duration parameter on create API not working?

[Pedro Melo]

Hi,

I'm using the create API from our app, but the duration parameter is
not respected. Meetings will always be removed a some minutes after we
create them.

I need to pre-create meeting rooms to be used by others in the
following hours, and to keep them open for a couple of days. Is this
possible right now?

If not, I can always check to see if the meeting is running, and
re-created before joining, but that means re-uploading all the slides,
and loosing chat history AFAIK.

Thanks,
--
Pedro Melo
@pedromelo
http://www.simplicidade.org/
http://about.me/melo
xmpp:me...@simplicidade.org
mailto:me...@simplicidade.org

[Fred Dixon]

Hi Pedro,

If you don't send a duration parameter, there is a global default duration in

    /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/bigbluebutton/WEB-INF/classes/bigbluebutton.properties

which is set to 0

# Default duration of the meeting in minutes.

# Current default is 0 (meeting doesn't end).

defaultMeetingDuration=0

What may be happening is that when the last user leaves the room, the BigBlueButton server automatically removes the meeting.  The architecture of BigBlueButton is not designed to maintain persistent rooms; rather, it's more stateless like a web server, in which it responds to the request to create a room when needed, keeps the room active as long as there are participants, and deletes the room from memory shortly after the last person leaves.

In other words, you don't need to pre-allocate a room with BigBlueButton.  Much like you don't pre-fetch a file from a web server.  When you need the room, you create it.  (Like the web server, when you need the file, you fetch it).

There is no database in BigBlueButton for meetings, no permanent storage for keeping track of chat messages, files, presentations, and other data.  In contrast, if BigBlueButton did support a persistent room, it would need to store all the data, provide facilities for back, deletion, and management of the data -- lots of extra overhead.

Our recommendation is not to try and use BigBlueButton for permanent rooms, but rather create them as needed.

Regards,... Fred

-- 
BigBlueButton Developer

http://bigbluebutton.org/
http://code.google.com/p/bigbluebutton

BigBlueButton on twitter: @bigbluebutton

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[Pedro Melo]

Hi,

On Tue, Sep 11, 2012 at 5:51 PM, Fred Dixon <ffd...@gmail.com> wrote:
> If you don't send a duration parameter, there is a global default duration
> in
>
> /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/bigbluebutton/WEB-INF/classes/bigbluebutton.properties
>
> which is set to 0
>
> # Default duration of the meeting in minutes.
> # Current default is 0 (meeting doesn't end).
> defaultMeetingDuration=0

Yes I saw that, but I'm sending a duration of 3 days (in minutes), and
still the room disappears after a couple of minutes.

Do I need to immediately enter the room, just to start the clock?

> What may be happening is that when the last user leaves the room, the
> BigBlueButton server automatically removes the meeting. The architecture of
> BigBlueButton is not designed to maintain persistent rooms; rather, it's
> more stateless like a web server, in which it responds to the request to
> create a room when needed, keeps the room active as long as there are
> participants, and deletes the room from memory shortly after the last person
> leaves.

I can understand that, but the room is being removed before anyone
even enters the room.

> In other words, you don't need to pre-allocate a room with BigBlueButton.
> Much like you don't pre-fetch a file from a web server. When you need the
> room, you create it. (Like the web server, when you need the file, you
> fetch it).

[...]

> Our recommendation is not to try and use BigBlueButton for permanent rooms,
> but rather create them as needed.

Ok, I'll rework my solution to take this in account.

Still, something is going on with the duration parameter. At least I
was expecting BBB to keep the room open until the duration time...

Thank you for your answers,

[HostBBB.com]

Pedro, your duratiion=(3days) if for how long the meeting lasts once
it is started and people remain in the room... Not just created.

When you create a meeting, it is destroyed unless someone joins it
within a speciifed time. Here is the setting that controls this,
defaults to 5 minutes.

defaultMeetingCreateJoinDuration=5

If no one joins your meeting in 5 minutes its destroyed and cant be
started unless it is created again.

Again, duration is how long the meeting lasts one someone has joined,
the meeting is forcibly ended after duration is met...

regards,
Stephen
http://hostbbb.com

On Sep 11, 1:15 pm, Pedro Melo <m...@simplicidade.org> wrote:
> Hi,
>

> On Tue, Sep 11, 2012 at 5:51 PM, Fred Dixon <ffdi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > If you don't send a duration parameter, there is a global default duration
> > in
>

> > /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/bigbluebutton/WEB-INF/classes/bigbluebutton.proper­ties

> xmpp:m...@simplicidade.org
> mailto:m...@simplicidade.org

[Pedro Melo]

Hi,

On Tue, Sep 11, 2012 at 11:36 PM, HostBBB.com <207...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Pedro, your duratiion=(3days) if for how long the meeting lasts once
> it is started and people remain in the room... Not just created.
>
> When you create a meeting, it is destroyed unless someone joins it
> within a speciifed time. Here is the setting that controls this,
> defaults to 5 minutes.
>
> defaultMeetingCreateJoinDuration=5
>
> If no one joins your meeting in 5 minutes its destroyed and cant be
> started unless it is created again.
>
> Again, duration is how long the meeting lasts one someone has joined,

> the meeting is forcibly ended after duration is met…


Thank you, this explains the behaviour I'm seeing…

Bye,

[Calvin Walton]

On Tue, 2012-09-11 at 18:15 +0100, Pedro Melo wrote:
> > In other words, you don't need to pre-allocate a room with BigBlueButton.
> > Much like you don't pre-fetch a file from a web server. When you need the
> > room, you create it. (Like the web server, when you need the file, you
> > fetch it).
> [...]
> > Our recommendation is not to try and use BigBlueButton for permanent rooms,
> > but rather create them as needed.
>
> Ok, I'll rework my solution to take this in account.
>
> Still, something is going on with the duration parameter. At least I
> was expecting BBB to keep the room open until the duration time...

The way that most of the current BigBlueButton integrations handle this
is that every time a user joins the meeting, the integration will
actually do two requests: First, it will create the meeting, then it
will join the meeting.

This way the meeting is created immediately before the user joins, so
you can be sure it will be available on the server.

If the meeting already exists when someone joins, that's not a problem;
the create call will give you back an error saying that the meeting
already exists and you can just send the user to the join URL.

--
Calvin Walton
Blindside Networks http://www.blindsidenetworks.com/

[Pedro Melo]

Hi,

Yes, I updated my integration code to work like that. Whenever someone
gets a success call to create, I store the passwords and create_time.
When others get the failure, they look up that information to build
the join URL.

Thanks,