New Update to the 3CX SBC Boosts Performance

[nb]

The 3CX SBC is very popular and used by many of our users to either ensure quality of service, increase security or for connectivity reasons. With this latest update the performance of the 3CX Session Border Controller (SBC) has been beefed up so regardless of why you choose to use the 3CX SBC this update is for you. To start off we\'ve increased t...

Continue reading the Original Blog Post.

 

[mamo]

+1 for Upgrade instruction.
I also have to manage a SBC on a remote location where I visit maybe once a year. Would be a great waste of time and fuel to drive there just for this.

 

[safemode]

is there any word on when SBC status will be available from the actual 3CX management console instead of relying on seeing if the phones are online or not?

 

[RafaelD]

if you are referring to the SBC on the Raspberry PI, then the supported is 20 ip Phones.
Also, note that on standard Debian stretch , depending on your hardware setup, the number of IP phones supported is higher.

Hello Nick,

We are not using the PI but we install the debian SBC software on a Intel based machine.

I want to know how many ip phones are supported with the debian 9 SBC on a remote location. Does 3CX have made some tests?

 

[DSXVOICE]

Heads-up: The install overwrites the existing conf file. Be sure make a copy before upgrading. Might be nice if the code checked for existing conf file and read-in values...

 

[Nathan Boyd]

For those that have remote SBCs, you don't necessarily need to do a fresh install onsite at every location. Build an image on a spare Pi at your office, and clone the SD card. Write the image to a new SD and update the config file for that specific client/location. Then just ship the SD card to that client/location. Have a local contact power down the Pi, swap the SD card with the newly received one and power it back up. The cost of an SD card + postage is much cheaper than your time.

Also in you master image, I'd highly recommend some sort of remote administration tool. We use Screenconnect (now Connectwise Control) which simplifies updates down the road and allows a path for local access to phone config pages if need be.

 

[StefanW]

As the whole point of the SBC is to support remote sites its just not practical to do a clean install. We can manage the Pi's through SSH/Teamviewer but the cost of visiting each site for an upgrade is just not on

PI is simple, you have one in the office I guess, new SD card, install it, configure it (IP and SBC settings), ship it, replace it. (Just did this in 5 remote locations just like this)

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk®-mic...1513842281&sr=8-3&keywords=8GB++micro+SD+card

 

[jvivona]

PI is simple, you have one in the office I guess, new SD card, install it, configure it (IP and SBC settings), ship it, replace it. (Just did this in 5 remote locations just like this)

sure - but what about the rest of us that have non-PI systems - we can't just ship an SD card - because that doesn't work. Can't have an office manager replace a hard drive - because that's not something they should be doing.

My flying from Atlanta to Kanas, California, etc - just to do an OS upgrade - is a waste of $$$. Buying new hardware to replace the existing hardware - clients aren't going to pay for that new hardware. So we need to find an option.

There has GOT to be an option to either run new SBC on Deb8 or can we use similar upgrade instructions that were provided as part of the PBX install / upgrade from 8 to 9? I would think if I can upgrade an entire PBX with a script from 8 to 9 - why not the SBC?

We're going to do some internal testing here on using that same 8 to 9 upgrade process and uninstall / reinstall the SBC to see how it works. We know that teamviewer will work with that inplace upgrade - so we're crossing our fingers.

Also - should we be expecting that the new version of 3CX won't run on Debian 8 either? Becuase that's something we ALL should know in advance so we can start planning.

 

[jvivona]

NET / NET - Success

Here's what we tested on our end. This was a VERY limited tested
YMMV

Dell USFF Optiplex, i5, 4GB RAM, 32GB SSD
Debian 8.9 installed
3CX SBC for Debian 8 installed
Teamviewer HOST v13 installed
Internet connection - 250Mbps / 25Mpbs

connected to our 3CX 15.5 SP2 Instance on Debian 8.10, Microsoft Hyper-V Guest
3CX Supplied FQDN and Let's Encrypt Certificate
Internet connection @ datacenter - 100Mbps/100Mbps


Our base SBC installation was done, Operating System + 3CX SBC for Debian 8
we connected a couple of phones and made sure we could PnP provision, update firmware, etc - all working


#make sure everything is updated in Debian 8
apt-get update
apt-get upgrade


# First we removed existing SBC all together - becuase the install is so basic - no point in trying to mess with it
apt-get purge 3cxsbc

vi /etc/apt/sources.list # or nano - whatever you use to edit things
# change everything in sources.list that says "jessie" to "stretch"
# Also the last line in sources.list is the Debian 8 SBC source - is should be REMOVED. It should be something like: deb http://downloads.3cx.com/downloads/sbcdebian/ /

