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Service Level Agreement |
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This Service Level Agreement (“SLA”) is a policy governing the use of the our Services under the terms of the Service Supply Agreement between SymetriQ Limited (“SymetriQ”, “us” or “we”) and users of the Services (“you”). Unless otherwise provided herein, this SLA is subject to the terms of the Service Supply Agreement and capitalized terms will have the meaning specified in the Service Supply Agreement. We reserve the right to change the terms of this SLA in accordance with the Service Supply Agreement.
Service Commitment
SymetriQ will use commercially reasonable efforts to make the Services available in line with the Service Descriptions detailed below during the Service Month. In the event we do not meet the commitment, you will be eligible to receive a Service Credit in terms of clause 2.4 of the Service Supply Agreement
Service Descriptions
VM 1.1 Our supply of a virtual machine to you is broken down into 2 components:
Virtual Machine Service Definition and Availability Guarantees
VM 1.2 The virtual machine hosting platform is operated, monitored and managed by us 24/7 at all times including all public holidays.
VM 2 Virtual Machine Service Definition
VM 2.1 We will provide you with one or more virtual machines hosted on our shared virtual infrastructure within our datacentre facilities. The Virtual machine will have a prior agreed allocation of resources to meet your requirements including memory, disk space and processor resource. These resources will be clearly defined on your Order Form.
VM 2.2 Under normal circumstances to meet your requirements we will provide you with an operating system and virtual machine image as defined on your order form.
VM 2.3 You may choose to supply to us, for installation, your own virtual machine images that include operating systems.
VM 2.4 If you supply your own virtual machine images the sum total of their resource requirements must not exceed the total resource constraints agreed on the Purchase Order Form.
VM 2.5 Your supplied virtual machine must be compatible with our virtualisation infrastructure. We will notify you of the technology and version requirements at the time of the order.
VM 2.6 We will licence any operating system we supply on your behalf as per the software vendor’s terms and your requirements. We may pass these costs onto you. Where this is the case the operating system and associated costs will be clearly defined on your Purchase Order Form.
VM 2.7 You are responsible for ensuring you licence your own supplied virtual machine operating system as per the terms of the software vendor and your requirements.
VM 2.8 You are responsible for ensuring, if required, valid licences exist for all software installed on your virtual machine excluding the operating system where clause VM 2.7 is in effect.
VM 2.9 We will provide you with a virtual layer 2 network as defined on your order form to meet your requirements.
VM 2.10 We will provide you with an internet connection with an agreed monthly bandwidth allowance clearly defined on your order form and within the terms of Bandwidth and Connectivity (BC 1)
VM 2.11 Bandwidth between virtual machines on your virtual layer 2 network does not count toward your inclusive or excess bandwidth provided that traffic does not pass through our gateway.
VM 2.12 All IP addresses provided under the terms of Bandwidth and Connectivity (BC 1) will be available to your virtual machines on your virtual layer 2 network.
VM 2.13 We will provide basic support for your virtual machines, this includes and is limited to virtual power cycling, network infrastructure connectivity and routing and scheduling of your agreed resources amongst virtual machines.
VM 2.14 We will perform backups of your virtual machine images once per day on a 5 day schedule Monday to Friday. The backup images will be placed on an alternate physical host. The backup window is between the hours of 6pm and 9am and the image may be taken at any time within this window. There will be no retention of these image backups beyond the last successful backup.
VM 2.15 With image backups we are unable to restore individual files. For a more comprehensive backup solution you may wish to consider our backup service as described in Backup (BC1)
VM 3.1 We will guarantee all allocated virtual hosting environment resources will be accessible 24/7 with a monthly availability of a least 99.9%
VM 3.2 Virtual hosting environment resources include; the full agreed CPU resource, memory in GB, disk allocation in GB and network connectivity as described in Bandwidth and Connectivity (BC 1)
VM 3.3 We may from time to time be required to perform service affecting scheduled maintenance on our shared physical environment for example server upgrades or networking reconfiguration. We will provide at least 7 days notice to you. Outages notified in advance do not contribute detrimentally to the availability guarantee. We shall endeavour to carry out all maintenance outside standard service hours.
VM 3.4 Should you wish to take advantage of our daily image backup we guarantee to begin restoration of your virtual machine image within 2 hours of notification by you of a failure of your virtual machine.
BC 1 Bandwidth and Connectivity
BC 1.1 We will supply your systems with an internet connection. The connection will be available at least 99.9% of each month, excluding any scheduled downtime.
BC 1.2 Availability of the connection will be defined as having access to at least 50% of the routes commonly available in our routing table.
BC 1.3 Bandwidth only customers will have an agreed demarcation point between our Network and yours. We guarantee service up to the demarcation point, however loss of service as a result of failures beyond the demarcation point is not covered by this Agreement.
