Warning

Kurento is a low-level platform to create WebRTC applications from scratch. You will be responsible of managing STUN/TURN servers, networking, scalability, etc. If you are new to WebRTC, we recommend using OpenVidu instead.

OpenVidu is an easier to use, higher-level, Open Source platform based on Kurento.

Node.js - One to many video call

This web application consists of a one-to-many video call using WebRTC technology. In other words, it is an implementation of a video broadcasting web application.

Note

Web browsers require using HTTPS to enable WebRTC, so the web server must use SSL and a certificate file. For instructions, check Configure a Node.js server to use HTTPS.

For convenience, this tutorial already provides dummy self-signed certificates (which will cause a security warning in the browser).

For the impatient: running this example

First of all, you should install Kurento Media Server to run this demo. Please visit the installation guide for further information.

Be sure to have installed Node.js in your system. In an Ubuntu machine, you can install it as follows:

curl -sSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

To launch the application, you need to clone the GitHub project where this demo is hosted, install it and run it:

git clone https://github.com/Kurento/kurento.git
cd kurento/tutorials/javascript-node/one2many-call/
git checkout main
npm install
npm start

If you have problems installing any of the dependencies, please remove them and clean the npm cache, and try to install them again:

rm -r node_modules
npm cache clean

Access the application connecting to the URL https://localhost:8443/ in a WebRTC capable browser (Chrome, Firefox).

Note

These instructions work only if Kurento Media Server is up and running in the same machine as the tutorial. However, it is possible to connect to a remote KMS in other machine, simply adding the argument ws_uri to the npm execution command, as follows:

npm start -- --ws_uri=ws://{KMS_HOST}:8888/kurento

In this case you need to use npm version 2. To update it you can use this command:

sudo npm install npm -g

Understanding this example

There will be two types of users in this application: 1 peer sending media (let’s call it Presenter) and N peers receiving the media from the Presenter (let’s call them Viewers). Thus, the Media Pipeline is composed by 1+N interconnected WebRtcEndpoints. The following picture shows a screenshot of the Presenter’s web GUI:

One to many video call screenshot

One to many video call screenshot

To implement this behavior we have to create a Media Pipeline composed by 1+N WebRtcEndpoints. The Presenter peer sends its stream to the rest of the Viewers. Viewers are configured in receive-only mode. The implemented media pipeline is illustrated in the following picture:

One to many video call Media Pipeline

One to many video call Media Pipeline

This is a web application, and therefore it follows a client-server architecture. At the client-side, the logic is implemented in JavaScript. At the server-side we use the Kurento JavaScript Client in order to reach the Kurento Media Server. All in all, the high level architecture of this demo is three-tier. To communicate these entities two WebSockets are used. The first is created between the client browser and a Node.js application server to transport signaling messages. The second is used to communicate the Kurento JavaScript Client executing at Node.js and the Kurento Media Server. This communication is implemented by the Kurento Protocol. For further information, please see this page.

Client and application server communicate using a signaling protocol based on JSON messages over WebSocket ‘s. The normal sequence between client and server is as follows:

1. A Presenter enters in the system. There must be one and only one Presenter at any time. For that, if a Presenter has already present, an error message is sent if another user tries to become Presenter.

2. N Viewers connect to the presenter. If no Presenter is present, then an error is sent to the corresponding Viewer.

  1. Viewers can leave the communication at any time.

4. When the Presenter finishes the session each connected Viewer receives an stopCommunication message and also terminates its session.

We can draw the following sequence diagram with detailed messages between clients and server:

One to many video call signaling protocol

One to many video call signaling protocol

As you can see in the diagram, SDP and ICE candidates need to be exchanged between client and server to establish the WebRTC connection between the Kurento client and server. Specifically, the SDP negotiation connects the WebRtcPeer in the browser with the WebRtcEndpoint in the server. The complete source code of this demo can be found in GitHub.

Application Server Logic

This demo has been developed using the express framework for Node.js, but express is not a requirement for Kurento. The main script of this demo is server.js.

