Scaling IM Server on AWS for High Availability

With a PortSIP PBX High Availability (HA) deployment, the Instant Messaging (IM) Service must be installed on a separate server.

Before proceeding with this guide, ensure that you have successfully completed the PortSIP PBX High Availability installation on AWS.

Install IM Service on a Separate Server

For optimal performance and scalability, the PortSIP IM Service should be deployed on a dedicated EC2 instance, especially in environments with a large number of users exchanging messages and sharing files (including images and attachments).

Large-Scale Deployment

The following specifications are suitable for environments supporting up to 50,000 concurrent users with active messaging and file sharing:

  • CPU: 20 cores or higher

  • Memory: 16 GB RAM

  • Disk:

    • High I/O performance required

    • SSD strongly recommended

    • Minimum 256 GB

  • Network Bandwidth:

    • 1 Gbps or higher

    • Especially important for high message volumes and file transfers

Small to Medium Deployment

The following specifications are suitable for environments supporting up to 10,000 concurrent users with active messaging and file sharing:

  • CPU: 6–8 cores or higher

  • Memory: 16 GB RAM

  • Disk:

    • High I/O performance required

    • SSD strongly recommended

    • Minimum 256 GB

  • Network Bandwidth:

    • 100 Mbps or higher

    • Especially important for high message volumes and file transfers

Deployment Requirements

  • Each application server must be deployed on a dedicated EC2 instance. Do not install multiple application server roles on a single EC2 instance.

  • Each EC2 instance must use a static private IP address and an elastic IP address. DHCP-assigned IP addresses are not supported.

Preparing Linux Servers (EC2 Instances)

Prepare the EC2 instance that will host the IM server. In this example, the following IM server is deployed:

  • Private IP: 172.31.16.157

  • Hostname: ip-172-31-16-157

  • Elastic IP: 54.215.234.67

Ensure all IP addresses are reserved and consistently assigned to their respective EC2 instances.

Preparing the Linux Host Machine for Installation

The following tasks must be completed before installing any PortSIP PBX cluster servers. Proper preparation ensures system stability, predictable networking behavior, and reliable real-time media performance.

  • Ensure the system date and time are correctly synchronized (for example, via NTP).

  • Ensure each EC2 instance is assigned a static private IP address and an elastic IP address.

  • Install all available operating system updates and service packs before installing the PortSIP application servers.

  • Do not install PostgreSQL on the server.

  • Do not install TeamViewer, VPN software, or similar remote-access tools on the host machine.

  • The server must not be configured as a DNS or DHCP server.

Creating EC2 Instances

Follow the steps below to create the EC2 instances for the IM server.

The process is largely the same as the PortSIP PBX High Availability (HA) deployment on AWS, but please pay close attention to the specific configuration details outlined below.

Supported Linux Operating System

PortSIP PBX High Availability (HA) and all associated servers require a consistent and compatible Linux environment.

  • Supported OS: Ubuntu 24.04 (64-bit)

  • The IM server must run the exact same OS version as the PBX server.

Network Settings

  • Select the same VPC and Subnet used by the PBX HA nodes.

  • Select the same Security Group used by the PBX HA nodes.

  • Set Auto-assign public IP to Disable.

  • Under Advanced network configuration → Network interface 1:

    • Set Primary IP to 172.31.16.157 for this EC2 server.

  • Associate the Elastic IP with this EC2 server. For the Elastic IP address example 54.215.234.67

Disk Space Recommendations

  • Minimum required disk space: 128 GB

  • No separate data partition is required for IM server

Configure Security Group Inbound Rules

Modify the Security Group that is attached to all three PBX HA EC2 instances and add an Inbound Rule that allows traffic from the IM servers’ Elastic IP addresses.

Please follow the screenshot below to add the inbound rule to the Security Group used by the PBX HA servers.

Prerequisites

Before configuring the IM Server, ensure that the following prerequisites are met.

The PortSIP PBX High Availability (HA) installation and configuration must be completed on the Main Server first by following the guide: High Availability Installations on AWS .

User Account Requirements

To ensure consistency and reliable automation across the HA cluster, the IM server must meet the following user account requirements:

  • The server must use the same username and password as the PBX server

  • In this guide, the username pbx is used as an example

  • The user account must have sudo privileges to execute administrative and management commands

Important Notice

All management and operational commands for IM server, must execut the following commands only on the PBX HA node ip-172-31-16-133, regardless of whether it is currently the active or standby node.

