How many lines does a fax server need? It’s a simple, straightforward question with a much more complex answer. Getting the answer right is also essential for businesses who need their fax server to be optimally performing at all times. Install too few fax lines and you will have excessive faxes stuck in queue. Adding too many lines is essentially a waste of money and resources.
The Quick, Easy, and Entirely Unhelpful Answer
The rough answer relies entirely on how many fax users you have within your organization. A standard fax line can handle anywhere between 7 and 25 users. It’s understandable that this is a huge range that’s not very helpful. The true answer really relies on a whole host of factors:
Fax Traffic
Your daily fax traffic is arguably the largest factor in determining how many lines your fax server needs. Simply put: more traffic = more necessary lines.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself about your fax needs:
- What is the total daily volume of fax pages you receive and send?
- What is the maximum hourly volume of fax pages you receive and send?
Peak Times
No matter what your average fax traffic is, your fax server needs to be able to handle the incoming and outgoing traffic at peak times. You can add more lines in the future, but you should always ensure you have enough to support your server during peak hours.
Future Growth
By what percentage do you expect your inbound and outbound fax volume to increase over the next 24 months? If you are expecting growth in the near future, it’s easier to add more lines during the initial installation of a fax server than to have to deal with adding them at a later date.
Potential Queue Times
Faxes in queue are not the end of the world. The question for your organization is how much queuing time is tolerable for you? Faxes delayed by a few minutes are generally not troublesome for most organizations, but companies with excessive fax delays run the risk of losing business and/or credibility.
Other Considerations
- Will inbound faxes need to be routed to a recipient’s workstation email automatically (DID/DNIS routing)? DID lines are receive-only lines.
- Fax board selection: the type of fax board you have can affect page transmission speeds. Lower speeds may require more lines to handle incoming traffic.
Find Out How Many Lines You Need
Still not sure how many lines your fax server needs? Think you need additional lines added? The specialists at The Fax Guys will help you define your needs and recommend exactly how many lines your business needs. Get in touch with The Fax Guys today.
Leave a Reply