FreePBX Open Source - FreePBX 17

Table of Contents

Introduction

FreePBX 17 introduces a new way of setting up a full FreePBX system along with upgrades to various backend and frontend libraries. Traditionally, supported installations were done using an ISO. Going forward supported FreePBX installations will be using an open source Bash script (see sng_freepbx_debian_install on GitHub) on Debian and an ISO that wraps around the Bash script inside (see Downloads page on FreePBX.org).

Key highlights of PBX 17

• PHP 8.2 Support: Keeping current with PHP support, FreePBX 17 uses PHP 8.2, with security support guaranteed through until December 2026.
  
  

• Asterisk 21 Support - 17 is the first FreePBX version to support Asterisk 21. Included in 17 are major updates to FreePBX generated dialplan to accommodate:

  • removal of the chan_sip sip driver

  • Move from the deprecated Asterisk Macro application to GoSub.

  • removal of the Asterisk MySQL application(s)
    
    

• Debian OS:  A move to Debian will allow FreePBX customers and users to perform inline upgrades in the future as well as be able to install FreePBX on any public cloud Debian native image. FreePBX will rely on vanilla Debian ISO images going forward and also provide an ISO and the open source scripts to generate your own ISO (see sngfd12 on GitHub) that can help automate more of the installation steps for Debian and FreePBX.
  
  

• Updated NodeJS and Front End Libraries: Staying current with technology and security trends, FreePBX 17 incorporates the NodeJS v18.16 release and updates numerous front-end libraries, security improvements, including jQuery, Bootstrap, and their dependencies.  

How to install FreePBX 17

Please refer to FreePBX Open Source - FreePBX 17 InstallationPreview to learn more about the installation process.

How to upgrade to FreePBX 17

Please refer to FreePBX Open Source - Upgrading to FreePBX 17Preview to learn more about the upgrade process.

A note for Chan SIP Support in FreePBX 17

Please note that Freepbx 17 by default comes with Asterisk 22.

Asterisk 21 and later versions do not support chan_sip at all, so please refer to the below section if you would like to use chan_sip with Freepbx 17.

FreePBX Open Source - Using FreePBX 17 with chan_sipPreview

How to upgrade to Freepbx 17 GA from FreePBX 17 Beta (or RC1)

During the Beta period, we were continuously enhancing our installation script and FreePBX-dependent Debian packages to ensure optimal default settings and fix various issues in the FreePBX modules.

For users currently using FreePBX 17 Beta, the recommended approach to upgrade to the General Availability (GA) release is to install a fresh system and then restore your settings. This ensures all default settings are correctly applied.

How to report an issue

Please refer to the Report an issue on GitHub for reporting issues for any open source module.

Please raise a commercial module support ticket for reporting issues for any commercial module that you have active support on.

Please refer to Report a Security Issue in FreePBX/PBXact to report any security issues.

References

1. PBX Module documentation PBX Module wiki