FreePBX and making it usable in a corporate

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repitah

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Since I transferred a VitalPBX Starter license (now seems EOL in their shop) to a site that would use it, the previous site woke up and now wants me to actually implement an on-prem because they hate their cloud PBX and app.

So... I've gotten over the early Web2.0 style interface (reminds me of the generic Realtek ADSL modem interfaces of yore).

Questions
  • Is there any half decent console (receptionist) for FreePBX 17?
    • Features needed/wanted:
      • Web based ... bonus points for PWA
      • Phone Book
      • call control (blind / attended transfer).
      • WebRTC is a bonus so they can get PC/BlueTeeth headsets (more woes...) and have the physical phone as a backup.
      • BLF also a bonus, but already bouncing back to queue on no answer/not availabl.
      • Hiding of unwanted options
        • The FreePBX User Control Panel (UCP) doesn't give a directory/phonebook and BLF. Also wayyyy to many options I don't want users playing with.
        • Users and managers think all sorts of things are a must and will make them super [un]productive, meanwhile I sit with the tangleweed and bill explaining. Less options visible = less problems. You get a Model-T in black and be happy.
Things working so far on FreePBX and interfacing the other systems
  • IAX2 trunks (I like this from Asterisk. Makes QoS/shaping easy for intersite, if I absolutely have to do that)
  • Wrangled MS AD CS to give me a domain signed cert and convert for non-Windows
    • Bless AI for condensing loads of guides
    • Wrote scripts should I need to do that again in a few months
  • WebRTC working, at least from the FreePBX UCP.
    • A lot of wrangling...so much... getting that cert then finding the other places to actually select and use it.
  • started learning the API to add yet another phonebook reader module to my corporate phonebook DB ingester.
    • Crash course figured out the basics of GraphQL queries
    • Screamed at GraphQL when it broke moving from the FreePBX query window into PostMan, then asked AI...again
Before having a fit about using FreePBX:
  • The economy is tight meij bru...
  • Already looked at the regular options:
    • 3CX is "expensive" for the amount of extensions (and seemingly killed off their version of starter licenses).
      • Wouldn't have mind trying it though, but money...
    • Already had Avaya 10&11 at other sites. No thanks.
      • I still can't figure out the WebLM.
      • The rest is a bit sensitive and I make sure I have snapshots.
      • My assistants can't work while I'm working. 1 brain at a time and ADHD is a thing.
    • Broke my teeth in with a Cisco UCCX 7 system I inherited (starting my decade meander in VoIP)
      • I ain't got that much time to be that clever. Not again.
      • They don't have that kind of money even if it is much better.
    • VitalPBX was my favourite simple, cheap and cheerful option until they EOLed the Starter License.
  • The people that have number crunchies for breakfast like yearly (or monthly or none) subscriptions
    • This often bites me and I have given up on certain things because of this hamster wheel of begging, paper shuffling, following up and vendors bungling the renewals
  • The certain VoIP providers blocking FreePBX: I have a dedicated port on the ISP fibre router for VoIP and their techs just rock up using MicroSIP with just the base number in the login and the IP. I don't think their SBC filters for that.
    • The FreePBX won't be exposed to the internet: the users will do a good enough job breaking it.
    • I'll try remember the Asterisk toll fraud prevention tricks I learnt when I first took the swan dive of learning VoIP
Yes, PBX-in-cloud is a thing but finger pointing and geniuses telling me/branch directors that I need to jump thrice when Venus is in retrograde also kills me. I'll manage the bulk transit to the SP and take care of the user traffic and daily admin internally.

Someone buy me the "I identify as a problem" t-shirt in large from Temu...
 
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Switch to 3CX. I promise you it's worth every penny. FreePBX sucks. I use the free version of 3CX for my home PBX system with an Afrihost VOIP account as a SIP trunk and it just works.
 
deweyzeph said:
Switch to 3CX. I promise you it's worth every penny. FreePBX sucks. I use the free version of 3CX for my home PBX system with an Afrihost VOIP account as a SIP trunk and it just works.
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There is nothing wrong with FreePBX, I have been using it since the early versions. it is absolutely usable in a corporate environment, I am running and managing systems up to 800 users with no issues. For FreePBX their is a Flash Operator Panel that can do alot of what you are asking, there is a free version for smaller sites and paid version for bigger sites. Feel free to reach out if you need more assistance. www.fop2.com

Thank you
 
Years ago there was Trixbox I think? Apparently free pabx precursor, worked perfectly fine.

I remember fop2.... lol still havent gotten to the next version....that was like....a decade ago.
 
