Choosing between Raspberry Pi 4 & Synology 720+

[3CXfan]

Hi all, I am totally new to 3CX but so excited about the possibilities it provides, finally my team and I will be able to afford a proper PBX system.

First hurdle though is to choose the right hardware to run 3CX on.

Expected usage: Max 2 simultaneous calls from outside from time to time and 3 simultaneous calls within the office at most. Voicemail will be activated, and 4 office users will be running the mobile app when they are not at their desk. A Fanvil video doorphone will be a part of the system so from time to time the doorphone may trigger a video stream between the doorphone to the reception deskphone and the mobile apps in the hunt group.

Here are my questions:

1. For the above usage, is either a Raspberry Pi 4 or the existing Synology 720+ NAS that we already have sufficient? It's still under the simultaneous 8 calls limit and the video streams I assume don't tax the CPU as they just stream from device to device?

2. This page on 3CX site shows the steps for installing 3CX on a Raspberry Pi 4, but on the hardware requirement page, it shows Raspberry Pi 3B+ is supported only. Is Raspberry Pi 4 actually supported?

3. My Synology 720+ NAS has a Quad Core Intel Celeron J4125 GeminiLake CPU with 10GB DDR RAM. I have allocated 1 core and 2GB of RAM to the Debian Linux that I obtained from 3CX and have successfully installed the OS using Synology's Virtual Machine Manager which is VMware vSphere certified. I have even configured the 3CX Management Console already, but what are some of the tests I could perform to make sure 3CX is running properly on this VM?

4. Which device of the two above is more suited to be used as the main hardware running 3CX?

5. Which of the two above is more suited to be used as failover device where automated backup and restore is running?

Your help will be much appreciated.

 

[Alphabetic]

Synology is not on the supported hardware list and 3CX will advise against it. If you search for Synology on this forum you will find comments that advise against doing it on there. Although it might work, it may be underpowered.

I know the Pi 4 was working in a beta environment but it looks like now it's officially supported https://www.3cx.com/docs/installing-pbx-raspberry-pi/

the 3B+ Supports up to 16 extensions, 8SC **Not sure if this still applies for the Pi 4 with it being better spec.

Alternatively you could use one of the other installation methods such as Linux, Windows or VM.

 

[JohnS_3CX]

Hi @3CXfan and welcome to the forum! I will answer your questions based on the requirements you mentioned, and with a bit of future-proofing added for good measure:

1. Go for a Raspberry Pi

2. Pi 4 is in tech preview now, soon it will be official

3. We already did the hard work for you and generated these requirements:
https://www.3cx.com/docs/recommended-hardware-specifications-for-3cx/

4. The Pi

5. A second Pi

As you see, you should go for dedicated hardware rather than running a VM on something that does not have much surplus power because it may run ok at first, until it doesn't. There's also the option of hosting your PBX in the cloud, which entirely eliminates the hardware choice question.

 

[David G]

Hi @3CXfan and welcome to the forum! I will answer your questions based on the requirements you mentioned, and with a bit of future-proofing added for good measure:

1. Go for a Raspberry Pi

2. Pi 4 is in tech preview now, soon it will be official

3. We already did the hard work for you and generated these requirements:
https://www.3cx.com/docs/recommended-hardware-specifications-for-3cx/

4. The Pi

5. A second Pi

As you see, you should go for dedicated hardware rather than running a VM on something that does not have much surplus power because it may run ok at first, until it doesn't. There's also the option of hosting your PBX in the cloud, which entirely eliminates the hardware choice question.

Hello JohnS,

I have a general question about SBCs. I've seen mixed responses about it across the forums, but if we want to implement higher capacity SBCs, would we just copy the recommended hardware for the PBX (https://www.3cx.com/docs/recommended-hardware-specifications-for-3cx/)? For example, if we wanted an SBC that would support 250 users, would we install the SBC on a Linux device with an i7 Gen8, 6 vCPUs, 8GB of RAM, and a 300+ GB SSD?

Or should we limit it to the recommended hardware for the 100 user SBC and just have multiples of those?

 

[JohnS_3CX]

Hi David

You could start with 1 machine and test its limits (if the total BLFs don't exceed 1000) and add another later. But I would go with option two to be safe. Best to keep them up to 100 ext. per node so as to not overwhelm the machine or hit the limits of the software's efficiency.

 

[3CXfan]

Thanks @JohnS_3CX for your feedback. I will go with Raspberry Pi 4 in the meantime and when "Hosted by 3CX" pricing is released, I will consider that.

A couple of additional newbie questions:

1. How taxing on the CPU/memory is a video stream between the Fanvil video doorphone and a desktop/mobile app? Would Raspberry Pi 4 be able to handle it?

