Most cost-efficient PBX: install FreePBX on a chromebook

[ABBA (Eric Y.)]

The USB3.0 to ethernet adapter I ordered arrived yesterday, so installed freepbx on my c720 chromebook, which hasn’t been used years. Works great!

The tutorial: https://www.pbx.science/build-a-pbx/pbx-on-chromebook/

Thought about Raspberry Pi 4 before, but x86 CPU is prefered because such machine could be installed FreePBX distro directly.

In addtion, Pi is not cheap after adding case, SD card, power supply. You can find an used chromebook or chromebox on ebay, probably 40-50 bucks, then you will own x86 server with “free UPS” (if internal battery included and works)

[paul_hadley]

I have used Dell FX160’s in the past, built about 30 systems on these without any issues or failures for systems with 30 users and over 15 calls.

You just have to make sure they have the caddy for the disk drive included, I always use a new hard drive for safety. They do 2 core and 4 core processor version, both have worked fine for me.

Efficiency isn’t just about initial costs its about time and running costs. These run at about 18 watts and I have never had a hardware failure issue.

I would think Dell Optiplex 3020 / 5020 would be a modern alternative for smaller systems.