FreePBX 16 on DS920+, Is It possible to do?

Created by franckdanard on 17 Dec , 2021

Open

The Idea

Try to get everything we need on the same system.

As the Asterisk package is no longer delivered on Sysnology systems, then we can try to use Virtual Machine Manager to replace the old Asterisk version.

And so, as Synology includes LDAP server, WebDav server, Mail server...etc, then we’ve got everything to start a small business. 

Also, the DS920+ offers a large capacity of storage (Raid 0, 1, 5, 6, 10). The CPU is pretty good and the memory can support up to 8Gb.

How to do.

First, you need to install and prepare your DS920+ correctly, defining the environment, the type of storage to use (one, two, three or four disks, and what type of RAID you need), and why not to create two volumes and use the second to store  VMs. Also, feel free to set up both Network devices on DS920+ and use one for Data usage, and the second for VoIP (FreePBX).

For my part, I selected RAID 5 for storage because I have had 4 HDD 500Gb not used for a while, So I decided to get 1.4Tb instead of 1Tb. But the RAID 5 is not really efficient about the transfert disk. Personally, I don’t care because it’s only for test usage, and not a real production. But for a small office and a daily usage, I think a RAID 10 with 1Tb HDD is large, will it give you 2Tb capacity. 

Next, you need to install the Virtual Machine Manager package. This VM manager is free and pretty cool. There is a Pro version, but it’s not necessary here, so, no need to spend your money again.

Create a folder under your volume to receive any ISO files.

Install Download station, and download FreePBX 16 from FreePBX website.

Once installed, start to define your storage used to receive the VMs (Volume1 or volume2) and create a new VM (FreePBX).

You can set the amount of processor core, hard drive capacity, and memory size you would use on your FreePBX system. A 40 GB hard drive is sufficient. 

Once created, you can get the mac address of the Network device which could be useful to force your DHCP server to assign an IP address forever (If your DHCP is allowed to do that of course). 

Next, start your VM and click on the Connect button above. A new tab would appear and you will see the FreePBX install started. 

Install the FreePBX system as usual. and reboot. Maybe it will take a long time depending on your choice about the VM settings. 

Once the FreePBX system starts, connect on this one through the SSH console, and launch an O.S update, and launch a FreePBX update. 

• yum update -y

  • fwconsole ma updateall

Now, you are ready to use your favorite browser and begin a FreePBX setting. 

Once done, you can remove some unused FreePBX modules that you won't use.

The goal is to preserve the CPU load down and leave aside any module which will not be used on your system and will consume a CPU load for nothing.

Don't forget, the DS920+ will be used for other things, so we can imagine this one using lots of applications such as WebDave server, user management, and other things.