[asterisk-users] Maximum Number of Calls Asterisk Can Handle

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John C. Wolosuk Jr. wrote:
> in theory, a gigabit interface can move 1048576Kbit/sec - now if i 
> generously allocate 96Kbit/sec for every G.711 call, the network 
> transport can handle, again in theory, 10922 simultaneous calls. would 
> it be wrong to expect performance near this mark for the asterisk 
> software?
>
> Feedback appreciated,
Yes, it would be wrong to expect performance near that mark.  Most 
systems cannot handle the TCP processing load generated by a gigabit 
ethernet interface, let alone process everything that goes along with 
calls associated with that traffic.  A TCP offloader engine will help, 
but the limitation is still within Asterisk itself.  There is a lot that 
goes into processing everything related to a call.  Now, if you can get 
the media to be re-invited to a media gateway, then you can handle 
significantly more calls.

My experience is that when you are running media through an Asterisk 
server, 240 calls is an average maximum for a typical server.