Introduction
The sipXecs IP PBX runs on standard Intel x86 servers able to run the Linux operating system. There is no additional special hardware required. In particular, no special voice cards are needed as all gateways are external.
Because of the distributed and multi-threaded architecture, sipXecs IP PBX directly profits from dual / quad core CPUs.
An ISO installation image is available for CentOS (both 32 and 64 bit).
Recommendation for a Production System
For a reasonably performing system we recommend the following configuration. This is a rough guide line for a production system. Media server performance profits from a dual / quad CPU system (dual / quad core CPUs) and lots of memory (2GB - 4GB).
Production systems are not recommended to run on Virtual Servers due to the manner in which the CPU is shared. Timing is critical to voice codecs and virtualization creates problems in production systems.
- Pentium 4 or Xeon processor @ 2.0 GHz or higher (For test systems slower processors or virtual servers will work fine)
- Minimum of 1 GB of memory with sufficient swap space (2 GB RAM or more preferred)
- 18 GB to 36 GB disk recommended (dependent on required voicemail storage)
The sipXecs IP PBX supports an unlimited number of voicemail boxes, and the total number of hours of recorded messages is determined by the size of the harddisk. As a rule, for every minute of recorded messages you will need 1 MB of disk space (About 3 hours per 10 GB of disk space).
Distributed sipXecs IP PBX System
The sipXecs IP PBX can be installed as a distributed system spanning several servers that do not have to be geographically co-located. The sipXecs management system centrally manages the entire cluster. Scalability or redundancy can be achieved by running different components, such as redundant call control, voicemail services, conferencing service, call center ACD service or the SIP trunking service on dedicated hardware.
Installation of an additional server starts by creating the new server in the sipXecs Web admin console. A specific role for that new server can be assigned upon creation. A password is created for the new server. Then the same installation CD is used to install the additional server. When running the installation wizard (sipxecs-setup-system script), it will ask you whether this is the first or an additional server. For additional servers the password generated by the master is required so that the new server can contact the master and download its configuration. This will dedicate it into the chosen server role and make the new server part of the sipXecs distributed but centrally managed system.