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ITC Unix Systems - Support and Backup Services

Unix Systems Services

Unix Systems Support

ITC provides support for IBM AIX (4.3.3 and later releases) on IBM RS/6000 and p-series systems, SGI Irix (6.5.x releases only) on Silicon Graphics MIPS-based systems, Sun Solaris (2.6 and later releases) on Sun Sparc servers, and RedHat Fedora Linux releases (FC 6 and later) on Intel- and Intel-compatible computers.

  • Question-and-answer consultation on Unix systems' configuration and administration.
  • Network-downloadable operating system software upgrades for AIX, Linux and Solaris for system owners who wish to install the upgrades themselves.

Limited assistance may be available for older architectures for which some software is still available, but which is no longer being updated, such as older Linux distributions.

For-fee support services include
I. Department Unix support agreement for servers or workstations.
II. Linux High Performance Computing Cluster administration.
III. Hourly system administration services.

I. ITC Annual Unix Support Agreement

 The ITC Departmental Unix Systems Support program provides operating systems support, filesystem backups and operational support on an annual fee basis for Sun, IBM RS/6000, SGI, and Intel Linux systems owned by departments other than ITC. Machines approved for support must be on Grounds and be a part of the University's TCP/IP network.

System support services covered by this agreement.

  1. ITC will install and maintain running systems, identify hardware problems and interface with the appropriate maintenance vendor for repair of any failing hardware.   Actual cost of repair, whether maintenance contract or time-and-materials, must be paid by the owning department.
  2. ITC will install and maintain up-to-date system and networking software.
  3. ITC will perform appropriate system software upgrades at the owning department's request.
  4. ITC will install departmentally-purchased software packages.
  5. ITC will provide these services from 8 AM until 5 PM Monday through Friday unless special arrangements are made for additional hours.  After hours coverage on a regular basis is available at an additional cost.
Diskless X-terminal configuration for Sun, IBM, NCD and HDS will be provided on departmental Unix systems at no additional cost per X-terminal.

Optional filesystem backups.

In the absence of system unavailability, network outage or other technical problems preventing access to the department's system(s), ITC will perform regularly scheduled (usually daily) filesystem backups on covered Unix systems.  Filesystems to include or exclude from the regular backups will be mututally determined by ITC and the owning department.  Support service coverage is required for ITC to perform backups.

Services not covered under this agreement.

  1. Network cabling, which is done by ITC Network Operations at their normal rates.

  2. Normal end-user support questions, which are handled by the ITC Help Desk and Customer Support Division at no charge.

Annual fees.

  1. Systems with up to 50 gigabytes of disk storage.
      • First system: $1,000
      • Additional systems: $500
  2. Systems with 50-200 gigabytes of disk storage.
      • First system: $1,500
      • Additional systems: $1,000
  3. Systems with 200-500 gigabytes of disk storage.
      • First system: $2,000
      • Additional systems: $1,500
  4. Systems with 500 GB - 1 TB of disk storage.
      • First system: $2,500
      • Additional systems: $2,000
  5. Systems with 1 - 1.5 TB of disk storage.
      • First system: $3,000
      • Additional systems: $2,500
  6. Systems with 1.5 - 2 TB of disk storage.
      • First system: $3,500
      • Additional systems: $3,000

File System Backups

Daily backups of Unix filesystems on systems covered by an Annual Support Agreement from ITC. Pricing, including all backup media, is:
  1. $   500 - systems with up to 50 GB of disk
  2. $1,000 - systems with 50 - 200 GB
  3. $1,500 - systems with 200 - 500 GB
  4. $2,000 - systems with 500 GB - 1 TB
  5. $2,500 - systems with 1 - 1.5 TB
  6. $3,000 - systems with 1.5 - 2 TB

Annual Premium support options, including after-hours call-back, fees:

  1. Option 1:  6 AM - 1 AM, Sun-Sat.
    2. Surcharge per system:    $2,000
  2. Option 2: 8 AM - 8 PM, Mon-Fri, 10 AM - 6 PM Sat-Sun
    3. Surcharge per system:    $1,000
  3. Option 3:  ITC will house your system in Carruthers Hall, which provides 24-hour per day operations staff.
    4. Surcharge per system:    $500

To request a support agreement, send mail to ITC Unix Systems group

II. Linux High Performance Computing Cluster Administration

Linux High Performance Computing Cluster administration services are available for a contracted fee. ITC uses Rocks for cluster management, and will install and maintain an Intel- or Intel-compatible cluster for other departments, using the same or similar distribution of Rocks that we use to maintain our own Linux clusters.

Charges for cluster administration and backups are $1000 (the annual backups charge for up to 200 GB) plus hourly charges for the amount of time necessary to do the cluster administration over the course of the year. The amount of time necessary to manage a cluster varies with size, the type and age of the hardware used, and the amount of customization and specialized software required by the owner. From year to year, as the hardware ages, the time required for ongoing management will probably increase as the number of hardware failures increases. Because the time necessary for cluster management depends on numerous factors, we cannot set a fixed price to manage your cluster.

We estimate that an eight node cluster with and internal Ethernet cluster interconnect and no customization different from the ITC Linux HPCC environment may require 16 to 40 hours to install and configure, and an additional 40 to 60 hours to manage in the first year. In subsequent years, as the hardware ages, we estimate that an additional 10 hours per year may be necessary. Contact ITC Unix systems if you want to have us look at your cluster or proposed cluster configuration and provide an estimate of what we think it will require to manage your specific configuration.

Cluster administration services includes:

  1. Configuration of 100 Mbit or Gigabit ethernet cluster interconnect. Optionally, ITC may be able to configure other interconnect hardware (e.g., Infiniband); this will necessarily add to the amount of time needed to install and manage the cluster.
  2. Filesystem backup, up to 200 GB, for the head node.
  3. Installation and configuration of Rocks cluster management suite.
  4. ITC will have root access. A department support person may be given limited root access for specific tasks, such as account administration, but will not have general root access.
  5. ITC will provide hardware installation, cabling, software installation and configuration, problem diagnosis, and interface with the vendor for hardware repair (including doing needed parts replacement). The department is responsible for paying for the hardware, warranty and/or ongoing hardware maintenance service from the vendor, or any required parts purchased.

III. Services Available at an Hourly Rate
  1. Initial installation of new Unix workstation hardware and operating system software.
  2. Diagnosis of system hardware or software problems, and interface with vendors to obtain repair service. Any costs other than ITC labor incurred to accomplish the repair (e.g., hardware) is the responsibility of the owning user or department.
  3. Installation of operating system upgrades.
  4. Installation and maintenance of customer-purchased applications software.