AMS3 - A plea to the developers...

[MikeG]

Several people have asked in this forum about when AMS 3 will be released, and the replies are worryingly vague. We know that it was delayed from 2008 to early 2009, then to Autumn 2009, then to mid-2010 for no specified reason. As far back as June 2008 were being told about the new features in AMS3, and in December 2008 we were being told about even more new features which would be “post ASM3 release”.

Every time anyone on this forum asks about AMS3 they seem to be either brushed off with a standard “we don’t give release dates” reply, or their question is ignored completely.

I appreciate that we have been told that “AMS3 is almost a full re-write of AMS2 which is over 300,000 line of complex coding” but I can’t help worrying that either AMS is no longer being actively developed, or it has been side-lined in favour of other projects.

Keeping customers in the dark for so long seems unprofessional and disrespectful. I apologise if this is harsh, but there is a limit to how the "carrot and stick" can keep being used. I a big fan of AMS but I just wish that code-crafters would supply their customers with honest information so that we are able to make informed business decisions.

Are we ever likely to see AMS3, and if so is it realistically weeks / months / years / away from release?

[tlebel]

Your users from 'across the pond' would like to know too.

[Code Crafters]

I can assure you that AMS3 is very much still under development. We did break off work on it for a while to develop Ability FTP Server 2, released early 2010, and have also done several AFS and AFS2 updates along the way.

In AMS3, all data is now stored in a database including settings, accounts and mail status etc. The whole architecture is changing with a proper service for the app, service watchdog to restart if any problems and full new WebMail and admin interfaces using the very latest web technologies including ASP.Net MVC, jQuery and Entity Framework. All of this takes time to re-write and I appreciate that this is taking a while for us to do. However, please bear with us; there are only me and rob working on this remember.

We are still hoping that this may be done by the end of 2011 but it could creep into 2012 so please be patient but we definitely are still working hard on this and want it finished and out there as much as you guys do.

[cearnshaw]

It might not be popular for me to say this, but I don't mind paying for this new release, even though you graciously have provided upgrades to us free of charge up until now. This software is very important to our business, and obviously you should expect some return for your development time. The new watchdog timer alone should be worth it to me.

Cam

[Code Crafters]

We are aiming to release another major version this year for both AMS and AFS as an intermediate to the full re-write of AMS using databases and ASP.Net. The 2011 version will mainly include the watchdog and full IPv6 support among other updates. To support ongoing development we will have to, as other mail servers do, charge for these new major versions which are optional for you to upgrade to or not. However, this won't be an ridiculous price like many of our competition charge. The new major versions will also introduce a new licensing system whereby you purchase a 1 year license, for example, which entitiels you to 1 year of updates and support. After this time the mail server will still run fine forever but you will not be able to update it or have full support for your product from us. 2 Year licenses for a small discount will likely also be available. As you point out we have to either charge for updates or can't afford to continue development at the rate we'd like. I'm sure many others will agree with this being fair to both you and us as now you will choose whether or not to pay for new updates when your license expires.