Need to restart server every couple of days

[tactico]

We have 3cx server running on a windows 10 Virtual machine, on a decent server with plenty of resources. 10 phones in the same office and a SIP connection. All work perfectly.
There are 4 phones in a remote office that work "perfectly" - however once every 3 or 4 days they give really poor audio quality - both internal and external calls. The main office is OK when this happens. (No VPN between offices).
After various tests we have found this is instantly solved by rebooting the server. Restarting either of the two internet connections/routers/switches doesnt resolve, nor does powering the handsets. The remote phones appear registered, internet usage in both offices is negligible at the time, and they rarely have more than 1 or 2 concurrent calls. Both offices have a 50/50 optical internet connection with the same provider. Once the problem kicks in it doesnt go away by itself - calls to the second office will be inaudible until reboot.
I am at a loss as to what is causing the issue or how to fault find. I cant replicate it, even if I force the bandwidth down the connections are OK. But every couple of days I get a call from the client to reboot the 3cx server.

 

[Alphabetic]

Please provide more info

https://www.3cx.com/community/threads/information-to-provide-when-requesting-help.67558/

How are the phones provisioned at the remote office? Are you using an SBC?

If you're using STUN have you provisioned the phones with their own SIP and RTP ports?

What software is running on your Win 10 machine?

You could also consider moving your 3CX to the Debian ISO

 

[AWS2P]

As you don't speak about SBC then i Guess you don't use it on remote site, so like above have you set remote STUN phones as expected by 3CX ?

for audio quality, did you set audio codec in preferred order like your SIP provider expect? this everywhere, trunk, extensions

 

[JohnS_3CX]

Bad Quality -> Audible but with imperfections that affect the conversation

Inaudible -> This points to some closed audio ports or ALG

So which is it of the two?

It sounds like you are using STUN phones without all the necessary ports forwarded (since main office is ok) and would probably benefit from adding a small 3CX SBC for the remote office.

It will act as a local proxy for the phones to register to, and it will send the audio over an encrypted tunnel to the PBX, solving any issues you may have with port accessibility.

 

[tactico]

The remote phones are provisioned with SBC remote pointing to the main office via company.3cx.com.au - I am guessing this isnt correct/ideal and they should be done with STUN even though they work fine for a few days - in fact I am now surprised they work with this option.
I might find a spare system to setup as a SBC (which I didnt know existed as an option).
In answer to other questions - close to inaudible - but crystal clear when working. port checker says everything is ok, no ALG

Also:

• 3CX Version, Pro Annual 16.0.641
• Server OS, e.g. win10 - nothing else running on it
• Is the 3CX Server Hosted and where? no
• IP Phone Make/Model/Firmware - fanvil X5U
• Provisioning Method: Local / VPN / STUN / SBC - SBC
• Trunk Provider or Gateway Make/Model - Exetel SIP
• Has the Firewall Checker passed: YES
• Are custom Phone Templates being used: NO

And thanks for responses so far. This is the first time I have had phones in a different office.

 

[AWS2P]

Are you explaining us phones are set like they are behind an SBC but there's no SBC on remote location? ?

 

[AWS2P]

port checker says everything is ok, no ALG

It can be ok as you are testing pbx side, not firewall on remote location

 

[Saqqara]

How much memory is allocated to the virtual machine - for a test try increasing it.

Are you running antivirus on the host machine and virtual machine. if so are you excluding the vhd files ,and within the 3cx server C:\Program Files\3CX Phone System\* and C:\ProgramData\3CX\*

 

[tactico]

It can be ok as you are testing pbx side, not firewall on remote location

The server was previously in the remote side, but moved to new office, firewall on the remote side previously passed firewall test when the server was there.

 

[AWS2P]

as your phones are for now used Stun mode then they should be used as expected by 3CX:
static ip on phones
unique sip port on each phone
Range of 12 audio port unique for each phone
NAT rule forwarding RTP ports to each phone
Same config done in each extension PBX side

 

[JohnS_3CX]

@tactico you cannot use the SBC option without an actual SBC, it's simply not designed to work that way.

You should install a real SBC locally to the phones, change the extensions to point to its IP, and reprovision your phones. I have a feeling that all the audio issues will go away after this.