Upgrading VoIP PBX to 3CX V16

Yesterday I upgraded a Voice Over IP (VoIP) PBX to the 3CX Version 16 software. I had to do a new install of the software, since the password to the old software was lost and it had to be wiped out and new software installed. Luckily I didn’t have to make any firewall changes since the Sonicwall firewall was already set up to allow VoIP traffic in and out from the Internet over a SIP trunk from a company named Fusion.

So how does a VoIP PBX work? WONDERFULLY in this case. A VoIP PBX sits on the local network and receives voice packets from a phone provider over what we call a SIP trunk. If someone calls a phone number, the SIP trunk provider intercepts the call, encapsulates it into packets, and routes it over the internet, through our firewall, right to the PBX. The PBX then handles call distribution – basically what happens with the call. Does it go to the receptionist? Get sent to voice mail? Is it routed to a call group? Or at night to someone’s cell phone? Everything is done over a TCP/IP network so that means calls are treated just like data packets – because basically, they are. The voice information is converted into bits and bytes then wrapped up into packets of data and routed over the internet, just like your web browsing session with Facebook or Google.

3CX PBX

In the case of this 3CX PBX, it has some very advanced features designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It not only works with most VoIP phone handsets, it can route calls over the internet to cell phones, it can allow a user to make a call from their cell phone but it looks like it is coming from their office phone, it can capture voice mail and forward it via email to the recipient, it can receive inbound calls and ring both the desk phone and cell phone simultaneously. These are just a few of the features available. And the software is very, very inexpensive. In fact, for most businesses using traditional phone lines from AT&T or Cox, installing a VoIP PBX like 3CX can save hundreds or even thousands on the monthly phone bill while providing much more functionality. In nearly all cases a VoIP PBX will pay for itself in phone charges in less than a year.

Run PBX locally or in the Cloud

Now with 3CX PBX a business can run the PBX software on a computer in their office, as a virtual machine in their server room, or as an “instance” on a hosting provider such as Amazon Web Services. All management of the PBX is done from a web browser. And it costs as little as $5 per month to run it on AWS! I have seen clients run a PBX system on a laptop!

VoIP phone sets can be purchased for around $100 or so, depending on features. And of course, you will need an internal network to run the VoIP system on. This can be done with switches and routers or even a WIFI network.