BC 1.4 We monitor our service at all times. Packet loss is measured on our local network and on our local suppliers’ networks. If packet loss above 1% is measured on these networks we will take remedial action in line with our Support Service Level Agreement.
BC 1.5 We do not control the flow of traffic on distant networks, and are not responsible for availability or packet loss issues on those networks. Where such loss occurs, our helpdesk will assist in troubleshooting the issues but are not responsible for response or fix times offered by third party suppliers. A distant network is defined as more than two autonomous system hops from our own.
BC 1.6 In normal circumstances we will tell you about service affecting scheduled maintenance at least seven days in advance. If emergency maintenance is required we will give as much notice as possible but where there is a risk of unscheduled downtime by not carrying out maintenance work promptly we may waive the seven day rule. In all but the most urgent circumstances we will endeavour to carry out emergency maintenance outside Standard Service Hours.
BC 1.7 The calculation of any service impairment excludes connectivity or performance issues which affect the internet in general or are caused by malicious act against you.
Examples include:
• Performance issues caused by new virus or trojan activity that causes widespread disruption to internet services.
• Loss of service caused by widespread failure of internet technology
• Impairment to your service caused by denial of service attack on your equipment, and subsequent remedial action by us.
• Impairment to your service caused by traffic levels outside the contracted limits
BC 1.8 Your Bandwidth supply is contracted for a minimum amount. This may be an inclusive part of other services, but will be clearly identified on your Order Form and invoice. We guarantee that you will be able to burst to at least twice your contracted Bandwidth rate (or the greater of two megabits per second) indefinitely subject to the charges identified below. Burst capacity up to 1000 megabits per second is permitted, where technically possible, for up to 15 minutes per month. We reserve the right to rate-limit use beyond these values where network performance to our other customers is threatened by your traffic levels. Since we do not control distant networks we cannot guarantee performance between any two points on the internet, but such issues should be raised with our helpdesk who will assist in troubleshooting
BC 1.9 Bandwidth outside your inclusive amount is billed according to the industry standard 95th percentile method. Your average Bandwidth use is collected every five minutes in the month. At the end of the month the samples (approximately 8600 in number) are sorted into ascending order and the top five percent of samples (equivalent to approximately 36 hours of data) is discarded. The highest remaining sample is the agreed Bandwidth for the month. We will bill you each month in arrears, at the agreed rate, for Bandwidth exceeding your inclusive amount. In the event that Bandwidth data is not collected at any time in the month, the 95th percentile calculation will be performed on the data that has been collected.
BC 1.10 You may change your inclusive amount of Bandwidth at any time by contacting your account manager. Changes to your inclusive Bandwidth will be carried out on the first calendar day of the month following the minimum notice period for your request.
• Upward changes in inclusive Bandwidth require 5 days notice and are subject to a minimum period of three months.
• Downward changes in inclusive Bandwidth require 3 months notice
• You may not change the inclusive Bandwidth below the amount first contracted during the Initial Period.
• Bandwidth-only customers are subject to a minimum inclusive Bandwidth at all times.
BC 1.11 We will provide on line access to graphs showing Bandwidth use on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis.
BC 1.12 We will issue IP addresses to you suitable for your requirements. We will not charge for the IP addresses issued, but where you have complex requirements we reserve the right to raise an administration charge.
BC 1.13 IP addresses issued to you which are part of our provider aggregated (PA) address space must be returned to us on termination of the contract or application for which they are required. You agree not to ask any other party to route these addresses on the Internet without our specific permission in writing.
BC 1.14 We administer the issue of IP addresses on behalf of RIPE “Réseaux IP Européens”. We will advise on the guidelines for the issue of IP address space, however when you do not accept our advice we will raise a specific request on your behalf to RIPE for the issue of your address space, according to your stated requirement. You will be bound by the response from RIPE on the issue of this address space.
FWM 1 Firewall Management
FWM 1.1 Firewall Management is divided into 3 sub sections
· Firewall Rule Management
· Firewall Software Management
· Firewall Platform Management
FWM 1.2 Firewall management takes place inside the defined hours as per the level of cover defined in your order form.
Standard Service Hours - Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm Excluding Bank Holidays
Extended Service Hours - Monday to Friday 6am - 12am Excluding Bank Holidays
24/7 - Cover provided at all times including all holidays
FWM 1.3 Work outside Standard Service Hours is restricted to emergency support work with the goal to recover normal operation of the service. Elective work or routine maintenance is not provided and must be agreed with a representative of the company.
FWM 2 Firewall Rule Management
FWM 2.1 We will implement firewall rules according to your instructions
FWM 2.2 We will implement firewall rule changes according to the priority of the request as defined in our Support SLA
FWM 2.3 We do not audit your request in detail, and may provide advice on the rules that are established. We make no warranty that the implemented rules fully meet your business needs and recommend the use of specialist security consultants to advise on the security implementation that meets your requirements.