Yes Trixbox was a distro that used FreePBX under the hood, a bit like Elastix etc. FOP2 has come on in leaps and bounds and is still actively developed
 
What was wrong with the cloud pbx?

We run switchtel with 20 extensions, it works perfectly
 
Blocking FreePBX is dumb and short sighted, if you know what you are doing on Linux you can easily make your FreePBX server very secure and only available for expected registrations. It is easy to secure and prevent toll fraud with a few simple steps.
 
Thanks all. FOP2 looked interesting, but rolled back to the pre-install snapshot after I bungled something up. Will look again though, particularly while I wait for the port away from the cloud-pbx or my current old-school solution blows up.

3CX for 50 users? I got grilled today because a sales drone sent a mail to the CEO, who forwarded to the MD, trying to get 2x 5G sim contracts "upgraded" -- accounts + myself have been ignoring those for months -- already out of initial contract period and no going to a more expensive/lesser-value package nor getting locked in for years. I'm over begging for money in this economy: when we are rolling in profits that is much easier; or the next chump can beg if I am no longer renting my time/energy/effort to them.

Outside of the operator console, FreePBX suits my needs. Going old school: hacking the provisioning config of a Huawei desk phone (7950+7903x; yes EoS but still have a firmware post the major CVEs; never used from the Avaya implementation; haz blueteeth :X3: + panels with festive lights ;)). Hopefully tomorrow I can get that stable (love finding bugs in XML handling; then finding pagination limits after adding more extensions; then power issues when adding more panels). Should be able to ship the sealed non-test phones+panels and they auto firmware update + config + logo. Magic...

<excuse="A collector knows what they have; A hoarder just has an excess of stuff and doesn't know what they have."/> I still have a few boxes of Avaya and some semi-modern Cisco phones I am trying to find a home for.

I'll play with openSIPS for the next project: connecting to Teams. Probably will need some heavy scripting to go from weak phone numerical pins to proper strong "secrets" for Teams. Every time we had a vendor try a proof-of-concept to do PBX+teams, they wanted separate ranges for non-Teams and Teams users... I get it: ranges are easy to manage, but I don't see the staff and managers liking that at all, particularly those who've had the same number to 10+ years. I looked at LibreSBC, but that github seems to have stalled, and my skills probably just aren't there yet.
 
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FOP2 seems to be a winner -- $40 is cheaper than the medication for the migraines.
Basic enough and can rip out a lot of buttons that will cause headaches.
 
Have you looked at the Yeastar PBX. Its a once off hardware kit you buy and have on prem Asterisk based PBX. They have add on licenses if you require remote connections to the PBX
 
Went_For_Beer said:
Have you looked at the Yeastar PBX. Its a once off hardware kit you buy and have on prem Asterisk based PBX. They have add on licenses if you require remote connections to the PBX
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Thanks. Will keep that under consideration for future, though the pricing seems to quickly go into the 3CX/VitalPBX territory.
The challenge here was cost and the attendant console which FOP2 quickly fixed for less money than a few hours work coding and scenario testing -- though had to wrangle to get stable and licensed on the correct interface.

If I can get a PBX with enough features to run on an old NetTop/Brix/NUC/thinclient that doesn't go to landfill/expensive recyclers (ISO14001), I will -- particularly since a lot of sites have solar, so even lower carbon footprint. Config backups are a must should a new box need to be shipped overnight to site -- the July 2021 riots were a major wakeup and sites can now be flatpak shipped as long as there is Internet, or high speed "smoke signals" :laugh:😭. Even looking at other hardware options like PoE Raspberry/RISC-V that doesn't look valuable/worth stealing and inconspicuous.

The other part of the branded PBX systems is the lock-in that gets pushed heavily.
The Cisco system was the siren call to me never to be locked in. When the Avaya system was envisaged (IE others making the decisions), my only demand was to be able to use any SIP device -- in this case Huawei phones because reasons. Boy the implementation company over-promised on compatibility and abilities and I ended up having learn Avaya/Ascom IP DECT and teach their junior techs/glorified runners (f*** them for trying to use a generic PARK/SARI which a nearby campus tenant also used with ensuing squatters, calls and support tickets) then to reverse engineer the Huawei phones' phonebook requests and writing my own phonebook server to have an internal phonebook (600+@siteA and 70+@siteB )[released on GitHub though a bit out of date with my current incarnation]. The Fanvil phones I switched to for new implementations were simple to figure out in terms the phonebook and their desktop app for the phonebook server was quick to spin up long enough to wireshark and reverse engineer the structure. I haven't tried Yealink phones, though I believe the Huawei phones were a cosmetically modified Yealink with added support for Huawei unified call system support.

