Scaling Servers on AWS for High Availability
PortSIP PBX provides flexible application server scaling to support growing numbers of users and concurrent calls, enabling your platform to evolve with business demand. For architectural background and concepts, refer to the PBX Cluster guide.
This document provides a step-by-step guide to scaling application servers using PortSIP PBX High Availability (HA) in an AWS EC2 environment to operate at very large scale.
The architecture can support:
Over 1 million total users
Approximately 50,000 concurrently registered (online) users
Up to 10,000 simultaneous calls
This deployment model is also ideal for high-demand workloads, including large meetings, IVR applications, and high-volume call queues.
Prerequisites
Before configuring the cluster servers, ensure that you have successfully completed the PBX HA installation and configuration on the Main Server by following the guide: High Availability Installations on AWS
❗ Note At this stage, only the PBX needs to be installed. The Instant Messaging (IM) server and Data Flow server should not be installed yet, as it will be deployed later in this guide.
Preparing Cluster Servers
The following Linux servers must be prepared to host the PortSIP cluster application services:
Media Servers
Queue Servers
Meeting Servers
IVR Servers
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 instances that will host the application servers. In this example, the following application servers are deployed:
Meeting Server
Private IP:
172.31.16.137Hostname:
ip-172-31-16-137Elastic IP:
54.215.234.53Data Storage: Minimum 64 GB; recommended 128 GB or higher.
Queue Server
Private IP:
172.31.16.138Hostname:
ip-172-31-16-138Elastic IP:
54.215.234.54Data Storage: Minimum 64 GB; recommended 128 GB or higher.
Media Server
Private IP:
172.31.16.139Hostname:
ip-172-31-16-139Elastic IP:
54.215.234.52Data Storage: Minimum 128 GB; recommended 256GB or higher.
IVR Server
Private IP:
172.31.16.140Hostname:
ip-172-31-16-140Elastic IP:
54.215.234.55Data Storage: Minimum 64 GB; recommended 128 GB or higher.
Ensure all IP addresses are reserved and consistently assigned to their respective EC2 instances.
Supported Linux Operating System
The following operating system is supported for all application server nodes:
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
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 application servers. 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.
Meeting 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
172.31.16.137.
Associate the Elastic IP with this EC2. For the Elastic IP address is
54.215.234.53.
Queue 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
172.31.16.138.
Associate the Elastic IP with this EC2. For the Elastic IP address is
54.215.234.54.
Media 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
172.31.16.139.
Associate the Elastic IP with this EC2. For the Elastic IP address is
54.215.234.52.
IVR 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
172.31.16.140.
Associate the Elastic IP with this EC2. For the Elastic IP address is
54.215.234.55.
Configure Security Group Inbound Rules
Modify the Security Group that attached to all three PBX HA EC2 instances and add an Inbound Rule that allows traffic from the cluster servers’ Elastic IP addresses.
Please follow the screenshot below to add the inbound rule to the Security Group used by the PBX HA servers.
Deploying the Meeting Server
Follow the steps below to deploy the Meeting Server in your PortSIP PBX HA environment.
Step 1: Add the Meeting Server in the PBX Web Portal
Sign in to the PortSIP PBX Web Portal as a System Administrator.
Navigate to Servers > Meeting Servers.
Click Add, enter the server information as shown in the screenshot, and then click OK to save the configuration.
Important: Please note the server name
meeting-server-1. This name will be used in a later step.
Step 2: Deploy the Meeting Server Service
Perform the following commands only on the PBX HA node ip-172-31-16-133.
❗ Important
The deployment process may take some time to complete.
Do not interrupt, restart, or shut down the server while the process is running.
Command Parameters
-s: Specifies the service to be installed. For the Meeting Server, use: meeting-server-only-n: Specifies the server name configured in Step 1. In this example: meeting-server-1-a: Specifies the private IP address of the Meeting Server. In this example: 172.31.16.137
This server status will be Online in the PBX Web Portal after it's successfully installed.
Deploying the Queue Server
Follow the steps below to deploy the Queue Server in your PortSIP PBX High Availability environment.
Step 1: Add the Queue Server in the PBX Web Portal
Sign in to the PortSIP PBX Web Portal as a System Administrator.
Navigate to Servers > Queue Servers.
Click Add, enter the server information as shown in the screenshot, and then click OK to save the configuration.
Important: Please note the server name
queue-server-1, as it will be used in a later step.
Step 2: Deploy the Queue Server Service
Run the following commands only on the PBX HA node ip-172-31-16-133.
❗Important
The deployment process may take some time to complete.
Do not interrupt, restart, or shut down the server while the process is in progress.
Command Parameters
-s: Specifies the service to be installed. For the Queue Server, use: queue-server-only-n: Specifies the server name configured in Step 1. In this example: queue-server-1-a: Specifies the private IP address of the Queue Server. In this example: 172.31.16.138
This server status will be Online in the PBX Web Portal after it's successfully installed.
Deploying the Media Server
Follow the steps below to deploy the Media Server in your PortSIP PBX High Availability environment. The Media Server is responsible for handling RTP media processing and therefore plays a critical role in call quality and scalability.
Step 1: Add the Media Server in the PBX Web Portal
Sign in to the PortSIP PBX Web Portal as a System Administrator.