In order to communicate the JavaScript client and the Node.js application server a WebSocket is used. The incoming messages to this WebSocket (variable ws in the code) are conveniently handled to implemented the signaling protocol depicted in the figure before (i.e. messages presenter, viewer, stop, and onIceCandidate).

var ws = require('ws');

[...]

var wss = new ws.Server({
    server : server,
    path : '/one2many'
});

/*
 * Management of WebSocket messages
 */
wss.on('connection', function(ws) {

   var sessionId = nextUniqueId();
   console.log('Connection received with sessionId ' + sessionId);

    ws.on('error', function(error) {
        console.log('Connection ' + sessionId + ' error');
        stop(sessionId);
    });

    ws.on('close', function() {
        console.log('Connection ' + sessionId + ' closed');
        stop(sessionId);
    });

    ws.on('message', function(_message) {
        var message = JSON.parse(_message);
        console.log('Connection ' + sessionId + ' received message ', message);

        switch (message.id) {
        case 'presenter':
         startPresenter(sessionId, ws, message.sdpOffer, function(error, sdpAnswer) {
            if (error) {
               return ws.send(JSON.stringify({
                  id : 'presenterResponse',
                  response : 'rejected',
                  message : error
               }));
            }
            ws.send(JSON.stringify({
               id : 'presenterResponse',
               response : 'accepted',
               sdpAnswer : sdpAnswer
            }));
         });
         break;

        case 'viewer':
         startViewer(sessionId, ws, message.sdpOffer, function(error, sdpAnswer) {
            if (error) {
               return ws.send(JSON.stringify({
                  id : 'viewerResponse',
                  response : 'rejected',
                  message : error
               }));
            }

            ws.send(JSON.stringify({
               id : 'viewerResponse',
               response : 'accepted',
               sdpAnswer : sdpAnswer
            }));
         });
         break;

        case 'stop':
            stop(sessionId);
            break;

        case 'onIceCandidate':
            onIceCandidate(sessionId, message.candidate);
            break;

        default:
            ws.send(JSON.stringify({
                id : 'error',
                message : 'Invalid message ' + message
            }));
            break;
        }
    });
});

In order to control the media capabilities provided by the Kurento Media Server, we need an instance of the KurentoClient in the Node application server. In order to create this instance, we need to specify to the client library the location of the Kurento Media Server. In this example, we assume it’s located at localhost listening in port TCP 8888.

var kurento = require('kurento-client');

var kurentoClient = null;

var argv = minimist(process.argv.slice(2), {
    default: {
        as_uri: 'https://localhost:8443/',
        ws_uri: 'ws://localhost:8888/kurento'
    }
});

[...]

function getKurentoClient(callback) {
    if (kurentoClient !== null) {
        return callback(null, kurentoClient);
    }

    kurento(argv.ws_uri, function(error, _kurentoClient) {
        if (error) {
            console.log("Could not find media server at address " + argv.ws_uri);
            return callback("Could not find media server at address" + argv.ws_uri
                    + ". Exiting with error " + error);
        }

        kurentoClient = _kurentoClient;
        callback(null, kurentoClient);
    });
}

Once the Kurento Client has been instantiated, you are ready for communicating with Kurento Media Server. Our first operation is to create a Media Pipeline, then we need to create the Media Elements and connect them. In this example, we need a WebRtcEndpoint (in send-only mode) for the presenter connected to N WebRtcEndpoint (in receive-only mode) for the viewers. These functions are called in the startPresenter and startViewer function, which is fired when the presenter and viewer message are received respectively:

function startPresenter(sessionId, ws, sdpOffer, callback) {
   clearCandidatesQueue(sessionId);

   if (presenter !== null) {
      stop(sessionId);
      return callback("Another user is currently acting as presenter. Try again later ...");
   }

   presenter = {
      id : sessionId,
      pipeline : null,
      webRtcEndpoint : null
   }

   getKurentoClient(function(error, kurentoClient) {
      if (error) {
         stop(sessionId);
         return callback(error);
      }

      if (presenter === null) {
         stop(sessionId);
         return callback(noPresenterMessage);
      }

      kurentoClient.create('MediaPipeline', function(error, pipeline) {
         if (error) {
            stop(sessionId);
            return callback(error);
         }

         if (presenter === null) {
            stop(sessionId);
            return callback(noPresenterMessage);
         }

         presenter.pipeline = pipeline;
         pipeline.create('WebRtcEndpoint', function(error, webRtcEndpoint) {
            if (error) {
               stop(sessionId);
               return callback(error);
            }

