AlphaNodes Redmine Managed Application Hosting FAQ | AlphaNodes

Q: What are the benefits of Redmine Managed Application Hosting compared to self-management?

The service provides several benefits: it relieves your own IT team because AlphaNodes takes over the technical aspects. High availability through reliable servers matched to the demands of the application. Regular backups that are restored when needed. Security through regular updates of the application, plugins, and operating system. Technical contacts specialized in Redmine who provide dedicated support and make companies independent of internal resources.

Q: Does AlphaNodes take over existing Redmine systems or set up a new one?

AlphaNodes does not take over existing Redmine installations originally set up by third parties or in-house. The base system is deliberately optimized for AlphaNodes workflows: standardized configuration, tested plugin combinations, dedicated backup and monitoring routines. Taking over foreign systems typically leads to inconsistencies and harder maintenance. When switching to AlphaNodes Managed Hosting, a fresh Redmine system is always set up according to AlphaNodes standards, and the existing data (projects, issues, wiki, users, attachments, spent time) is migrated into the new instance. This way the customer starts on a clean, maintained base without legacy ballast.

Q: What steps are required to switch to Redmine Managed Application Hosting?

With the InHouse offer, the customer provides a server instance with Linux and the required permissions. AlphaNodes handles installation, configuration, data import, and ongoing maintenance. Downtime during migration is minimal. With the cloud offers, AlphaNodes provides a current Redmine application on a server hosted in Germany. New customers can start within two business days of the order, and for migrations the data from the existing Redmine instance is transferred.

Q: What customization options are available with the Redmine Managed Application Hosting offers?

Redmine can be customized largely to customer needs. Customers get access to the standard features of a current Redmine version and the administration area and can manage team and users themselves. Access to the server and configuration files is not included, that is AlphaNodes' responsibility. For requested plugins, AlphaNodes handles the compatibility check as well as installation and activation during operation.

Q: What support options are available?

AlphaNodes provides support via ticket system during regular business hours. Incidents and technical support requests are handled on a best-effort basis, meaning fast problem resolution within service hours.

Q: Is there a way to try Redmine Managed Application Hosting?

Yes. AlphaNodes offers a freely accessible online demo containing a current Redmine with the included plugins. There you can try the feature set of a ready-to-run Redmine system provided by AlphaNodes. A data reset happens every weekend.

Q: Is the offer limited to a specific number of users?

No. The Redmine offer is not limited in the number of users or projects. There are different offers that differ among other things in available storage space and included plugin scope. An overview of the individual offers can be found on the website.

What is Redmine Managed Application Hosting?

Redmine Managed Application Hosting at AlphaNodes GmbH is a service in which Redmine, an open-source project management tool, is hosted on either:

an external server located in Germany (our cloud offers)
or on a server provided by the customer (our InHouse offer).

AlphaNodes GmbH takes care of installation, ready-to-use provisioning, maintenance, and security of the Redmine instance and the underlying operating system (Linux).

What are the benefits of Redmine Managed Application Hosting compared to self-management?

Our service provides several benefits:

Relief for your own IT team: the experienced AlphaNodes team takes over the technical aspects, so your internal IT team can focus on other tasks.
High availability: Redmine runs on reliable servers matched to the demands of the application, which is necessary to ensure availability and performance.
Regular backups: to prevent data loss, we run regular backups and restore them in case of emergency.
Security: the service includes important security measures such as regular updates of the application, the installed plugins, and the underlying operating system to safeguard data integrity.
Technical contact with a focus on Redmine: we provide reliable and specialized support that helps to ensure continuity, efficiency, and quality of your Redmine usage. You become independent of internal resources, especially when these are not permanently available in your company.

Is Redmine hosting at AlphaNodes just a one-time setup or does it include ongoing managed service?

Redmine hosting at AlphaNodes always comes with ongoing managed service. The one-time setup is part of the package, not the whole package. The continuous managed service includes ongoing maintenance of the application and the operating system, regular updates and security patches, monitoring, backups, and specialized support via our ticket system. We do not offer one-time setup without follow-up care, because Redmine only stays secure, up to date, and available with continuous maintenance.

What happens to our custom Redmine developments when migrating to AlphaNodes?

Custom developments and in-house plugins often only run on older Redmine versions and are not compatible with current versions. As a rule, operating such custom code within our managed hosting is not possible, because we only run current, maintained Redmine versions.

During migration we review each custom development individually. Where our commercial plugins or Redmine standard features cover the desired functionality, we replace the custom development with these maintained alternatives. For features that are covered neither by the standard nor by our plugins, we discuss individual solutions. Simply carrying over custom code typically leads to security risks, update blockers, and high follow-up costs.

Does AlphaNodes take over existing Redmine systems or set up a new one?

We do not take over existing Redmine installations originally set up by third parties or in-house. Our base system is deliberately optimized for our workflows: standardized configuration, tested plugin combinations, dedicated backup and monitoring routines. Taking over foreign systems typically leads to inconsistencies and harder maintenance.