# save the above changes

apt-get update
apt-get dist-upgrade # the dist-upgrade is the key here

# let the upgrade go - on our machine it took about 20 minutes or so

reboot

# once the machine is back up, teamviewer still works & we're on Debian 9
# let Debian remove anything it thinks it doesn't need
apt-get autoremove

# i am a fan of rebooting again, but I don't think it's 100% necessary
reboot

# Now we follow the new Debian 9 SBC Installation instructions
# we don't use SUDO on these machines - but if you need it then change the 2nd command as necessary
wget http://downloads.3cx.com/downloads/sbc/3cxsbc.zip
bash 3cxsbc.zip

# run thought the install. The phones took about 10 minutes to re-register themselves - but we could have accelerated with
# a reboot of the phone(s)

# we then checked to make sure we could reboot the existing remote phones & force re-provisioning - all seemed good

# then we added another new phone (different model) and made sure PnP worked, upgrades, etc - all the core functions

# the Debian upgrade went and upgraded some other core things we put in there - ntp, nagios monitoring, heirloom-mailx, etc
# we MIGHT have some kind of challenge we've not noticed yet with monitoring, etc - but we're looking.
# Worst case, we'd just do a reinstall / configuration of that item using Teamviewer

 

[decibel]

Great writeup! Thanks for sharing!

 

[nb]

Yes precisely. You do not need to restart the PI .. Less ssh logins.
For the record this is caused due to badly managed networks but anyway...

 

[nb]

Why even give a shell script a .zip extension in the first place? Kind of odd...

Also you could turn that into a one-liner with less confusion:

wget http://downloads.3cx.com/downloads/sbc/3cxsbc.zip -O - | sudo bash

What is the problem now.. What difference does it make to you? Just run the thing and move on..

 

[nb]

NET / NET - Success

Here's what we tested on our end. This was a VERY limited tested
YMMV

Dell USFF Optiplex, i5, 4GB RAM, 32GB SSD
Debian 8.9 installed
3CX SBC for Debian 8 installed
Teamviewer HOST v13 installed
Internet connection - 250Mbps / 25Mpbs

connected to our 3CX 15.5 SP2 Instance on Debian 8.10, Microsoft Hyper-V Guest
3CX Supplied FQDN and Let's Encrypt Certificate
Internet connection @ datacenter - 100Mbps/100Mbps


Our base SBC installation was done, Operating System + 3CX SBC for Debian 8
we connected a couple of phones and made sure we could PnP provision, update firmware, etc - all working


#make sure everything is updated in Debian 8
apt-get update
apt-get upgrade


# First we removed existing SBC all together - becuase the install is so basic - no point in trying to mess with it
apt-get purge 3cxsbc

vi /etc/apt/sources.list # or nano - whatever you use to edit things
# change everything in sources.list that says "jessie" to "stretch"
# Also the last line in sources.list is the Debian 8 SBC source - is should be REMOVED. It should be something like: deb http://downloads.3cx.com/downloads/sbcdebian/ /

# save the above changes

apt-get update
apt-get dist-upgrade # the dist-upgrade is the key here

# let the upgrade go - on our machine it took about 20 minutes or so

reboot

# once the machine is back up, teamviewer still works & we're on Debian 9
# let Debian remove anything it thinks it doesn't need
apt-get autoremove

# i am a fan of rebooting again, but I don't think it's 100% necessary
reboot

# Now we follow the new Debian 9 SBC Installation instructions
# we don't use SUDO on these machines - but if you need it then change the 2nd command as necessary
wget http://downloads.3cx.com/downloads/sbc/3cxsbc.zip
bash 3cxsbc.zip

# run thought the install. The phones took about 10 minutes to re-register themselves - but we could have accelerated with
# a reboot of the phone(s)

# we then checked to make sure we could reboot the existing remote phones & force re-provisioning - all seemed good

# then we added another new phone (different model) and made sure PnP worked, upgrades, etc - all the core functions

# the Debian upgrade went and upgraded some other core things we put in there - ntp, nagios monitoring, heirloom-mailx, etc
# we MIGHT have some kind of challenge we've not noticed yet with monitoring, etc - but we're looking.
# Worst case, we'd just do a reinstall / configuration of that item using Teamviewer

Thanks for the info - however do you have a problem Yes / No? Or all is well?

