Self-hosting PBX?

[td5roo]

Hi all,

 

We are considering self-hosting a software-based PBX as a serious option for ease of access for admin and control, and trying to find out any potential cost savings. Have any of you got a self-hosted software based PBX rather than a hosted or cloud option? What are you running, and how is it performing? Is there anything you would have done differently? What was the setup like - did you do it or did a company do it for you? Did you change your handsets as well - if so what did you choose and what led you to that decision? The more info the better!

 

We only have 2 numbers to port (1 per school reception, although the network and phones are shared between them), and we don't really use any sort of advanced functionality, just things like hunt groups and a menu for different options, so complex technical capability just isn't necessary. We have a HyperV server on prem already, which is about to have half of its resources freed up due to old software being moved to the cloud so we would absolutely have the hardware capacity to do it. We would be looking at around 50 handsets overall, including a small number of frequent user handsets and receptionist ones.

 

Many thanks in advance.

[2ilent8cho]

We use Issabel; https://www.issabel.org . We ran Elastix first since 2009 which is what its a fork of since 3CX bought it. We run 300 extensions over 10 schools on it, does not miss a beat. 

[td5roo]

15 minutes ago, 2ilent8cho said:

We use Issabel; https://www.issabel.org . We ran Elastix first since 2009 which is what its a fork of since 3CX bought it. We run 300 extensions over 10 schools on it, does not miss a beat. 

 

Interesting - it doesn't look like there's much support or interest for it here in the UK that I can find from some Googling. If you did have something go wrong and didn't feel you could deal with it yourself, where would you go? I think that's an important thing for us, even if it's just for the reassurance of leadership, they'd like there to be some sort of company who could help pick up the pieces in the event something went seriously wrong. Obviously it's very appealing with it being free! Does the free option cover everything you need?

[steveg]

3cx with Yealink handsets, including whole site dect cordless ones, integration to MIS via Edulink Pro.  Been working for years with no issues.  

[td5roo]

1 minute ago, steveg said:

3cx with Yealink handsets, including whole site dect cordless ones, integration to MIS via Edulink Pro.  Been working for years with no issues.  

Do you feel that saving the few hundred quid a year by self-hosting is worth it?

[steveg]

Just now, td5roo said:

Do you feel that saving the few hundred quid a year by self-hosting is worth it?

The driving factor for us was being able to communicate internally still if the internet connection went down.  Once we finish improving the resiliency of the connection we may move it to the cloud.  We had plenty of spare server capacity so no additional costs to host it ourselves. 

[td5roo]

Just now, steveg said:

The driving factor for us was being able to communicate internally still if the internet connection went down.  Once we finish improving the resiliency of the connection we may move it to the cloud.  We had plenty of spare server capacity so no additional costs to host it ourselves. 

 

That's a big plus, absolutely. We have a backup internet connection (albeit extremely basic) so I'm not desperately worried about that but we do have the spare server capacity to make use of and minimal funding to replace a system that's just not performing.

 

As a question to the floor, I should also ask: if we were to (begrudgingly) keep the majority of our existing phones (we own them outright), which have up to now been managed by our current provider, should there be anything to stop us from having full control over them in terms of firmware, admin access, etc? I have heard some folks have experienced problems with this when changing providers due to some sort of firmware issue or otherwise. I'd like to hope not considering they are ancient Panasonic KX-HDV130s and 230s. Piecemeal replacement of units that become troublesome or broken would be a more financially justifiable approach if it would work, as we are really badly strapped for cash.

[KK20]

if you can SIP configure your phones manually then no reason why not.  I have a handful of old Mitel 5320 that were firmware flashed to enable http and sip access, these added to 3cx fine and dandy, they work well enough for a few places we need a simple handset to ring and dial.  You may have to dig about in forums to get information on hidden screens or firmware.

 

KX-HDV130s would fall under the same bracket, you can add them manually to 3CX and they are unsupported but should "work".  By "work" I mean make calls and receive calls, don't expect phone books and buttons to full function (your voicemail and BLF buttons might work - they do on our 5320) but you will need to set each phone up manually.   I would think about getting a cheap supported phone for whatever PBX you choose just to make your life easier, and keep the older ones for edge cases or simple handset areas.  Manual phones don't tend to like NAT either, you will need a non routed line of sight to a controller (most wont support STUN etc).