Install Kamailio SIP Server on Ubuntu 24.04

Install MariaDB

Kamailio keeps its user accounts and routing data in a database, so install the 💿 database server first. MariaDB is a MySQL-compatible database, and Kamailio’s MySQL settings work with it. Follow these steps:

1. Open a terminal on your Ubuntu 24.04 server.
2. Run the command sudo apt install mariadb-server.
3. If apt asks for confirmation, type Y and press Enter.
4. Wait for apt to return to the prompt without errors. This means the package installed.

This must be done before the main Kamailio installation steps.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mariadb-server

With MariaDB installed, Kamailio has somewhere to store its data. The command shown here is the same one from the previous step. If you already ran it successfully, you do not need to run it again.

Add Kamailio repository

Next, add the Kamailio project’s own software repository. Ubuntu’s default software lists may not carry the Kamailio version you want. If they do carry it, it is usually older than the project’s current release. Adding the project repository gives apt access to up-to-date packages.

Before adding the repository, download the project's official GPG key. A GPG key is a cryptographic signature. It lets your system check that the packages really come from the Kamailio project and were not altered on the way, so apt can install them without signature errors.

Packages from the project repository stay separate from the default Ubuntu sources, so the repository has to be added by hand. Download the GPG key first, as shown in the commands below. Once the key is in place, apt trusts the new source.

Do this step first:

1. Run the key download command shown below.
2. Check that the command finishes without an error. If it fails with a network or name resolution error, confirm the server can reach the internet and try again.

wget -O- http://deb.kamailio.org/kamailiodebkey.gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/kamailio.gpg

Now add the repository built for Ubuntu 24.04. Version 6.0 is the current release at the time of writing. Create the repository entry as shown below, and make sure the Ubuntu version and the Kamailio version both match your system and your target release.

Future updates come from the official repository at https://deb.kamailio.org, which serves packages for Ubuntu 24.04. Once the entry is added, apt will pull Kamailio updates from there along with your normal system updates. To undo this, delete the repository entry file you created and run apt update again.

https://deb.kamailio.org

With the repository key and repository file in place, install Kamailio:

1. Run the command sudo apt update && sudo apt install kamailio.
2. Confirm the installation with Y if apt asks.
3. Wait for apt to finish. You should see Kamailio and its related modules being unpacked and set up, and then the prompt returns.

The apt update part refreshes the package lists so apt sees the new repository. This makes sure you get the latest Kamailio version it offers.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install kamailio kamailio-mysql-modules kamailio-websocket-modules kamailio-tls-modules

After installation, check that the application is available:

1. Run the command kamailio -V.
2. Look at the output. It should show Kamailio's version and build information.

If the shell says the command is not found, the install did not complete. Go back and check the output of the install step for errors.

kamailio -V

By default, the Kamailio binary file is installed at /usr/sbin/kamailio. Use this path if you need to run the binary directly or point a script at it.

Configure Kamailio

Kamailio has to be told which database to use. That is set in the control tool's configuration file at /etc/kamailio/kamctlrc. The file belongs to root, so open it in a text editor with sudo. Then find the DBENGINE setting and point it to MySQL. That way Kamailio knows which database backend to use for user data and routing rules.

Database connectivity is configured in /etc/kamailio/kamctlrc. Edit it like this:

1. Open /etc/kamailio/kamctlrc in a text editor with root privileges.
2. Find the DBENGINE variable. It is usually commented out with a # at the start of the line.
3. Remove the # to uncomment the line, and make sure the value points to MySQL.

MariaDB uses the MySQL setting, so there is no separate MariaDB value to choose.

sudo nano /etc/kamailio/kamctlrc

Change the highlighted line in the file so it matches the screenshot. Only the highlighted line needs to change. Leave the other commented lines as they are.

## the SIP domain
 SIP_DOMAIN=srv1.example.com

## chrooted directory
# CHROOT_DIR="/path/to/chrooted/directory"

## database type: MYSQL, PGSQL, ORACLE, DB_BERKELEY, DBTEXT, or SQLITE
## by default none is loaded
##
## If you want to setup a database with kamdbctl, you must at least specify
## this parameter.
 DBENGINE=MYSQL

## database host
 DBHOST=localhost

Save your changes and close the editor. The change takes effect the next time you run a Kamailio control command, and no restart is needed yet.

