Why be concerned about servers?
- Do you have an application that runs on a server located in your
department?
- Do you have confidential student or staff data on your server?
- Do you worry about the security of your data? Your server?
- Has your server ever been hacked into?
- Have you ever lost access to your server because of a power outage?
- Do you have a funding strategy for replacing your server when it fails or
becomes obsolete?
- Have you ever wondered if there were a better way to manage your server?
How can ITS help?
ITS is providing a fee-based server hosting program that will allow you to:
- Take advantage of ITS expertise. ITS has experienced server administrators who will
monitor, maintain, and administer the server for you.
- Take the uncertainty out of the purchasing process. Let ITS purchase and install the
server. Select either Red Hat Enterprise Linux server or Microsoft Windows 2003 server.
- Take advantage of the built-in four-year replacement cycle for server hardware.
- Significantly improve security. ITS's server administrators will keep the server current
with security updates and configure it to limit unauthorized access.
- Leave the worrying to ITS. ITS is responsible for installation and configuration of
operating system, system monitoring software, and backup client software. ITS is also responsible for
replacing hardware components should a failure occur.
- Take advantage of ITS's secure server room. The server will be physically located in the
ITS computer room, which is an environmentally controlled space. Only authorized ITS staff are permitted
in this room.
- Take advantage of the ITS uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Your server will be
connected to the ITS UPS with motor-generator backup. This will allow the server to remain operational
during a power outage.
- Each server includes enough disk storage to accommodate the operating system, monitoring
software, backup software, and the customer's application software. Additional storage space for data is
available at an additional fee.
- Let ITS take on the responsibility for backing up your server. Your data will be backed
up daily. When requested, ITS will restore the data as soon as possible but no more than one working day
from the time the request is made.
- ITS will provide fast network connectivity (100 Mb/s switched Ethernet) for the
server.
What is your department's responsibility?
- Support the application hosted on the server by handling technical and end-user support for your
application.
- Identify someone in your department who will "run" the application, provide application support, and
serve as technical liaison to ITS. The ITS systems administrator will work with your named application
support person to get your software installed and running according to the vendor's recommendations.
- Contract with your application vendor for software updates (as appropriate). ITS will install all
software updates as part of this service. Updates usually include:
- Planned enhancements
- Fixes for security vulnerabilities
- Functional issues discovered after the software is released
- Support for newer operating system versions
More information:
Pricing starts at $8,120/year. For more information on server hosting, contact Marc Wallman at Marc.Wallman@ndsu.edu or 231-7168.
Service Level Agreement
Before entering into a server hosting arrangement, ITS will establish a formal SLA with your department.
We are in the process of updating the SLA document, and a new version will be posted shortly.