When switching to our hosting, we always set up a fresh Redmine system according to our standards and migrate your existing data (projects, issues, wiki, users, attachments, spent time) into the new instance. This way you start on a clean, maintained base - without legacy ballast that will cause trouble later.

What steps are required to switch to Redmine Managed Application Hosting?

InHouse offer (for companies with their own infrastructure)

Switching to our InHouse offer normally involves the customer providing a server instance based on our specifications, along with the data migration from the existing Redmine instance to us. You should be able to provide a server with the required hardware, the required Linux system, and the required permissions, along with the Redmine data of your existing system. We then take over the rest regarding installation and configuration of Redmine on your server, as well as importing your data and the subsequent regular maintenance of the application and system environment. This ensures that everything runs smoothly from the start. By the way: downtime during a migration to us is minimal.

Cloud offers

Here we provide a current Redmine application on a server hosted by us in Germany. If you are starting fresh with Redmine, you can get going within two business days of the order. If you are not new and want to switch to our cloud offer, the move includes, if needed, the data migration from the existing Redmine instance. You should be able to easily export your existing Redmine data and provide it to us. We then take over the data import and make sure everything runs smoothly. If you use your own SMTP account, we need the corresponding credentials from you to set up Redmine notifications for your team.

What customization options are available with the Redmine Managed Application Hosting offers?

In most cases Redmine can be customized to your needs. You get access to the standard features of a current Redmine version, as well as to the administration area, and you can manage your team and users yourself. Access to the server and configuration files is not included. That is our responsibility. If you want to use a specific plugin, let us know. We handle the compatibility check and, where applicable, installation and activation during operation.

What support options are available?

We typically provide support via ticket system during our regular business hours. Incidents and technical support requests are handled on a best-effort basis (meaning fast problem resolution within our service hours).

Is there a way to try Redmine Managed Application Hosting?

We offer a freely accessible online demo that contains a current Redmine with the plugins we provide as needed. There you can try the feature set of a ready-to-run Redmine system provided by us. A data reset happens every weekend. To the online demo.

Is the offer limited to a specific number of users?

Our Redmine offer is not limited in the number of users or projects. We have various offers that differ, for example, in available storage space and plugin scope. An overview of the individual offers can be found on our website.

Why should we not host Ollama ourselves?

Studies show that more than 175,000 Ollama instances worldwide are exposed unsecured on the internet - often because network configuration and access restrictions are overlooked during manual setup. Setup and ongoing maintenance require expertise that goes beyond a one-off installation. With AlphaNodes Managed Hosting we take this over for you - from secure setup to regular maintenance.

Which add-ons can I book on a monthly basis?

Add-ons are functional extensions of your Redmine instance - the respective features are only available to you while the add-on is actively booked. Without an active add-on, these features are not present in Redmine.

As a managed hosting customer, three add-ons are currently available on a monthly basis:

SAML / SSO - Enables single sign-on in Redmine. Without this add-on no SSO login via an identity provider is possible. Supports Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, Google, Keycloak, Shibboleth, and others - fully configurable through the web interface.
AI Plugin - Unlocks all AI features in Redmine. Without this add-on no AI-powered features are available. With the add-on active, you can connect your AI provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure OpenAI, Google Gemini, Ollama, and others) and use AI-based issue analysis, summaries, text generation, and more.
Productivity Bundle - Extends Redmine with four productivity plugins that are not included by default: Time Logger (stopwatch time tracking), Mentions (extended @-notifications), Collapse Closed Issues (hide closed tickets), and Issue Checklists (structured checklists inside issues).

All three add-ons are also fully included in the Enterprise Support Package - there additionally combined with a fixed monthly support hour quota.

What is included in the Productivity Bundle?

The Productivity Bundle groups four plugins that noticeably simplify everyday workflows in Redmine:

Time Logger Plugin - Real-time stopwatch directly on the issue page. Start, pause, and stop time tracking with a click. The runtime is shown live in the menu, and after stopping, the time entry form opens automatically with prefilled values.
Mentions Plugin - Extended @-mentions in comments. The notification email contains the full comment text, its own subject line, and also reaches people outside the project. Mentions in private notes trigger a notification too.
Collapse Closed Issues Plugin - Closed sub-tasks and linked issues are hidden by default and shown as a badge. Reduces page length on issues with many completed sub-tasks without losing information.
Issue Checklists Plugin - Structured checklists inside the issue: create and check off items, reorder by drag and drop, progress bar, reusable templates, and an optional lock when closing an issue with open items.

You can find a detailed feature comparison on the Productivity AddOn features page.

Who is the offer aimed at?

The target audience for Redmine Managed Application Hosting are companies and organizations that want to use Redmine as their project management software, but no longer have the resources or the technical know-how to host and manage the application themselves. This service is aimed at customers who want a reliable and secure hosting environment for their Redmine instance, without having to worry about the technical aspects. And who want a contact person who is familiar with the subject in case of need.