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jelliott52

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Has anybody here installed 3CX on WHS? This is where I'm going with this. WHS is basically Server 2003 stripped of the domain features and Server 2003 is basically over kill for 3CX to run on. I was pondering if 3CX could be installed on WHS. This gives you the best of both worlds. A light weight server operating system and 3cx on moderate hardware. Also the cost of WHS is cheap compared to Server 2003.

Just rambling and thinking. Thanks for everyone's input.

Jay
 
My question would be why run it on WHS when you can run it on XP Pro or Win 7 Pro (let's just pretend Vista doesn't exist). Those licenses are much cheaper than Windows Server and can still attach to a domain.
 
Kerry,
I agree to a point, WinXP & Win7 are cheaper, but they are still a PC operating system, not a server operating system. WinXP needs to be rebooted every 2 -3 weeks to get the crap out and a server operating system doesn't. A telephone system whether 3CX or Asterisk is designed to be on 24x7X365. I've never seen WinXP be able to do that. But with Server 2003 I've been able to get some very good up times on them (except for the patches). I like my telephone systems, which I consider mission critical, to behave as a server rather then a PC. Also we build our own server, so we know what is inside and there are no special stuff they like to include. We use commodity parts in our servers so there is nothing special to stock, just good quality computer parts. One more thing a license of WHS is less then $100.00, a license for Win7 is $139.00 (newegg.com). Your thoughts?

Jay
 
I run my Lab and Office 3CX on XP and have no stability issues over time.

I understand where you are coming from, but honestly, Server isn't meant to run 24/7/365 any more than every other version of Windows. In my Navy days I never let my Servers go more than 48 hours without a scheduled reboot. I don't trust any OS to run issue free for any length of time without some form of Scheduled Maintenance. That is just asking for trouble. That goes for any version of Windows. If you want Server for its additional features, great, but "stability over time" is honestly not an issue between versions.

Just my 2 Pennies
 
My Windows XP machines that are running as "servers" for 3CX do nothing else but run 3CX so I do not have any "crap" that builds up to make them unstable. Would I run my 3CX system on my personal desktop machine? Hell no! With all the gaming, testing, software installs/uninstalls, and everything else I do, my desktop machine gets it share of reboots and "crap". But WinXP has been extremely stable and reliable as a dedicated machine. With a lower price point, it does make it very interesting but do you really want to sell a product based on a "Home" server product into a business? There is certainly more explaining to do with that. Why not get OEM versions of XP for $50 and make that your cost savings?
 
Kerry,
Where are you getting OEM XP for $50.00? The best price I can find is $99.00.

We'll both of you convinced me. I'm going to give XP a shot and see how it does. I'll just set a scheduled task to reboot once a week.

Jay
 
If you are into the idea of buying licenses from decommissioned PC's, then you can get XP Pro licenses for $39 at http://www.vermontcomputers.org
 
To follow up on your last comment, odds are your system will reboot once a month from getting Windows Updates if you have that set to automatic, that's all I do on my systems and haven't had any issues at all.
 
I've been running 3CX with XP Pro on an Atom based Intel motherboard with 2 gig and have had it run for a little over 6 months with no issue. Nothing else running on the machine and all unnecessary processes have been disabled. Had to take it down to move the machine to a different outlet. It would be interesting to see how long it would run without a reboot. As the PC boots back up after a power failure it could be fitted with a timer to take it down late on a Sunday (or other low time).
 
leejor,
What are the services are you stopping. I usually use the guides from blackviper.com and my own knowledge to turn services. It would be interesting to compare notes. I turn off as much possible for both servers and workstations.

Jay
 
I wouldn't force a power outage on it to shut it down. Instead, create a small batch file with the following command in it:

shutdown /r

This will cause a reboot after 30 seconds and will be a clean reboot. Much preferred over a power cycle reset. Then use the Windows scheduler to run that batch file whenever you want to.
 
We running 3CX on WHS at our office more than year. Great experience. No any scheduled reboots. It work without any problems for months. The only problem you will encounter is the configuration of 3CX gateway for Skype. After installing it just add Local Logon Right to 3CXSkypeGatewayAccounts group.
 
I run 3CX on my WHS. No problems, but I do not run skype gateway.
 
mattlandis said:
I agree with all the guys that use XP Pro. It works great. No, you don't need to reboot it if you have a clean install and don't try to run other stuff on it.

Another OS to keep your eye on: Windows Foundation Server 2008. It is really server 2008 with 15 smb connection limit. Full dhcp server. Server os otherwise. Price is around the xp pro price.

Matt
Click to expand...

Windows Foundation 2008 has been our preferred OS for client installs. As stated it has all the needed services built in with some additional useful features the others do not such as QOS, RDP over SSL, Redirected 2 way Audio for RDP, enhanced security features..ect..ect.
 
I completely forgot about Foundation Server so I went to technet to grab a copy and its not listed there. Seems its only available pre-installed on hardware platforms although I did find it on buy.com for $240, bummer as I really wanted to check it out.
 
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