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Gerbera

Gerbera is available in the NetActuate Marketplace as a one-click, open-source appliance you can deploy into any NetActuate PoP. UPnP and DLNA media server: stream audio, video and photos to any TV or player. It is grouped under the Media & Streaming category.

What It Does​

Gerbera is an open source UPnP and DLNA media server. It indexes your media collection and streams audio, video and images to any UPnP-AV or DLNA client on the local network: smart TVs, game consoles, AV receivers, phones and dedicated media players all discover the server automatically and browse your library with no client software to install. Gerbera is the actively maintained successor to MediaTomb.

Key features

  • Streams to any UPnP-AV or DLNA renderer: smart TVs, consoles, receivers, phones
  • Automatic media import with metadata, thumbnails and a browsable library tree
  • Modern browser UI on port 49152 for adding content and managing the database
  • Transcoding hooks so incompatible formats can be converted on the fly
  • Flexible import scripting to shape how your library is organized
  • Lightweight and self-hosted: one small server, no cloud account, full ownership

Use cases

  • Serve a home or office media library to every TV and player in the building
  • A self-hosted, privacy-respecting alternative to cloud media streaming
  • Central DLNA distribution for hotels, bars, gyms, waiting rooms and events

Why run it on the NetActuate edge Hosting Gerbera in a PoP close to your players keeps the streaming path short and steady, so large video files start quickly and play back smoothly as you add more clients and content.

Deployed from the NetActuate marketplace it boots pre-configured from your seeded values: the web UI is enabled with account login turned on and your chosen user and generated password, so the appliance is never reachable in an unconfigured, open state with the upstream default account.

Upstream project: Gerbera (https://gerbera.io, https://github.com/gerbera/gerbera), an independent open source project licensed under the GNU GPL v2. Gerbera is not affiliated with or endorsed by NetActuate; NetActuate packages the unmodified upstream Gerbera 2.0.0 release on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

Best for: Smart TVs, Consoles, Self-hosted media.

Vendor and Project​

Gerbera is an open-source project, offered here under the Open Source listing with best-effort community support.

NetActuate supports the underlying infrastructure. Application-level support follows the listing SLA class (open-source, best effort).

Sizing​

vCPURAMDisk
Minimum1512 MB10 GB
Recommended22 GB40 GB

No VPU (hardware acceleration) is required for this appliance. Choose a size at deploy based on your expected load.

Configuration Fields​

When you deploy, you provide these fields. They are written into the appliance at first boot.

FieldRequiredDefaultNotes
UI UsernameNoadminThe web UI login account created for you at first boot. Defaults to admin.
UI PasswordNogeneratedGenerated for you and stored in your secret list; never echoed back. Sign in to the web UI on port 49152 with the UI username and this password. Account login is enabled at first boot so the upstream default account is never exposed. Stored write-only in your account secret list
Server NameNoGerberaThe UPnP/DLNA friendly name your client devices see when they browse the network. Defaults to Gerbera.

Using the Appliance​

Gerbera is up

  1. Open the web UI. Browse to http://YOUR_VM_IP:49152/ and sign in with the UI username you chose at deploy and the generated password in your secret list.
  2. Add your media. In the UI use the Filesystem view to add directories of audio, video and images; Gerbera imports and indexes them into the library tree.
  3. Play from any device. On a smart TV, console, receiver or phone, open its media or DLNA browser; the server appears under the name you set at deploy. Browse and play.

Exposure posture: the web UI on port 49152 is protected by the account login you seeded. UPnP/DLNA streaming itself is unauthenticated by design and intended for a trusted local network; before production use, restrict access to trusted source IPs or put it behind your own network controls.

FAQ​

Is there a software license fee? No. Gerbera is open source and free to run. You pay only for the NetActuate infrastructure and bandwidth.

Which port does the appliance serve on? The primary service is published on port 49152 by default; see the configuration fields for any adjustable ports.

Who supports it? NetActuate operates the underlying infrastructure. The application itself is community-supported open source (best-effort SLA class).

Version and Changelog​

VersionStatusReleased
2.0.0Current (default)2026-07-11

Deploy​

Need Help?​

Contact support@netactuate.com or open a support ticket from the portal.