            if (presenter === null) {
               stop(sessionId);
               return callback(noPresenterMessage);
            }

            presenter.webRtcEndpoint = webRtcEndpoint;

                if (candidatesQueue[sessionId]) {
                    while(candidatesQueue[sessionId].length) {
                        var candidate = candidatesQueue[sessionId].shift();
                        webRtcEndpoint.addIceCandidate(candidate);
                    }
                }

                webRtcEndpoint.on('IceCandidateFound', function(event) {
                    var candidate = kurento.getComplexType('IceCandidate')(event.candidate);
                    ws.send(JSON.stringify({
                        id : 'iceCandidate',
                        candidate : candidate
                    }));
                });

            webRtcEndpoint.processOffer(sdpOffer, function(error, sdpAnswer) {
               if (error) {
                  stop(sessionId);
                  return callback(error);
               }

               if (presenter === null) {
                  stop(sessionId);
                  return callback(noPresenterMessage);
               }

               callback(null, sdpAnswer);
            });

                webRtcEndpoint.gatherCandidates(function(error) {
                    if (error) {
                        stop(sessionId);
                        return callback(error);
                    }
                });
            });
        });
   });
}

function startViewer(sessionId, ws, sdpOffer, callback) {
   clearCandidatesQueue(sessionId);

   if (presenter === null) {
      stop(sessionId);
      return callback(noPresenterMessage);
   }

   presenter.pipeline.create('WebRtcEndpoint', function(error, webRtcEndpoint) {
      if (error) {
         stop(sessionId);
         return callback(error);
      }
      viewers[sessionId] = {
         "webRtcEndpoint" : webRtcEndpoint,
         "ws" : ws
      }

      if (presenter === null) {
         stop(sessionId);
         return callback(noPresenterMessage);
      }

      if (candidatesQueue[sessionId]) {
         while(candidatesQueue[sessionId].length) {
            var candidate = candidatesQueue[sessionId].shift();
            webRtcEndpoint.addIceCandidate(candidate);
         }
      }

      webRtcEndpoint.on('IceCandidateFound', function(event) {
          var candidate = kurento.getComplexType('IceCandidate')(event.candidate);
          ws.send(JSON.stringify({
              id : 'iceCandidate',
              candidate : candidate
          }));
      });

      webRtcEndpoint.processOffer(sdpOffer, function(error, sdpAnswer) {
         if (error) {
            stop(sessionId);
            return callback(error);
         }
         if (presenter === null) {
            stop(sessionId);
            return callback(noPresenterMessage);
         }

         presenter.webRtcEndpoint.connect(webRtcEndpoint, function(error) {
            if (error) {
               stop(sessionId);
               return callback(error);
            }
            if (presenter === null) {
               stop(sessionId);
               return callback(noPresenterMessage);
            }

            callback(null, sdpAnswer);
              webRtcEndpoint.gatherCandidates(function(error) {
                  if (error) {
                     stop(sessionId);
                     return callback(error);
                  }
              });
          });
       });
   });
}

As of Kurento Media Server 6.0, the WebRTC negotiation is done by exchanging ICE candidates between the WebRTC peers. To implement this protocol, the webRtcEndpoint receives candidates from the client in IceCandidateFound function. These candidates are stored in a queue when the webRtcEndpoint is not available yet. Then these candidates are added to the media element by calling to the addIceCandidate method.

var candidatesQueue = {};

[...]

function onIceCandidate(sessionId, _candidate) {
    var candidate = kurento.getComplexType('IceCandidate')(_candidate);

    if (presenter && presenter.id === sessionId && presenter.webRtcEndpoint) {
        console.info('Sending presenter candidate');
        presenter.webRtcEndpoint.addIceCandidate(candidate);
    }
    else if (viewers[sessionId] && viewers[sessionId].webRtcEndpoint) {
        console.info('Sending viewer candidate');
        viewers[sessionId].webRtcEndpoint.addIceCandidate(candidate);
    }
    else {
        console.info('Queueing candidate');
        if (!candidatesQueue[sessionId]) {
            candidatesQueue[sessionId] = [];
        }
        candidatesQueue[sessionId].push(candidate);
    }
}

function clearCandidatesQueue(sessionId) {
   if (candidatesQueue[sessionId]) {
      delete candidatesQueue[sessionId];
   }
}

