Static IP Address

Is it necessary to have a static public ip address for DOCKER_HOST_ADDRESS ?

In Jitsi, the DOCKER_HOST_ADDRESS environment variable is used to specify the public IP address or domain name of the server that will be used for WebRTC connectivity. This is necessary because WebRTC uses a technique called "hole punching" to establish peer-to-peer connections between clients, and the server's public IP address is required to facilitate this process.

However, it's not strictly necessary to have a static public IP address for DOCKER_HOST_ADDRESS. Here are a few alternatives:

Dynamic DNS (DDNS): If you have a dynamic public IP address, you can use a DDNS service to assign a domain name to your server's current IP address. This way, even if your IP address changes, the domain name will remain the same, and Jitsi will continue to work.
Load balancer or reverse proxy: If you're behind a load balancer or reverse proxy, you can use the IP address or domain name of the load balancer or reverse proxy as the DOCKER_HOST_ADDRESS. This way, the load balancer or reverse proxy will handle the WebRTC traffic and forward it to your Jitsi server.
NAT traversal: Some Jitsi configurations use NAT traversal techniques, such as STUN (Session Traversal Utilities for NAT) or TURN (Traversal Using Relays around NAT), to allow WebRTC traffic to pass through firewalls and NATs. In these cases, the DOCKER_HOST_ADDRESS may not need to be a public IP address, as the NAT traversal mechanism will handle the translation.

However, if you don't have a static public IP address, a DDNS setup, or a load balancer/reverse proxy, you may encounter issues with WebRTC connectivity, such as:

Clients may not be able to connect to each other
Audio or video streams may not work
Screen sharing may not work

To mitigate these issues, you can try the following:

Use a cloud provider that offers a static public IP address or a load balancer/reverse proxy service
Set up a DDNS service to assign a domain name to your server's current IP address
Configure Jitsi to use NAT traversal techniques, such as STUN or TURN
Use a TURN server to relay WebRTC traffic

In summary, while a static public IP address is not strictly necessary for DOCKER_HOST_ADDRESS, it's highly recommended to ensure reliable WebRTC connectivity. If you don't have a static public IP address, you should consider using one of the alternatives mentioned above to ensure that your Jitsi setup works correctly.