How server renewal works on Torchlite

Torchlite gives away servers on real Xeon hardware, and there are only so many of them. Renewal is how we make sure a running slot belongs to someone who is actually there. This guide explains the whole system: how often you renew, what happens when you don't, and the two other rules that decide when a server stops or goes away.

If you only remember one thing: keep the panel open while you play, and press Renew when it asks.

Each Start and each Renew first shows a short ad break in the panel: 2 ads on Lite and Bot, 3 on Turbo and Max. Those ads are what pay for the free servers, so the panel asks you to turn off your ad blocker for it.

How often you need to renew

Every free server has a timer while it is running. How long the timer runs depends on the plan you picked when you created the server:

Bigger plans renew more often because they hold more of the machine. Max is only offered for games that need it, such as Hytale and Forge or NeoForge modpacks, and it hands its slot back fastest when nobody is around.

The timer only runs while the server is on. A stopped server does not need renewing.

Discord bots: once a day

A bot is meant to stay online, so the Bot plan asks for a renew only once every 24 hours. The Renew button opens 6 hours before the timer runs out, so it fits any routine: renew at 20:00 and the next renew is due at 20:00 the next day, with the button open from 14:00. Nobody has to be up at night to keep a bot online.

When you can press Renew

The Renew button unlocks in the last 5 minutes before the timer runs out (the last 6 hours on the Bot plan). Before that, it stays disabled.

Renewing early never costs you anything. When you press Renew, the new period is added on top of the time still left, not from the moment you click. So with 4 minutes left on a Lite server, renewing takes you to 54 minutes, not 50.

Starting the server always begins a fresh period. A brand-new server also gets extra time on its first start to cover the install, so the download of the game files does not eat into your first period.

What happens if you miss it

When the timer reaches zero, you get one more minute of grace. After that the panel stops the server and its slot goes to the next person waiting in the start queue.

Nothing is deleted. Your world, plugins and settings stay exactly where they were. Press Start whenever you come back and the server boots with a fresh timer, or joins the start queue if the node is full.

The start queue

Each node takes a fixed number of free servers, and we also watch how much memory is really in use. When a node is full, pressing Start puts your server in the start queue instead of starting it straight away. The queue moves in order as other servers stop.

Your place in the queue lasts 60 minutes. If you have not come back by then, we assume you left and your place goes to the next person. A brand-new server waiting for its very first start keeps its place for a full day.

If memory on a node gets critically high, the free server closest to its renewal deadline is stopped and put first in the queue, and its owner gets an email. This is rare, and it always picks the server that was about to stop anyway.

Servers you stop using

The second rule is about using the server. If nobody does anything on it for 5 days, the server is deleted together with its files, so the slot can go to someone who is waiting. The same 5 days apply to every server, whether you used it or never opened it.

"Doing something" means anything the panel logs on that server: starting, stopping or restarting it, sending a console command, opening, uploading or editing a file (in the panel or over SFTP), changing a setting, installing a plugin or a mod. It counts whether you do it or someone you added as a subuser. These do not count:

• Just signing in to the panel. Open the server and do something on it.
• Work on another of your servers. Each server has its own clock.
• The automatic first start right after the server is created.
• Leaving a server running on its own, otherwise an abandoned server would live forever.

We email you one day before the deletion. Doing something on the server at any point resets the clock.

Common problems

My server stopped by itself

Almost always a missed renewal: the timer ran out while you were away from the panel. Less often, the node ran short of memory and stopped the server closest to its deadline, in which case you got an email. Either way, press Start to bring it back; nothing was lost.

The Renew button is greyed out

It is too early. The button unlocks in the last 5 minutes of the period. Since time left over is kept, there is no advantage in renewing sooner anyway.

Start says I am in a queue

The node is full right now. Keep the page open; the queue moves as other servers stop. If you leave for more than an hour, you lose your place and have to press Start again.

My server is gone

If nobody showed up for 5 days, the server was deleted and we sent an email the day before. Deleted servers cannot be restored, so start your server or do something on it at least every few days if you want to keep a world, and keep your own copy of anything important over SFTP.