Client-Side Logic

Let’s move now to the client-side of the application. To call the previously created WebSocket service in the server-side, we use the JavaScript class WebSocket. We use a specific Kurento JavaScript library called kurento-utils.js to simplify the WebRTC interaction with the server. This library depends on adapter.js, which is a JavaScript WebRTC utility maintained by Google that abstracts away browser differences. Finally jquery.js is also needed in this application. These libraries are linked in the index.html web page, and are used in the index.js. In the following snippet we can see the creation of the WebSocket (variable ws) in the path /one2many. Then, the onmessage listener of the WebSocket is used to implement the JSON signaling protocol in the client-side. Notice that there are three incoming messages to client: presenterResponse, viewerResponse, stopCommunication, and iceCandidate. Convenient actions are taken to implement each step in the communication.

var ws = new WebSocket('ws://' + location.host + '/one2many');
var webRtcPeer;

const I_CAN_START = 0;
const I_CAN_STOP = 1;
const I_AM_STARTING = 2;

[...]

ws.onmessage = function(message) {
   var parsedMessage = JSON.parse(message.data);
   console.info('Received message: ' + message.data);

   switch (parsedMessage.id) {
   case 'presenterResponse':
      presenterResponse(parsedMessage);
      break;
   case 'viewerResponse':
      viewerResponse(parsedMessage);
      break;
   case 'stopCommunication':
      dispose();
      break;
   case 'iceCandidate':
      webRtcPeer.addIceCandidate(parsedMessage.candidate)
      break;
   default:
      console.error('Unrecognized message', parsedMessage);
   }
}

function presenterResponse(message) {
   if (message.response != 'accepted') {
      var errorMsg = message.message ? message.message : 'Unknow error';
      console.warn('Call not accepted for the following reason: ' + errorMsg);
      dispose();
   } else {
      webRtcPeer.processAnswer(message.sdpAnswer);
   }
}

function viewerResponse(message) {
   if (message.response != 'accepted') {
      var errorMsg = message.message ? message.message : 'Unknow error';
      console.warn('Call not accepted for the following reason: ' + errorMsg);
      dispose();
   } else {
      webRtcPeer.processAnswer(message.sdpAnswer);
   }
}

On the one hand, the function presenter uses the method WebRtcPeer.WebRtcPeerSendonly of kurento-utils.js to start a WebRTC communication in send-only mode. On the other hand, the function viewer uses the method WebRtcPeer.WebRtcPeerRecvonly of kurento-utils.js to start a WebRTC communication in receive-only mode.

function presenter() {
   if (!webRtcPeer) {
      showSpinner(video);

      var options = {
         localVideo: video,
         onicecandidate : onIceCandidate
       }

      webRtcPeer = kurentoUtils.WebRtcPeer.WebRtcPeerSendonly(options, function(error) {
         if(error) return onError(error);

         this.generateOffer(onOfferPresenter);
      });
   }
}

function onOfferPresenter(error, offerSdp) {
   if (error) return onError(error);

   var message = {
      id : 'presenter',
      sdpOffer : offerSdp
   };
   sendMessage(message);
}

function viewer() {
   if (!webRtcPeer) {
      showSpinner(video);

      var options = {
         remoteVideo: video,
         onicecandidate : onIceCandidate
      }

      webRtcPeer = kurentoUtils.WebRtcPeer.WebRtcPeerRecvonly(options, function(error) {
         if(error) return onError(error);

         this.generateOffer(onOfferViewer);
      });
   }
}

function onOfferViewer(error, offerSdp) {
   if (error) return onError(error)

   var message = {
      id : 'viewer',
      sdpOffer : offerSdp
   }
   sendMessage(message);
}

Dependencies

Server-side dependencies of this demo are managed using NPM. Our main dependency is the Kurento Client JavaScript (kurento-client). The relevant part of the package.json file for managing this dependency is:

"dependencies": {
   [...]
   "kurento-client" : "7.0.0"
}

At the client side, dependencies are managed using Bower. Take a look to the bower.json file and pay attention to the following section:

"dependencies": {
   [...]
   "kurento-utils" : "7.0.0"
}

Note

You can find the latest version of Kurento JavaScript Client at npm and Bower.