The next command creates the Kamailio database in MariaDB. This schema contains the tables Kamailio needs to manage routing data and user profiles. It also creates the database user accounts. Note that this is a MySQL/MariaDB database, matching the setting you just made, and not PostgreSQL.

sudo kamdbctl create

During the process, the tool asks for the MySQL root password. On a fresh MariaDB install no root password has been set yet, so just press Enter to skip the prompt. If you have set a root password, type it instead.

The tool also asks a few yes/no questions, such as whether to create extra tables. Enter the highlighted values from the screenshot to answer the prompts. When it finishes, you should see a message that the database was created, with no error lines.

Enter character set name: 
latin1
INFO: creating database kamailio ...
INFO: granting privileges to database kamailio ...
INFO: creating standard tables into kamailio ...
INFO: Core Kamailio tables successfully created.
Create the presence related tables? (y/n): y
INFO: creating presence tables into kamailio ...
INFO: Presence tables successfully created.
Create the tables for imc cpl siptrace domainpolicy carrierroute drouting userblocklist htable purple uac pipelimit mtree sca mohqueue rtpproxy rtpengine secfilter ims_icscf? (y/n): y
INFO: creating extra tables into kamailio ...
INFO: Extra tables successfully created.
Create the tables for uid_auth_db uid_avp_db uid_domain uid_gflags uid_uri_db? (y/n): y
INFO: creating uid tables into kamailio ...
INFO: UID tables successfully created.

The process creates a MySQL user named "kamailio" with the password "kamailiorw." This account has read and write privileges on the Kamailio database. Kamailio uses it to store and update data.

A second user, `kamailioro`, uses the password `kamailioro`. This account has read-only permissions. It can view records but cannot change them, which protects the data from accidental or unauthorized edits.

For anything other than a test server, change them to your own passwords. If you do, remember to update the password wherever Kamailio is configured to use it.

Next, edit the main Kamailio configuration file, /etc/kamailio/kamailio.cfg. It also belongs to root, so open it in a text editor with sudo. Make a backup copy of the file first so you can roll back if something goes wrong.

sudo nano /etc/kamailio/kamailio.cfg

1. Find the line #!KAMAILIO near the top of the file. This is a marker for Kamailio and not an ordinary comment, so leave it as it is.
2. Insert the highlighted lines directly underneath it.
3. Check that you typed them exactly as shown. A typo here is the most common reason Kamailio fails to start later.

#!KAMAILIO
#!define WITH_MYSQL
#!define WITH_AUTH
#!define WITH_USRLOCDB
#!define WITH_ACCDB
#

Save the file and exit the editor.

Kamailio reads its configuration only when it starts. Restart the service as shown below to apply all the changes made so far. If the restart reports an error, re-open the configuration file and look for a typo in the lines you added.

sudo systemctl restart kamailio

Run the command below to confirm that the service is active. If the output is long, press q to return to the prompt.

systemctl status kamailio

If everything worked, the output looks like the example below. Look for a status of active (running). If you see failed instead, read the log lines at the bottom of the output. They usually name the line in the configuration file that caused the problem.

 Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/kamailio.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Thu 2025-03-20 10:40:23 CDT; 38s ago
    Process: 6194 ExecStart=/usr/sbin/kamailio -P /run/kamailio/kamailio.pid -f $CFGFILE >
   Main PID: 6196 (kamailio)
      Tasks: 33 (limit: 4551)
     Memory: 23.8M (peak: 24.1M)
        CPU: 113ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/kamailio.service

Kamailio is installed and running.

The configuration is complete.

Conclusion:

Kamailio SIP Server is now installed and ready to manage VoIP (Voice over IP) communications on Ubuntu 24.04. Here are the core steps again:

• Open-Source Flexibility: Kamailio is a highly scalable and flexible SIP server suitable for real-time communication applications.
• Database Integration: The installation requires configuring MariaDB as a database server to store Kamailio's data.
• Repository Addition: Adding the Kamailio repository and its GPG key is essential to install the latest packages.
• Configuration Steps: Configuration includes setting up the database connection in kamctlrc and adding the required lines to kamailio.cfg.
• Service Management: After installation, Kamailio can be managed using systemd, which keeps it running in the background and lets you start, stop and restart it.

Following these steps gives you a scalable base for VoIP routing. Kamailio is often cited as handling up to 500,000 concurrent connections. The real figure depends on your hardware and configuration. Before using the server in production, change the default database passwords and test with a few SIP clients.