 

[nb]

As the whole point of the SBC is to support remote sites its just not practical to do a clean install. We can manage the Pi's through SSH/Teamviewer but the cost of visiting each site for an upgrade is just not on

The sbc should be a dummy machine with nothing on it. I can spawn sbc machines with the 5 lines configuration in seconds..
Point is this - if you have sbc's on debian 8 you can remain on them and it will work with the bugs that version has.
otherwise update to debian 9, install new sbc and you will not need to login again (or really under very big emergency).

This new SBC also auto updates - so your logins and maintenance will be much much less.

 

[nb]

sure - but what about the rest of us that have non-PI systems - we can't just ship an SD card - because that doesn't work. Can't have an office manager replace a hard drive - because that's not something they should be doing.

My flying from Atlanta to Kanas, California, etc - just to do an OS upgrade - is a waste of $$$. Buying new hardware to replace the existing hardware - clients aren't going to pay for that new hardware. So we need to find an option.

There has GOT to be an option to either run new SBC on Deb8 or can we use similar upgrade instructions that were provided as part of the PBX install / upgrade from 8 to 9? I would think if I can upgrade an entire PBX with a script from 8 to 9 - why not the SBC?

We're going to do some internal testing here on using that same 8 to 9 upgrade process and uninstall / reinstall the SBC to see how it works. We know that teamviewer will work with that inplace upgrade - so we're crossing our fingers.

Also - should we be expecting that the new version of 3CX won't run on Debian 8 either? Becuase that's something we ALL should know in advance so we can start planning.

Lat I checked you can spawn a machine free debian 9 remotely and install SBC. No need to fly.
Come on now.. these are excuses. Debian stopped publishing debian 8 on the site.. We are not going To stay supporting 2 versions of the sbc for linux.

Run a couple of commands from ssh, update deb 9 and then install SBC. I can do this whilst i'm cooking turkey this xmas.. You don't need to catch planes..

 

[nb]

Heads-up: The install overwrites the existing conf file. Be sure make a copy before upgrading. Might be nice if the code checked for existing conf file and read-in values...

Yes it overrides - but it asks you the questions, you answer them and they are overridden.. Everything looks standard. If you are expecting something else let me know. (Yes true - standard linux asks you before whether you want to keep or not.. This we do not have. but its just 3 parameters.. )

 

[nb]

We would be very very very grateful if that is the case. I'm confident that i am speaking for many of your re sellers here!

Absolutely.
We guarantee MUCH MUCH LESS SSH logins or remote assistance with this version. Try it and you will see.
We collected all the ssh complaints and did the same exercise we did in the PBX to reduce ssh logins.

Not everything was done - we split it in parts. Now part 2 will contain intelligent sbc and remote management from 3CX Management console. That update will be awesome.. Early 2018 we will try guys..

 

[jvivona]

Lat I checked you can spawn a machine free debian 9 remotely and install SBC. No need to fly.
Come on now.. these are excuses. Debian stopped publishing debian 8 on the site.. We are not going To stay supporting 2 versions of the sbc for linux.

Run a couple of commands from ssh, update deb 9 and then install SBC. I can do this whilst i'm cooking turkey this xmas.. You don't need to catch planes..

NIcky - I'm not disagreeing with the need to update to Debian 9 - I'm just saying there are realities in the Enterprise IT space. Planning, strategy, testing, disaster recovery, business continuity, etc. We can't keep spinning these clients on a dime everytime you all do an update. I've got clients who are still in the testing and planning stages for SP2 due to some of the changes. Clients are now looking at waiting for SP3 and restarting all the testing/certifications instead of having to do an SP2 test and then turn around and do a set of SP3 tests. We're starting to see clients tell us - no more than 1 update every 6 months. In addition - this update for example takes about an hour total - who's going to pay the labor for that effort? My team likes to eat turkey for xmas too - but if we're not billing the client - then we're not eating.

with an SBC at a remote site - they have no IT people there. Who's going to do a setup for a computer? Who's going to plug it into their network? Who is going to pay for the extra equipment? You're not seeing this from an IT provider perspective. That's why we all starting asking for a way to upgrade the existing SBCs from 8 to 9. You all were saying "do a fresh install" - which doesn't work if you are not on-site.

As for fewer logins - all of this equipment needs to be monitored, etc in an enterprise IT environment, etc - so logins, maintenance, monitoring, etc - it still needs to be done. I get in a simple environment they aren't worried about it and when the machine crashes - they will just toss & replace it and accept the downtime. With high capacity call centers, medical facilities, etc - downtime isn't an acceptable option.

So far - our 8 to 9 upgrade process is working - so we're going to leverage it with a couple of clients who are more forgiving of issues / downtime in the event something goes wrong.

