Hardware Requirements

Hardware Requirements

Introduction

Refer to these suggested 3CX Phone System usage scenarios based on the extensions used, to assist you to size the minimum required hardware to run 3CX.

A user (extension) is typically defined to use the 3CX Web Client/Desktop App and a 3CX Mobile App for communication while being part of one extension group and one queue. In addition to this, the user may use an IP phone connected to their extension. These suggested hardware specifications are provided as a baseline and may change based on your business needs and usage.

General Requirements

CPU:

  • Using Call Queues and group calls taxes the CPU more than 1-on-1 calls, depending on the number of the call end-points.
  • Refer to this CPU hierarchy to assist you in selecting a suitable processor, based on the suggested processor family. AMD CPUs are supported based on their equivalence to the suggested Intel CPUs.

Memory:

  • Allocating users in more extension groups or queues increases the need for additional RAM.

Network:

  • 3CX requires at least a 1Gb LAN network connectivity, depending on the number of simultaneous calls and usage of other network applications.
  • 10Gb is required for 1000+ extensions.
  • Link Aggregation (LAG, LACP) can be used on HyperVisor platforms to further expand available throughput but is not available for Bare Metal machines.

Storage:

  • Allocate at least 30GB for the 3CX base system installation.
  • Add extra drive/partition/space for backup, voicemail, recordings or logging. Keep in mind:
  • Recording and voicemail: 1 minute of recorded audio consumes ~1MB or 256KB with compression enabled
  • Logging: Verbose logs on a busy system can consume up to ~1GB per day or per 2500 calls.
  • Offload (archive) unneeded recordings / voicemails / backups to cold storage regularly to keep optimal free space available to your PBX.

Small

Medium

Large

Enterprise

Enterprise+

Extensions
(up to)

10

50

250

1000

1000+*

*For usage cases of more than 1000 extensions please contact us to assist you in planning.

x86-Based

x86-based CPU installs require compatibility to 64-bit architecture and can be used as “Bare Metal” or “Virtual Machine” deployments. 3CX verified the usage for the following HyperVisors*:

*Additional configuration may be needed for the virtual machine, depending on the HyperVisor used.

3CX PBX

Small

3CX PBX

Linux Debian-based

Windows-based

CPU Family

Intel i3 (Gen.8) or equivalent

vCPUs

2

2

Memory

2

2

Storage

30 GB SSD based storage

Medium

3CX PBX

Linux Debian-based

Windows-based

CPU Family

Intel i5 (Gen.8) or equivalent

vCPUs

4

6

Memory

4

6

Storage

100 GB SSD based storage

Large

3CX PBX

Linux Debian-based

Windows-based

CPU Family

Intel i7 (Gen.8) or equivalent

vCPUs

6

8

Memory

8

10

Storage

300 GB SSD based storage

Enterprise

3CX PBX

Linux Debian-based

Windows-based

CPU Family

Intel Xeon E5 v4 or equivalent

vCPUs

8

10

Memory

16

18

Storage

500 GB SSD based storage

Enterprise+

3CX PBX

Linux Debian-based

Windows-based

CPU Family

Intel Xeon E7 v4 or equivalent

vCPUs

8+

10+

Memory

32+

34+

Storage

500+ GB SSD based storage

3CX SBC

If the 3CX PBX is located in the cloud and IP phone should be routed to the instance, these SBC specifications are recommended:

Devices

Up to 50 (10 BLFs per device)

 Up to 100 (10 BLFs per device)

Platform

Linux Debian-based

Windows-based

Linux Debian-based

Windows-based

CPU Family

Intel i3 (Gen.8) or equivalent

Intel i7 (Gen.8) or equivalent

vCPUs

2

4

4

6

Memory

2

4

2

4

Storage

30 GB available storage space

Cloud Provider

Suggested virtual machine / instance specifications for Google Cloud Platform (GCP), MS Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) / Lightsail, based on the use cases outlined in the bare metal configurations. You can opt for instances with higher performance and memory according to your needs.

Cloud Provider

Google (GCP)

Microsoft (Azure)

Amazon EC2

Amazon Lightsail

Small (up to 10 ext)

e2-highcpu-2

B2s

a1.large

t2.medium

Medium (up to 50 ext)

n1-standard-4

D4 v3

m5ad.xlarge

t2.xlarge

Large (up to 250 ext)

n1-highmem-4

D12 v2

r5ad.xlarge

t2.2xlarge

Adjust storage size and swap space accordingly, based on your needs and usage.

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