Choosing a Windows operating system

3CX will run on most business editions of Windows, but there are some considerations for the different editions to take note of:

  • Windows XP Professional

    I personally think that Windows XP Professional makes a nice small office 3CX Phone System server and is a great choice for a first 3CX install. It can be clean, lean, and mean. It is especially compelling when you have a network and have another server taking care of DHCP.

    Note

    For performance reasons, Windows XP Professional along with the Cassini web server should be used for systems with fewer than 20 users. Consider upgrading to a server operating system when you reach this number of extensions.

  • Windows Vista Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate

    If you are using Windows Vista, make sure that your machine has plenty of resources and has User Account Control (UAC) turned off. Also, see that the firewall doesn't get in your way.

  • Windows Server Standard 2003 and 2008

    This may be the best fit for a 3CX server in a slightly larger installation. Like SBS, it will include a robust DHCP server for provisioning phones using DHCP option 66.

    Tip

    This is just in: Microsoft has just released another version of their Windows Server line called Windows Foundation Server. This server will have all the features of Windows Server Standard, be priced at Windows desktop OS price levels, and be limited to 15 SMB connections. In my opinion, IP PBX administrators will want to keep their eye on it!

    Note

    In fair disclosure I need to admit that I personally favor having discrete servers or servers doing one job. In an SBS environment it's so easy for different server applications running on the same server to conflict, whether it is over RAM or ports, or whatever. With a real-time server like a communication server, even a little delay, stutter, or chop can cause a user to give the phone system administrator a support call. However, remember this is a personal opinion.

    3CX is also supported on Windows Server 2008. Still, you'll need to ensure that the Desktop Experience role is enabled. Without this you will have no audio prompts, and this will make your phone system useless.

  • Windows Small Business Server 2003

    Windows Small Business Server has a lot going on already, such as file sharing, Exchange Server, and Active Directory, so it can be potentially tricky to get yet another server running on it. However, it can be done, and 3CX will support it, too. My suggestion for a fi rst install is to try something simpler like Windows XP or Vista.

Starting with a clean operating system install

For our first 3CX server, we will need to start with a freshly installed and clean operating system. 3CX is quite a complex application as there are 13 services running, and it can use several TCP ports and audio interfaces with the PC's hardware audio capabilities. With 3CX, there is quite a lot going on, so a clean install will make our lives smoother.

Note

Some real life experience: The first time I installed 3CX, it was on an older Windows XP Professional computer that had a lot of test applications installed and uninstalled on it. I had so many problems that I was about to write off 3CX as not ready for primetime when, on a hunch, I decided to install 3CX on a clean Windows XP Professional computer. The install was flawless and everything just worked! After working with other 3CX installations, I've found that 3CX likes a clean operating system and is perhaps a little more sensitive than some other applications.

Getting the Microsoft stack in place

The 3CX Phone System is largely based on several Microsoft Windows technologies that are stacked on top of each other.

You don't need to understand all the details about each layer; all you need to know is that each one needs to be installed and working properly. The Microsoft "stack" used in 3CX is as follows:

  • Windows operating system (and updates)
  • .NET Framework 2.0
  • IIS (Internet Information Services, unless you use Cassini)
  • ASP.NET
Note

Note that I said 3CX is "largely" based on Microsoft technologies. The 3CX database uses the PostgreSQL database engine and not Microsoft SQL. There is no problem with PostgreSQL, but many Windows users may not find it as familiar as Microsoft SQL when attempting to integrate with it. For example, you cannot connect to it from Microsoft Access as simply as Microsoft SQL.

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