General Inquiries about TCAdmin 2.0 for licensing and website

[Dragonfire967]

I am in the process of starting a small business for server hosting, and am looking at using TCAdmin for my control panel for myself, my staff, and my clients.

I have two main questions regarding the software:

1) If I am running a single dedicated server box that would have several game, voice, etc., servers on it for various customers (as well as some demo servers for customers to check out before making a purchase from us), would that still count as one machine, meaning all I need is 1 Master License, or do I need any additional licenses.  I know it states I need 1 remote license for each additional server after the master server.

2) For integration with our website (I have not started designing it yet), will TCAdmin only work on custom built sites (using PHP, ASP, etc.,), or can it be integrated with a site built with something like Joomla or WordPress.  I am fully capable of designing the site myself if needed, but if it can work without issue with WordPress for example, this would help us cut down on time spent just designing the site, vs setting up the servers themselves.

Also, for the Master vs Remote Licenses, can they be combined and upgraded to an Enterprise license at a later date as we grow, or would I have to cancel any existing licenses, and purchase the Enterprise license separately?  I also would like some feedback on how many licenses we would need from the get go, if possible.

We initially would be wanting to start off with one node (lets say east coast, for example), with 3-4 server boxes to start with.  I am assuming that would mean 1 master, and 2-3 remote licenses.  Is that correct based on what I read on the pricing and features page, or am I misreading it?

Thank You in advance for any insight you can offer, and I look forward to using TCAdmin for our needs.

TLDR;

1) Does a single machine with multiple servers on it still count as one server for licensing purposes?

2) Can I integrate TCAdmin with a WordPress or Joomla Site?

[Alexr03]

Hi @Dragonfire967,

Thanks for considering TCAdmin as an option for your control panel!

 

1 - Its one license per installation, so since you are sticking with one machine, you will only need the Master license. As you expand and grow into different locations, you will need more machines which will require a separate license. So as per your question, you only need the Master server for now.

2 - TCAdmin was built from ASP.NET ASPX but we've been making the switch to ASP.NET MVC, with this nearly everything you see on TCAdmin is editable via editing the cshtml files. We are just limited at the moment by the pages that have not yet been converted from aspx to mvc. Unfortunately there is no REST API with TCAdmin so if you wanted to use a platform such as Wordpress there is no way to integrate with TCAdmin apart from the billing api which is limited to its features listed here: https://help.tcadmin.com/TCAdmin2_advanced_module_for_WHMCS#WHMCS_module_features. However there is an SDK and you can make modules into TCAdmin, so if you put the effort in you can make your own REST API. Or you can make an external application that integrates with TCAdmin, take a look here: https://github.com/Alexr03/TCAdminCrons

3 - When you decide to upgrade to enterprise I think your license gets upgraded, I don't entirely remember (I don't do anything with billing), but if not its very easy to just change your license key via the web panel.

 

I'm a little bit confused on what you mean with the one node and 3-4 servers. If you are talking about installing Virtual Machines onto the dedicated machine and installing TCAdmin onto each virtual machine, then you need a license for each VM. 

If you mean you are going to have one dedicated machine with 3-4 game servers (on TCAdmin) then you only need one license.

 

Let me know if you have anymore questions. And create a support ticket with Luis about what licenses you need he will explain more.

 

Thanks!

[Dragonfire967]

Thanks for the quick response, that answered my questions perfectly.

As for the node question, what I meant, was like you have a node in one area (lets say New York City, NY, for example).  In that node, you have multiple dedicated server boxes that you either have set up with multiple VMs per box, or multiple client servers per box (or a combination of both).  Based on your response, in the case of multiple VM's per box, I'd need a License for the box itself, as well as each VM on the box.  If I am just running servers on the box without VMs, I'd just need a license for the box.  This is of course assuming I read your response correctly.

Also, regarding your response to #2:

I do not know ASP.NET ASPX.  I know HTML5, PHP, jquery, and AJAX for web design.  I never bothered to learn ASP or any of the other web languages ( I do know some C++ / C#, but not enough to make an entire program ).  Would I still be able to integrate TCAdmin into a PHP-based website, or would I be better off hiring someone to design the site for me in ASP.net / use crons?

[Alexr03]

No worries.

Yeah so, if you have the box and you are installing a TCAdmin master on that you will need the master license. If you are then installing some Virtual machines onto that box and installing TCAdmin on them, then you will need a license for each VM. So yes you are right, if you are just running servers on the box without VM's you only need a license for the box.

 

As for the website, it really depends on what you want to do. Realistically you are going to have a billing platform like WHMCS and that will connect to the billing api of TCAdmin. I guess you want to use Wordpress as a landing page for your main site, so I don't think there is any need to integrate it directly? Just when a customer purchases a server send them your TCAdmin link, our panel can be customized with just CSS if you wanted so it can match your branding colours etc, or if you wanted to try and get it match exactly like your wordpress site, you can try to edit the cshtml.

[Dragonfire967]

Understood, and yes, I was going to use wordpress for the main site (which would display what we offer, pricing, shopping cart, etc.), and then the control panel section which would be TCAdmin.

I'm still in the process of doing my research before committing to anything (not starting this up until the beginning of next year at the earliest), but I was curious if WHMCS was able to be implemented on wordpress as well.

example of what I'd like to accomplish if this is possible:

Customer purchases a server from us (for the sake of example, we'll select a 20 slot RUST server for $X) on the wordpress site.  It sends them to a checkout page that hooks into WHMCS to finalize payment via PayPal, Credit Card, etc., and then after successful payment, it then directs them to their client area (not sure if this would be on wordpress or TCAdmin Side) that displays their services, tickets, and link to their control panel for a service, and tells TCAdmin (via a script such as a CRON or otherwise) to begin installing and setting up the new server for that customer account.

Is this something that is possible without any serious backend coding (aside from the CSS you mentioned to match the main site), or not possible due to the ASP.Net restrictions for TCAdmin?

Sorry if it sounds a bit confusing, as I am not entirely sure how to properly word this, and this would be my first time setting something of this scale up (before now, we just rented out VPS's or Dedicated Machines to run our own servers on directly for our use, and not in a business setting).

NOTE:

I should probably also ask, as I just looked up the WHMCS website:  Does my TCAdmin License include a WHMCS license with it for each TCAdmin License, or would I need to purchase that separately for my needs (I'm assuming separately).

Edited August 20, 2020 by Dragonfire967

[LFA]

If you send the customer from the wordpress site to the WHMCS order form you don't need to do any coding (like when you click on "order now" here: https://www.tcadmin.com/pricing/). When WHMCS receives payment it sends the info to TCAdmin and it creates the game server. When the game server is ready your customer receives an email and he can log in to TCAdmin directly or from WHMCS.

 

WHMCS license is not included. You need to purchase it separately.