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Home > Rates and contracts > Service level agreements > Unix support service level agreement
This Service Level Agreement (SLA) describes the core services provided to customers by Letters & Science Computing Resources (LSCR) under the Unix Support program. It details responsibilities for both LSCR and customers. Services are typically covered by a retainer contract.
The Unix team specifically supports Unix and Linux based computers. No support is provided for other operating systems. (Support for non-Unix operating systems is available from other LSCR teams.) Off-campus machines cannot be fully supported, although it may be possible to contract for remote support, under some circumstances.
It is assumed that only LSCR staff will provide computing support for machines under this support program, and that the root password is known only to LSCR. In order to avoid duplication of effort and insure a consistent, high level of service, LSCR will work with departmental computing support staff only by special arrangement. If the customer has root privileges, LSCR responsibility will be limited.
In the course of providing computing support under this program, LSCR staff in many instances provide support beyond what is described in this document. Such additional support is provided at the discretion of LSCR consultants. Providing such additional support does not obligate LSCR to continue to do so.
The LSCR Unix team can provide excellent support for the following operating systems:
The LSCR Unix team will not provide application programming support. However, individual consultants may be able to answer questions about programming languages and tools.
Responsibilities: Customers should consult LSCR before making hardware or software purchases. Some hardware or software may be unsupportable, and LSCR's planning assistance can reduce the likelihood of compatibility problems with existing hardware or software or having to deal with unreliable vendors. For any new machine, customers are strongly urged to choose an operating system from the above list. Other Unix operating systems may be supported, but they are not within our primary expertise.
LSCR will provide recommendations and planning assistance to supported departments regarding all aspects of scientific computing. The scope of such assistance includes the following:
In some cases, LSCR may recommend services not covered under the Unix Support program. Such services may be provided by LSCR or other organizations.
Responsibilities: Customers, and department managers in particular, are urged to take advantage of LSCR's assistance with planning, and to keep LSCR informed about departmental computing issues. LSCR management will make an effort to meet with department managers periodically.
The LSCR Unix team will install and configure new computers for supported customers. Computer setups may include the following:
The LSCR Unix team will not:
Responsibilities:
LSCR will provide comprehensive maintenance services for supported machines. Typical maintenance includes the following:
Responsibilities:
LSCR will troubleshoot problems with Unix/Linux operating systems, system utilities, software applications, and network connectivity. LSCR may also perform basic hardware troubleshooting, depending on the platform.
Responsibilities: Customers should request LSCR services as described below.
LSCR may provide assistance with some applications. This assistance can include the following services:
Limitations to LSCR's application support include the following:
Responsibilities:
LSCR provides support for network connectivity for all supported machines. This support includes the following:
LSCR does not maintain the campus network and will refer problems with the network itself to CNS.
Responsibilities: LSCR will, on request, maintain records regarding network configuration information (i.e., IP addresses, hostnames, subnet masks, and router addresses). Customers must not install networking equipment prohibited by campus policy.
LSCR highly recommends that you arrange for your data to be backed up to magnetic tape, and utilize some type of off-site storage. LSCR will not be responsible for any user data that is not backed up.
If the department purchases a suitable backup device, LSCR will be responsible for arranging data backup to that device.
In the absence of any other tape backup device, the customer can contract with the UC Backup Service provided by IST's Central Computing Services department. LSCR will provide installation and configuration of backup software. LSCR staff can also assist with restores and act as a liaison with IST.
Responsibilities: The customer is responsible for either providing a suitable backup device, or subscribing to the UCBackup service.
Unix servers can be configured to provide file sharing service to other computers. NFS support is intrinsic to Unix, and will be supported. Other file services, such as SMB or AppleShare, may be supported if requested by the customer, but these services are not native to Unix, and LSCR may not be able to provide the same level of support for them.
Responsibilities:
When needed, LSCR will act as a technical liaison with campus computing units and outside vendors. For example, LSCR will work with various units within IST to resolve issues regarding licensed applications, network connectivity, and software distribution. LSCR will also contact vendors on behalf of customers to resolve technical problems and provide recommendations to departments. LSCR will not normally act as liaison for issues that are not of a technical nature (placing or picking up orders for software or equipment, resolving billing issues, etc.).
Responsibilities: Customers should contact LSCR, as needed, whenever technical issues regarding outside computing organizations come up.
The LSCR Unix team provides no hardware support. LSCR, via the hardware support team, does provide warranty work on most Dell and Apple desktop computer systems and can provide post-warranty work in many cases as well. At its discretion, LSCR may refer hardware repair or upgrade tasks to Campus Computer Repair and Support or outside vendors.
Responsibilities: Customers should consult LSCR if they suspect a hardware problem or are considering an upgrade.
To request services provided under the Unix Support program, customers should
send email to the appropriate address,
usually sysadmin@machine-name.
Other methods of requesting service (such as sending email to the personal addresses of consultants, calling consultants' personal phone lines, or dropping by a consultant's office) may result in delays in service. At any given time an individual consultant may be with another customer, out sick, or on vacation. In cases where email is not operational, customers may call the appropriate Unix consultant directly, but the above caveats still apply.
Responsibilities:
LSCR's goal is to respond to all requests for service as quickly as possible. The LSCR Unix team prioritizes requests, as they come in, using the following general guidelines:
Note that the boundaries among categories are not absolute. For example, there are times when a request that would normally fall into the "Normal" category might in fact be urgent.
Typical maximum response times are shown in the table below:
| Category | Initial Response Time | Commencement of Work |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent | 4 hours | 4 hours |
| Normal | 8 hours | 5 days |
| Planned | 8 hours | As arranged with customer |
The "Initial Response Time" refers to the time during which an LSCR consultant will get in touch with the user (generally by email or telephone but in some case by an in-person visit) to get additional information or schedule a time for a visit. In some cases, the problem may be resolved in the initial response phase. For cases in which the problem cannot be resolved in the initial response phase, "Commencement of Work" refers to the period in which an LSCR consultant will be able to take steps to resolve the problem.
All times in the table above refer to normal working hours, considered to be between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., and days refers to normal UC business days. The upper time limits are considered to be worst-case situations; typically, response time will be quicker. In unusual circumstances it is possible that the upper time limits may be exceeded; such situations are likely to be rare.
Off-hours support may be provided remotely, at the discretion of the consultant. Limited after-hours support will be provided for important servers. (An important server is defined as one which is necessary to the work of many people, or one which provides an essential network service, on which more than a few people rely, such as web or email. If an important server or service is down, a consultant will respond within 24 hours, even on weekends and holidays.)
Responsibilities: In order for the above response times to apply, customers must request service using the appropriate sysadmin email address. If email is unavailable, requests can be made via telephone. LSCR can provide no guidelines regarding response time for requests made to consultants directly. For off hours support, a consultant should be paged, or called on his cell phone.
