> Source: https://meetrix.io/blogs/coturn-gcp-developer-guide/
> Markdown copy of that page. Cite the URL above, not this file.

Development

# Setup Coturn TURN Server on GCP - Developer Guide

[By Hiruna Kumara](https://meetrix.io/blogs/authors/hiruna-kumara/) • June 3, 2026 • 7 min read

Welcome to the Meetrix Coturn TURN Server developer guide for Google Cloud Platform! Coturn is an open-source TURN/STUN server that enables NAT traversal for WebRTC, VoIP, and real-time communication platforms. With the Meetrix pre-configured GCP image, you can deploy a production-ready Coturn server in minutes.

This guide walks you through finding the product on GCP Marketplace, configuring the deployment, pointing DNS, generating the SSL certificate, and testing your TURN server.

### Related Article

[

Meetrix Coturn - Developer Guide (AWS)

Step-by-step guide for deploying and configuring Coturn TURN Server on AWS using the Meetrix pre-configured AMI and CloudFormation.

Meetrix.IO • Dinesh Chathuranga

![Meetrix Coturn Developer Guide AWS](https://meetrix.io/blog-images/paas-dev-guides/coturn/coturn-image.png)](https://meetrix.io/blogs/coturn-developer-guide/)

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

-   Basic Google Cloud Platform knowledge.
-   An active Google account with a GCP project and billing enabled.
-   A domain name you can manage DNS records for.

## Launch the Product

### Step 1: Find the Product

1.  Log in to your Google account.
2.  Go directly to the product page: [Coturn TURN Server on GCP Marketplace](https://console.cloud.google.com/marketplace/product/meetrix-public/coturn-turn-server)
3.  You can also browse all Meetrix products at the [Meetrix Solutions Page](https://console.cloud.google.com/marketplace/browse?filter=partner:Meetrix%20Pte%20Ltd&ref=meetrix.io).
4.  You will see the following product listing page.

![Coturn TURN Server product listing on GCP Marketplace](https://meetrix.io/blog-images/paas-dev-guides/coturn-gcp/coturn-gcp-01.png)

### Step 2: Launch the Product

1.  Select your GCP project from the project selector at the top.
2.  Review the product description and pricing details.
3.  Click the **GET STARTED** button.
4.  Accept the terms and conditions and click **AGREE**.

![Coturn GCP Marketplace accept terms screen](https://meetrix.io/blog-images/paas-dev-guides/coturn-gcp/coturn-gcp-02.png)

### Free Trial

This product includes a **5-day free trial** with up to USD 50.00 in licence fee credits. To activate it, tick **I accept the solution trial Terms and Conditions** on the launch screen before proceeding.

![Coturn GCP free trial terms acceptance](https://meetrix.io/blog-images/paas-dev-guides/coturn-gcp/coturn-gcp-05.png)

Trial note

Infrastructure charges (VM, disk) still apply during the trial. Only the Meetrix licence fee is credited. You can cancel the trial at any time by deleting the deployment.

### Step 3: Configure the Deployment

You will see the deployment configuration form. Fill in the fields across the following sections:

![Coturn GCP deployment configuration form](https://meetrix.io/blog-images/paas-dev-guides/coturn-gcp/coturn-gcp-03.png)

#### General

-   **Deployment name** - A unique name for this deployment.
-   **Image version** - Leave as default (`coturn-4.12.0`).
-   **Machine type** - Default `e2-small` (1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM) works for most setups. Choose a larger type for high-traffic production use (minimum 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM).
-   **Zone** - Select the GCP zone closest to your users.

#### Boot Disk

-   **Boot disk type** - Default `Balanced persistent disk` is recommended.
-   **Boot disk size** - Default 20 GB is sufficient.

#### Networking

-   **Network name** - Leave as `default` unless you have a custom VPC.
-   **External IP** - Leave as `Ephemeral`. Select `None` only if you do not need public internet access (not recommended for a TURN server).
-   **Allow SSH (TCP port 22)** - Enabled by default. Restrict the source IP range if you want to limit SSH access to specific IPs.

![Coturn GCP networking configuration](https://meetrix.io/blog-images/paas-dev-guides/coturn-gcp/coturn-gcp-04.png)

#### Application Settings

-   **Domain name** - The domain for your TURN server (e.g. `yourdomain.com`). Make sure to point your DNS A record to the instance IP before or shortly after deploying.
-   **Admin email** - Used for SSL certificate registration via Let's Encrypt.
-   **TURN static auth secret** - A long random string used to generate TURN credentials via HMAC-SHA1. Keep this secret secure.
-   **TURN realm** - Typically your base domain (e.g. `yourdomain.com`).

Click **DEPLOY** and wait a few minutes for the deployment to complete.

## Point DNS to the Server

### Step 1: Get the External IP

1.  Once deployment is complete, click the VM instance resource name in the deployment details.
2.  Copy the **External IP** from the Network interfaces section.

![Coturn VM instance external IP on GCP](https://meetrix.io/blog-images/paas-dev-guides/coturn-gcp/coturn-gcp-06.png)

### Step 2: Create a DNS A Record

1.  Go to your DNS provider.
2.  Add an **A record** pointing your TURN domain (e.g. `yourdomain.com`) to the copied external IP.
3.  Wait for DNS propagation before proceeding (typically a few minutes to 1 hour).