FWM 2.4 We will assist in the establishment of VPN tunnels where required. We will work with administrators at distant ends to establish the VPN tunnel, we may provide advice on the implementation, but since we are not responsible for the distant equipment on the VPN we cannot provide a guarantee of the establishment and subsequent availability of the VPN. Excessive resources expended during the setup process of the VPN may be chargeable at our Standard Day Rates
FWM 2.5 We will back up the firewall configuration after configuration changes and/or patches have been applied. A copy of the configuration and rule set will be made available to you or your agents on request in line with the Support SLA, this request will be treated as an information request.
FWM 3 Firewall Software Management
FWM 3.1 We will apply patches to the firewall software in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions once per month during your agreed Service Maintenance Window.
FWM 3.2 Where applicable you will maintain a subscription or service contract with the software vendor which allows access to the patches or supporting services for the firewall software.
FWM 3.3 Full point upgrades of the firewall software are not included as part of this service and should be discussed with your account manager.
FWM 4 Firewall Platform Management
FWM 4.1 We will maintain the operating system of the host firewall platform in a manner appropriate for the support of the firewall itself. Critical updates and patches relevant to the software in use will be applied on a monthly basis during your agreed service maintenance window.
FWM 4.2 For hardware supplied by you we do not maintain or support firewall hardware. You must maintain appropriate support arrangements with your hardware vendor for the repair of the hardware. Please ensure that the level of support and response times from the vendor match your business requirements.
FWM 4.3 Firewall hardware management is provided within the contracted hours of firewall support. We will interact on your behalf with the firewall hardware support organisation. This interaction includes:
§ Reporting the fault to the vendor
§ Attending as chaperone to the vendor’s support technician
§ Carrying out the instructions of the vendor such as supplying log files or reporting lamp statuses.
§ Interchanging customer replaceable parts in accordance with the vendor’s instructions, for example changing disks or power supplies.
Any interaction that results in a requirement for physical access to a device supplied by you will be chargeable at our standard remote hands rates.
FWM 4.4 Where you have supplied the firewall hardware we will follow your instructions to perform minor upgrades to a firewall, for example installing additional memory or disks. It is your responsibility to supply the parts and to ensure that they are compatible with the system. We will carry out the work with due care and attention, but we are unable to guarantee an effective outcome of this work, and would recommend using a specialist service technician trained by the manufacturer of the equipment. All physical access to any device owned and supplied by you will be chargeable at our standard remote hands rates.
BU 1.1 We will provide a managed backup service to a central storage repository.
BU 1.2 In order to take advantage of our managed backup service your server will require to have an interface on a dedicated VLAN for the purpose of communication with our media server.
BU 1.3 We will provide a licensed agent to install on your server that can communicate with our media server. You must configure this agent to run at all times. We will provide assistance to implement this agent. Agents are available for most operating systems, however where no agent is available for your platform we will be unable to offer our backup service.
BU 1.4 Data will be copied from your server on an agreed schedule as set out on your order form.
BU 1.5 The backup window for the day begins at 6pm and continues until 9am the following day. Please note that this means that a backup scheduled for a given evening may commence at any time within this window – including the following morning.
BU 1.6 You may specify a preferred time of day for the backup but adherence to this time is not guaranteed.
BU 1.7 The duration of the data copy is dependent on a number of factors including data volumes. We recommend regular housekeeping to ensure that unnecessary data is not retained on the server as this will affect the backup time as well as the recovery time in the event of a server rebuild.
BU 1.8 The allocated amount of protected data will be stated on your order form along with the cost associated per GB should you exceed this. You agree to pay for any excess consumption, this will be invoiced in the month following the month when the excess consumption occurred.
BU 1.9 A backup will normally include all data held throughout the system. A limited scope of backup may be agreed where commercial or technical considerations require the backup volume to be restricted. We will agree the limited scope with you in advance and record the reason for the change. Data outside the agreed scope is not covered by this Agreement. Where a limited scope backup is in place, full recovery of the system from the backup is not possible.
BU 1.10 You must tell us if you make structural changes to the file system on the disks. For example changing a drive letter or adding a disk drive. If these changes are made and not notified to the backup software the backup scope will not include the changed items.
BU 1.11 Data is backed up and retained according to a schedule defined in your order form.
BU 1.12 Backups may fail from time to time for a variety of reasons. We will tell you when a backup has failed on more than two consecutive occasions. Regular failures of backups will be the subject of an account management meeting and we will agree a strategy to improve reliability.
BU 1.13 Although we take reasonable precautions to protect the integrity of the data, we disclaim liability for restorations that fail owing to faulty media or hardware.
BU 1.14 Data recovery requests will be processed in line with our Support Service Level Agreement You may request that data is restored to alternate locations or servers within your control. Actual recovery times will vary dependent on the location of the data on tapes and data volume to be recovered.
