Will AMP handle multiple physical machines from one interface?

Questions
1

I am a potential user looking for some advice and information before I drop some cash…

I currently have a decent collection of servers at home and currently run UnRaid on multiple machines… Love unraid… the thing is… I am running out of time to moderate all the game servers I have running for friends… I am also at the crossroads of deciding to charge money for hosting… maybe not taking the full on leap to start it as a business… but charging friends like $5 a month type thing to offset my power/internet bills lol…

so… what I would like to know… does your AMP allow me to set up a bit of infrastructure so I can manage multiple machines? or does it set up and handle one machine only?

can I set it up so that I can hand out usernames to friends/customers who then can only access specific servers?

can I move game servers from one machine to another if I need to take a machine down for maintenance?

your web page for pricing and options is a mess lol…

3

AMP definitely offers a Controller/Target mode where you can use one URL to manage all your machines. The licensing is setup so that you can spread the license around across however many systems you need as long as the number of game server instances remains within your license count. There are also options for “Friends/Family” to manage a number of servers. Server selling would require an Enterprise license. Here’s a link to more information about the different editions and how you can use them.

4

You can manage multiple machines from AMP using the controller/target modes - which allows you to manage multiple physical machines and the AMP instances on them. AMP is only licenced based on the number of game server instances, the number or or type of machines is irrelevant.

You can set up sub-users within AMP and restrict what features/settings they have access to, although if you want to sell game servers powered by AMP you need an Enterprise licences.

You can migrate instances but it’s a manual process right now. Automated migration is coming in a future update.

There’s also this page here: AMP Editions Comparison Sheet · CubeCoders/AMP Wiki · GitHub which is linked on the main AMP page to show you what the different options are.

5

Could you explain a little how it frustrated you? What information were you looking for that wasn’t present or how it was confusing etc?

6

CubeCoders Limited shows pricing at the bottom… but in limited options… it shows pro… network… and enterprise… no mention of your patreon option… when making the decision that its time to step up and hand off my management of game servers to the friends / family / clan members / randoms that I am hosting for… its been a struggle to say the least…

i found your site… and it comes off like here are your 3 options…

upon clicking on the options I get that more show up… and that is a huge part of the frustration… what If i just bought the one with the paypal link… instead im now going between pages and writting stuff down and trying to learn what allows what… I honestly feel I should not need a notebook to help me decide what I need vs what I want and whats affordable…

now…

under the amp netowrk edition…

standard vs premium… in the writing above it says that licencing for commercial use (what im considering) requires an enterprise licence and at this time is not available… copied from your site - “If you require licencing for commercial use (selling servers with AMP preinstalled or otherwise AMP-powered servers) an Enterprise licence is required, which is not available at this time for AMP.”

so thats really confusing… also… this comes across like im still going to have to manage the servers as I am now… there is nothing in here that says I can set people up to manage one or more of the game servers I am hosting… but it comes across like I have to set up the game and manage it… and as a business offering a product… why would I not just stick with unraid that I paid for once… and can host as many game servers as that machine could possibly run… with the option to turn off servers so I can run others… and be able to flip them on and off saving all the game data… so I could have unlimited instances and only be limited by capacity of the machine… it comes across like the same amount of work for me… but with more limitations… and basically a similar price tag (depending on drives needed) to add to this… the premium edition looks like a really bad option when comparing to unraid that I paid for once… so for me… I get that the network edition is totally out of the question at this point… only cause it comes across like I am still managing the entirety of it… the real unanswered question is… can I set up users to mod and restart their servers? - this is the one thing im looking to pay for (ideally once)

ok… on to the amp pro version… same page CubeCoders Limited

sure a pro licence lets me run 5 game’s… and I can buy more copies to stack another 5 again and again… nowhere in here does it say I can charge money or not… my only info on the page just basically says I can manage my own game servers… so I assume once again I am left managing my servers but from within a fancy panel… now I am sitting here feeling like this is just a dumbed down way to run a couple game servers on a PC where the control panel looks similar to what I would spend $20 a month for just renting a game server… but instead I pay the $10 to run it on my own hardware… so far… none of this is what I need…

finally down to the enterprise edition…

“AMP Enterprise Edition allows you to sell Game Servers with AMP pre-installed and allow users access to those game server instances via AMPs web interface. It may be distributed amongst any number of machines, and there is no difference in pricing for controller/target nodes.”

now… this is a bit confusing… am I selling people the ability to login as a player on a server or access to control who can login as a player or… its a bit vague and confusing… again… ive never used your program… and there is not much for a layout on your webpage helping me really get what im buying…

