TIPS Dimensioning Pi 400

[Centar]

In searching the matter of how many concurrent channels a pi 400 could handle I have read numbers from 30 to 80 for a Pi 4 (1.5 Ghz) with 4 Gig memory. The Pi 400 can be stably overclocked to 2.2 Ghz and has 4 Gig of memory...Can anyone shed any light on how many channels (each running a fairly long dialplan) could a 2.2 Ghz quad core (ARM) 4 Gig of ram run concurrently and would it be more or less than a 2.2 Ghz Dual core Pentium 4 box with 4 meg ram?

 

[Halea]

Phoronix published an interesting comparison between the Pi4 CPU and the latest lowest-end Intel Celeron/Pentium CPU back in August. You can read it here: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Raspberry

As for your question regarding concurrent calls, I am not sure that there is a formula or an algorithm to figure out the answer.

That said, if your PBX doesn't do any audio transcoding chances are that it can handle *lots* of calls

But if you need to handle over a hundred calls (for the sake of argument) you surely don't want to do it on a Pi, unless it's an academic exercise in which case setup a test bench and give a try. But even running a rigorous live test of, say 50 simultaneous calls in real-world conditions requires an elaborate setup, which would cost-wise eclipse the price of a Pi4.

 

[Centar]

UPDATE:
I found this video on youtube that claims over 250 concurrent calls on a pi 4

 

[billsimon]

In searching the matter of how many concurrent channels a pi 400 could handle I have read numbers from 30 to 80 for a Pi 4 (1.5 Ghz) with 4 meg memory. The Pi 400 can be stably overclocked to 2.2 Ghz and has 4 meg memory...Can anyone shed any light on how many channels (each running a fairly long dialplan) could a 2.2 Ghz quad core (ARM) 4 meg of ram run concurrently and would it be more or less than a 2.2 Ghz Dual core Pentium 4 box with 4 meg ram?

Am I missing something in why you keep saying 4 meg (4MB) memory, also Pentium 4 (a processor that was popular 20 years ago)?

Are you considering running this configuration for real production purposes? If so you must consider more than the number of calls that can be processed.

 

[kenn10]

If so you must consider more than the number of calls that can be processed.

Yes...like memory cards failing after being used for a period of time on a busy system. In my opinion, the PI is not suitable for a production environment. People are spending extra money to add SSD's and such. Why bother when you can have a cloud instance for $25/year?

If you must have a local system, go for an Intel NUC instead.

 

[jerrm]

If you must have a local system, go for an Intel NUC instead.

A single NUC for $300+ or a redundant, warm spare fail over pair of Pi4s for $150?

Dozens of Pi's for 4+ years without a failure of any kind. Can't say the same for my NUCs.

 

[Centar]

I have 3 Pi 3B+'s baised PBXs running 3 yrs straight straight without even needing a reboot (although there has been reboots for other reasons, like moving the server, etc)
The "no moving parts", the SBC design, and open source dedicated software makes for a very reliable PBX solution that you have total control over and the power usage is basically nil.
Combined with a USB connected smart UPS, SSD, POE phones and in the cloud backups, it makes for a very reliable cheap PBX.
Inter company communications are not lost during power and internet interruptions as would be with a hosted solution.
Hosted PBX systems in the cloud are an attractive solution for some companies but an on site PBX has it's benefits as well. It all depends on the requirements of the company.

 

[Eliad]

A single NUC for $300+ or a redundant, warm spare fail over pair of Pi4s for $150?

Dozens of Pi's for 4+ years without a failure of any kind. Can't say the same for my NUCs.

I like the idea for PI, the only issue I run into once is when the PI was not shut off properly and the system got all messed up. This scared me, luckily it was not a production PBX.
WAZO back few years ago had a very nice HA feature. It would be great if FreePBX/IncrediblePBX would have such a thing.

 

[Centar]

I like the idea for PI, the only issue I run into once is when the PI was not shut off properly and the system got all messed up. This scared me, luckily it was not a production PBX.
WAZO back few years ago had a very nice HA feature. It would be great if FreePBX/IncrediblePBX would have such a thing.

All my Pi based PBX's have a smart UPS connected via USB so they shut down gracefully before the battery gives out...when power returns they come back on automatically.
Yes HA...the holy grail to reliability...we NEED HA included in IncrediblePBX with easy to follow instructions.
I have looked into HA for my Pi PBX's but still haven't found anything straight forward...

 

[wardmundy]

Linux: Configure and Control APC SmartUPS During a Power Failure - nixCraft

My Linux nas server connected to APC SmartUPS using usb cable and I would like to detect a power failure. If power is not restored my server must shutdown when the battery is exhausted. How do I configure and use my APC SmartUPS under Debina / Ubuntu / RHEL / CentOS / Fedora / Scientific Linux...

www.cyberciti.biz

 

[ext-104]

I use a APC smart UPS with a APC Network card and use apcupsd on the PI's as slaves (not politically correct)
to monitor the UPS via SNMP. Easy to set up and use on multiple PI's and other systems. First gen APC network cards can be picked up cheap.

Run on a large power strip to include routers,firewall,DSL modem,ATA's, etc.

 

[Centar]

Am I missing something in why you keep saying 4 meg (4MB) memory, also Pentium 4 (a processor that was popular 20 years ago)?

Are you considering running this configuration for real production purposes? If so you must consider more than the number of calls that can be processed.

I meant 4 Gig