Non-premises vs VPS for micro-business?

[oguruma]

I am looking to use the free version of 3CX. Previously, I ran it out of a VirtualBox VM on my home network to familiarize myself with it.

This would be for a side business my wife and I run, and would be for a maximum of 2 simultaneous users.

We have a 100/10 cable connection.

I am looking for some input as to what would be better for us: either a small $5/month VPS or just building a simple box and putting it behind our firewall (in a DMZ maybe?).

What would you do in our shoes? Stick it in a VPS or build a cheap box?

 

[leejor]

It might come down to cost, (and your time), but you may also want to also consider...

Will you require an SBC at your location to allow the sets to work properly, or will STUN suffice?
Will you only use supported devices?
Will you ever need to add a gateway, PSTN?

 

[Lee Cramman]

It's pretty easy to switch between a vps and a local install (on a vm or otherwise) using backup / restore if you want to try out a vps or your needs change.

3CX make it ridiculously easy to deploy to Google Cloud Platform and Google are very cheap for vps hosting (in fact pretty much free if your needs are modest enough) and they give you a $300 credit to get started. If you do try this make sure you choose the closest hosting region to you as it's a pain to change it later.

 

[cobaltit]

If you actually want to consider it a business, put it on a VPS. You don't want the calls when phones don't work because power went down at your house. And 100/10 is likely residential cable which is garbage as well. Put it on a VPS somewhere and sleep a little better at night.