users (Only the entry of guests and external users must be confirmed.)
Room-template activated for: Determines which roles can use the room template for new online meetings. If the "Group user" option is activated, the template can also be used and further configured in OpenOlat groups.

Room name, participants and duration define the room, the list at the bottom releases the template per role

Default settings of the room template

These default settings determine how a room with this template behaves at the start: whether only the moderators' camera is visible, whether microphones are muted on entry, whether recordings and breakout rooms are allowed, and whether participants are locked on entry. Each default setting is a choice between Yes and No. The rows "Automatically start recording" and "Allow starting and stopping of recordings" only appear when "Allow meeting recording" is set to Yes. The row "Prevent disabling of the automatic locking by the moderator" only appears when "Put participants into lock mode on join" is set to Yes.

Each behaviour is a yes-no choice, from "Webcams only for moderators" to protecting the automatic lock from being disabled by moderators

Default settings for locked participants

In the section "For locked participants..." you define which functions a lock disables in the room: camera, microphone, public and private chat, shared notes, the list of participants and the layout adjustment. The lock applies from entry when "Put participants into lock mode on join" is set to Yes.

Seven yes-no choices set what the lock disables, from webcam to layout changes

Tab "Online-meetings"

Overview of the configured online meetings with the possibility to switch directly to the course or the group (context) or to delete the online meeting. Use the search and the filters to find specific BigBlueButton rooms, mark them and delete them in bulk if necessary. If OpenOlat deletes online meetings automatically, the column "Auto delete" shows the date of deletion.

Online meetings of the instance with search field and filter, per meeting start, end, deletion date, room template, server, context and Delete link

Tab "Calendar"

Calendar overview of all recorded online meetings to check times with high occupancy and to display overlaps graphically.

All online meetings of the instance in the week view, switchable to month, day and year

Further information

Course Element "BigBlueButton" >
Using Group Tools >
Virtual classrooms >
Frequently asked questions - BigBlueButton >
Course Element "Appointment scheduling" >
Absence management >

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