2. I am thinking of getting the Yealink Dect base station to enable mobility within the building, but does 3CX have the ability to give each of the associated Yealink Dect handsets a specific extension so incoming calls can reach specific Dect handsets by dialing a specific extension? Or do we have to rely on the basestation setting its own extension numbers?

 

[JohnS_3CX]

1. The video stream is neither decoded or encoded by the PBX, so there's no strain. The devices will reach each other directly and stream to each others IP

2. Just take a look at our guides, or set up a dummy DECT base for the model you are interested in, you will see it supports a number of extensions. I already have two on mine and can add another six if needed. Each with it's own extension number and all synched on the same base:

 

[3CXfan]

@JohnS_3CX For a small hotel with 60 rooms and 5 admin lines, Fanvil VIdeo DoorPhone, PMS module installed, SIP subscription of 5 channels only, max SIM calls of 7-8 at all times, and some occassional voicemail and recordings, here are my questions:

1. Is Raspberry Pi 4 4GB with 64GB microSD card under-powered?

2. Should I go with Raspberry Pi 4 8GB with 128GB instead?

3. Do I really need something like a Mini PC to handle this scenario?

4. Should I install SBC version now even if I will plan on starting with just on-premise version first, so the potential transition to "Hosted by 3CX" service later will be possible/easier?

I appreciate your response on this!

 

[AWS2P]

Your 4th point:
If you install the PBX on premise then a SBC is no use at all . An SBC install is really easy and quick to do, so it should be done only when the PBx is hosted cloud.

 

[JohnS_3CX]

1. Based on maximum sim calls: I would count double at least just to be sure - hotels have busy periods. The Pi 4/4Gb should be enough, but we don't yet have the results for Pi 4 so I cannot give a reliable answer at the moment

2. As above, I cannot yet comment on Pi 4

3. Yes. It might be a better idea for the time being

4. If you plan to go on the cloud, then do it from the beginning and be done with it. You will need a redundant internet connection though, because if the net goes down you will also lose internal calls across the rooms and the reception. I think for a small hotel you can keep a local PBX server, it may be a better idea.

 

[3CXfan]

@JohnS_3CX Based on your advice, I started researching Intel NUCs and Mini PCs but have encountered various roadblocks, such as:

• Supported models listed on 3CX's page are no longer available in Canada
• All newer Intel NUC models listed on InstallingDebianOn have missing drivers that require drive installation on Debian which is outside my knowledge
• 3CX Buster ISO on Debian10 may solve these drivers issues but still at Technical Preview stage

In conclusion, based on cost, availability and deadline (a few days time), Pi 4 is my best bet to get 3CX running right away but I have some questions:

1. If something goes really wrong with Pi 4, is it possible to save the settings and restore it fast on a MiniPC?

2. What are the chances and types of things that 3CX will go wrong on the Pi 4 before the stable version is released? Tiny glitches or complete shutdown of my whole PBX system to the point of no one could answer any calls?

3. Despite higher hardware requirements, is Windows a better option for someone like me who is not familiar with Debian/Linux? (My boss will NOT like the hardware costs)

4. How much tinkering with Debian/Linux drivers and updates are involved normally on a stable release of 3CX on Debian 10?

5. Is the following thinking logical or flawed: I will use Pi 4 for a little while, and as soon as 3CX on Debian 10 is stable then I will get an Intel NUC or Mini PC because install will be easier. Besides, I get to observe in the mean time if the Pi 4 is under-powered or not, because in the end I may not even need something more powerful.

 

[JohnS_3CX]

1. Yes, 3CX backups made on the Pi will restore on PC (but not on lower PBX versions than the one that made them!)

2. Unknown - the nature of testing means you might find something minor, or something major. You need to use common sense on this decision and not deploy a test system in a production environment.

3. Boss aside, if you are not comfortable with Debian then your decision is clear - go with Windows. You can familiarize yourself with Debian in your own time, and then migrate later if you want.

4. We don't have a stable release based on Debian 10. It's still in testing. For linux in general, if your device does not work "out of the box" then you're on your own when it comes to driver support. We do not support the drivers. The Pi is pretty much the only exception because it guaranteed to work out of the box since the version of Debian it uses was made for it.

5. The only flaw I see here is that you will be installing a beta system in a production environment.

Get a Pi anyway and play around with it, and also have a PC with Windows 10 for your production environment, you can use an older PC if you have a spare one and move to a more powerful one later. Take the free Academy course too, you will become more familiarized with your system and master most of the features and functionality https://www.3cx.com/3cxacademy/