Raspberry Pi Pre-installed with 3CX for Just $99

[Evolute IT]

e. This will all be possible remotely in a few months (because a version of Debian will be installed that contacts our PBXexpress tool)

THIS is seriously a BIG step forward! Being able to dropship an SBC to a customer, with preconfigured IPs and you can even ship the phones. This is awesome! Is this gonna be provisioned through the MC for SBCs? (PBXs will obviously be configured through the Customer/Partner Portal.)

 

[r4ph0u]

b. They pre install Debian 10 (previously called raspbian yes)

They preinstalls Raspberry Pi OS, previously called Raspbian. It is not Debian, it is Debian-based, highly optimised for Raspberrys.

 

[Richard P OConnor]

Just got mine :

Tuesday it arrived

Ordered an HDMI Mini cable for the unit as it arrived Yesterday and booted it up :

1. Plugged in keyboard mouse and monitor
2. Followed the prompts and it booted up ( relatively easy ) along with the updates along with setting up wifi connectivity to my Corp Network ( I'll find out how easy it is to change WIFI/Ethernet settings when I set up at a clients network later )
3. Once it was up I followed the doc and enabled SSH connectivity
4. Used the provided 3cx software loading linked path via SSH in the 3CX Rasberry pi set up document ( Set up doc from 3CX instructing how to load software and boot up stated to use only step 4 of the set up document ) and went out and downloaded 3CX software . Link was spot on and it loaded the 3CX software !
5. All set to run set up 3CX software and deploy to a Customer

Note : I did not run the complete 3CX software set up due to being in a lab environment and I will try to sell to a local Customer . Once installed I will finish the installation set up etc.

So far it looks like it was pretty smooth and easy to set up . I just wish when the kit was sold that they mentioned that an HDMI mini cable( If not already available ) may be needed as I have a TON of cables except that one ! Would have saved me a few days as I would have ordered one with the kit . Maybe mentioned ? But I did not see it . I ordered a couple of extras . Live and learn .

So as far as the docs go , you can set this up with already loaded preconfigured software and just boot it up . Once it is up and running you access it just like a local pc . Keyboard Mouse Monitor etc. I know you can use it via the Ethernet adapter but need to research on how to change this as a static address instead of the WIFI . WIFI is good but Ethernet in most cases is probably better ! Need to sharpen my programming skills to get back into using SSH also !

So ready to go and install at my next sale ! Seems like it was really pretty easy !

 

[JohnS_3CX]

Just got mine :

Tuesday it arrived

Ordered an HDMI Mini cable for the unit as it arrived Yesterday and booted it up :

1. Plugged in keyboard mouse and monitor
2. Followed the prompts and it booted up ( relatively easy ) along with the updates along with setting up wifi connectivity to my Corp Network ( I'll find out how easy it is to change WIFI/Ethernet settings when I set up at a clients network later )
3. Once it was up I followed the doc and enabled SSH connectivity
4. Used the provided 3cx software loading linked path via SSH in the 3CX Rasberry pi set up document ( Set up doc from 3CX instructing how to load software and boot up stated to use only step 4 of the set up document ) and went out and downloaded 3CX software . Link was spot on and it loaded the 3CX software !
5. All set to run set up 3CX software and deploy to a Customer

Note : I did not run the complete 3CX software set up due to being in a lab environment and I will try to sell to a local Customer . Once installed I will finish the installation set up etc.

So far it looks like it was pretty smooth and easy to set up . I just wish when the kit was sold that they mentioned that an HDMI mini cable( If not already available ) may be needed as I have a TON of cables except that one ! Would have saved me a few days as I would have ordered one with the kit . Maybe mentioned ? But I did not see it . I ordered a couple of extras . Live and learn .

So as far as the docs go , you can set this up with already loaded preconfigured software and just boot it up . Once it is up and running you access it just like a local pc . Keyboard Mouse Monitor etc. I know you can use it via the Ethernet adapter but need to research on how to change this as a static address instead of the WIFI . WIFI is good but Ethernet in most cases is probably better ! Need to sharpen my programming skills to get back into using SSH also !

So ready to go and install at my next sale ! Seems like it was really pretty easy !

Nice to hear Richard, and note that our guide has you covered regarding static IP
https://www.3cx.com/docs/installing-pbx-raspberry-pi/

Ethernet is a must for the PBX though, because you can never trust WiFi to retain a stable connection due to the nature of wireless technologies

 

[Richard P OConnor]

Nice to hear Richard, and note that our guide has you covered regarding static IP
https://www.3cx.com/docs/installing-pbx-raspberry-pi/

Ethernet is a must for the PBX though, because you can never trust WiFi to retain a stable connection due to the nature of wireless technologies

Hi John Thx as I agree on the WIFI and thx for the doc !
I saw the static ip instructions yesterday while perusing also . Since the Rasberry pi is not deployed , I figured I would wait and then follow the instructions !

 

[Ed Wheeler]

Hi, so I first want to confirm that no 3CX software comes preloaded on these kits, it needs to be downloaded per the instructions?
Secondly has anyone had any video issues with the CanaKit? I set one up and after several minutes the screen goes blank/grey and I have to reboot it for the video to come back. Pressing keyboard/mouse does not do anything. Monitor shows no input. Not sure if there is an issue with the unit or a setting that needs to be changed?