This ensures configuration consistency and prevents cluster state conflicts.

Step 1: Configure the IP Address Whitelist

⚠️ IMPORTANT This step is mandatory. The IM service will not function correctly unless the IM server IP address is added to the PBX whitelist.

To prevent the PBX from applying request-rate limits to the IM service, you must whitelist the IM server IP address.

Whitelist Configuration Steps

  1. Sign in to the PBX Web Portal as a System Administrator

  2. Navigate to IP Blacklist

  3. Click Add

  4. Enter the IM server IP elastic address: 54.215.234.67

  5. Set a long expiration date

  6. Save the configuration

This ensures uninterrupted communication between the PBX and the IM service.

Step 2: Generate a Token for the IM Server

To allow the IM server to securely authenticate with the PortSIP PBX HA cluster, you must generate an IM server token from the PBX Web Portal.

  1. Sign in to the PortSIP PBX HA Web Portal as a System Administrator.

  2. Navigate to Servers > IM Servers.

  3. Select the default IM server.

  4. Click Generate Token.

The generated token will be used during the IM service installation to establish a trusted and secure connection between the PBX HA cluster and the IM server.

⚠️ IMPORTANT All commands below for extended servers must be executed on the ip-172-31-16-133 node, regardless of whether it is currently the active node.

Step 3: Deploy the IM Service

The IM service deployment must be initiated from the ip-172-31-16-133 node of the PBX HA cluster.

⚠️ IMPORTANT The deployment process may take several minutes. Do not interrupt the process, reboot any server, or close the terminal until the command completes.

Deploy IM Service with Default Storage Path

Run the following command on the ip-172-31-16-133 only, specifying both the static private IP and elastic IP of the IM server:

  • -a : Private IP address of the IM server

  • -A : Elastic IP address

Deploy IM Service with a Custom File Storage Path (Optional)

Run the following command on the ip-172-31-16-133 node only if you want to store IM chat messages and shared files in a custom directory. Use the -f parameter:

Ensure that the specified directory exists and has sufficient disk space and appropriate permissions.

Parameter Reference

  • -a: Static private IP address of the IM server

  • -A: Elastic IP address of the IM server

  • -f (Optional), custom directory for storing IM chat messages and shared files

If your network infrastructure includes an additional firewall, ensure that TCP port 8887 is allowed in the firewall rules. Client applications require access to this port to send and receive instant messages.

Managing the IM Server

All IM server management operations are performed using the im.sh script provided with the PortSIP PBX HA deployment.

⚠️ IMPORTANT All commands in this section must be executed on the ip-172-31-16-133 node, regardless of which PBX node is currently active.

Available Operations

The following operations are supported for managing the IM server:

  • start – Start the IM service

  • stop – Stop the IM service

  • restart – Restart the IM service

  • upgrade – Upgrade the IM service

  • rm – Remove the IM service installation

IM Server Management Commands

Run the appropriate command on ip-172-31-16-133 based on the required operation.

Start the IM Server

Stop the IM Server

Restart the IM Server

Remove the IM Server

⚠️ WARNING Removing the IM server will stop messaging services and delete the IM service installation. Ensure this operation is performed only during maintenance windows.

Upgrading the IM Server

Follow the steps below to upgrade the IM server in a PortSIP PBX HA environment.

⚠️ IMPORTANT All upgrade steps must be performed on the ip-172-31-16-133 node, even if ip-172-31-16-133 is not the current active PBX node.

Prerequisites

Before upgrading the IM server:

Step 1: Generate a New IM Server Token

  1. Sign in to the PortSIP PBX Web Portal as a System Administrator

  2. Navigate to Servers > IM Servers

  3. Select the default IM server

  4. Click Generate Token to generate a new authentication token

Step 2: Upgrade the IM Server

On ip-172-31-16-133, run the following command to upgrade the IM service:

⚠️ IMPORTANT The upgrade process may take several minutes. Do not interrupt the process, reboot any server, or close the terminal until the command completes.

Once the upgrade finishes successfully, the IM service will be restarted automatically with the updated version.

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