Automatic update of IP phones in 3CX. Part one. Theory

Often, companies face the problem of managing a fleet of IP phones. There are various problems, such as changing group settings or updating all available IP phones. In the usual case, the administrator needs to spend quite a lot of time to go to each IP phone to make the necessary settings, and even update the phone - this is time consuming and it is not always possible to do it during working hours. To solve all these problems, 3CX provides an automatic configuration and update system for IP phones.

Settings are common for all devices that connect to the server and individual.

General settings:


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To work, you must specify the external (if remote subscribers are used) and internal IP addresses or the host name for connecting devices:



Make time settings for each of the available phone vendors:



And setting the display of information in the telephone directory of the company, if used:



Individual settings for vendors or customization of templates

The 3CX server has a built-in template system for some IP phone vendors, currently available: Aastra, Cisco, Fanvil, HTek, Linksys, Panasonic, Polycom, Snom, TipTel and Yealink. It should be noted that not all models of IP phones are provided by vendors, in fact the IP phone vendor itself determines which phones will be added, i.e. This is a kind of agreement between the vendor and 3CX.

The template on the server is a set of general settings for IP phones from one vendor, in addition, a distinction is made according to the models. Different models of IP phones can have a different set of functions, for example, Yealink phones, simple IP phones (Yealink SIP T19 (P), T21 (P)) do not have additional extension buttons, and older models (Yealink T26P, T28P and .d.) have, in this case, for older models, we can pre-configure additional extension buttons, for example, configure BLF (display of subscriber status):



The template provides for setting automatic updates by time, i.e. You can specify in advance how much and when the phone goes to the server and checks for the presence of new configuration files and the availability of new software:



Templates in XML format and have the ability to customize - you can add or remove functions / features in the IP phone provided by the vendor (information and syntax is taken from the instructions provided by the vendors themselves). If the function in the IP phone is not specified in the template, the default value is used, which is registered directly in the IP phone itself.



By this principle, all vendor templates are built, new vendor templates or phone models are added automatically when the 3CX server is updated.

Software update

In the section "Available firmware for IP phones" you can download new software for IP phones on the network:



There is a system of foldering - so that there is no mess.
Create a folder with the necessary vendor and add firmware to it. Firmware is added very simply, click on the add button and download the desired firmware:





After adding the software, the IP phone is automatically updated upon the next access to the 3CX server according to the set schedule (according to the schedule, which is written in the template or by default in the IP phone itself).

In the following article: Automatic update of IP phones in 3CX. Part two. Practice. We will tell you in more detail how to work with IP phones and how to quickly set up the new IP phones that appear on your network, on the spot.