## Generate SSL Certificate

DNS must propagate first

The SSL script uses Let's Encrypt, which verifies domain ownership over HTTP. Make sure your DNS A record is pointing to the server IP and has propagated before running the certificate script.

### Step 1: SSH into the Server

1.  Once deployment is complete, go to the VM instance page in the GCP console.
2.  Click **SSH** to open a browser-based terminal and authorize access.

![SSH into Coturn VM instance on GCP](https://meetrix.io/blog-images/paas-dev-guides/coturn-gcp/coturn-gcp-07.png)

### Step 2: Run the Certificate Script

The image includes a pre-configured certificate script. Run it with:

```bash
sudo bash /root/certificate_generate_standalone.sh
```

This script runs certbot using the domain name and admin email you provided during deployment. Once it completes, restart Coturn:

```bash
sudo systemctl restart coturn
```

Coturn is Now Running with SSL

Your Coturn TURN server is live. STUN is available at `stun:yourdomain.com:3478` and TURN over TLS at `turns:yourdomain.com:5349`.

## Test the TURN Server

### Generate Test Credentials

Use the following commands on the server to generate temporary TURN credentials for testing:

```bash
SECRET="your-static-auth-secret"
USER=$(( $(date +%s) + 86400 )):testuser
PASS=$(echo -n $USER | openssl dgst -binary -sha1 -hmac $SECRET | openssl base64)
echo "Username: $USER"
echo "Password: $PASS"
```

![Generating TURN credentials on the server](https://meetrix.io/blog-images/paas-dev-guides/coturn-gcp/coturn-gcp-08.png)

### Test with Trickle ICE

1.  Open [Trickle ICE](https://webrtc.github.io/samples/src/content/peerconnection/trickle-ice/) in your browser.
2.  Add the following ICE server URLs:
    -   STUN: `stun:yourdomain.com:3478`
    -   TURN UDP: `turn:yourdomain.com:3478`
    -   TURNS TLS: `turns:yourdomain.com:5349`
3.  Enter the generated username and password.
4.  Click **Gather candidates**. You should see `relay` type candidates appear, confirming TURN is working.

![Trickle ICE showing relay candidates for Coturn](https://meetrix.io/blog-images/paas-dev-guides/coturn-gcp/coturn-gcp-09.png)

## Manage the Server

### Check Coturn Status

```bash
sudo systemctl status coturn
```

### Stop and Start Coturn

```bash
sudo systemctl stop coturn
sudo systemctl start coturn
```

### Shut Down the VM

To stop the VM without deleting it, go to **Compute Engine → VM Instances** in the GCP console, select your instance, and click **Stop**.

### Delete the Deployment

To fully remove the deployment and stop all billing:

1.  Go to **[Solution deployments](https://console.cloud.google.com/products/solutions/deployments)** in the GCP console.
2.  Find your Coturn deployment.
3.  Click **Delete** to remove all associated resources.

## Troubleshoot

### Check Coturn Logs

```bash
sudo tail -f /var/log/turnserver.log
```

### Check Service Status

```bash
sudo systemctl status coturn
```

### Verify Firewall Ports

In the GCP console, go to **VPC Network → Firewall** and confirm the following rules exist for your VM:

-   Port **3478** - UDP and TCP (STUN/TURN)
-   Port **5349** - TCP (TURNS/TLS)
-   Ports **49152-65535** - UDP (relay range)

### SSL Certificate Issues

If certbot fails, ensure DNS has propagated before running certbot and that port 80 is open on the firewall for the ACME HTTP challenge.

## Technical Support

If you run into any issues, our support team is here to help. Reach out to us at [support@meetrix.io](mailto:support@meetrix.io) and we will respond within 12 hours.

## Frequently Asked Questions

What ports does Coturn need open on GCP?

Coturn requires ports 3478 (UDP and TCP) for STUN/TURN, port 5349 (TCP) for TURNS over TLS, and the UDP relay range 49152-65535. The Meetrix GCP image configures these firewall rules automatically during deployment.

Can I use this Coturn server with Jitsi Meet?

Yes. Point your Jitsi Meet configuration to this Coturn server by setting the TURN server URL and static-auth-secret in your Jitsi prosody or config.js settings.

How do I add or rotate the TURN authentication secret?

Edit /etc/turnserver.conf and update the static-auth-secret value, then restart Coturn with: sudo systemctl restart coturn

What is the default instance type and can I change it?

The default configuration uses an e2-small instance (1 shared vCPU, 2 GB RAM). You can select a larger instance type during deployment in the GCP Marketplace configuration form.

How do I renew the SSL certificate?

SSL certificates issued by Let's Encrypt expire every 90 days. Run: sudo certbot renew && sudo systemctl restart coturn. You can also set up a cron job to auto-renew.

## Deploy Coturn TURN Server on GCP in Minutes

Launch a production-ready Coturn TURN/STUN server on Google Cloud with a pre-configured Meetrix image.

[Get Started on GCP Marketplace](https://console.cloud.google.com/marketplace/product/meetrix-public/coturn-turn-server)

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