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VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

VexorgTR

Member

[PBX] Building a network of 3CX techs.

Hey there... yeah yeah.. I'm a 3CX Engineer. I was looking for others who are also 3CX techs.... just to have online discussions with.

PM if you're interested. I like to share ideas about 3CX.
VoIP2Go
join:2013-12-14

VoIP2Go

Member

Have you considered setting up your own LinkedIn Group or joining one of the existing ones? I did a quick search and there are a few to go at.

I'm a Windows guy, so I have a passing interest in 3CX and have played with it in the past. I plan to set it up on a test box and dig a little deeper soon. Would be nice to have someone to throw a few questions at

VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

VexorgTR

Member

We usually contact eachother on Skype. 3CX and Axon are your choices for the Windows platform... 3CX being further advanced.
You know where to find me now.

morbo
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I tinker with 3cx and I'm considering moving two offices from Avaya IP Office 500 v2 and cloud hosted voip phones to 3cx. The ease of administration is appealing especially when compared to straight up Asterisk.

VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

VexorgTR

Member

Indeed. That's one of the things I like about 3CX.... it's quite Logical, and you can count on the GUI to actually WORK.

You can tell that 3CX was designed first and foremost with a GUI... where the Asterisk builds had it duct taped on after the fact.
VoIP2Go
join:2013-12-14

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Yes, I will be looking at Axon too. I have also downloaded TekSIP as it has some interesting add-ons.

morbo
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said by VexorgTR:

t's quite Logical, and you can count on the GUI to actually WORK.

Not to sidetrack this thread, but does 3cx offer SIP trunk failover that works? I need a solution that will intelligently try the primary trunk first, then understand that the call failed and try a backup trunk.
tired_runner
Premium Member
join:2000-08-25
CT
·Frontier FiberOp..

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said by VexorgTR:

where the Asterisk builds had it duct taped on after the fact.

I have never tried 3CX and I'm personally an Asterisk fan because it does what I need it to do, but you're right about that. LOL

VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

VexorgTR to morbo

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said by morbo:

said by VexorgTR:

t's quite Logical, and you can count on the GUI to actually WORK.

Not to sidetrack this thread, but does 3cx offer SIP trunk failover that works? I need a solution that will intelligently try the primary trunk first, then understand that the call failed and try a backup trunk.

On your outbound rules, it has 3 choices per rule.... so for US Calls, I could specify CallWithUs (first) CallCentric (second) and a FXO Gateway (Third).... so yeah, it does that.
leejor
join:2013-10-18
Vancouver, BC

2 edits

leejor

Member

Unfortunately if your first, or second choice is a gateway that has a status of registered (where 3CX will attempt to send out a call), and the call doesn't complete,another attempt will not be made. Fail-over will occur if you are using routes made up of VoIP providers, or, a device that 3CX sees as no longer registered. So some planning may be in order.
VoIP2Go
join:2013-12-14

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This was my most important requirement by far and the reason I developed my own Windows IP PBX. I needed full control of switching between trunks because failure to connect a call was simply not an option. I am now able to do this by using providers that support IP Authentication. I can intelligently switch between any number of providers and have multiple ways of detecting failed calls.

I'm not sure if I want to take my development any further and that's why I'm looking at bolting on another system like 3CX.

VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

VexorgTR

Member

I like Axon for what it is..... pretty simple... and you can add the features you need... IVR and MOH are separate add ons. The on screen IVR test is cool too.

3CX is the total package. Axon doesn't yet support BLF keys... and you have to manually setup phones.

3CX will provision your phones for you... plug in and turn it all on... sit down at the server, Install, configure, DONE. It takes SOOO little effort to administrate. I run it on Server 2008... stable as heck.
jhouston21
join:2004-12-17
Hampton, NH

jhouston21

Member

Out of curiosity, after the "rocky" start with Version 12, has everyone given Version 12 a second try?

Have you begun deploying Version 12 for new installations?

VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

VexorgTR

Member

I'm running 12 here.... and have 12 installed one other place... nothing interesting to report... works as well as 11 did. I THINK the first SP solved the worst of it.

RLCL
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We are using Phone system 12 (SP1) and different phone clients.
In the Iphone client (V12) the contact list is empty and presence list is also empty
In the Android client (V12) and windows client these lists are not empty.

Any ideas how to solve this?

VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

VexorgTR

Member

said by RLCL :

We are using Phone system 12 (SP1) and different phone clients.
In the Iphone client (V12) the contact list is empty and presence list is also empty
In the Android client (V12) and windows client these lists are not empty.

Any ideas how to solve this?

Get all your service packs in place... and your client phones up to date... then I can research it.

morbo
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said by leejor:

Fail-over will occur if you are using routes made up of VoIP providers, or, a device that 3CX sees as no longer registered. So some planning may be in order.

Will you clarify your comment?

If I have my first gateway registered to provider #1 but calls are failing for one reason or another, will 3cx try on my second gateway that is registered to provider #2?

I assume failover for gateway registrations is easy. Meaning if provider #1 isn't registered the system will move easily to provider #2.


VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

VexorgTR

Member

I think you've got it.

With 3CX, in outbound rules, I'll give you a very simple Example.

For 11 digit numbers, Strip 0 digits, append 0 digits.

Send on trunks in this order
CallCentric
CallWithUs
Appia

So, I dial 11 digits, it tries CallCentric first... if that can't be completed, it moves on to CWU... then onto Appia.

It will accept incoming calls from all 3 providers... but outgoing it can be prioritized from most preferred to least.

morbo
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morbo

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If I wanted to, could I put an analog line in that order?

VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

VexorgTR

Member

Correct... you could put your analog gateway as an option.

