Policies:Server colocation

From OCF Help

This is the official OCF policy on server co-location as approved at the Board of Directors meeting on March 30, 1998

Contents 1 Policy 2 Application Criteria 3 Responsibilities and liability 3.1 Responsibilities of the OCF 3.2 Responsibilities of the applicant 3.3 Liability

Policy

Server co-location is defined as the hosting by an organization of a computer owned by another party. The host organization provides a place to store the computer, makes a reasonable effort to keep the server running, and provides resources such as power or network connections.

Any individual or group that is eligible to apply for an OCF account may request that the OCF host their server. The requesting party must submit a request in writing, outlined in Application Criteria, and must answer any questions the Board may have regarding the request. The Board will make a decision on whether to accept or deny the request within two (2) weeks after the first scheduled board meeting following the date of the request. The board may make its decision by a motion at a board meeting, or by e-mail vote.

In the event the Board approves the request, both the requesting party and the OCF agree to abide by the responsibilities outlined in Responsibilities and liability.

Application Criteria

When submitting an application to the OCF, the requesting party must answer the following questions in writing:

1. What is your university affiliation?
2. What is the server used for?
3. What is your reason for the request?
4. How long will the OCF need to host the server?
5. What resources does the server require (power, network, personal access, etc.)?
6. What extra tasks will the OCF staff need to perform to maintain the server (backups, rebooting, etc.)?
7. How does the server benefit the OCF?
8. How does the server benefit the general campus community?

The Board will make a decision based on the answers to these questions. Approval is most likely for machines that minimize the length of time, resources, and tasks, and maximize the benefit to the OCF and the campus.

The Board will also take into consideration the effect the machine will have on the OCF's ability to fulfill its primary mission. The OCF must have enough available physical resources to host both the OCF machines and the server machine in question.

Responsibilities and liability

Once the Board has decided to approve a request for server co-location, both parties have the following responsibilities:

Responsibilities of the OCF

The OCF will provide space for the machine, and any resources and services that were mutually agreed on by the board and the applicant. Unfortunately, since most co-locations occur over vacations, when staff presence is at a minimum, the OCF is not ultimately responsible for any machine maintenance.

Responsibilities of the applicant

The applicant must appoint an individual to be responsible for the machine. The OCF must be able to contact this person by phone or e-mail throughout the duration of the co-location. This person will be responsible for answering all e-mails or phone calls within 72 hours.

The applicant agrees to abide by all OCF, campus, and university computing policies. Should the content or operation of the machine be found in violation of these policies, a complaint will be sent to the responsible party. If that complaint is not responded to within 72 hours, the OCF will shut down the server and end the co-location agreement.

The applicant must provide an administrative account on the machine to the OCF, with sufficient privileges to provide agreed upon services.

The OCF reserves the right to shut down and disconnect the machine at any time. If this occurs, the OCF will notify the responsible party within 72 hours, explaining what was done, and why.

The OCF reserves the right to terminate the co-location agreement at any time. In the event the agreement ends, the responsible party or the applicant must pick up the machine within two (2) weeks. Otherwise, the machine becomes the property of the OCF.

Liability

Neither the OCF, the ASUC, nor the University of California will have liability for any damages made to the hardware or data of the machine. The applicant will ultimately be held liable for any damages or violations of policy caused by their machine. The applicant will also be liable for any legal issues surrounding the machine, whether the machine itself or the users of the machine are found in violation of laws or policies.