Solved Questions re v18 Upgrade Required by FQDN Change

[zebis]

Hi 3CX Team!

We are planning to implement the updates described in the activation memo and have a few quick questions.

• For one of our V16 deployments, we rely heavily on notifications of extension registration status changes, however, we were informed a while back that, if we needed to retain this feature, we shouldn't update to newer v16 versions because that feature was removed.
  • For this particular site, we must be able to receive a notification if an extension registers or unregisters. Has that feature been returned in v18? If no, 1.) how often does an already activated 3CX installation check-in with the activation server? This particular deployment is showing the next renewal in 2023. Would it need to connect with the activation server before then? 2.) Would it be an option for us to pay for this notification feature to be added to v18 for us? 3.) In v18, is there any way our dev team could setup something to run on the system to monitor extension registration status?
    • If all of the above are no, if we purchased a many year subscription, would this allow us to continue using the current installation even though, on Feb 1st, it would no longer be able to reach the activation servers?
    • Alternatively, for this one installation, is there a way we could manually update the activation URL to avoid loosing the registration status notification feature?
    • For our other deployments we don't foresee too many obstacles, but this one seems to be using a 3CX feature that wasn't too popular. We were told other 3CX customers complained the notification of extension registration status change feature resulted in false negatives, however, we never experienced that and found the feature to be vital for this particular deployment. Maybe other customers had less optimized network deployments resulting in sporadic registration problems or they were receiving notifications directly instead of via a monitoring system that would place it into context (omit alerts if Internet was down, etc.), but, for us, I want to give compliments to the 3CX team as that feature works quite nicely hence the desire to retain it.
      
• Can v16 backups be restored to v18?
  • Other than the extension registration status change alert setting mentioned above, are there any other v16 settings that will not translate to v18 and, if yes, is there a document that outlines this?
    
• For a best practice, is it suggested to install a new system with v18 and migrate the data or perform an in-place upgrade from v16 to v18?
  
• Will call flow apps or custom phone templates have to be recreated for v18?

Thank you for your time on this. As always, much appreciated!

 

[ChrisC_3CX]

I'll try to answer all your questions as best as I can:

For this particular site, we must be able to receive a notification if an extension registers or unregisters. Has that feature been returned in v18?

I'm afraid no.

1.) how often does an already activated 3CX installation check-in with the activation server?

There is no fixed interval nor does it happen for only specific "events". Bear in mind that the 3CX PBX must always be able to reach our activation servers to keep the License Activated, ensure functionality of 3CX cloud services and maintain 3CX PBX operations altogether.

This particular deployment is showing the next renewal in 2023. Would it need to connect with the activation server before then?

As mentioned above, yes.

Would it be an option for us to pay for this notification feature to be added to v18 for us?

I'm afraid not.

In v18, is there any way our dev team could setup something to run on the system to monitor extension registration status?

As far as 3CX is concerned this is not possible, but, there are community members on this forum who have created custom tools/features for 3CX so hopefully one of them can chip in. I do have to mention though that implementing this will very likely render the PBX configuration unsupported by 3CX as it usually involves things like, installing 3rd party packages/software on the 3CX Host, accessing 3CX's Database, modifying config files ,etc. We do have a new API on our roadmap but what capabilities will be unlocked is still left to be seen.

If all of the above are no, if we purchased a many year subscription, would this allow us to continue using the current installation even though, on Feb 1st, it would no longer be able to reach the activation servers?

No, regardless of the License Key and it's expiration date, you will still need to upgrade the PBX. You must upgrade to v16 U8a or v18 U2 by the 1st of February 2022. If you choose to upgrade to v16 U8a, you will then need to upgrade to the latest stable build of V18 by the end of October 2022. The blog post can be found here.

Alternatively, for this one installation, is there a way we could manually update the activation URL to avoid loosing the registration status notification feature?

No.

For our other deployments we don't foresee too many obstacles, but this one seems to be using a 3CX feature that wasn't too popular. We were told other 3CX customers complained the notification of extension registration status change feature resulted in false negatives, however, we never experienced that and found the feature to be vital for this particular deployment. Maybe other customers had less optimized network deployments resulting in sporadic registration problems or they were receiving notifications directly instead of via a monitoring system that would place it into context (omit alerts if Internet was down, etc.), but, for us, I want to give compliments to the 3CX team as that feature works quite nicely hence the desire to retain it.

Thank you for your kind words but I'm afraid there currently are no plans for bringing this feature back.

Can v16 backups be restored to v18?

If they are of the latest v16 version (16.0.8.9) yes.

Other than the extension registration status change alert setting mentioned above, are there any other v16 settings that will not translate to v18 and, if yes, is there a document that outlines this?

