These Terms of Service govern the relationship between the University of Tartu, as the owner of the University of Tartu High Performance Computing Centre (hereinafter UTHPC), and the client regarding the use of UTHPC services. They define the conditions under which rights are exercised and obligations fulfilled.
The Terms of Service take effect upon the client’s submission of a service request to UTHPC.
1. Definition
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In the Terms of Service, the following definitions are used:
User Support A service centre responsible for handling client requests. IaaS Service Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a service model that allows users to access and utilize virtualized computing resources, including processors (vCPU), memory (RAM), and storage (HDD), as a service. Incident A situation where the client is unable to use the service as specified in the Contract, including unplanned interruptions or interference of the service, IT systems, devices or applications. Interruptions and interferences are two separate forms of an incident. Information Request A request submitted by the client to obtain or exchange information regarding the service. Main User A client with access to the self-service environment, authorized to order resources from the service catalogue, manage project settings and project team and its members. Office Hours Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:00 (excluding Estonian national holidays). Self-Service The web based environment at minu.etais.ee where clients can monitor the current status of their requests and monitor the progression of issue resolution. Service Interruption Situation where the service as described in the Contract, or the functioning of IT systems, devices, or applications, is interrupted and cannot continue. Service Interference Situation where the service as described in the Contract, or the functioning of IT systems, devices, or applications is restricted (is interfered).
2. Description of the Service
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2.1. The IaaS service provides a virtualized set of resources that clients can access either via the self-service portal at minu.etais.ee for manual use, or through an API for automated machine interaction.
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2.2. The IaaS service is delivered via the cloud platform OpenStack. Clients can:
- ● Activate virtual machines using various configurations prepared by the service provider;
- ● Manage data storage capacity (virtual disks);
- ● Manage snapshots of virtual disks;
- ● Manage public IP addresses;
- ● Manage private networks;
- ● Manage security rules for virtual machine networks.
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2.3. The IaaS service is physically hosted in the University of Tartu’s server rooms, located at Lossi 3 and in the Delta academic building at Narva mnt 18.
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2.4. The IaaS service has been audited and is compliant with the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 standard, as well as with Estonian national legislation governing data protection and cybersecurity.
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2.5. The IaaS service is provided using physically isolated resources, with computing workloads distributed across separate physical devices. Although the service does not guarantee dedicated resources, it strives to deliver the best possible performance for all clients.
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2.6. The storage resources offered by the IaaS service are structured into multi-tier packages. The first tier (Tier 1), accessible for the clients, provides high-speed storage based on SSD technology, while the second (Tier 2) consists of a shared SAS disk array.
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2.7. The IaaS service offers 99.9% availability based on a single location. Network devices may be duplicated between locations. The availability of the Self-Service portal is 99.6%.
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2.8. The administrator is authorized to install software on the resources allocated to the client. If the software requires a paid licence (e.g., Microsoft Windows server), the client is responsible for covering the associated licence fees. A corresponding notice will be provided in the Self-Service catalogue and displayed before the installation.
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2.9. By default, resources created within the IaaS service are not backed up replicated. Clients are responsible for backing up their own information systems and data, as well as ensuring the required level of performance. To support this, clients can purchase resources in multiple science cloud locations and utilize additional services for backup purposes.
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2.10. The IaaS service provider monitors the service 24/7. This monitoring does not cover the client’s applications or systems hosted within the allocated resources. Monitoring and maintaining those is the client’s responsibility.
3. Arrangement of the Service
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3.1. Resources can be ordered by entering into a service contract with the University of Tartu and appointing the main user, who will represent the client in matters related to the use of service.
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3.2. The client may use the IaaS service according to their preferences and needs, in compliance with the service rules and these Terms of Service.
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3.3. The main user orders the resource package (VPC – Virtual Private Cloud) through the Self-Service portal. The client may use the functions described in Clause 2.2 within the limits of the ordered resources.
