Running 3CX in a virtualized server environment

[jswade]

Just FYI for the group. I've been running the free edition of 3CX in virtualized Windows Server 2008 instance on Citrix XenServer 5.5. I don't know if there's much interest in this, but I wanted to let the community know that it can successfully be done and has the following advantages:

- allows consolidation of platforms (3CX can run alongside other virtual servers in a consolidated environment)
- provides the ability to create a high-availability enviromnent for 3CX (multiple physical servers can be setup in a XenServer cluster allowing 3CX to failover to another host should a physical server failure occur)
- provides an easy way to clone/backup the 3CX server environment for disaster recovery purposes

XenServer 5.5 and it's associated management console are free products from Citrix (high-availabilty is not one of the free features however, although manual failover is available in the free version). A few things to consider if you choose the virtualization route:

- All gateways (PSTN, ATA, etc...) must be external (LAN attached) to the PBX. Add-in PC cards such as T1 interfaces or analog cards are not supported
- 3CX performs best when provisioned with multiple virtual processors and set to a higher priority relative to other virtual servers that may be sharing the hardware

If there's enough interest, I'll post a diagram of my configuration for the benefit of others.

Thanks 3CX for a great product!

Cheers,
Jeff Wade

 

[regomotiv]

I'm running 3CX on a Dell 1950
host is 2008 R2 w Hyper-V
3CX guest o/s is 2008 R2

zero problems!

 

[dannybrook]

pjr,
There is a couple of things I want to add and these are just MY opinions. I manage lots of VM systems and you might want to consider running Either ESX or ESXi. Windows was very late to the VM game and playing catch up. I'm a heavy linux user and I run all my windows in VM's and everybody plays nicely in the sandbox. It's when you run Window's within windows that the kids get cranky. I run VMware and Sun's virtualbox and windows loves it. I don't want to start a Win/Linux flame war here. These are just my observations and experiences.

Jay

Couldn't agree more, I prefer ESXi/VmWare Workstation/Virtualbox over Hyper-V any day.

 

[pdq]

Since this is a Windows application, I stick with Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and run the 3CX PBX on a Server 2008 guest OS. Our SBS Server VM and the 3CX PBX VM can be restored offsite in a few hours or less.
This keeps the issues simple, it’s either a 3CX or a Windows issue, and we get excellent support from 3CX and MSFT. We learned that the hard way with other vendors/OS/PBXs poor to no support.