BU 1.15 The backup facility does not guarantee the integrity of data in files that are open at the time of the backup. Dependent upon the operating system, some open files may not be collected by the backup. This has a particular impact on database files, where a file backup cannot be restored to create a working database. We may be able to provide an additional agent for your server that understands the database technology and is able to provide a consistent backup. This is not a part of the standard service, and if provided may be subject to an additional charge.
BU 2 Termination
BU 2.1 Upon termination of this service we will cease to poll your server for backup data.
BU 2.2 You agree that your data is stored in a shared library and on tapes shared with our other customers. The data is retained on the backup server for the agreed retention period following the end of the Agreement.
BU 2.3 We make no guarantee as to the availability of your data following the end of the Agreement, although extractions may be possible on demand, and at a charge agreed with your account manager.
BU 2.4 You will not require us to isolate or delete the data stored on the central backup facility following the end of the Agreement.
OSM 1 Operating System Management
OSM 1.1 Our management of your operating system is divided into four subsections:
· Pro-active server management
· Trouble Shooting and General Support
· Fault Reporting
OSM 1.2 Operating system management takes place inside the defined hours as per the level of cover defined on your order form.
· Standard Service Hours - Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm Excluding Bank Holidays
· Extended Service Hours - Monday to Friday 6am - 12am Excluding Bank Holidays
· 24/7 - Cover provided at all times including all holidays
OSM 1.3 Work outside Standard Service Hours is restricted to emergency support operations, and agreed out of hours reboots. Routine or elective work must be separately agreed with your account manager.
OSM 2 Pro-active server management
OSM 2.1 We will apply patches to the Operating System in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions once per month during your agreed Service Maintenance Window. We will contact you at least 1 week in advance of your Service Maintenance Window to determine if you wish the work to go ahead, If you do not respond prior to the 24hours preceding the scheduled Service Maintenance Window we will not carry out the work.
OSM 2.2 We may upon request patch the operating system outside your normal Service Maintenance Window. This will be carried out during the normal contracted hours for the system concerned.
OSM 2.3 We will create default series of alerts on key server resources. These include ping, disk space, memory use and CPU use. We will investigate alerts that are raised by the alarm system in line with our Support SLA and the normal contracted hours of support for the system. Where possible we will carry out remedial action. Where the alert is caused by your application we will, in turn, notify your nominated technical staff. You accept that in order for us to do this certain exceptions to firewall rules must be made to allow our monitoring service to query your server.
OSM 2.4 We may suspend an alert where the normal operating parameters of the server cause the alarms to be raised and the alarm is no longer meaningful. We will tell you when an alarm has been suspended in this way.
OSM 2.5 When we have notified you of a recurring resource problem caused by your application, we will continue to provide support to the server but do not offer a service guarantee of response. Where alerts due to resource problems exceed ten in a month, we reserve the right to suspend support on the server until the application problem has been resolved.
OSM 3 Trouble Shooting and General Support
OSM 3.1 We will provide a general trouble shooting service and will investigate issues reported by you or notified by our alerting system in line with our Support SLA and in line with the systems service hours.
OSM 3.2 Our service includes support for the operating system and services supplied as part of the operating system, we can provide installation and basic configuration services for these components and provide support in maintaining their normal operation. We cannot advise or make recommendation as to whether any changes or configuration requests made by you meet your business requirements.
Examples of appropriate use of this service include:
Handling system problems related to our infrastructure, the operating system and our network
Investigating Performance Issues
User account management
OS Configuration as per your instructions
Installing 3rd Party software according to your instructions.
Dealing with operating system problems that affect service.
OSM 3.3 The service does not include general programing or development work.
OSM 3.4 Troubleshooting response time shall be in line with our Support SLA and is available during the contracted service hours for the system involved.
OSM 4 Fault Reporting
OSM 4.1 You may report faults or request service from us by telephone or email.
OSM 4.2 Urgent faults reported by email must be escalated by telephone to our office telephone number inside Standard Service Hours or the emergency out-of-hours telephone number at other times.
OSM 4.3 Network and virtual infrastructure faults are not restricted to your service hours and may be reported at any time.
OSM 4.4 Server faults may be reported at any time but response is only guaranteed inside the contracted hours of service.
OSM 4.5 Requests for service should always be from nominated personnel within your organisation. We may take steps to identify the caller by contacting them by return on contact details we have registered on our system. It is your responsibility to ensure you notify us of changes to nominated staff authorised to request support or service from us. Non authorised personnel may log issues if we can confirm the fault however we will not divulge any details to non-registered personnel.
This Service Level Agreement (“SLA”) is a policy governing the use of the our Services under the terms of the Service Supply Agreement between SymetriQ Limited (“SymetriQ”, “us” or “we”) and users of the Services (“you”). Unless otherwise provided herein, this SLA is subject to the terms of the Service Supply Agreement and capitalized terms will have the meaning specified in the Service Supply Agreement. We reserve the right to change the terms of this SLA in accordance with the Service Supply Agreement.