Patton 4114 would likely be the best choice.
Mango
Use DMZ and you get a kick in the dick.
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join:2008-12-25
www.toao.net

Mango

Premium Member

Any reason you'd choose a Patton device costing hundreds of dollars over an OBi, which costs $46? I've never had the opportunity to use a Patton ATA so am curious about the differences.

VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

VexorgTR

Member

said by Mango:

Any reason you'd choose a Patton device costing hundreds of dollars over an OBi, which costs $46? I've never had the opportunity to use a Patton ATA so am curious about the differences.

Pattons are for corporate and professional installs. One unit has 4 FXO ports. 3CX can provision them 100% and it shortens the install time from hours to about 2 minutes.

When doing a 3CX install, it's best practice to install hardware from the list of supported products. With 3CX, it's not just that it's been tested and works... but that 3CX will handle all the setup for you.

IE, an IP phone that is on the list, like Yealink T-42G... you will never once need to log into the phone interface... All the preferences, BLF, account settings, etc. are done automatically inside 3CX.

So... Why not an Obi?.... it would take 10 times longer to setup, it has 1FXO, and tech support wants nothing to do with it. The cheaper alternative was the Grandstream FXO gateways... but they aren't supported anymore.. truth be told, those buggers froze sometimes.

Patton is corporate stable. 3CX is corporate minded.
Mango
Use DMZ and you get a kick in the dick.
Premium Member
join:2008-12-25
www.toao.net

Mango

Premium Member

said by VexorgTR:

it would take 10 times longer to setup

True, although spending 10 minutes instead of one minute seems like a good alternative if budget is a concern.
said by VexorgTR:

tech support wants nothing to do with it

Makes sense. Sounds like a business opportunity for Obihai to find out how to get supported by 3CX.

morbo
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said by VexorgTR:

When doing a 3CX install, it's best practice to install hardware from the list of supported products. With 3CX, it's not just that it's been tested and works... but that 3CX will handle all the setup for you.

Thanks. Follow-up question. 3cx has "recommended" phones category and a lower category of "supported" phones. I have supported SPA504g Cisco phones. How much more complicated to set up (time consuming) are supported phones vs recommended phones?

VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

VexorgTR

Member

said by morbo:

Thanks. Follow-up question. 3cx has "recommended" phones category and a lower category of "supported" phones. I have supported SPA504g Cisco phones. How much more complicated to set up (time consuming) are supported phones vs recommended phones?

Sure... 100% supported phones do the following things......

When you plug them in and boot them, they put out a homing beacon that 3CX picks up on... From 3cx, you would simply recognize the phone by model and mac, assign the ext no. and BLF's.. the phone reboots instantly and is ready to go.

Snom and Yealink both do this... Grandstream did this with Vers 11.. and maybe still does with vers 12... but I don't know, as I abandoned grandstream when they abandoned their 3cx partnership.

For Cisco and Polycom phones, you need to enter the phones mac and settings in 3CX prior to booting it. You will then need to follow suit and log into the phone pointing it to the provisioning file within 3CX. You could technically on a windows server configure a DHCP line to tell the phones the directory of the config files... That's what most users who insist on Cisco and Polycom do.

Yealink has been a really good option, so that's what we run with.

A typical 3CX install for me is
#1 A custom built system to run 3CX on.
#2 An array of Yealink phones
#3 A managed PoE switch
#4 Zyxel USG 20 or larger router from the USG family
#5 Patton PSTN gear if needed

This rig is like Rick Astley... Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down.....

morbo
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morbo

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I appreciate your response.

VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

VexorgTR

Member

No problem... I'm a 3CX advanced certified partner...

3CX is incredibly easy to deal with if you follow their guidelines...

I've experimented with non recommended components.. most of them work... pretty well. The ones on the list install much faster and perform without issue.
VoIP2Go
join:2013-12-14

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I've been toying with the idea of running the free version 11 for one of my small business Customers who has very basic requirements. I know it's straightforward running a single instance on a VPS, but what would be involved in running a second instance on a 2nd VPS for failover purposes?

Would it be a nightmare to keep the two systems in sync?
mazilo
From Mazilo
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join:2002-05-30
Lilburn, GA

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said by VexorgTR:

We usually contact eachother on Skype. 3CX and Axon are your choices for the Windows platform... 3CX being further advanced.

How advanced is 3CX compared to any open-source B2BUA, i.e. Asterisk, FreeSWITCH, etc.?

VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH

VexorgTR

Member

said by mazilo:

How advanced is 3CX compared to any open-source B2BUA, i.e. Asterisk, FreeSWITCH, etc.?

You can check the rundown of features if you like... I've played around with the Asterisk builds... but not FS.

What I can say is that everything represented in the GUI of 3CX will work correctly when implemented. There is no "Language Learning" required. In most of the Asterisk builds I've toyed with, the GUI was taped on there at a later time... and gets botched sometimes.

3CX's built in backup is super... makes it a snap to migrate the software to another PC/server if you like. It builds a nice little restore file that has always restored spot on for me each time I've used it.

The way that 3CX provisions the phones/hardware is the thing I really like.... It makes setup time and minor changes SO easy. You can skip learning template files.... 3cx does it for you.

The guys at 3CX designed it as a Turn-Key phone system for Network Admins to work on... So you really just need to know your IP network, and follow their plan they've laid out.

So to actually answer the question......
1. As a PBX system for a small to large business, The feature set is very robust and growing each day. It also has software integration for call centers. You can link multiple 3CX PBX's together to make an enterprise rig.

2. The setup/management is WAY easier and faster. At no point will you be pouring through a text file looking for a character out of place.