i am thinking of starting a GSP my main objective for the GSP,is to 1st provide good service, as i have a already established clientèle and interests regarding it. why i want to make a GSP with no knowledge simply because my current GSP was willing to help me, not to sell servers but to just guinenly help me out with colocation tcadmin and everything else, but in the end he deleted the records of the conversation of him mentioning helping me. so im embarking upon this journey alone.
i know age is a major down factor, and in some of the post ur disgust to whining customers and teenagers. as i am inexperienced therefore any advice will be heeded upon. i know about the 24/7 support issues. and i have found a cure to it. email driven support which i can access via from my phone.
i have searched the internet for game panel's and read the other posts/threads and have come to the conclusion that its either tcadmin or gamepanel. however there is a free version game create. but how do i install it on my server, how would i run the website off my server, and how would i integrate the game panel onto the website. im willing to pay for your time. so far all i have got so far is www.laggkillers.co.cc and i have accidently made a release date for the servers to be created, therefore the final version of the website and other thing's associated will have to be done asap. its true that every hour more and more gsp start up. and finding the niche market to compete is the more difficult task. therefore i have found my niche market which is medal of honor allied assault spearhead. i know its a dying game but there are very many clans looking to buy servers simply because as its a older game alot more moddifications available. and most gsp have ignored that medal of honor still has a good clientèle.

thats what i am looking to do, i know there is alot of risks involved but any help and advice would be apreciated. and if u can make the website and explain how will i run the website off my server which is window's 2008. and finally dies the option for ip addresses get automatically configured or you have to manually configure it for the ip addresses. so before and after support is needed which would be payed for. if you can contact me how much it would cost for ur time it would be much appreciated.:)

I think you're going to have to get a more professional looking website to appeal to customers ;-)

true. i need to be 7 days from the registration date to request for somecoder to sort out the website :p

A new site is a must. Make sure you know you won't get big right away and it's going to take a ton of time and effort. :agree:

I'll be honest, 1st off you say here you are thinking of starting a GSP, however you are already trying to take pre-orders on your site, which does look a bit amateur and the grammer could do with being sorted out as well

You say you will cover support via your phone, but in this industry you need *true* 24/7 support, which costs money, you can always look to outsource for your off peak hours, i.e. the 8 hours you'll be asleep(!)

The niche you are attempting here is good, but to be blunt you need to do ALOT more research before even thinking about taking pre-orders as, in all likely hood, you won't be able to deliver meaning lost customers and maybe even a bad name from the start

My advice: remove the pre-orders from the site, get the knowledge and support behind you, then go for it. Until you have the compelete network of what is needed to set-up and run a GSP you won't last long at all, sorry to be blunt

im sure it would be all worth it in the end.

I'll be honest, 1st off you say here you are thinking of starting a GSP, however you are already trying to take pre-orders on your site, which does look a bit amateur and the grammer could do with being sorted out as well

You say you will cover support via your phone, but in this industry you need *true* 24/7 support, which costs money, you can always look to outsource for your off peak hours, i.e. the 8 hours you'll be asleep(!)

The niche you are attempting here is good, but to be blunt you need to do ALOT more research before even thinking about taking pre-orders as, in all likely hood, you won't be able to deliver meaning lost customers and maybe even a bad name from the start

My advice: remove the pre-orders from the site, get the knowledge and support behind you, then go for it. Until you have the compelete network of what is needed to set-up and run a GSP you won't last long at all, sorry to be blunt

understood i shall do so. i have a brother, and about 4 ppl in my clan who are joint leaders which can cover those. the clientill going towards is pre-established clans in this specific game which are ready and willing to make a move to something new. to set up cod4, or codwaw servers might be difficult but mohaas cant be that hard?

Keep in mind that game servers often become huge targets for DoS/DDoS :)

I hope you are prepared for that.

so i will need a firewall? or not.

so i will need a firewall? or not.

Definately, you will need to harden the server, i.e. have an initial set-up to secure it. You can then have server or network security to help against DDoS attacks.

Just to explain, a DDoS attack is where the server is flooded with data to try and knock it out, or make it run so slowly it is effectively offline, DDoS protection is a must

#1. Don’t run your website off the box your running game servers off of, that’s a very bad idea and will most likely end up in a website that takes for ever to load and is very very slow.

#2. If you don’t have someone that knows about setting up and managing the servers your going to need to employee someone full time. Yes they may help you set it up but what if you get an error with windows or something crashes?

#3. You can make money off a gsp but don’t expect it right away. To get a good price for your hardware and software and keep your prices competitive with other companies is quite a bit of work so be prepared to fork out quite a bit of cash before you start making anything.

#4. For a ddos attack its a good idea to have a network fire wall and you can help stop it slightly but bottom line theres no way to prevent it.

so the website i should look into getting the hosting extra service from tcadmin? or any hosting company for the website? i dont mind paying, but is there anyone here that is ready to help me intialise? because my initial idea was that it would be much simpler, i soon relized that was a mere dream the reality is much different. and im going to everything in my power so on 17th of july i would have servers. as i am just starting at 1 server i do not need anyone full time as of yet, if i expand from the single server then i would need more support administrators.

mtx-mc seems right if im not carefull i would crash and burn. therefore i need a good strategy. atm on the mistake of the pre-oder service i have already broken even [server cost(monthly,36 in totall)+colo+game panel]. even at the crud website in the niche market im appealling towards there is a huge clientell, which no-longer want to be renting a dedicated, instead want a bigger clan package deal. :)

You are going to fail and here is why. Fix these and you stand a better chance.