Service Commitment
SymetriQ will use commercially reasonable efforts to make the Services available in line with the Service Descriptions detailed below during the Service Month. In the event we do not meet the commitment, you will be eligible to receive a Service Credit in terms of clause 2.4 of the Service Supply Agreement
Service Descriptions
VM 1.1 Our supply of a virtual machine to you is broken down into 2 components:
Virtual Machine Service Definition and Availability Guarantees
VM 1.2 The virtual machine hosting platform is operated, monitored and managed by us 24/7 at all times including all public holidays.
VM 2 Virtual Machine Service Definition
VM 2.1 We will provide you with one or more virtual machines hosted on our shared virtual infrastructure within our datacentre facilities. The Virtual machine will have a prior agreed allocation of resources to meet your requirements including memory, disk space and processor resource. These resources will be clearly defined on your Order Form.
VM 2.2 Under normal circumstances to meet your requirements we will provide you with an operating system and virtual machine image as defined on your order form.
VM 2.3 You may choose to supply to us, for installation, your own virtual machine images that include operating systems.
VM 2.4 If you supply your own virtual machine images the sum total of their resource requirements must not exceed the total resource constraints agreed on the Purchase Order Form.
VM 2.5 Your supplied virtual machine must be compatible with our virtualisation infrastructure. We will notify you of the technology and version requirements at the time of the order.
VM 2.6 We will licence any operating system we supply on your behalf as per the software vendor’s terms and your requirements. We may pass these costs onto you. Where this is the case the operating system and associated costs will be clearly defined on your Purchase Order Form.
VM 2.7 You are responsible for ensuring you licence your own supplied virtual machine operating system as per the terms of the software vendor and your requirements.
VM 2.8 You are responsible for ensuring, if required, valid licences exist for all software installed on your virtual machine excluding the operating system where clause VM 2.7 is in effect.
VM 2.9 We will provide you with a virtual layer 2 network as defined on your order form to meet your requirements.
VM 2.10 We will provide you with an internet connection with an agreed monthly bandwidth allowance clearly defined on your order form and within the terms of Bandwidth and Connectivity (BC 1)
VM 2.11 Bandwidth between virtual machines on your virtual layer 2 network does not count toward your inclusive or excess bandwidth provided that traffic does not pass through our gateway.
VM 2.12 All IP addresses provided under the terms of Bandwidth and Connectivity (BC 1) will be available to your virtual machines on your virtual layer 2 network.
VM 2.13 We will provide basic support for your virtual machines, this includes and is limited to virtual power cycling, network infrastructure connectivity and routing and scheduling of your agreed resources amongst virtual machines.
VM 2.14 We will perform backups of your virtual machine images once per day on a 5 day schedule Monday to Friday. The backup images will be placed on an alternate physical host. The backup window is between the hours of 6pm and 9am and the image may be taken at any time within this window. There will be no retention of these image backups beyond the last successful backup.
VM 2.15 With image backups we are unable to restore individual files. For a more comprehensive backup solution you may wish to consider our backup service as described in Backup (BC1)
VM 3.1 We will guarantee all allocated virtual hosting environment resources will be accessible 24/7 with a monthly availability of a least 99.9%
VM 3.2 Virtual hosting environment resources include; the full agreed CPU resource, memory in GB, disk allocation in GB and network connectivity as described in Bandwidth and Connectivity (BC 1)
VM 3.3 We may from time to time be required to perform service affecting scheduled maintenance on our shared physical environment for example server upgrades or networking reconfiguration. We will provide at least 7 days notice to you. Outages notified in advance do not contribute detrimentally to the availability guarantee. We shall endeavour to carry out all maintenance outside standard service hours.
VM 3.4 Should you wish to take advantage of our daily image backup we guarantee to begin restoration of your virtual machine image within 2 hours of notification by you of a failure of your virtual machine.
BC 1 Bandwidth and Connectivity
BC 1.1 We will supply your systems with an internet connection. The connection will be available at least 99.9% of each month, excluding any scheduled downtime.
BC 1.2 Availability of the connection will be defined as having access to at least 50% of the routes commonly available in our routing table.
BC 1.3 Bandwidth only customers will have an agreed demarcation point between our Network and yours. We guarantee service up to the demarcation point, however loss of service as a result of failures beyond the demarcation point is not covered by this Agreement.
BC 1.4 We monitor our service at all times. Packet loss is measured on our local network and on our local suppliers’ networks. If packet loss above 1% is measured on these networks we will take remedial action in line with our Support Service Level Agreement.
BC 1.5 We do not control the flow of traffic on distant networks, and are not responsible for availability or packet loss issues on those networks. Where such loss occurs, our helpdesk will assist in troubleshooting the issues but are not responsible for response or fix times offered by third party suppliers. A distant network is defined as more than two autonomous system hops from our own.