 

[Richard P OConnor]

Hi Ed

Yes thats correct as you must download 3CX software then follow the 3CX instructions on set up , domain etc. . Only the operating system is included . I did not try the video set up as I only had one pc available at the time as the others were all in use .

 

[nathan0707]

I'll wait for remote deployment, +1 as others have said would be great to drop ship an SBC and provision remotely. I think some of the negativity on the forum is due to partners feeling that 3CX is going more and more to direct consumers cutting out the partners. but if you provide a good service I do not see reason for concern, Quickbooks can be purchased by anyone yet most still hire an accountant or book keeper my view is the same of 3CX.

 

[Richard P OConnor]

I have 3 systems : 2 sales kits and our main system for our office !
One on Premise for our office
Second one is in the cloud for sales demo etc.
3rd is the Rasberry Pi for demo as well . The hosted system has a sip trunk I use and show folks how quickly they can use their i phone or a sip device . Works out pretty well .. If I am on the road and make a stop I can bring up the interface and a phone right there !

 

[princer800]

I applaud 3CX making this a viable option. As an SBC or small 3CX installation - it makes sense to me. The move to a USB-C connector has made the power connection more reliable which is one of the concerns I originally had with the Pi. Can someone point me to the documentation on sizing and limits for 3CX and the SBC on the Pi 4?

 

[Richard P OConnor]

Hi Princer800

What I have found :

Here are some links !

https://www.3cx.com/docs/installing-pbx-raspberry-pi/

https://www.3cx.com/docs/recommended-hardware-specifications-for-3cx/

From what I have seen I am looking at the 5 to 15 phone arena . .Any info you get I would love to see as well !

 

[greychain]

Not sure if using an SD Card is a good idea. When using other PBX systems the constant writing of logs often wore the SD card out. Not sure if this is an issue with 3CX though

 

[N_G]

Pi 4 can easily handle up to 25-30 extensions..... Depends what you are doing of course. If you are heavily using call recording, call queues, web client, then maybe it will run out of steam. But if its just a simple phone system, you will be absolutely fine with a Raspberry Pi4 up to 30 extension.

 

[Evolute IT]

Pi 4 can easily handle up to 25-30 extensions..... Depends what you are doing of course. If you are heavily using call recording, call queues, web client, then maybe it will run out of steam. But if its just a simple phone system, you will be absolutely fine with a Raspberry Pi4 up to 30 extension.

Worst case they can just disable logging as it was recommended on the Pi 3B+.

 

[gorbros]

If you want a different option from the canakit we suggested you can simply order it from their website. We dont sell these things, canakit does.

For remote provisioning, we are thinking to have an option in PBXexpress to deploy directly to a Raspberry Pi device remotely using its MAC address. Similar to a remote phone. So you can actually drop ship these things to a customer and deploy his PBX from your office/home.

Looking forward to this

 

[man416]

3CX shows the requirements and kits come with 32+GB Class 10 Micro SDHC but the CanaKit website shows 16GB. We ordered one and it does come with the 16GB SD. Is this large enough?

 

[Kevin@voxtelesys]

Not sure if using an SD Card is a good idea. When using other PBX systems the constant writing of logs often wore the SD card out. Not sure if this is an issue with 3CX though

Defiantly would want to use an external SSD in my opinion

 

[accentlogic]

3CX shows the requirements and kits come with 32+GB Class 10 Micro SDHC but the CanaKit website shows 16GB. We ordered one and it does come with the 16GB SD. Is this large enough?

The 16GB for an SBC will work, but we have been removing some of the extra Pi software (LibreOffice, Wolfram, etc) to free up space. Takes us from 4GB free to over 7GB free when we deploy.

The space will only be an issue if you ever have to do wireshark captures on it. Just be sure to use a capture command line that self cleans the capture files so you don't run out of disk space.

For a 3CX PBX, I would want a larger disk, and as Kevin said above an SSD is a more reliable storage medium. Personally, we put all PBX in the cloud and use Pi SBC units at each location with more than one desk phone.

 

[gorbros]

If you want a different option from the canakit we suggested you can simply order it from their website. We dont sell these things, canakit does.

For remote provisioning, we are thinking to have an option in PBXexpress to deploy directly to a Raspberry Pi device remotely using its MAC address. Similar to a remote phone. So you can actually drop ship these things to a customer and deploy his PBX from your office/home.

Looking forward to this @Nick Galea perhaps in early 2021

 

[cobaltit]

Will you be using the SBC hostname as the proxy, rather than the IP address? It would solve the need on unmanaged networks to have a static IP or DHCP reservation set. Many network printers use this method - hopefully 3CX can use it.

This does work. I put the project on the back burner but we used it extensively in-house for months. Setup a DNS name for the SBC tied to a dynamic DNS type service and used the host name for the SBC. Only really tested it with Yealink and Snom phones but in theory all IP phones that don't do some silly caching of DNS should work. This with some ET phone home remote access allowed us to just ship a SBC and plug it in and have it work with DHCP.