Setting Up an Alias Hostname for KMS and KAF


Overview

This article will describe how to setup a custom domain name, for example, videos.company.com or kaf.university.edu to your Kaltura's MediaSpace or KAF SaaS environments.

For each new KMS and KAF SaaS instances Kaltura offers a default Kaltura domain. The domain name for each instance is:

  • For MediaSpace: <partner ID>.mediaspace.kaltura.com
  • For KAF instances:  <partner ID>.kaf.kaltura.com

For SaaS regions, the URL may be different (e.g., <partner ID>.mediaspace.eu2.kaltura.com, <partner ID>.kaf.eu2.kaltura.com)

Adding your company or school's domain can be done in a few short steps.

If you are using Canvas

If you are using Canvas, a developer key must be issued to the new subdomain. An account admin for the school can do this by following this guide: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-4675.
A Vanity URL and a Dev Scoped Key are required in both LTI 1.1, and LTI 1.3, to learn more see Kaltura Video App for Canvas Upgrading from LTI 1.1 to LTI 1.3.

Setup a Custom Domain for your app

Prepare Your Alias

  1. Make sure you know your Kaltura instance URL.
    You can reach out to your Kaltura representative or check of the following options: 
    • For MediaSpace: <partner ID>.mediaspace.kaltura.com, or
    • For KAF: <partner ID>.kaf.kaltura.com
  2. Choose a new alias for your instance under your own domain.
    For example, videos.company.com or kaf.university.edu.
  3. Contact your IT department or web host provider, and ask them to configure a CNAME DNS record to point the new alias chosen in step #2, to the Kaltura URL from step #1.  
    Note, the change made by your IT/web host provider might take a day or more to propagate.
  4. Navigate to your KMS or KAF admin, and set the new alias from the Hostnames Module. See instructions below on how to use the hostnames module.

If your organization does not allow issuing a certificate by Cloudflare/DigiCert, see the Alternative DNS/certificate option section

Using the Hostnames Module

  1. Navigate to https://{your_site_url}/admin/config/tab/hostnames
    • If a "Tab "hostnames" not found!" alert shows, contact your Kaltura representative and ask them to enable the module on your instance.
  2. Make sure the module is set to Enable = Yes.
  3. Click on the "Navigate to the hostnames page" link or navigate to "https://{your_site_url}/hostnames/admin/hostnames". The hostnames page will appear, presenting all current hostnames for the application.
  4. Click on the "Add Hostname" button. The 'Add Hostname' modal box will appear:
  5. Enter your chosen alias, and click the "Check Availability/Ownership" button. The new alias will show in the list in status pending.
    An alert text will appear: "The selected hostname is set in the background. You can refresh the page to check the status of the new hostname."
  6. The setup process will happen in the background, and the status will change automatically to "Ready", once the process is completed. 



Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I set a new hostname using the Kaltura domain?

Setting a new alias to your site under the Kaltura domains is blocked in the hostname module, and admins will not be able to select a different Kaltura domain alias using the module.

2. Why should I use my company's domain for the KAF instance?

Since the KAF is used in an LMS that is hosted under a separate domain, cookies used by KAF are considered 3rd party. Using the process above to setup your KAF instance under your company's domain, will prevent the 3rd party cookies alerts on browsers.
Learn more about How to avoid the "3rd party cookie" error message in the KAF based LMS Integrations.

3. What about SSL certificates? 

The SSL certificate is issued and then renewed automatically.

4. I received an error message, what do I do next?
  • Error message: Availability failed: The hostname you have selected is already in use by a different application. Contact Kaltura customer care for more information. 
    The hostname you selected is already in use in the KMS DB, if that was done in error, contact your Kaltura representative for help. 

  • Error message: Ownership failed: No CNAME was detected for the selected hostname on your domain's DNS. Please contact your domain provider for assistance.
    The ownership test that we performed shows that the CNAME is not pointing correctly in your DNS. Check with your IT or domain admin to ensure this step was completed.


Alternative DNS/certificate option

This section is for situations where your organization does not allow issuing a certificate by Cloudflare/DigiCert and wishes to manually manage the certificate


Using a CNAME as a custom hostname for your KMS/KAF application means that the certificate is managed in a fully automated way (Kaltura utilizes Cloudflare for that purpose).

Automated certificate management means there's no need to remember when a renewal is due or perform any action for renewing a certificate.

In case your organization has policies that prevent the use of automated certificate management (generally, or specifically through Cloudflare) there is an alternative way to set up a custom hostname for your application using your own CDN account. That way, the SSL certificate will be managed by you in the CDN. In the next section, you will learn how. 

Setup DNS and CDN

You will be required to manage your alias (e.g. videos.company.com) DNS records in the CDN (or use CNAME to point to the CDN) and configure the CDN to proxy the requests to your KMS/KAF application URL (e.g. 12345-1.mediaspace.kaltura.com).

Consult with your IT or CDN provider on how to set up a domain proxy and manage the SSL certificate in the CDN.

Some best practices and setup guidelines:

  • Make sure to disable any caching rules in the CDN for the proxied domain.
  • The HOST header (i.e. your alias, like videos.company.com) should be the one used in the proxied request (from the CDN to your KMS/KAF application)

Complete the Setup on Kaltura

Once you have set up either a CDN or proxy, contact your Kaltura representative and ask for the alias to be added to your application.

Was this article helpful?
Thank you for your feedback!
In This Article
Related Articles
Back to top

Never miss a thing!

Subscribe to our customer newsletter and our release notes updates, so you always get the best out of Kaltura.
Newsletter