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Would you like your video portal or KAF SaaS environment to have a more personalized touch? You can easily set up a custom domain name, like videos.company.com or kaf.university.edu, to make your platform truly your own.
When you first set up a new Video Portal or KAF instance, Kaltura provides a default domain name for you, for example, <partner ID>.mediaspace.kaltura.com. You can replace this default domain with your company or school's domain name in just a few simple steps.
Setup a custom domain
- Make sure you know your Kaltura instance URL. You can reach out to your Kaltura representative or check if you have the following options:
- for MediaSpace: <partner ID>.mediaspace.kaltura.com
- for KAF: <partner ID>.kaf.kaltura.com
- If you're in a SaaS region, your default URL might have a different suffix, like <partner ID>.mediaspace.eu2.kaltura.com or <partner ID>.kaf.eu2.kaltura.com.
- Choose a new alias for your instance under your own domain, for example, videos.company.com or kaf.university.edu.
- 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).
It may take a day or more for the changes to take effect.
- Navigate to your Configuration Management console, and set the new alias in the Hostnames Module.
If your organization doesn't allow issuing a certificate by Cloudflare, see the Alternative DNS/certificate option section below.
Note to Canvas users
If your organization uses Canvas as its Learning Management System (LMS), you'll need to issue a developer key for the new subdomain. An account administrator for your school can issue a developer key 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.
FAQs
1. Can I use a Kaltura domain for my new hostname?
No, you can't set a new alias using a Kaltura domain in the hostname module.
2. Why 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 in our article How to avoid the "3rd party cookie" error message in the KAF based LMS Integrations.
3. What about SSL certificates?
SSL certificates are issued and automatically renewed for your convenience.
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 database. If this was done in error, contact your Kaltura representative for a resolution.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 administrator for help.
Alternative DNS / certificate option
This section is for situations where your organization doesn't allow issuing a certificate by Cloudflare, and would like to manually manage the certificate.
When you use a CNAME for your Video Portal or KAF application, Kaltura handles the certificate automatically using Cloudflare. This means:
- you don't need to remember renewal dates.
- there's no manual actions required for certificate renewals.
If your organization doesn't allow automated certificate management through Cloudflare or has other policies against it, you can set up a custom hostname using your own CDN account. This allows you to manage the SSL certificate directly within your CDN. Learn more in the next section.
Set up DNS and CDN
To set up your custom alias (like videos.company.com), you'll need to:
- Manage your DNS records within your CDN or point to the CDN using a CNAME.
- Configure the CDN to forward requests to your KMS / KAF application URL (for example, 12345-1.mediaspace.kaltura.com).
Tips
- Talk to your IT or CDN provider for guidance on setting up a domain proxy and handling SSL certificates.
- Important: Disable any caching rules in the CDN for your proxied domain.
- Ensure the HOST header (your alias, for example, videos.company.com) is used in the forwarded request to your KMS / KAF application.
Complete the setup with Kaltura
After setting up your CDN or proxy, reach out to your Kaltura representative to add the alias to your application.