FreePBX has always been a little unpleasant (compared to Ombutel/VitalPBX), but the current version (17) isn't as bad (though still visually so 2000's/2010's). I can quickly train/delegate staff to handle the day-to-day admin tasks for user management/call records/event log.

VitalPBX is so simple even a few site supervisors do their own day-to-day of call records and add/remove extensions or the very occasional trunk disable and re-enable. Pity they killed off the cheap license though 😢
 
abc98 said:
What was wrong with the cloud pbx?

We run switchtel with 20 extensions, it works perfectly
Click to expand...
I'm sure that's fine for a small setup. An acquaintance also swears by it, but also small setup. Scale is challenging.

The environment of the corporate is large/multilevel floor spaces. No internet - no problem, you can still call internally. In this case, the cloud-pbx is app based (not great) and manually programming phones for credentials is all sorts of migraines.

The next pet peeve was being told to have QoS (phones are gigabit with dedicated VLAN auto-configured; Internet is bufferbloat tested and duly shaped). Nope... I'll take the blame for the internal issues which can be controlled/punished.
 
Honestly, FreePBX can be tuned to work fine in a corporate setup, but it takes patience. For receptionist console, FOP2 is still the most practical solution if you want something web-based with BLF and transfer control. You can also pair it with Issabel or a custom UCP skin to hide menus. I used GraphQL for directory sync with AD, works but fragile.
 
ENIAC said:
Honestly, FreePBX can be tuned to work fine in a corporate setup, but it takes patience. For receptionist console, FOP2 is still the most practical solution if you want something web-based with BLF and transfer control. You can also pair it with Issabel or a custom UCP skin to hide menus. I used GraphQL for directory sync with AD, works but fragile.
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Yup. The BLF, multi-line and minimal click transfer was a nice. Took a gamble and bought the FOP2 license and suddenly the park/retrieve worked -- WINNER! Avaya couldn't do that.

Queue depth meh... I've stood behind attendants -- watching them -- watching hair/makeup videos while the phone rings... Break out of queue after X/no agents and off to the managers ring group. 😁 👿

Started playing with the WebRTC phone add-on, but that broke the physical phone -- 3CX/MicroSIP/LinPhone can be the PC option for those that live on the phone but need to mouse/type as part of their actual job. The physical phone will always be the guaranteed/failback option.

Allowing queue management quickly became a no though, because I can see the sweetest but not sharp deers causing havoc.
Listen/Whisper buttons also disabled for much the same reason. Only ever had a listen/whisper request in HO when attendants were training YES learners.

FOP2 is a winner!
 
I went down this road for a while. It was stressful, and irritating lol. Finally settled on Euphoria.
 
FOP2 really is good software, if you struggle to set it up you can pay them another $20 and they do it all for you and they are extremely helpful. The company also has Asternic Call Center stats and a CDR module. Asterinic is expensive but the call center managers seem to love it.
 
dillydog said:
FOP2 really is good software, if you struggle to set it up you can pay them another $20 and they do it all for you and they are extremely helpful. The company also has Asternic Call Center stats and a CDR module. Asterinic is expensive but the call center managers seem to love it.
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Thanks

I'll give those a look.

Got FOP2 stable, just editing the systemd service file. Seems the Debian implementation wasn't reading the /etc/default/ file and getting the interfaces right. Bit of tickling and reregistering the license and all good. Need to book the GNP port now and close down yet another account at the legacy provider.
 
Anyone here familiar with configuring Alcatel OmniPCX?
Need some help
 
abc98 said:
Anyone here familiar with configuring Alcatel OmniPCX?
Need some help
Click to expand...
Maybe start a seperate thread and give a model number from the nameplate and what you plan on doing with it (E.G home/small office PBX)

Not sure about the vintage, but a quick search online seems to suggest 2000's and possibly serial cables needed (a cheapo CH340 USB-to-RS232 might work, but if you're in the game, get a genuine FTDI based converter, particulalry if you're using modern Windows).

If you're trying to learn VoIP, maybe look at an old/virtual machine (FreePBX / 3CX) or old Raspbery Pi. Nerdvittles has some interesting articles and software compilations/distros. Proxmox is free if you have an old PC laying about (bit of hacking needed if you have an eMMC based nettop/thin client and SATA/NVMe strongly recommended for the VM storage). VirtualBox is also good to slap on Windows, or add the HyperV Windows feature on your [a little less than]"everyday" computer.
 
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