Manual Installing FreePBX on a Linux Server

FreePBX is an open-source GUI (Graphical User Interface) that controls and manages Asterisk, a powerful VoIP PBX system. This guide walks you through installing FreePBX on a dedicated server.

Prerequisites

Before installing FreePBX, ensure you have the following:

• A dedicated or virtual server (Recommended: 2+ CPU cores, 4GB RAM, 50GB storage)
• A fresh installation of CentOS 7 (or Rocky Linux 8/AlmaLinux 8 for newer versions)
• Root access to the server
• Stable internet connection

Step 1: Update Your System

Update the system packages before installing dependencies:

        "yum update -y\nreboot"    

Step 2: Configure SELinux & Firewall

Set SELinux to permissive mode:

        "setenforce 0\nsed -i 's\/SELINUX=enforcing\/SELINUX=permissive\/' \/etc\/selinux\/config"    

Allow FreePBX and Asterisk through the firewall:

        "firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service={http,https}\nfirewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=5060-5061\/udp\nfirewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=10000-20000\/udp\nfirewall-cmd --reload"    

Step 3: Install Required Packages

Install dependencies:

        "yum groupinstall -y \"Development Tools\"\nyum install -y epel-release\nyum install -y wget vim net-tools perl bzip2 tar sqlite"    

Install MariaDB, Apache, and PHP:

        "yum install -y mariadb-server mariadb\nyum install -y httpd php php-mysql php-xml php-mbstring php-process php-pear\nsystemctl enable --now mariadb httpd"    

Secure MariaDB:

        "mysql_secure_installation"    

Follow the prompts to set a root password and secure your database.

Step 4: Install Asterisk

Download and compile Asterisk:

        "cd \/usr\/src\nwget http:\/\/downloads.asterisk.org\/pub\/telephony\/asterisk\/asterisk-20-current.tar.gz\ntar xvf asterisk-20-current.tar.gz\ncd asterisk-20.*\ncontrib\/scripts\/install_prereq install\n.\/configure --with-pjproject-bundled --with-jansson-bundled --with-crypto --with-ssl\nmake menuselect"    

Enable necessary modules in the menu, then proceed with compilation:

        "make -j$(nproc)\nmake install\nmake samples\nmake config\nldconfig\nsystemctl enable asterisk"    

Step 5: Install FreePBX

Download and install FreePBX:

        "cd \/usr\/src\nwget https:\/\/mirror.freepbx.org\/modules\/packages\/freepbx\/freepbx-16.0-latest.tgz\ntar xvf freepbx-16.0-latest.tgz\ncd freepbx\n.\/install -n"    

Start FreePBX services:

        "fwconsole restart\nsystemctl enable httpd"    

Step 6: Access the Web Interface

• Open a web browser and go to http://your-server-ip
• Follow the setup wizard to configure FreePBX

Conclusion

You now have a fully functional FreePBX installation. Customize settings, configure SIP trunks, and set up extensions as needed. Regularly update your system for security and stability.