There's no documentation such as the one you describe per se but you could take a look at the change log for fixes and our blog for new features added. To be honest, I think the best way to get this information would be to give it a go yourself by deploying a test system: https://www.3cx.com/

For a best practice, is it suggested to install a new system with v18 and migrate the data or perform an in-place upgrade from v16 to v18?

To help our customers with the upgrade process we have provided them with the capability to upgrade straight from V16 to V18 (for linux machines) which also automatically upgrades their OS from Debian 9 to Debian 10. The upgrade should complete without issues provided that the 3CX Instance was deployed as per our our guides to start with and was never subject to modification/changes that deviate from our guidelines. That said, if you have the luxury to take a backup, deploy a new machine using the 3CX ISO or our customer portal deployment wizard, and then restore, I would recommend following this method since it would not involve an OS upgrade and would rather have you deploy a fresh installation of both the OS and 3CX.

Will call flow apps or custom phone templates have to be recreated for v18?

They should carry over but, regarding the CFD apps, the general rule is that when you want to upgrade the 3CX Server to the latest Version, you should:

1. Get the original CFD Project Files
2. Download the Latest CFD from our website
3. Re-build your project files using the latest version
4. (Won't necessarily happen) Fix any compilation errors that may appear
5. Update 3CX Server to the latest update
6. Re-upload/refresh the CFDs in the Management Console.

Hope I've answered all your questions!

 

[zebis]

Hello Chris,

You have definitely answered my questions. Thank you so much for the quick reply and taking the time to provide detailed answers; you have been very helpful and the info is much appreciated.

I have one additional question from an item you mentioned. You mentioned there may be 3rd party tools that could monitor extension registration status. If we did run a system on the GNU/Linux server running 3CX, what 3cx item could be monitored that indicates extension registration status? Or, do you know of any 3rd party tools that accomplish this?

Thank you and have a great day!

 

[ChrisC_3CX]

You have definitely answered my questions. Thank you so much for the quick reply and taking the time to provide detailed answers; you have been very helpful and the info is much appreciated.

My pleasure!

You mentioned there may be 3rd party tools that could monitor extension registration status. If we did run a system on the GNU/Linux server running 3CX, what 3cx item could be monitored that indicates extension registration status? Or, do you know of any 3rd party tools that accomplish this?

This I'm afraid I cannot help with nor can I provide any information. To be honest, as mentioned previously I cannot even confirm the specific functionality you're requesting is possible at all. I merely meant that there have been cases where custom tools have been created to perform tasks that are not built into 3CX and hence available out of the box. I'm going to repeat myself here but I cannot stress this enough, even if you do manage to find a way to do this with some 3rd party solution it will most definitely render the 3CX PBX involved unsupported by 3CX, so I have to say that I do not recommend going down this path.

@VoIPTools @jed

 

[zebis]

Hi Chris,

Thank you, again for the information. It's definitely very helpful. Please excuse one additional question. If a perpetual licensed deployment is unable to reach the activation server, other than being unable to active from reinstall, would there be any impact after the current activation servers are unreachable? Other than app and webmeetings, would functionality of the perpetual licensed deployment reduce in this instance?

Thank you again for the time you are providing me.

 

[Evolute IT]

Hi Chris,

Thank you, again for the information. It's definitely very helpful. Please excuse one additional question. If a perpetual licensed deployment is unable to reach the activation server, other than being unable to active from reinstall, would there be any impact after the current activation servers are unreachable? Other than app and webmeetings, would functionality of the perpetual licensed deployment reduce in this instance?

Thank you again for the time you are providing me.

Yes, if the license can't activate itself anymore, it will drop down to a fallback type which looses many features.

 

[ChrisC_3CX]

@zebis
As @ConceptsWeb mentioned, currently what happens is that the License Edition gets downgraded, sim calls get reduced, 3CX cloud services will be lost, such as 3CX SMTP, webmeeting, 3CX DNS management, certificate renewal, etc.

 

[zebis]

Thank you, Chris! That info is definitely helpful. Since, for this site, we don't use any 3CX cloud services, I wanted to see if purchasing a perpetual lic and activating before the cutoff might be a way to retain the notification feature. Looks like that's not quite an option if I understand correctly. We definitely appreciate the time you've provided.

If there is every a way for us to purchase the feature or to retain the feature from this version, we'd be interested for sure.

Thanks and have a great day!

 

[ChrisC_3CX]

Looks like that's not quite an option if I understand correctly

Yes I would strongly recommend against doing that as it would guarantee you face issues.

Thanks and have a great day!

Glad I could help! Please feel free to start a new thread should you need additional information!