You don't have any clue how to run the servers.

You don't have any clue how to run a business.

You are treating it as a hobby. Even the way you are posting here is fly by night at best.

This 1337 speak and lack of any ability to form complete sentences will hurt you.

Your free domain is something no one wanting any kind of quality service will use. I won't spend my hard earned money on that.

You are not setup for DDOS.

You are not setup for chargebacks.

You don't have any kind of business plan.

You are looking to obtain free help from friends. That only takes you so far and its because it is a hobby to you.

There are many good companies offering services for reasonable rates. Being the cheapest on the block will only get you noticed for free sponsor requests and you will grant them only to find "they won't get you big!!"

i do know how to run a business.

i may be a noob but i am not stupid. perhaps my lack of intelligence in this subject; however even i know that clan sponsorship scheme's are not the way to go.

i do have a business plan: which is to 1st break even, then it is to make profit. therefore all servers are branded. therefore every consumer knows which server they are playing on. and know how to search for it to become a possible customer. being the cheapest is not going to get me established as a gsp from now has to be at the cheapest price to remain competitive. there are 3 types of consumers one which rent short term which are looking for the cheapest deal available. second which is mid range wants reliable, and quality servers. finally is the high ranged customers who will buy a dedicated as they which to have bigger servers of 40 slots or multiple servers. or in the clan's sense a public and a private server. from my point of view, i believe its how we appeal to all 3 types of consumers makes the more successful business. firms want to have maximum profits and lesser costs and where consumers want maximum benefits with out paying for it. its how my gsp creates the equilibrium which will not make it fail.

furthermore for it to fail is simply my lack of knowledge. be it how to run the game servers or dos attacks. but if i can solve that i shall not fail, as fail is not a option i consider.

Well good luck with your business. Honestly I mean that. I am merely trying to give you a more full picture of what you are up against. I also think that there are so many good providers out there it will be difficult to differenciate yourself.

Any gamer can get a few friends or clans to buy servers but building a sustainable profitable business is very different.

Finally, if you truly had a plan and wanted to do it right, you wouldn't be selling services before you know how to run them. That is just plain wrong.

i was going to rent a dedicated with tcadmin already installed, however it would be cheaper if i buy my own server. worst comes to the worst i will have to rent with tcadmin set-up and installed. but i now understand the thing's i did not before. and once i have 7 days of membership i can request for a website to be made :)

furthermore for it to fail is simply my lack of knowledge. be it how to run the game servers or dos attacks. but if i can solve that i shall not fail, as fail is not a option i consider.

This is a great attitude to have, get the knowledge and I'm sure you'll do fine

This is a great attitude to have, get the knowledge and I'm sure you'll do fine

I wasn't going to comment again but while this statement of "I shall not fail as it isn't an option" sounds good, it is not a realistic nor a sensible approach. Good business people consider their barriers, competitive pressures etc and determine what would make them fail then they proactively plan to avoid that outcome.

That is my only objective here. I want this person to think about things and not just charge in because school is out.

Hence I said get the knowledge first...

so which firewall is best against ddos attacks? i know its a network firewall but there are many to be found on the internet, which one is cost effective and is reliable? :)

If your going to be renting most companies will offer a fire wall add-on for a resonable price.

if im not renting any recomendations?

Whether you rent or buy a server you can get a server management company to do the initial security hardening set-up for you, this should include a firewall. This can cost anything from $30-100 depending on if you have an intial set-up only or choose to get hte server managemenrt company to look after the server for you

A server management company can also monitor it for you, so if it goes down they will request a reboot on your behalf at the datacentre, this is handy if it goes down at 4am when you're asleep! And gamers expect the server to run ALL the time...

My personal recommendation for you is to stay out of the market until you are ready.
After reading your posts and threads it seems to me that you are most likely a high school student with little money to invest and maintain a gsp.
First of all you will need to have enough funds to sustain yourself for a period of 6 months or more.
This may be due to any complications that may arise: hardware failure, no customers, failing website, bad employees, etc.
If you really have no clue how to setup your own server or know how to setup game servers, THIS IS NOT FOR YOU!
Your friends won't always be there for you.

MY SUGGESTION:

Find a game server company that is hiring and try out for an internship or apprenticeship.
After about a year or two you will be ready to start your own company.
You will have all the knowledge required for the game server company hopefully. Learn the business inside and out.
Ask yourself the question: Why would someone choose me over NFOservers, gameservers, etc?
If you really think you are ready for this business then i say good luck to you.
Companies that have been backed financially have failed miserably in this market.
What makes you think you are any better than them?
Companies nowadays no longer have lag. They offer servers in virtually everywhere.


I don't mean to be brutal, but I've seen MANY companies that have great websites, seemingly great servers that fail due to inability to maintain their own costs and customers.