Managing a JackTrip server yourself is unnecessary, but can offer benefits for some people.
JackTrip's studio sessions are normally powered by cloud servers managed by JackTrip Labs. This is completely transparent so that no IT skills are required. Most people are better off letting us manage all the server stuff for them. However, there are situations where managing a server yourself can be beneficial, for example:
- if you and the people you are performing with are physically located more than a few hundred miles away from any of the locations that currently have managed servers available, and you want to get the lowest latency possible
- if you want to have more control over the server's audio routing, processing, or other settings that are not exposed for managed servers
- if you are located on an "air gapped" network or just want to keep all of your traffic on the same LAN
Managing your own JackTrip server requires some IT skills, including the ability to add firewall and port forwarding rules in your Internet router.
Today we offer a few options:
- Use the jacktrip/studio container to run a full-featured JackTrip studio server. This requires more setup, but includes video, recording, livestreaming, real-time DSP effects, backing tracks, latency synchronization, etc. Step-by-step instructions are available here.
- Use the jacktrip/jacktrip container to run a bare bones JackTrip audio server. This does not support video or any other features, but can be as simple as just running a single command. Step-by-step instructions are available here.
- Use the "classic mode" or "QJackTrip" graphical interface. This is also for audio only, and requires setting up and managing a separate JACK server to manage all of the audio routing. See here for more information.
- Run "jacktrip" from the command line using the "-S" parameter. This is also for audio only, and requires setting up and managing a separate JACK server to manage all of the audio routing. Run "jacktrip --help" for more instructions.
When you create a new studio on JackTrip.com, it will start out using servers that are automatically managed for you. Follow these steps to convert it to using your own "unmanaged server."
Registering unmanaged servers with JackTrip.com does not require a paid subscription. Using the jacktrip/studio container with a paid subscription will enable your unmanaged studio servers to use all the features included. Without a paid subscription, your unmanaged studios will still be able use all the features included in the "Lite" plan.