SHARED RESPONSIBILITY - Not All on CS++

INTRODUCTION - What Does This Mean, and Why Does It Matter?

This page outlines the responsibility model that CS++ takes when hosting services for others.

We want to make it as easy as possible for you to make and host great things that give students invaluable experience and benefit. But we also cannot be expected to maintain every service that you may wish to run. We are also volunteers and cannot be expected to run like a commercial cloud provider.

In short, CS++ is responsible for the hardware and software that makes hosting services possible. You are responsible for the services you run on CS++'s infrastructure.

You are not allowed to run services which break the law, are defamatory, violate academic integrity or otherwise damage the reputation of the university. This list of 'do nots' is not exhaustive, please see below.

CS++ reserves the right to remove services they deem in violation of the policies. CS++ also reserves the right to modify responsibilities on a case-by-case basis.

TERMS - Relevant Words and Phrases

INFRASTRUCTURE - The hardware and software operated by CS++ to make hosting services for itself and others possible.

INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER (ISP) - An organisation which provides internet to a client.

CLOUD SERVICE PROVIDER (CSP) - An organisation which has infrastructure that others can use to run their services.

POLICIES - Governance

TU Dublin

CS++ is fully bound by all policies of TU Dublin. Most notably, this includes the Student Charter ⧉, and the IT Security Policies ⧉.

HEAnet

CS++'s ISP is the Higher Education Authority network ⧉. As such, we are bound by all of their policies ⧉. Most notably, the Acceptable Usage Policy ⧉.

Summary Of Policies

In short, do not break the law, and do not be rude. Do not damage the reputation of TU Dublin or the HEAnet, or violate academic integrity.

Do not violate privacy, degrade the experience and operation of other users and services, or break copyright.

RESPONSIBILITY - A Two-Way Street

Like most CSPs, CS++ adopts a 'Shared Responsibility' approach when it comes to security and liability.

As a summary, CS++ is responsible for the security and operations of the INFRASTRUCTURE, while you are responsible for the security and operations of the SERVICES you run on our infrastructure.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY - That of the Cloud

A non-exhaustive list of our responsibility is as follows:

• The physical security of our infrastructure
• The digital security of our infrastructure
• The reliability and maintenance of our infrastructure

YOUR RESPONSIBILITY - That of Your Services

A non-exhaustive list of our responsibility is as follows:

• The digital security of your services
• The maintenance of your services
• The backups of your data

IN PRACTICE - Who Would Be Responsible?

What if a power outage takes down CS++'s infrastructure?

CS++'s responsibility is to restore the infrastructure and resolve any infrastructural issues that may have arisen from the outage.

You are responsible to verify your services are back online and operating as expected

What if one of my service upgrades fail and corrupt my data?

You chose to upgrade a service, which has caused the data corruption.

You are responsible to have backups of your data to minimise data loss.

What if a physical server fails?

CS++'s responsibility is to repair the broken hardware.

If your services were on that server, CS++ will work with you to restore that service and minimise data loss.

QUESTIONS - Who to Ask?

For all queries relating to hosting services on our infrastructure, this policy, or anything relating to CS++, please email [email protected]

PENDING APPROVAL

This policy is pending approval from the CS++ Systems Administrator Team and the CS++ Committee.
This policy is not official and stands as a placeholder.