BC 1.6 In normal circumstances we will tell you about service affecting scheduled maintenance at least seven days in advance. If emergency maintenance is required we will give as much notice as possible but where there is a risk of unscheduled downtime by not carrying out maintenance work promptly we may waive the seven day rule. In all but the most urgent circumstances we will endeavour to carry out emergency maintenance outside Standard Service Hours.
BC 1.7 The calculation of any service impairment excludes connectivity or performance issues which affect the internet in general or are caused by malicious act against you.
Examples include:
• Performance issues caused by new virus or trojan activity that causes widespread disruption to internet services.
• Loss of service caused by widespread failure of internet technology
• Impairment to your service caused by denial of service attack on your equipment, and subsequent remedial action by us.
• Impairment to your service caused by traffic levels outside the contracted limits
BC 1.8 Your Bandwidth supply is contracted for a minimum amount. This may be an inclusive part of other services, but will be clearly identified on your Order Form and invoice. We guarantee that you will be able to burst to at least twice your contracted Bandwidth rate (or the greater of two megabits per second) indefinitely subject to the charges identified below. Burst capacity up to 1000 megabits per second is permitted, where technically possible, for up to 15 minutes per month. We reserve the right to rate-limit use beyond these values where network performance to our other customers is threatened by your traffic levels. Since we do not control distant networks we cannot guarantee performance between any two points on the internet, but such issues should be raised with our helpdesk who will assist in troubleshooting
BC 1.9 Bandwidth outside your inclusive amount is billed according to the industry standard 95th percentile method. Your average Bandwidth use is collected every five minutes in the month. At the end of the month the samples (approximately 8600 in number) are sorted into ascending order and the top five percent of samples (equivalent to approximately 36 hours of data) is discarded. The highest remaining sample is the agreed Bandwidth for the month. We will bill you each month in arrears, at the agreed rate, for Bandwidth exceeding your inclusive amount. In the event that Bandwidth data is not collected at any time in the month, the 95th percentile calculation will be performed on the data that has been collected.
BC 1.10 You may change your inclusive amount of Bandwidth at any time by contacting your account manager. Changes to your inclusive Bandwidth will be carried out on the first calendar day of the month following the minimum notice period for your request.
• Upward changes in inclusive Bandwidth require 5 days notice and are subject to a minimum period of three months.
• Downward changes in inclusive Bandwidth require 3 months notice
• You may not change the inclusive Bandwidth below the amount first contracted during the Initial Period.
• Bandwidth-only customers are subject to a minimum inclusive Bandwidth at all times.
BC 1.11 We will provide on line access to graphs showing Bandwidth use on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis.
BC 1.12 We will issue IP addresses to you suitable for your requirements. We will not charge for the IP addresses issued, but where you have complex requirements we reserve the right to raise an administration charge.
BC 1.13 IP addresses issued to you which are part of our provider aggregated (PA) address space must be returned to us on termination of the contract or application for which they are required. You agree not to ask any other party to route these addresses on the Internet without our specific permission in writing.
BC 1.14 We administer the issue of IP addresses on behalf of RIPE “Réseaux IP Européens”. We will advise on the guidelines for the issue of IP address space, however when you do not accept our advice we will raise a specific request on your behalf to RIPE for the issue of your address space, according to your stated requirement. You will be bound by the response from RIPE on the issue of this address space.
FWM 1 Firewall Management
FWM 1.1 Firewall Management is divided into 3 sub sections
· Firewall Rule Management
· Firewall Software Management
· Firewall Platform Management
FWM 1.2 Firewall management takes place inside the defined hours as per the level of cover defined in your order form.
Standard Service Hours - Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm Excluding Bank Holidays
Extended Service Hours - Monday to Friday 6am - 12am Excluding Bank Holidays
24/7 - Cover provided at all times including all holidays
FWM 1.3 Work outside Standard Service Hours is restricted to emergency support work with the goal to recover normal operation of the service. Elective work or routine maintenance is not provided and must be agreed with a representative of the company.
FWM 2 Firewall Rule Management
FWM 2.1 We will implement firewall rules according to your instructions
FWM 2.2 We will implement firewall rule changes according to the priority of the request as defined in our Support SLA
FWM 2.3 We do not audit your request in detail, and may provide advice on the rules that are established. We make no warranty that the implemented rules fully meet your business needs and recommend the use of specialist security consultants to advise on the security implementation that meets your requirements.
FWM 2.4 We will assist in the establishment of VPN tunnels where required. We will work with administrators at distant ends to establish the VPN tunnel, we may provide advice on the implementation, but since we are not responsible for the distant equipment on the VPN we cannot provide a guarantee of the establishment and subsequent availability of the VPN. Excessive resources expended during the setup process of the VPN may be chargeable at our Standard Day Rates
FWM 2.5 We will back up the firewall configuration after configuration changes and/or patches have been applied. A copy of the configuration and rule set will be made available to you or your agents on request in line with the Support SLA, this request will be treated as an information request.
