iSCSI Storage - Terms of Service

This document describes the terms of service for DoIT's iSCSI Storage service offering.

Terms of Service

  1. Service Provider:
    1. University of Wisconsin, Division of Information Technology, System Engineering and Operations, Systems Engineering group
  2. Services Provided:
    1. Storage
      1. DoIT will provide disk storage space from a DoIT Data Center, to the campus resident customer server.
      2. DoIT will house storage in data center facilities that are physically secure, have UPS backed power, and managed cooling.
      3. Upon request DoIT will mirror the customer storage to another Data Center for purposes of disaster recovery. Data will be copied at least once per day to the remote site.
    2. Pricing
      1. Each GB of used storage space will be billed monthly. Mirrored storage will be double the unmirrored rate. Billing is based on the amount of space used, not the amount allocated.
      2. .
      3. Note that the billed amount is not based on the usage you see in your file system. It's based on what the storage sees as used blocks. The storage software can't see inside your file system, it only sees the blocks. If you write a 10 GB file and later delete the file it doesn't know that the file is deleted because all the file system does is remove the file system pointer and say the space is available to be written over. The blocks still have data. In the long term it will be over written at some point with new data.
  3. Service Period:
    1. Storage service shall be provided until the customer files a request to have the storage removed, or DoIT discontinues the service. Customer will be billed monthly for space used until the storage has been removed.
    2. DoIT reserves the right to cancel service with 7 days notice if the service is used inappropriately, as it may impact other customers.
    3. Customer may request additional storage at any time by contacting the Storage Team.
  4. Storage Cancellation Policy:
    1. Customer will be allowed to terminate storage billing at any point simply by filing a removal request. Removal requests may take up to 10 working days to process.
    2. Billing will cease when all of the following conditions are met:
      1. DoIT has been provided with a removal request.
      2. Customer data has been removed from all DoIT Storage systems and the current billing month has ended.
    1. DoIT has the right to alter or terminate this policy at any point by providing 30 days notice to the customer contact.
    2. In the event that DoIT determines the storage is being used inappropriately and/or impacting other customers or DoIT's ability to manage the storage systems, DoIT has the right to terminate service by providing 7 days notice to the customer contact.
    3. Billing will cease when all customer storage has been removed from the DoIT storage systems.
  5. Service Terms & Conditions:

    The following Terms and Conditions must be followed while using DoIT iSCSI Storage Service:

    1. Installation Prerequisites
      1. Based on the information in the request form, DoIT will determine if the stated purpose is appropriate for this service. This service is intended for archival type storage applications and/or very low I/O use only. Heavy I/O use may result in cancellation of service.
      2. All connections are made via iSCSI only. Customer must install iSCSI and multi-pathing software.
      3. Customer must insure that firewalls are updated to allow TCP port 3260 traffic in both directions to the appropriate iSCSI hosts.
      4. Customer must use CHAP iSCSI security with the logon and password as provided by DoIT.
    2. Major Incident Handling
      1. DoIT's iSCSI Storage is equipped with redundant disks, hot spares, dual controllers, redundant network connections, and dual power supplies. The data center has redundant power, cooling and UPS. However, incidents may occur which result in a loss of storage to the customer's server. In the event of a data center environmental crisis (climate control, power failure, fire, etc.), storage equipment may be shut off at DoIT's discretion.
      2. Notification of outages will be the same as other DoIT services. Customers should check the outages page at http://outages.doit.wisc.edu or contact the Help Desk at 608-264-HELP or help@doit.wisc.edu.
      3. In the event of an extended incident that causes loss of access to storage, the customer may be directed to connect to the mirrored storage at DoIT's alternate data center, if the customer requested mirrored storage.
    3. Upgrades and Patching
      1. DoIT will periodically perform necessary code upgrades and/or patching to the storage systems. This work is normally scheduled for the 3rd Sunday in April and October. Emergency patches may be applied on any weekend if deemed necessary. Patching during the workweek will only happen under critical circumstances.
      2. Patches and code upgrades normally result in controller reboots. With redundant controllers and paths, the customer will not normally be impacted by this work. In the unlikely event that there is a loss of storage connectivity, the customer should simply re-connect to the storage and notify DoIT of this event. Contact the Help Desk at 608-264-HELP or help@doit.wisc.edu and open a case on iSCSI Storage.
    4. Backups
      1. DoIT will provide offsite mirroring for protecting data in the event of a data center or storage system disaster, if the customer has requested this service. However, offsite mirroring is not a replacement for periodic backups of your data. The customer is solely responsible for having data backed up. DoIT can not guarantee that data will be available or recoverable in the event of an incident. If you do not have your own backup system in place DoIT recommends Bucky Backup: https://www.doit.wisc.edu/services/backup-bucky-backup/
    5. Data Content and Security
      1. The customer is solely responsible for the content of their data and meeting any associated privacy or security standards such as HIPAA. DoIT has no knowledge or control over customers' content, nor do we control who has access to data stored on the storage systems through the customers' server(s). Note that iSCSI is not an encrypted protocol so secure content (such as Social Security numbers) should not be stored here. DoIT recommends using CHAP security to connect to the storage. CHAP will be used as the default, but is not required.
    6. DoIT provides the instructions only for making iSCSI connections. Customers will be charged on a time and materials basis for any work completed by DoIT staff on customer equipment (including initial iSCSI install and configuration). These requests fall outside of normal service.
    7. Performance
      1. Because storage is delivered over the campus IP network, the DoIT Storage Team cannot guarantee performance or uptime. If you have regular performance problems with this storage it is likely that it is being used for an unsuitable application with too high of an I/O rate.
  6. Contacts:
    1. DoIT storage staff may be contacted by e-mail at storage@doit.wisc.edu
    2. Critical problems should be addressed to the DoIT Help Desk (4-HELP)


Keywordsdoit campus wide services storage disk file data tier 1 2 3 4 tiers sata hosting center systems engineering operations mirroring off site recovery backup enterprise network cloud archive iSCSI   Doc ID23892
OwnerKevin K.GroupSystems Engineering
Created2012-04-19 10:17:11Updated2022-11-04 17:08:07
SitesDoIT Help Desk, Systems Engineering
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