Acceptable Use Policy version 0.3


Introduction

SURF Research Cloud, SRC, is a service with which researchers and research supporters can deploy and manage workspaces on multiple cloud infrastructures.

By logging on to SRC, you become a User and agree to the terms and conditions below.

1 - Concepts and definitions

In these terms and conditions of use, capitalized terms have been written, these terms have the definitions set out below.

Meaning

Definition

CO

Collaborative Organization. An entity defined in SRAM that falls under an Organization (which usually concerns a Institution), in principle represents a research collaboration, and may have CO-admins, members and associated Research Services.

User

A natural person who has created an account on SRC

Institution

Organizations that are members of the SURF cooperative or other Dutch organizations associated with research

SRAM

SURF Research Access Management

SRC

SURF Research Cloud

AUP

Acceptable Use Policy

Research Services

Services intended for researchers that are offered by a service provider via SRAM. For instance SRC

Personal Data

Data like name, telephone number, e-mail address. See for a full specification the definitions on https://edu.nl/fcgbd

2 - Rules of use SRC

  1. The login details, which give the User access to SRC, are strictly personal. The User may not transfer or disclose these login details and the resulting rights to access SRC to a third party or allow them to be used by a third party, and is assumed to take reasonable efforts to keep the login details secure.

  2. The User shall refrain from unauthorized use. This is understood to mean:

    • Using credentials from a third party to log on to SRC;

    • Using SRC in such a way as to infringe the intellectual property rights of the holder of SRC or to contravene the law, public order and morality.

    • Using the information and/or data within SRC in such a way that it violates the intellectual property rights of third parties or violates the law, public order and decency.

    • Within or with SRC (attempting to) gain access to information or Research Services which the User knows or can reasonably know is not intended to gain access to.

  3. The User is responsible for keeping running workspaces secure:
    • Use only software you trust and keep it up to date.
    • If you change the default settings of your workspace, make sure you understand the security implications.
    • When you receive security notifications, you must take action to solve the problem.
  4. Surf has the right to stop workspaces if the security issues require immediate action.
  5. Surf will aim to prevent or minimize loss of work and data as much as possible.

  6. If SURF has reason to believe that the User is infringing, or threatens to infringe, rules or obligations as described above, the User will be denied access to (part of) SRC and the associated Research Services.

  7. SURF also has the right to take other measures necessary to protect SURF, other Users and/or third parties against damage, nuisance or infringements of rights.

  8. SURF is not liable for any damage suffered by the User or a third party as a result of closing the account and denying access pursuant to paragraphs 3 and 4.

3 - Rules for offering SRC

SRC is based on modern container technology which enables it to be highly available. SRC updates can be deployed with non to minimal downtime for the User. If planned maintenance requires more than 15 minutes downtime we will strive to inform users two weeks in advance. However SURF may still (temporarily) decommission SRC or restrict its use to the extent necessary for the necessary maintenance or for adjustments and/or improvements to SRC to be carried out by SURF without prior notice. SURF will not be liable for any damage resulting from the (temporary) unavailability of SRC.

This AUP applies only to the SRC service and SURF HPC cloud service and not to resources provided by the other cloud providers where the workspaces are provisioned. Each public cloud provider tends to have a separate AUP.

4 - Personal data and privacy

SURF processes Personal Data of the Users. SURF processes this Personal Data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and other relevant legislation and regulations. SRC is a Research Service which makes use of the SRAM infrastructure to store relevant user data. For more information on the processing of this Personal Data, please refer to the privacy statement of SRAM on https://edu.nl/fcgbd. SURF passes on the Personal Data to, among others, (SRAM COs of) organizations (such as Institutions) in order to enable access to a CO. Processing of that information by a CO as well as deciding to what Research Services the CO passes Personal Data of CO members is the responsibility of the Institution that created the CO.

5 - Intellectual property rights

All (intellectual) property rights to SRC are and remain vested in the entitled party. If and to the extent necessary, a right of use will be granted to User for the use of SRC.

All (intellectual) property rights to data within the CO - including any copyright and database right - remain at all times vested in the rightful claimant or its respective licensor(s).

6 - E-mail notifications

In order to send service notifications, SRC is using the e-mail address that has been specified by the user.

SRC constrains the number of notifications to the minimum that is required for an efficient service.

Notifications are sent about

  • Workspaces that are about to expire (to the workspace owner)
  • Workspaces that have been deleted (to the workspace owner)
  • Wallets that are depleted by 80% (to the wallet owner)
  • Wallets that are entirely depleted (to the wallet owner)
  • Contracts that are about expire (to the wallet owner)
  • Planned maintenances (only possibly affected users)
  • Service incidents (only possibly affected users)

A user can unsubscribe from receiving e-mails through the servicedesk.

However, the user may miss out on important information concerning their resources and funds which may render their use of the service less efficient.

We advise users to keep paying attention to the few e-mails that get sent.

7 - Budget and excess usage

Any use of storage or compute resources on SRC must be funded. Funding is provided by paid RCCS contracts with SURF or by NWO grants.

In SRC, “wallets” represent the budget that is assigned to a User to enable them to work with storage and compute resources.

The user can at any time turn to the SRC portal to check the state of their wallets.

The user will be notified by e-mail when 80% or 100% of their wallet is spent.

To avoid excess usage, SRC will pause compute resources if the wallet is depleted. Eventually, compute and storage resources will be removed. 

8 - Support and questions

In the event of problems with SRC, Users can contact Support. Find details about our helpdesk here: https://www.surf.nl/en/about-surf/helpdesk-data-and-computing-services


Support is available Monday to Friday from 9:00 until 17:00:

Telephone: 020 800 14 00

Email: helpdesk@surf.nl

Servicedesk: https://servicedesk.surf.nl/

9 - Miscellaneous

These terms and conditions are governed by Dutch law and the competent court is the District Court of Midden-Nederland and Noord-Nederland, with the location Utrecht or Amsterdam respectively.

Insofar as the User has not already agreed to these terms and conditions at an earlier stage, by using SRC the User agrees to the above terms and conditions.

Effective date

This policy is effective from January 31st 2024 onward until it is replaced by a newer version.

It replaces the policy of version 0.2 from October 23rd 2023.