FWM 3 Firewall Software Management
FWM 3.1 We will apply patches to the firewall software in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions once per month during your agreed Service Maintenance Window.
FWM 3.2 Where applicable you will maintain a subscription or service contract with the software vendor which allows access to the patches or supporting services for the firewall software.
FWM 3.3 Full point upgrades of the firewall software are not included as part of this service and should be discussed with your account manager.
FWM 4 Firewall Platform Management
FWM 4.1 We will maintain the operating system of the host firewall platform in a manner appropriate for the support of the firewall itself. Critical updates and patches relevant to the software in use will be applied on a monthly basis during your agreed service maintenance window.
FWM 4.2 For hardware supplied by you we do not maintain or support firewall hardware. You must maintain appropriate support arrangements with your hardware vendor for the repair of the hardware. Please ensure that the level of support and response times from the vendor match your business requirements.
FWM 4.3 Firewall hardware management is provided within the contracted hours of firewall support. We will interact on your behalf with the firewall hardware support organisation. This interaction includes:
§ Reporting the fault to the vendor
§ Attending as chaperone to the vendor’s support technician
§ Carrying out the instructions of the vendor such as supplying log files or reporting lamp statuses.
§ Interchanging customer replaceable parts in accordance with the vendor’s instructions, for example changing disks or power supplies.
Any interaction that results in a requirement for physical access to a device supplied by you will be chargeable at our standard remote hands rates.
FWM 4.4 Where you have supplied the firewall hardware we will follow your instructions to perform minor upgrades to a firewall, for example installing additional memory or disks. It is your responsibility to supply the parts and to ensure that they are compatible with the system. We will carry out the work with due care and attention, but we are unable to guarantee an effective outcome of this work, and would recommend using a specialist service technician trained by the manufacturer of the equipment. All physical access to any device owned and supplied by you will be chargeable at our standard remote hands rates.
BU 1.1 We will provide a managed backup service to a central storage repository.
BU 1.2 In order to take advantage of our managed backup service your server will require to have an interface on a dedicated VLAN for the purpose of communication with our media server.
BU 1.3 We will provide a licensed agent to install on your server that can communicate with our media server. You must configure this agent to run at all times. We will provide assistance to implement this agent. Agents are available for most operating systems, however where no agent is available for your platform we will be unable to offer our backup service.
BU 1.4 Data will be copied from your server on an agreed schedule as set out on your order form.
BU 1.5 The backup window for the day begins at 6pm and continues until 9am the following day. Please note that this means that a backup scheduled for a given evening may commence at any time within this window – including the following morning.
BU 1.6 You may specify a preferred time of day for the backup but adherence to this time is not guaranteed.
BU 1.7 The duration of the data copy is dependent on a number of factors including data volumes. We recommend regular housekeeping to ensure that unnecessary data is not retained on the server as this will affect the backup time as well as the recovery time in the event of a server rebuild.
BU 1.8 The allocated amount of protected data will be stated on your order form along with the cost associated per GB should you exceed this. You agree to pay for any excess consumption, this will be invoiced in the month following the month when the excess consumption occurred.
BU 1.9 A backup will normally include all data held throughout the system. A limited scope of backup may be agreed where commercial or technical considerations require the backup volume to be restricted. We will agree the limited scope with you in advance and record the reason for the change. Data outside the agreed scope is not covered by this Agreement. Where a limited scope backup is in place, full recovery of the system from the backup is not possible.
BU 1.10 You must tell us if you make structural changes to the file system on the disks. For example changing a drive letter or adding a disk drive. If these changes are made and not notified to the backup software the backup scope will not include the changed items.
BU 1.11 Data is backed up and retained according to a schedule defined in your order form.
BU 1.12 Backups may fail from time to time for a variety of reasons. We will tell you when a backup has failed on more than two consecutive occasions. Regular failures of backups will be the subject of an account management meeting and we will agree a strategy to improve reliability.
BU 1.13 Although we take reasonable precautions to protect the integrity of the data, we disclaim liability for restorations that fail owing to faulty media or hardware.
BU 1.14 Data recovery requests will be processed in line with our Support Service Level Agreement You may request that data is restored to alternate locations or servers within your control. Actual recovery times will vary dependent on the location of the data on tapes and data volume to be recovered.
BU 1.15 The backup facility does not guarantee the integrity of data in files that are open at the time of the backup. Dependent upon the operating system, some open files may not be collected by the backup. This has a particular impact on database files, where a file backup cannot be restored to create a working database. We may be able to provide an additional agent for your server that understands the database technology and is able to provide a consistent backup. This is not a part of the standard service, and if provided may be subject to an additional charge.
BU 2 Termination
BU 2.1 Upon termination of this service we will cease to poll your server for backup data.
BU 2.2 You agree that your data is stored in a shared library and on tapes shared with our other customers. The data is retained on the backup server for the agreed retention period following the end of the Agreement.
