Setup 3CX IP PBX/VOIP for Windows

3CX Phone System for Windows is a software-based IP PBX. This is what we decided to use. We thought about setting up a trixbox server but decided to give 3CX a try.

What you will need:

• 3CX software
• Purchased VOIP number
• Win XP computer (you can use Vista we talk about XP in this article)
• IIS 6 on your XP OS
• A router that can do port forwarding or port mapping
• The 3CX soft phone (you can use X-Lite but we like the TS feature in 3CX soft phone)
• A static IP, FQDN (routable on the internet), or a dynamic IP
• Time to install, configure and test

Pre Configuration:

• On your firewall and or router open Ports 5480, 5482, 5483, 5485,
• Setup a static map or forward of ports: 5060-5100 (TCP and UDP), 9000-9015 (TCP and UDP) and 3400-3499 (TCP and UDP) to your PBX server.

NOTE: forwarding ports 5060-5100 covers Port 5090 (TCP) for the 3CX Tunnel. The 3CX Tunnel is so that users can connect to the PBX server remotely to get an extension.

Ports 9000-9049 are for RTP traffic. Each call made uses up two ports so you need to open up double the amount of calls you want to make simultaneously. With our config we can make up to 24 simultaneous calls. Your VOIP service also has to support that many calls.

It is recommended by 3CX to have a static IP but we got this working with a dynamic IP. You can also use a FQDN such as PBX.domain.com as long as it is routable on the internet.

• Install XP professional
• Disable the firewall on your XP computer.
• Install IIS6
• Install .NET Framework version 2.0 or higher

Install 3CX PBX software:

Download and Install 3CX by double clicking 3CXPhoneSystem71.exe this will copy files and then launch a wizard.

The Install Wizard:

• Asks how many digits you want your extensions to be.
• Ask you for the IP or FQDN of 3CX Phone System. Put in the FQDN of your server. We put in our dynamic DNS address. If you have a static IP put it in here.
• Asks for your SMTP mail server info. If you have it put it in.
• Asks for a username and password. Write this down. You will need this to get into the system later.
• It will ask you to create at least one extension. It is required. We tried to skip it but it will not let you. Don’t worry you can change or remove this later.
• Next it wants the operator extension. This is the extension calls will be first routed to when they come in. You can change this later as well.
• Asks you do you want to get a quote to buy an upgraded version. Just click next.
• That is it for the wizard. 3CX is now installed and you can begin to configure the system.

Install the 3CX VOIP client:

Download the latest version of the 3CX VOIP client http://www.3cx.com/phonesystem/

downloadlinks.html

Double click the executable you downloaded and accept the defaults.

3CX Network settings using a Dynamic IP (DDNS):

You will need to log into the management console. You can access the management console by pulling up a web browser (Internet Explorer preferred) then going to http://YOURPBXSERVERNAME/Management. Login with the username and password you wrote down earlier during the install wizard.

On the left hand side expand settings

The first thing you can do to ensure you have opened and forwarded the correct ports is to run the Firewall Checker.

Once the firewall checker is complete click on network

Be sure the SIP port matches the port number in the picture. Leave the others default.

This is where can put in your public IP or your Dynamic DNs Address.

Put in your local private IP address here.

Under direct SIP calls this is where you type in a Dynamic DNS address

 

PBX Configuration with VOIP Service Provider:

We will now go into how to configure a ‘hosted’ phone line from a VOIP Service Provider with your 3CX PBX system.

Gather your Hosted VOIP provider settings. You should be able to log into your VOIP providers website or contact them for this info. We used the settings they gave us to configure a VOIP Softphone. Here is an example of what these settings may be:

 

Now you will open the 3CX softphone client and put these settings in. To do this click on “File” then click on “Connection” this is where you can input these settings and click “ok”.

Once you have done this it should say “on hook” you should be able to make and receive calls if your firewall is configured correctly for the traffic.

This is important to connect to your VOIP Service provider via the softphone client as this helps the 3CX PBX system to register the trunk.

Open a web browser and log into the 3CX management console.

You will now add your VOIP provider to the 3CX system.

Expand Voip Providers on the left hand side.

In the right hand window pane choose your VOIP Provider.

If you did not purchase VOIP service from a 3CX support provider then select Generic VOIP Provider and click next. On the next screen you will need to enter in your VOIP Provider details.

NOTE: These are the settings you used to configure the soft phone above.

The server name and outbound proxy should be the same IP or FQDN. Click next once you have entered the proper information.

On this screen you will enter your VOIP number and password. For us the External Number and Authentication ID were both set to our VOIP number.

Enter the number of simultaneous calls your VOIP accounts allows you to make at one time. Click next.

The next groups of settings are for routing calls when they come in. I would leave these default for now. They can be changed later.

Click next. Now you will need to create an outbound rule. Basically this is the rule that applies to outgoing phone calls and tells the system how to route them. Below are the settings we used.

You have the option to skip this. I recommend you configure this now. Once you click finish you will now see you’re the VOIP provider you added and configured.

After doing this we need to make sure we have a SIP Trunk. Click on the Ports/Trunks Status on the left hand side to view this.

If everything is correct you should see similar to the picture below:

Note: We first connected with the soft phone before doing any of these configurations. We found that the Trunk would not register until we connected with the softphone from our PBX server.

Now you need to configure an inbound route. Do this by clicking on inbound rules on the left hand side.

Click on Add DID on the top bar Below are the settings we used.

That should be it. Go ahead and setup a softphone on your network connect to your new PBX server and try some inbound and outbound calls. If you need further help you can visit some of these resources on 3CX’s site:

• 3CX Wiki – Technical documentation, configuration guides and more.
• Forums -User to user support is available on the 3CX forums.
• FAQ – Frequently asked question
• Supported VOIP providers – 3CX strongly recommends using a supported VOIP provider.
• Phone Configuration guides – use supported phones and follow these step by step guides
• Gateway Configuration guides – use supported gateways and follow these step by step guides
• 3CX Phone System manual – in PDF format or in HTML format
• 3CX Extension manual – for 3CX Phone System users in PDF format or in HTML format