Prepare the AWS Environment for Deployment

If you plan to deploy PortSIP PBX on Amazon Web Services (AWS), follow the steps below to prepare the required EC2 instance, Elastic IP, and security groups.

Proper AWS resource preparation is critical to ensure stable SIP signaling, high-quality media processing, and reliable system performance in production environments.

Step 1: Sign In to the AWS Management Console

  1. Log in to the AWS Management Console.

  2. Select the AWS region and availability zone where you want to deploy the PortSIP PBX instance.

❗ Important Choose a region geographically close to your users and SIP trunk providers to minimize network latency, reduce jitter, and improve overall call quality.

Step 2: Launch an EC2 Instance

  1. Open the EC2 Dashboard.

  2. Navigate to Instances > Instances.

  3. Click Launch instances in the upper-right corner. The Launch an instance configuration page will appear.

Step 3: Choose the Operating System and Instance Type

  1. In the Name and tags section, assign a descriptive name, such as PortSIP PBX Server.

  2. In the Application and OS Images (Amazon Machine Image) section, select Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

  3. In the Instance type section, choose an instance based on your expected workload, such as:

    • m3.large

    • m6i.large

    • m7i.large

  4. Ensure the architecture is set to 64-bit (x86).

❗ Important For production deployments, select a general-purpose or compute-optimized instance with sufficient CPU and memory to handle SIP signaling, media processing, and concurrent call volume. Insufficient resources may lead to degraded call quality, audio issues, or dropped calls.

Step 4: Generate an SSH Key Pair

AWS requires an SSH key pair to securely access your EC2 instance.

  1. In the Key pair (login) section of the instance launch wizard, do one of the following:

    • If you already have an existing SSH key pair, select it from the drop-down list.

    • If you do not have a key pair, click Create new key pair.

  2. On the Create key pair page:

    • Enter a descriptive name for the key pair (for example, portsip-pbx-key).

    • Keep all other settings at their default values.

    • Click Create key pair.

  3. When prompted, download the .pem key file and store it securely on your local computer.

❗ Important The private key file (.pem) can only be downloaded once. AWS does not retain a copy. If the key file is lost, you will not be able to access the instance via SSH and may need to recreate the instance or perform key recovery procedures.

Please refer to the screenshot above for visual guidance.

Step 5: Configure Network Settings and Storage

Network Settings

  1. In the Network settings section, configure the security group:

    • If this is your first PortSIP PBX deployment, select Create security group to automatically create a new security group.

    • If you already have an existing security group configured for PortSIP PBX, select Select existing security group and choose it from the list.

  2. Keep all other network parameters at their default values unless you have specific networking or security requirements.

❗ Important Ensure that the selected security group allows the required inbound and outbound traffic for SIP signaling, RTP media, Web management, and SSH access. Incorrect security group rules are one of the most common causes of call setup failures and one-way audio issues.

Storage Configuration

  1. Allocate at least 50 GB of storage for the root volume.

  2. If you plan to store a large number of call recordings, voicemails, or CDR data, increase the disk size accordingly.

❗ Important As a general guideline, approximately 1 MB of disk space is required for every 1 minute of audio recording. Calculate the total required storage capacity based on:

  • Average call duration

  • Number of concurrent and daily calls

  • Recording retention period

Insufficient disk space may result in failed recordings, missing voicemails, or service interruptions.

Launch the Instance

After completing the network and storage configuration, click Launch instance to start your EC2 server.

Step 6: Configure the Security Group

  1. Navigate to EC2 > Instances and select your newly created instance.

  2. Scroll down to the Security tab to view the associated security group (for example, sg-051aa65b609ce7120 (launch-wizard-1)).

  3. Click the security group link to open its configuration page.

Please refer to the screenshot above for reference.

Configure Inbound Rules

  1. Under the Inbound rules tab, click Edit inbound rules.

  2. Add the following inbound rules required by PortSIP PBX:

UDP Ports

  • 5060, 5066

  • 25000–35000

  • 45000–65000

TCP Ports

  • 5061, 5063, 5065, 5067

  • 8882–8883

  • 8887–8888

  • 10443

  1. Keep the default SSH rule (TCP port 22) unchanged. Do not remove or modify it.

❗ Important

  • UDP 25000–35000 is used by the SBC. Skip this rule if the SBC is deployed on a separate server.

  • UDP 45000–65000 is used by the PBX media server for RTP media. Skip this rule if the media server runs on a different host.

❗ Important These ports are required to ensure proper SIP signaling, RTP media flow, and management access. Missing or incorrectly configured rules are a common cause of call failures, one-way audio, or no audio issues.

Apply the Configuration

After adding all required rules, click Save rules to apply the changes.

Step 7: Allocate and Associate an Elastic IP

A static public IP address is required to ensure that SIP devices, SIP trunk providers, and external services can consistently reach your PortSIP PBX. On Amazon Web Services, this is achieved using an Elastic IP (EIP).

Allocate an Elastic IP

  1. In the left navigation pane of the EC2 console, go to Network & Security > Elastic IPs.

  2. Click Allocate Elastic IP address in the upper-right corner.

  3. Keep all default settings and click Allocate.

Please refer to the screenshot above for reference.

Associate the Elastic IP with the EC2 Instance

  1. Return to Network & Security > Elastic IPs.

  2. Select the newly allocated Elastic IP from the list.

  3. Click Actions, then choose Associate Elastic IP address.

  1. On the Associate Elastic IP address page:

  • In the Instance field, select your PortSIP PBX EC2 instance.

  • Click Associate.

❗ Important A stable public IP address is mandatory for SIP-based systems. Without an Elastic IP, the public IP may change after a reboot or stop/start operation, which can cause:

  • SIP registration failures

  • One-way or no-audio issues

  • Call routing and trunk authentication problems

❗ Important Always configure your SIP trunks, DNS records, and firewall rules using the Elastic IP address, not a dynamic public IP.

Result

Your EC2 instance now has a persistent public IP address. You can use this Elastic IP to:

  • Connect to the instance via SSH

  • Configure SIP trunks and NAT settings

  • Allow external SIP devices and services to reliably reach the PBX

Step 8: Verification

After associating the Elastic IP and applying the required security group rules, verify that your AWS environment is correctly prepared for the PortSIP PBX deployment.

Verification Checklist

  • The EC2 instance has a fixed public IP address (Elastic IP).

  • All required ports are open for:

    • SIP signaling

    • RTP media

    • Web management access

  • The instance is reachable from the public network.

Connect to the Instance via SSH

To connect to your EC2 instance using an SSH client:

  • Default username: ubuntu

  • Authentication method: SSH key pair created in a previous step

Example SSH command:

❗ Important Ensure that the SSH private key file (.pem) has the correct permissions. On Linux or macOS, you may need to run:

Incorrect permissions may cause SSH authentication failures.

Result

If the SSH connection is successful, your AWS environment is fully prepared for the PortSIP PBX deployment.

You can now proceed to the next section: Installing PortSIP PBX.

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