How to Install and Deploy FusionPBX on Debian VPS

This article provides a guide for how to install and deploy FusionPBX on Debian VPS. Installing FusionPBX on a Debian Virtual Private Server (VPS) provides a robust platform for managing Voice over IP (VoIP) communications. FusionPBX offers an intuitive web interface for managing FreeSWITCH, an open-source telephony platform.

This guide is designed for system administrators and IT professionals looking to set up FusionPBX on Debian. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it.

How to Install and Deploy FusionPBX on Debian VPS

Pre-requisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

• A Debian VPS (Debian 11 or 12 is recommended).
• Root access to the VPS.
• Basic knowledge of Linux commands and networking.

Step 1: System Update and Preparation

1. Connect to your VPS: Use SSH to connect to your server as the root user.

   ssh root@your-vps-ip
   

2. Update your system to ensure all packages are up to date:

   apt update && apt upgrade -y
   

Step 2: Install Required Dependencies

FusionPBX depends on various packages, including Nginx, PHP, and PostgreSQL. Install these by running:

apt install -y nginx php php-fpm php-cli php-pgsql php-sqlite3 postgresql postgresql-contrib

Step 3: Install FusionPBX

1. Download FusionPBX:

   cd /usr/src
   git clone https://github.com/fusionpbx/fusionpbx.git
   

2. Set file permissions for the web directory:

   cp -R fusionpbx /var/www/html
   chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/fusionpbx
   

Step 4: Configure Nginx

1. Create an Nginx configuration file for FusionPBX:

   nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/fusionpbx
   

   Insert the following configuration:

   server {
       listen 80;
       server_name your-domain.com;
   
       root /var/www/html/fusionpbx;
       index index.php;
   
       location / {
           try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
       }
   
       location ~ \.php$ {
           include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
           fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock;
           fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
           include fastcgi_params;
       }
   }
   

   Replace php7.4-fpm.sock with the PHP version installed on your server.

2. Enable the site by linking the configuration file:

   ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/fusionpbx /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
   

3. Test Nginx configuration and restart the service:

   nginx -t
   systemctl restart nginx
   

Step 5: Configure PostgreSQL

1. Switch to the PostgreSQL user:

   su - postgres
   

2. Create a new PostgreSQL role and database:

   createuser fusionpbx -P --interactive
   createdb fusionpbx -O fusionpbx
   

   Enter a password when prompted.

3. Exit the PostgreSQL user session:

   exit
   

Step 6: Install and Configure FreeSWITCH

1. Install FreeSWITCH:

   apt install -y freeswitch-meta-all
   

2. Configure FreeSWITCH:
   Edit the default configuration to integrate with FusionPBX.

   nano /etc/freeswitch/freeswitch.xml
   

   Modify the settings according to your requirements.

Step 7: Finalizing FusionPBX Setup

1. Navigate to your FusionPBX web installation by entering http://your-domain.com in your browser.
2. Follow the web installer steps to configure FusionPBX with the database credentials created earlier.
3. Complete the setup wizard, which will guide you through setting up users, extensions, and initial settings.

Step 8: Secure Your Installation

• Configure a firewall using UFW or a similar tool.

  apt install ufw
  ufw allow 22/tcp
  ufw allow 80/tcp
  ufw allow 443/tcp
  ufw enable
  

• Set up HTTPS using Let’s Encrypt for secure connections:

  apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
  certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com
  

Conclusion

You have now successfully installed and configured FusionPBX on a Debian VPS. The system is ready for further customization and use in your VoIP projects. Make sure to regularly update your server and FusionPBX installation to keep it secure.