BU 2.3 We make no guarantee as to the availability of your data following the end of the Agreement, although extractions may be possible on demand, and at a charge agreed with your account manager.
BU 2.4 You will not require us to isolate or delete the data stored on the central backup facility following the end of the Agreement.
OSM 1 Operating System Management
OSM 1.1 Our management of your operating system is divided into four subsections:
· Pro-active server management
· Trouble Shooting and General Support
· Fault Reporting
OSM 1.2 Operating system management takes place inside the defined hours as per the level of cover defined on your order form.
· Standard Service Hours - Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm Excluding Bank Holidays
· Extended Service Hours - Monday to Friday 6am - 12am Excluding Bank Holidays
· 24/7 - Cover provided at all times including all holidays
OSM 1.3 Work outside Standard Service Hours is restricted to emergency support operations, and agreed out of hours reboots. Routine or elective work must be separately agreed with your account manager.
OSM 2 Pro-active server management
OSM 2.1 We will apply patches to the Operating System in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions once per month during your agreed Service Maintenance Window. We will contact you at least 1 week in advance of your Service Maintenance Window to determine if you wish the work to go ahead, If you do not respond prior to the 24hours preceding the scheduled Service Maintenance Window we will not carry out the work.
OSM 2.2 We may upon request patch the operating system outside your normal Service Maintenance Window. This will be carried out during the normal contracted hours for the system concerned.
OSM 2.3 We will create default series of alerts on key server resources. These include ping, disk space, memory use and CPU use. We will investigate alerts that are raised by the alarm system in line with our Support SLA and the normal contracted hours of support for the system. Where possible we will carry out remedial action. Where the alert is caused by your application we will, in turn, notify your nominated technical staff. You accept that in order for us to do this certain exceptions to firewall rules must be made to allow our monitoring service to query your server.
OSM 2.4 We may suspend an alert where the normal operating parameters of the server cause the alarms to be raised and the alarm is no longer meaningful. We will tell you when an alarm has been suspended in this way.
OSM 2.5 When we have notified you of a recurring resource problem caused by your application, we will continue to provide support to the server but do not offer a service guarantee of response. Where alerts due to resource problems exceed ten in a month, we reserve the right to suspend support on the server until the application problem has been resolved.
OSM 3 Trouble Shooting and General Support
OSM 3.1 We will provide a general trouble shooting service and will investigate issues reported by you or notified by our alerting system in line with our Support SLA and in line with the systems service hours.
OSM 3.2 Our service includes support for the operating system and services supplied as part of the operating system, we can provide installation and basic configuration services for these components and provide support in maintaining their normal operation. We cannot advise or make recommendation as to whether any changes or configuration requests made by you meet your business requirements.
Examples of appropriate use of this service include:
Handling system problems related to our infrastructure, the operating system and our network
Investigating Performance Issues
User account management
OS Configuration as per your instructions
Installing 3rd Party software according to your instructions.
Dealing with operating system problems that affect service.
OSM 3.3 The service does not include general programing or development work.
OSM 3.4 Troubleshooting response time shall be in line with our Support SLA and is available during the contracted service hours for the system involved.
OSM 4 Fault Reporting
OSM 4.1 You may report faults or request service from us by telephone or email.
OSM 4.2 Urgent faults reported by email must be escalated by telephone to our office telephone number inside Standard Service Hours or the emergency out-of-hours telephone number at other times.
OSM 4.3 Network and virtual infrastructure faults are not restricted to your service hours and may be reported at any time.
OSM 4.4 Server faults may be reported at any time but response is only guaranteed inside the contracted hours of service.
OSM 4.5 Requests for service should always be from nominated personnel within your organisation. We may take steps to identify the caller by contacting them by return on contact details we have registered on our system. It is your responsibility to ensure you notify us of changes to nominated staff authorised to request support or service from us. Non authorised personnel may log issues if we can confirm the fault however we will not divulge any details to non-registered personnel.
SLA Exclusions
The Service Commitment shall not apply to any unavailability, suspension or termination of Services, or any other performance issues that may result or arise from, or in respect of :-
· Service Suspensions;
· scheduled maintenance, provided it is notified at least 72 hours in advance;
· factors outwith our control, to include, but not restricted to, any force majeure event, or Internet access, or related problems beyond the demarcation point of SymetriQ Public Cloud;
· any actions or inactions attributable to you or to any third party;
· your equipment, software or other technology and/or third party equipment, software or other technology (other than third party equipment within our direct control);
· failures of individual instances not attributable to unavailability;
· our suspension and/or termination of your right to use the Services in accordance with the Service Supply Agreement; or
· a period during which the Services are available to you on a trial basis.
If availability is impacted by factors other than those expressly listed in this SLA, we, at our sole discretion, may issue a Service Credit to you on a non-admission of liability basis.