You contribute
Media-node capacity
Provide server capacity to the shared media-node pool and become part of the federation's infrastructure. The eduMEET team installs and manages all software.
Participation
Contribute infrastructure to the federation
The African eduMEET Federation is seeded by WACREN and built by the NRENs that join it. Contribute media-node capacity, become part of the shared infrastructure pool, and run your own trusted video service under your own domain.
How to participate
Two paths into the federation
NRENs can join as infrastructure contributors — donating CPU cores and earning slot entitlement — or as service subscribers using shared capacity without hosting nodes. Both paths can be combined.
In return
Service entitlement
Receive concurrent-slot entitlement and run your own branded eduMEET service under your own domain — at no cash cost for the capacity you contribute.
Cannot host infrastructure yet? NRENs can also use the federation as service subscribers — see subscriber details below.
How capacity is counted
Rooms are just rooms
The African eduMEET Federation does not require separate room types to be configured in advance. Every active room is classified automatically by its current participant count.
Classification is measured during the session. A room can move between categories as participants join or leave — so a tutorial that grows into a lecture is handled automatically.
| Current participants | Classified as | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 1–100 | Meeting | Tutorials, team meetings, small classes |
| 101–300 | Lecture | Lectures, seminars, workshops |
| 301–1,000 | Webinar | Conferences, large events, town halls |
Infrastructure credits
Donate cores, receive slot entitlement
Infrastructure contributors receive concurrent-slot entitlements in return for donated CPU cores. The donated infrastructure can be allocated across Meeting, Lecture, and Webinar categories.
Allocation can be adjusted for the next billing period, so NRENs can adapt their service mix as usage patterns develop.
| Category | Core-to-slot conversion | 48-core server example |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting | 1 core = 1 Meeting slot | 48 Meeting slots |
| Lecture | 2 cores = 1 Lecture slot | 24 Lecture slots |
| Webinar | 8 cores = 1 Webinar slot | 6 Webinar slots |
If peak usage exceeds your entitlement, the extra usage is billed as overage — meetings are never blocked. Contact WACREN for current African pricing on overage and subscriber capacity.
Service subscribers
Use the federation without hosting infrastructure
NRENs that cannot contribute media nodes can still join the African eduMEET Federation as subscribers, using the shared capacity built by WACREN and contributing NRENs.
Subscriber organisations do not need to provide local media node infrastructure. They can use the shared federated infrastructure under their own branded domain and identity integration.
Pricing is based on peak concurrent usage per category, not on the number of named users. This is typically significantly more cost-effective than per-host commercial licensing.
African subscriber pricing is currently being finalised to reflect the African R&E context. Contact WACREN to discuss your expected capacity needs.
When subscription fits
A paid path into the federation
- No local server capacity available
- Want branded service and SSO under your domain
- Can contribute infrastructure later
- Need a bridge while NREN PoP comes online
What contributing involves
Provide a media node — the eduMEET team runs the rest
Contributors provide a server with a public IPv4 address and a configured firewall. The eduMEET team installs and maintains the eduMEET software, manages updates, and operates the federation layer.
Server sizing, firewall rules, DNS, and optional SSO/OpenID Connect integration are described in detail in the technical onboarding guide.
View technical requirementsContributor checklist
At a glance
- Server with a public IPv4 address
- Ubuntu 24.04 installed
- Firewall configured for media and management traffic
- DNS record for your service domain
- Optional: SSO via OpenID Connect / eduID.africa / BonafID
Ready to join?
Discuss contributing to the African federation
Tell us about your NREN, the infrastructure you can contribute, and your expected use case. WACREN will follow up to begin the onboarding process.