How To Create A PeerTube Instance on FediHost

PeerTube is a fediverse video platform capable of hosting videos and live streaming. It takes most users between 5-10 minutes to start an instance depending on their level of experience with changing DNS records.

Login or Register

Login or Sign-Up for Fedihost using an email address and password. This email address will recieve important billing and administrative emails in relation to the instance.

Choose New Service

On the left menu, navigate to the "New Service" tab and choose "Peertube" as the service you would like to add.

Select Plan

You can now choose, which plan you would like for your peertube server.

Support Level

We prioritize support based on plan size and support is provided within reason. Fedihost does not maintain the code that we host on your behalf. Repeated requests for support that are not related to the hosting, may be billed at rates outlined in our terms of service.

Encoder Count

More encoders mean a shorter wait for your users videos to be ready to share. We have dedicated encoding machines which transcode your uploaded videos into different resolutions for viewers to stream. Each resolution that you specify creates a new encoding job when a new video is uploaded.

Encoder Example: If you offer videos at 480p, 720p and 1080p this will produce at least 3 encoding jobs. With 3 encoders this will be processed concurrently in the shortest time possible. With 1 encoder it could take quite a while for each job in the queue to be processed.

We recommend starting with a lower number of encoders, if you find it is taking too long for your videos to encode, upgrade to a plan with a higher number of encoders. Both upgrading and downgrading is possible so you can adjust until you find the setting that is right for you. You can monitored the queued encoder jobs under Administration > System > Runner Jobs.

Video Studio

Peertube has a simple built in video editing studio, which lets you edit your uploaded videos. It requires a more powerful server to edit and encode the video file.

Livestreams

Peertube also offers live streaming which can be connected to common streaming tools like OBS. It also requires a more powerful server due to the resource usage of receiving and encoding video streams.

Storage

if you don't already have a Fedihost storage plan you may select one here. It is easy to upgrade and downgrade storage as you go, which is often the case with a peertube instance over time.

Domain Settings

Domain settings let you decide what address you would like your peertube instance to appear at. You can bring a custom domain or use a fedihost domain.

Custom Domain

If you own a domain, you will need to have access to the DNS settings for the donain to point them to Fedihosts servers. These are usually something you can configure in the same place that you registered the domain, but not always.

The domain cannot be at the same address as a website that already exists. If you already have a website at an address the most common solution is to use a subdomain for your peertube instance.

Subdomain Example: Because consultatron.com already has a website at this address they used videos.consultatron.com as the domain for their peertube instance.

Enter Domain

Enter in the domain that you would like to use into the box.

Update DNS

On your DNS provider update the records to match the table which the FediHost control panel generates.

Record Type: CNAME vs ALIAS

If you are using a subdomain such as video.consultatron.com you will need to create a CNAME record. On some DNS hosts you may not see a CNAME option, if that is the case, use an Alias Instead.

If you are putting your website on the root domain such as consultatron.com you will use an ALIAS record. You should also check that there is not an existing "A" record which some DNS hosts use to "park" the domain with a friendly welcome page. If there is an A record, you will need to delete it so that the ALIAS can be saved.

TTL

The TTL should be set to a low number so that the record updates quickly. It doesn't have to be 600.

DNS Delays DNS record record can take a long time to propagate, we are working on a system that will let you skip and come back to this step for a future update

Hostname

Hostname (AKA host) is the field where you put the domain you entered. A common issue occurs here when the DNS provider automatically appends the domain to the record you pasted in. So for example instead of the CNAME record saying `m.consultatron.com` it actually is saying `m.consultatron.com.consultatron.com`.

Target

The target (AKA Answer, Value) is the field where you enter the "Target" address provided by FediHost.

Fedihost Domain

If you do not have a domain, you can always use a fedihost subdomain. These deploy instantly and require no extra expense or custom domain.

Portability Warning: Using a fedihost subdomain means if you decide to move your peertube instance you won't be able to keep the same domain if you move elsewhere.

Review And Checkout

The next step lets you review your order and pay through stripe. Once you complete payment, your peer tube instance will be provisioned within minutes. You will receive an email in your inbox letting you know when this is done.