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3.4. Administrators appointed by the main user will install the necessary software systems and data on the resources within the VPC. If licensed software is used (e.g, Microsoft products), the associated fees will be added to the invoice according to the current price list. The client is responsible for ensuring the legal right to use any licences not included in the service catalogue.
4. Terms of Service Provision
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4.1. Service level agreement (SLA):
Criticality level Description of situation Maximum time of response Maximum allowed interruption of the service in a month None The service works as planned. Information requests, help requests. Up to 3 business days. - Low The service is not directly disrupted, but there are minor anomalies. Up to 8h within office hours. Up to 16h within office hours. Medium The service is partially disrupted. Up to 4h within office hours. Up to 16h within office hours. High Service outage, large number of customers affected. Immediate and big impact, especially information security problems, usability problems. Up to 3h within office hours. Up to 8h within office hours. -
4.2. If fulfilling the relevant obligations is not possible or practical (e.g., the initial diagnosis proved wrong), the parties agree through their contact persons on the future action and the time of fixing any failures.
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4.3. The service is not considered interrupted or interfered with, and response and recovery times do not apply, if the incident is caused by the client’s action or failure to act, by scheduled maintenance or force majeure.
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4.4. Both parties shall avoid any action that interferes (or may interfere) or limit (or may limit) or causes (or may cause) damage to the security of the other party’s system, infrastructure or communication network. Each party is responsible for keeping their infrastructure’s software up to date and secure.
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4.5. The availability of the service extranet depends on the extranet service providers. By default, the extranet connection is established via the data transmission network for state agencies (state network). If necessary, special solutions for the extranet connection can be agreed on between the parties.
5. Data Retention and Security
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5.1. When using the service, the client is responsible for ensuring the security of any services they provide over the public network (incl. any data). For that, the client must implement appropriate organisational and information security measures. These may include, but are not limited to:
- ● Routine system administration, including regular security updates for operation system and applications;
- ● Regular backup and recovery;
- ● Ensuring system performance and availability.
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5.2. The service provider does not perform backups of the client’s data, unless otherwise agreed between the parties.
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5.3. The client is solely and fully responsible, in all circumstances, for implementing security measures for the systems they store in the service and for any parts of those systems under their management.
6. Maintenance Work
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6.1. UTHPC will notify the client of all scheduled maintenance at least three (3) days in advance via the Self-Service environment and/or by an e-mail sent to the main user.
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6.2. UTHPC will carry out all maintenance work with minimal interference to the service.
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6.3. During maintenance, the operation of the service may be interfered with, however, any interference caused by maintenance is not considered as non-compliance of the service, as it is part of regular service operations.
7. Notification of Incidents, Faults and Requests
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7.1. The client must immediately notify UTHPC of any issues with the service via the self-service environment.
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7.2. If the self-service environment is unavailable, the client must contact the UTHPC User Support by email at support@hpc.ut.ee.
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7.3. The client shall inform UTHPC of any requests or observations related to the use of the service via self-service portal or by emailing support@hpc.ut.ee.
8. Invoicing
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8.1. The IaaS resources are provided and invoiced as package resources (VPC – Virtual Private Cloud). By using any VPC services, the client agrees to pay the associated fees. Charges for licensed software usage (e.g., Microsoft products) will be added to the service fee according to the current price list.
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8.2. VPC settings can be configured by the main user, and the service fee is terminated based on these settings.
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8.3. VPC settings can be changed through the Self-Service environment with no daily limit on the number of changes. The price is calculated on a daily basis, with the highest tier package used each day being invoiced.
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8.4. The client can monitor the current usage, cost of IaaS resources and the estimated total monthly expense through the Self-Service environment.
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8.5. Invoices are issued at the beginning of the month following the service usage.
9. Termination of Service
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9.1. To terminate the IaaS service, the client must either remove the active resource package (VPC) via the self-service portal or notify UTHPC of their intent to terminate the Contract through the self- service environment. Deleting data and system alone does not terminate the Contract.
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9.2. The notice period for service termination is 30 days.