Connecting Avaya IP Phones to IP PBX 3CX

This week came great news for organizations that have installed quite expensive, accompanied by Avaya PBX. Now you can replace Avaya with a free and constantly updated PBX 3CX , but at the same time keep the existing park of IP-phones. Avaya IP phones will work with a local 3CX, as well as with a cloud installed. Once connected, you can centrally manage phones from the familiar 3CX server console.

IP phone models that can be connected to 3CX: Avaya 9601, 9608G, 9611G, 9621G and 9641G.


Consider the connection procedure step by step.
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Reset IP phones phones to default settings

To start the connection, reset the phones to the default settings to clear the existing configuration:

• Press the Menu button and go to the Administration menu ...
  
• Enter the administrator password - the default is 27238
  
• Scroll through the menu and select Clear.
  
• Click Clear again to confirm. The phone will reset and restart.
  

Add DHCP option 242

Avaya telephones use the 242 DHCP server option to auto-configure, which you must add in your DHCP server. Let's show it on the example of the Windows DHCP server.



In the DHCP snap-in, on the IPv4 context menu, select Set Predefined Options. Then click the Add button and add the following parameters (the name and description are given for example:

• Name: Option 242
  
• Data Type: String
  
• Code: 242
  
• Description: Avaya provisioning
  

Create a DHCP reservation for the phone

In the same snap-in, in the Reservations context menu, select New Reservation ...



Specify the backup options for the MAC address of a particular phone, for example:

• Reservation Name: Avaya 9611G
  
• IP address: 10.172.1.232
  
• MAC address: b0075eb812e9
  
• Description: Avaya 9611G provisioning
  

For the created backup, in the context menu select Configure Options ...



Then select Option 242 and specify a string value for this option.

HTTPDIR=/provisioning/9kb94fwiaf3t/,HTTPPORT=5000,HTTPSRVR=10.172.0.242,SIG=2 

Parameters of this line:

• / provisioning / 9kb94fwiaf3t / - 3CX server auto configuration folder. The secure folder (security folder) 9kb94fwiaf3t is unique for each installation of the 3CX server.
  
• 5000 - 3CX server HTTP port. Avaya phones do not support HTTPS auto configuration, so specify port 5000 (default) or 80
  
• 10.172.0.242 - IP address or FQDN name of the server 3CX
  
• 2 - indicates the type of firmware. In our case - SIP
  

A set of files to connect Avaya phones

To automatically configure and connect Avaya phones, we have prepared a set of files that need to be downloaded and placed in specific folders on the 3CX server. The kit includes the following files:

• 3CX auto configuration XML template for Avaya phones
  
• a set of firmware and other files for Avaya phones from 3CX
  
• 3CX logo files for display on phones
  

Download the Avaya 3CX auto configuration template and place it in the following folders on the 3CX server:

• Windows: C: \ ProgramData \ 3CX \ Instance1 \ Data \ Http \ Templates \ phones
  
• Linux: / var / lib / 3cxpbx / Instance1 / Data / Http / Templates / phones
  

Download the Avaya IP Phone Firmware Pack and place it in the following folders on the 3CX server:

• Windows: C: \ ProgramData \ 3CX \ Instance1 \ Data \ Http \ Interface \ provisioning \ secure_folder
  
• Linux: / var / lib / 3cxpbx / Instance1 / Data / Http / Interface / provisioning / secure_folder
  

Download Avaya 3CX logos and place them in the following folders:

• Windows: C: \ ProgramData \ 3CX \ Instance1 \ Data \ Http \ Interface \ provisioning \ secure_folder \ logo
  
• Linux: / var / lib / 3cxpbx / Instance1 / Data / Http / Interface / provisioning / secure_folder / logo
  

As mentioned, secure_folder is a randomly generated security folder (in this example, it looks like 9kb94fwiaf3t).

After that, go to the 3CX management interface and restart the 3CX PhoneSystem 01 Configuration Server service.

Connecting Avaya IP Phone to 3CX

In the 3CX server interface, add a user. Pay attention to the following points:

• The extension number and authentication ID for Avaya phones must match!
  
• Specify the authentication password consisting of numbers. This will simplify the first connection of the phone.
  

Then add the appropriate Avaya phone number for the user, specifying his MAC address.


Turn on the phone. It will load, get the auto-configuration link from the DHCP server, update the firmware and configuration files. The phone displays a prompt for the SIP authentication ID and password that you specified when creating the user. Enter this data and the phone will automatically connect to the server!

Conclusion

In conclusion, we consider the possibilities and limitations of Avaya IP phones when working with the 3CX PBX:

• Full auto configuration by DHCP Option 242, including SIP registration and installation of your logo on the display
  
• Call Hold and Transfer, Auto Answer Call (Paging Function), Conference
  
• Support for voice mail notifications (MWI) and time zone
  
• 3CX Address Book Download Not Supported
  
• When working with 3CX, the following is not supported: Alert info messages, DND status synchronization, remote reboot and reconfiguration, support for daylight saving time.