 

[nb]

NIcky - I'm not disagreeing with the need to update to Debian 9 - I'm just saying there are realities in the Enterprise IT space. Planning, strategy, testing, disaster recovery, business continuity, etc. We can't keep spinning these clients on a dime everytime you all do an update. I've got clients who are still in the testing and planning stages for SP2 due to some of the changes. Clients are now looking at waiting for SP3 and restarting all the testing/certifications instead of having to do an SP2 test and then turn around and do a set of SP3 tests. We're starting to see clients tell us - no more than 1 update every 6 months. In addition - this update for example takes about an hour total - who's going to pay the labor for that effort? My team likes to eat turkey for xmas too - but if we're not billing the client - then we're not eating.

with an SBC at a remote site - they have no IT people there. Who's going to do a setup for a computer? Who's going to plug it into their network? Who is going to pay for the extra equipment? You're not seeing this from an IT provider perspective. That's why we all starting asking for a way to upgrade the existing SBCs from 8 to 9. You all were saying "do a fresh install" - which doesn't work if you are not on-site.

As for fewer logins - all of this equipment needs to be monitored, etc in an enterprise IT environment, etc - so logins, maintenance, monitoring, etc - it still needs to be done. I get in a simple environment they aren't worried about it and when the machine crashes - they will just toss & replace it and accept the downtime. With high capacity call centers, medical facilities, etc - downtime isn't an acceptable option.

So far - our 8 to 9 upgrade process is working - so we're going to leverage it with a couple of clients who are more forgiving of issues / downtime in the event something goes wrong.

Answers inline in parts..
Part 1: No one forces you to update - the previous sbc is backward compatible. So you can sit back, plan, do the strategy you want because everything will remain working and forward compatible.

Part 2: I understand this - But you can get your current debian, run a couple of commands - YES ALL REMOTELY (so you get your existing installations and update them). No need for new hardware. I know what I am talking about. If I tell you that this can be done remotely, it can.

Lets focus on why 8-9 is not working. Because the world is managing. You can get the script we made for 3CX and change it for SBC.. And yes it can fail - especially if you install other software or packages on the machines. i think these should be complete dummy machines with just sbc's on them. and if you can virtualize them (so one machine and a virtualization software on it, you really do not need to go plug the netowork in.. )

 

[jvivona]

Nicky - you & I are 100% agreeing here. MY POINT has been. At first you all said "clean install" - we all said "there has to be an upgrade". Then you all said "clean install".

So we were left to our own devices to try upgrading the OS and seeing if it worked - where most of us expected you all to provide something similar to the PBX Deb 8 to 9 script. We all thought this would be something you all would test as part of the process.

So that's what I built yesterday for anyone who needed it. Again - we all assumed you all would have provided this instead of just saying "clean install"

So YES - now that we have a 8 to 9 upgrade process, THAT WE BUILT YESTERDAY, that works - indeed we can do this remote. It was the "clean install"s statements from you all that threw us all off and caused this to spin.

Have a good Christmas & enjoy the turkey!

 

[nb]

Nicky - you & I are 100% agreeing here. MY POINT has been. At first you all said "clean install" - we all said "there has to be an upgrade". Then you all said "clean install".

So we were left to our own devices to try upgrading the OS and seeing if it worked - where most of us expected you all to provide something similar to the PBX Deb 8 to 9 script. We all thought this would be something you all would test as part of the process.

So that's what I built yesterday for anyone who needed it. Again - we all assumed you all would have provided this instead of just saying "clean install"

So YES - now that we have a 8 to 9 upgrade process, THAT WE BUILT YESTERDAY, that works - indeed we can do this remote. It was the "clean install"s statements from you all that threw us all off and caused this to spin.

Have a good Christmas & enjoy the turkey!

Officially 3CX says clean install yes.. But we cannot always be politically correct and exact .

Whilst reading I understand you play around with linux - so yes - why not - do the update like I do on my sbc's.

The beauty of linux is that you can play around and do what you feel. Linux OS management is in your hands. If I tell you to go to Miami, we dont care how you get there. Car, plane, walk. Just get there. If you dont know linux, follow the statements we tell you religiously. But if you know, please, use your knowledge to get things working in what suits you best. A Clean install of 9 and update 8-9 with sbc removed is exactly the same thing. Anyway - forget everything - and do this
Remove SBC
Update 8-9
Install SBC from new repo

Have a good xmas to you too and all your family bro!!! Peace to everyone !! looking forward for 2018!!!