Multiple 3CX systems on one subnet?

[tranztec]

Is there any likely problems that could occur from running two 3CX servers on the same local LAN? The servers, of course, have different IP addresses and configuration - but what, if any, other problems could be created by doing this. I know other phone systems would have serious problems with this -- is this also true with 3CX?

 

[nbailey]

Why would you want to run two different 3CX Phone Systems on the same lan? I don't see any rational reason to run two on the same lan due to the fact 1 can handle anything you can throw at it. But you can do it, so simple answer yes it is possible.

 

[tranztec]

Actually? There isn't any rational reason for running a 2nd on the same subnet in my opinion -- EXCEPT as a backup. I have a site that does just that -- has a backup machine (on a different IP) that has 3CX installed -- and they routinely leave the 3CX server/services running on the backup server. I'm trying to determine if leaving those services running on the 2nd box would be the source of any strange or unexpected problems. My opinion is that the services should all be shut down on the secondary server.

 

[leejor]

There is no reason that you could not run two systems on the same LAN as long as there were no IP or port conflicts. If each used a different gateway (router) They should be able to share the LAN.

If one is running, continuously as a backup, then it is assumed that the SIP devices are capable of using the IP of the second PBX as an alternative if registration is not available on the primary system. Of course that means you have to be "creative" in routing your trunks from the first device to the second as well.

If you had two identical (software/3CX settings/IP) machines, one on and one off. With the second able to boot from a power on, with no other user intervention required (no logon). The second machine would be available at the flip of a (killing the first machine and powering up the second). Re-registration of the sets would take up to 30 minutes unless they too were power cycled. Back-ups on the second machine would have to be kept up-to-date as changes were made on the primary machine.

 

[ircactus]

If you don't use dhcp provisioning, There is no reason they can not co-exist.

Side note for anyone asking why?. Seriously, systems are not always used as intended. ie. used to provide hosted services for instance. Better yet, think about it like breaking out a partition to customers. As long as each is licensed accordingly and routing and nat are handled properly at the network level, there's no reason 10, 20, 30 or more 3cx servers can't co-exist on the same lan. (to my knowledge).

 

[eagle2]

The issues with several systems on the same LAN are:
- DHCP option 66, if used;
- port forwarding (if one systems uses ports 5060, 5090, 9000 - 9049, the other should use another set of ports, at least for public address, unless you have and your router is able to maintain 2 or more public addresses)

Regards

 

[oraclemedia]

Actually? There isn't any rational reason for running a 2nd 3CX installation on the same subnet in my opinion -- EXCEPT as a backup

In the real world of IT there are "MANY" rational reasons you would want to run multiple 3CX servers on the same LAN! For instance: I have two clients who both have very sizable businesses which turnover in excess of 3~5 million GBP a year (each) but operate within the same building and share basic services such as leased line, car park, kitchen, electric, water etc... Why? Two unique companies which share a common director!... Having said that, interaction is at a minimal and each company has it's own sales director, reps, accounts department etc.... This is not an unusual scenario.

Answer to the question; A decent managered router, multiple static IP's and naturally sufficient bandwidth to support all trunks

 

[RichardCrabb1]

Hi,
I have a customer that runs two phone systems on the same LAN. The reason is that they were two separate business divisions and had separate requirements. Now, they have become separate businesses and might well end up having separate LANs. It has given them many advantages in separating the two - the main one is giving them as much separation as they need. At the same time calls can still be made between the two businesses by dialling the 4 digit extension number. When we decided to make them separate, it did not seem very obvious that that was the right thing to do. Now, for business reasons it most definitely makes sense. There are no technical issues as both use separate routers for their Spitfire SIP trunk connections. Also, DHCP currently is looked after by one of the servers. It happens that one business uses softphones, apart from a few hard phones, the other uses hard phones exclusively. Where hard phones are in use, we have come up with a script so that there are no issues with provisioning the phones. The appropriate 3CX can send the config file to the phone according to the MAC address that is provisioned. The script acts as a kind of filter.
Kind regards
Richard Crabb

 

[SY]

10 PBXes can work even on one host. (http://www.3cx.com/blog/releases/3cx-phone-system-multi-tenant/)
You need only adjust port usage on the hosts(PBXes) which are sharing the same external link/NAT.