I am really left assuming that im buying a program that lets me have a setup comparable to what the big hosting companies offers… keep this in mind… I work a construction job… run a company doing renovations… I get home and “FIX” all the issues my friends have made in their servers and reset passwords so they can use admin abilities to ban people… and reset the server back X hours to a previous save ect ect… so I am browsing online for something when im tired not 100% with it…

your amp enterprise edition… great… something I “think” i can work with… 25 instances… ok… thats about what I keep running all the time… if I sign up for WHMCS its 18.95 for 250 active users… cool… 29.95 for 500 - i know nothing about this stuff so I assume if its a couple bucks more to use something listed on your site… its gotta work with your stuff… perfect…

now does this allow people to sign up… pay… and then have their account generated for them (login pass ect) and now they can select a game to run… or do I need to set up a bunch of games as purchasable servers for them to choose?

I really enjoy paying once for something and not the monthly option… so im currently stuck “trying” the 25 plan on a month to month to find out if your control panel is nice and see how it works… play around and spend a month or 2 of my time learning how to set it up ect… then deciding if I want to spend the money to pay for payment processing…(i likely will) all of this just to see if I like it… and decide to buy the 100 instance with WHMCS and one time bill of $1660.50 US or $2125 canadian… (im canadian)

now… after all of that mess… I find your comparison chart… with options like black and platinum and patreon… your patreon options… I get the love for patreon… but now im doing math and calculations and trying to figure out if the enterprise options let you “keep it after 6 months of backing” like I get “duke nukem” is 6 months of buying amp pro… but amp enterprise T2 says it has the perks of “gordon freeman” without the pro licence (cause its enterprise) and the monthly round table thing… but “gordon freeman” also gets the perks of “duke nukem” tier… and one of those perks is 6 months of backing = yours for life even if you stop backing… so… can I get a 50 instance enterprise account with WHMCS support (for life) for 6 months of backing? (currently 53.50 CAD x 6 months = $321 ) or a 100 instance T3 enterprise? (86.50 x 6 for $519? ) I can tell you now that I would sign up as a T3 patreon supporter today if it meant that after 6 months it was mine… that would be going from paying $2125 in one shot to $519 spread over 6 months…

so… can you clear some of this up? can I do the T2 or T3 enterprise and keep it after 6 months?

7

Okay, so if you are selling servers to people - you do indeed need Enterprise. AMP is licenced based on the number of instances, not the number of players.

The Enterprise licences available via patreon require that you keep the subscription going. The option to stop after 6 months only applies to the ‘regular’ patreon licences and not the enterprise ones.

The full Enterprise pricing is available here: AMP Enterprise Edition - you can upgrade at any point.

How the provisioning works out depends on your setup. If you’re selling fully managed panels then the WHMCS module provides a set of login details to the user. If you want to supply pre-configured VPSs then you can do that too but you don’t need the WHMCS module to do that.

8

so… If i dont charge for the servers… can I supply someone a username and password so they can mod it… upload files… reboot it ect? and do you have a 1 time purchase price for this?

and if I DO charge money for this… I can have it set up so that I can take a step back… and WHMCS takes payments… sends out usernames and passwords… so people can log in… mod… upload mod files… reboot… and have control of the game server they are renting?

and… do I have to set up each available game server thats rentable or do they choose from a list of available options that get spun up by AMP ?

9

If you act like a free host then you still need an Enterprise licence. The options for one-time-purchases are on the Enterprise Edition page I linked, starting at the 100 instances option.

If you’re using WHMCS for provisioning then you need to create a template within AMP for each game you want people to be able to rent. If you want to give them a blank AMP installation to create whatever games they want themselves in then you need to be reselling VPSs instead.

10

I am currently acting like a free host using unraid… i just want to provide somethings my friends can use to manage an individual game server / instance with… as right now I have been acting more like a VPS giving each friend group access to one of the 15 rack servers in my garage… ideally I would love to set up a machine to try out your software… giving them access to just whatever specific game they want to play and not an entire machine… I dont want to have to upload a mod to a game and spend the next 2 hours working out why it crashed the server and get it back up and running… I want them to have to sort that out… and have the ability to access whats needed to sort it out or wipe it and start over… so… the only way your program will allow me to give someone other than myself access to to do this stuff is to buy an enterprise licence? am I correct?

11

If it’s just for a few friends or family members (Up to 10) then you can use Network Edition to let them have free servers (but you can’t charge for them). If you’re allowing unknowns/strangers to use them then you need Enterprise Edition.

12

ok… so when I learn your program… and my friends friends want their own servers I swap to enterprise… and the control panel stuff will look the same… and what I have to do on the back end stays the same?

13

Yes, they see the same interface. Everything remains roughly the same.