To set up the Vodia PBX on Google Cloud, start by creating a VM instance in Google Cloud's Compute Engine - choose a region, zone and a compatible operating system, like Debian. Once the instance is running, configure firewall rules to allow essential ports, such as 80, 443 and SIP-specific ports (5060/5061) to enable communication. Use SSH to install the Vodia PBX by downloading and executing the installation script. After installation, configure the Vodia PBX login, then adjust IP routing settings to recognize the Google Cloud NAT by specifying internal and external IPs. This setup helps you effectively run the Vodia PBX in a cloud environment with secure, remote access and full functionality.
In this blog, we will cover the basic steps for setting up the Vodia PBX with Google Cloud. If you don’t have a google account, you can sign up at https://cloud.google.com/ and get $300 to spend on Google Cloud Platform over the next 12 months!
Once you have access to your Google Cloud, navigate to (Compute Engine) to create a VM.
Click on create
Setting up your VM
Name Your instance (lower case) no spaces
Choose your region and zone
Machine configuration (choose General-Purpose)
Building your instance
Choose your operating system (for this tutorial we are using Debian). You can use Windows or any other Linux flavor.
Service Account (Choose Compute Engine default service account)
Access Scope (Choose Allow default access)
Firewall Setting (Choose Allow HTTP traffic and Allow HTTPS Traffic)
When done, click create.
Running instance
Now that the VM is running, Google has provided us with internal IP and external IP addresses. These IP addresses will be assigned to the Vodia PBX to determine the audio packets.
Edit the firewall
Next, we are going to set up the firewall on Google Cloud.
Click on your instance as shown below.
Next, scroll down to (Network details) and click on (View details)
In the right-hand panel, choose (Firewall rule).
Create Firewall Rules
Click on (default-allow-internal)
Change the IP source address from to 10.128.0.0/9 to 0.0.0.0/0 and save.
This will take care of the following ports:
80 (TCP)
443 (TCP
5060 (UDP)
5061 (TCP)
RTP Ports 49152- 64512
LDAP Ports 2345-2346
Installing the Vodia PBX Phone System
To install the Vodia PBX, we need to log in with SSH. To do this, click on the SSH drop down and choose (open in the browser window).
Allow login only from listed address ( is optional)
Save the password in a safe place
Behind NAT
Since Google Cloud is behind NAT, we need to program the Vodia PBX to use the external IP address of the VM. The (IP Routing list) in the Vodia PBX is used to override the operating system IP routing table (this setting will be consulted by the system before consulting/using the operating system).
To check your internal/external IP address, click on the three-line icon and scroll down to (Compute Engine).
In this example, my internal IP is 10.150.0.2 and my external IP is 35.236.234.40
Vodia PBX now supports xAI’s Grok, giving partners another option for building AI voice agents for their customers. Using Grok’s speech-to-speech API, a Vodia Voice Agent can greet callers, ask who they’d like to speak with and transfer them to the appropriate extension. For example, a caller can simply say they’d like to speak with sales and be connected to the sales team. The article walks through what you need to connect Vodia PBX to Grok and includes a sample call transfer script you can adapt to your own call flow.
Vodia PBX 70.7 brings practical improvements to hotel operations, call quality troubleshooting, outbound dialing, and device provisioning. A new Hotel Front Desk template puts room status, wake-up calls, and guest services in one place, while additional call quality metrics help teams investigate audio issues. Updates to the User Web Portal, reporting schedules, hardware support, and integrations give MSPs, resellers, and service providers more tools to manage deployments and support their customers’ everyday communications.
Vodia is heading to CVx EXPO26, November 17–18 in Glendale, Arizona. Visit Booth 2009 to meet the Vodia team, learn more about our business communications platform, Partner Program, white-label capabilities and the latest V70 developments, and discuss how Vodia can support your customers. The event brings together MSPs, VARs, technology advisors, service providers and other channel professionals, making it a great opportunity to connect directly with the team, ask questions and explore how Vodia can support your business.
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