Server rental management systems: a guide to automating dedicated servers
Renting out dedicated servers sounds simple: the customer pays and you hand over a machine. But from order to delivery and from renewal to reclaim, there are more than a dozen steps. This guide walks through them and shows which system handles each one and what can be automated.
Two parts
Systems for a server rental business are usually made of two parts:
| Part | For | Responsible for |
|---|---|---|
| Sales and billing front end | Customers | Product catalog, ordering and payment, invoices, renewals, client area, tickets |
| Data center back end | Operations | Server inventory, IPs and switches, remote control, OS reinstall, traffic statistics |
Common front ends include WHMCS, Mofang Finance and IDC billing systems such as Toplink CloudFinance; the back end is a DCIM system. Whether the two connect decides whether delivery is automatic or manual.
The life of a server
1. Racking and intake
A new machine is installed in a specific rack unit, its BMC address recorded, its CPU, memory and disks discovered, and it is bound to a hardware model and plan.
Can be automated: hardware discovery, asset numbering.
2. Order and payment
The customer chooses a data center, carrier line, configuration and cycle in the front end, and provisioning starts once payment succeeds.
Can be automated: matching a free server to the plan.
3. Allocation and provisioning
Assign IPs, set the switch port’s VLAN and speed, bind the MAC, install the customer’s chosen OS, and send IPs and credentials to the customer.
Can be automated: IP assignment, switch configuration, reinstall through IPMI and PXE, delivery notices.
4. Usage and support
Customers need to reboot, reinstall or reset passwords, or rescue a system that will not boot. Traffic nearing its quota needs a warning, and abnormal traffic needs limiting.
Can be automated: reboot, reinstall, rescue and console in the self-service portal; traffic alerts and automatic bandwidth limiting.
5. Renewal, overdue and reclaim
Reminders before expiry and renewals; shutdown and disconnection when overdue and restoration after renewal; on cancellation, unbind the server, reclaim IPs and put it back on sale.
Can be automated: expiry reminders, overdue suspension, restoration on renewal, reclaiming on cancellation.
Questions to ask when choosing
- Can the front end and back end connect, so payment triggers provisioning?
- Can every server brand and switch model you own be managed?
- What can customers do themselves in the client area?
- Are overdue, renewal and cancellation events linked to data center actions?
- Are traffic billing, 95th percentile billing and traffic packs supported?
How Toplink fits together
- The full suite: Toplink DCIM plus the CloudFinance IDC billing system, connected through a dedicated provisioning module;
- Already on Mofang Finance or Mofang V10: install the DCIM plugin and keep your front end;
- Already on WHMCS: install the Toplink DCIM module for WHMCS.
All three provide provisioning on payment, client-area self-service, and suspension on overdue with restoration on renewal.
FAQ
What does a server rental management system consist of?
Usually two parts: a customer-facing sales and billing front end (products, orders, invoices, client area) and a data center back end (servers, IPs, switches, remote control and reinstalls).
Which sales front ends are common?
Internationally WHMCS is common; in China Mofang Finance is widely used, and some providers use IDC billing systems such as Toplink CloudFinance. What matters is whether it connects to the data center back end.
How fast can a dedicated server be delivered?
It depends on automation. When payment triggers automatic server matching, IP assignment, port configuration and OS installation, most of the time is the installation itself.