Navigate to Servers > Media Servers.
Click Add, enter the server information as shown in the screenshot, and then click OK to save the configuration.
Important: Please note the server name
media-server-1, as it will be used in a later step.
Step 2: Deploy the Media Server Service
Run the following commands only on the PBX HA node ip-172-31-16-133.
❗Important
The deployment process may take some time to complete.
Do not interrupt, restart, or shut down the server while the process is in progress.
Command Parameters
-s: Specifies the service to be installed. For the Media Server, use: media-server-only-n: Specifies the server name configured in Step 1. In this example: media-server-1-a: Specifies the private IP address of the Media Server. In this example: 172.31.16.139
This server status will be Online in the PBX Web Portal after it's successfully installed.
Deploying the IVR Server (Virtual Receptionist)
Follow the steps below to deploy the IVR Server (Virtual Receptionist) in your PortSIP PBX High Availability environment. The IVR Server is responsible for auto attendants, voice menus, and call routing logic.
Step 1: Add the IVR Server in the PBX Web Portal
Sign in to the PortSIP PBX Web Portal as a System Administrator.
Navigate to Servers > IVR Servers.
Click Add, enter the server information as shown in the screenshot, and then click OK to save the configuration.
Important: Please note the server name
ivr-server-1, as it will be used in a later step.
Step 2: Deploy the IVR Server Service
Run the following commands only on the PBX HA node ip-172-31-16-133.
❗Important
The deployment process may take some time to complete.
Do not interrupt, restart, or shut down the server while the process is in progress.
Command Parameters
-s: Specifies the service to be installed. For the IVR Server, use: vr-server-only-n: Specifies the server name configured in Step 1. In this example: ivr-server-1-a: Specifies the private IP address of the IVR Server. In this example: 172.31.16.140
This server status will be Online in the PBX Web Portal after it's successfully installed.
Configuring the IP Address Whitelist
❗Mandatory Step This configuration is required. If the cluster servers’ IP addresses are not added to the whitelist, the services will not function correctly.
To prevent the PBX from rate-limiting requests originating from the cluster servers, you must add each cluster server’s IP address to the PBX IP whitelist.
Configuration Steps
Sign in to the PortSIP PBX Web Portal as a System Administrator.
Navigate to IP Blacklist.
Click Add.
Enter the cluster server’s IP address, as shown in the screenshot below.
Set a long expiration date (or the maximum allowed value).
Click OK to save the entry.
Repeat the above steps for each cluster server.
Managing Extended Servers
Important Notes
All management commands for extended servers must be executed on on the PBX HA node ip-172-31-16-133 only, even if it is not the current active node.
Do not interrupt, reboot, or close the terminal while any management or upgrade command is running.
Supported Operations
The following operations are supported for managing extended servers:
start – Start servers
stop – Stop servers
restart – Restart servers
upgrade – Upgrade servers
rm – Remove installed servers
Server Type Filters (-s Parameter)
-s Parameter)You can optionally manage a specific type of extended server using the -s parameter with one of the following values:
media-server-only– Media Serversqueue-server-only– Queue Serversmeeting-server-only– Meeting Serversivr-server-only– IVR Servers
Targeting a Specific Server (-a Parameter)
-a Parameter)To manage a specific server instance, use the -a parameter to specify its private IP address.
Managing All Extended Servers
The following commands apply to all extended servers, including Media, Queue, Meeting, and IVR servers.
Start All Extended Servers
Stop All Extended Servers
Restart All Extended Servers
Remove All Extended Servers
Managing a Specific Type of Extended Server
To manage only one type of server (for example, Media Servers), use the -s parameter.
Start All Media Servers
Stop All Media Servers
Restart All Media Servers
Remove All Media Servers
Replace
media-server-onlywith another supported server type as needed.
Managing a Specific Server Instance by IP
To manage a specific server instance, use both the -s (server type) and -a (IP address) parameters.
Example: Manage a Media Server at 172.31.16.137.
Start the Server
Stop the Server
Restart the Server
Remove the Server
❗Replace the server type and IP address as required for Queue, Meeting, or IVR servers.
Upgrading Extended Servers
Important Notes
All management commands for extended servers must be executed on the PBX HA node ip-172-31-16-133 only, even if it is not the current active node.
Before upgrading extended servers, ensure that the PBX HA itself has already been upgraded by following the guide: Upgrading High Availability Installation
The upgrade process may take some time. Do not interrupt the process.
Upgrading All Extended Servers
To upgrade all extended servers (Media, Queue, Meeting, and IVR), run:
Upgrading a Specific Type of Extended Server
To upgrade only a specific server type, use the -s parameter.
Example: Upgrade All Media Servers
Supported Server Types for Upgrade:
media-server-only– Upgrade all Media Serversqueue-server-only– Upgrade all Queue Serversmeeting-server-only– Upgrade all Meeting Serversivr-server-only– Upgrade all IVR Servers
Upgrading PortSIP IM Service
Please follow the Upgrading the IM Server guide to complete the installation and configuration.
Upgrading PortSIP Data Flow Service
Please follow the Upgrading Data Flow Server guide to complete the installation and configuration.
Upgrading PortSIP SBC Service
Please follow the Upgrading SBC Servers guide to complete the installation and configuration.
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