The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is to establish cooperative and beneficial relationships between the Division of Information Technology (DIT) and University researchers and research departments for use of the DIT managed Research Data Center (RDC).
The MOU sets forth the general expectations of each group with regard to:
The goal of the RDC is to provide a centrally managed and cooperatively used data center which:
The RDC has limited space. Requests are honored on a first-come first-served basis. As a rule, the space is reserved for University research computing hardware. Restrictions may apply to the types of hardware that can be housed in the RDC. Please see DIT personnel for more information.
The Research Data Center (RDC) is an approximately 2400 square foot co-location facility managed by the Division of Information Technology and supported by the University's Facilities Management group. It offers an improved facility infrastructure for non-DIT administered systems that would typically have to reside in office or building space not designed for that purpose. It is not intended to provide a defined level of uptime and currently offers little in the way of redundancy or backup and failover capabilities. Because the facility is designed with IT equipment in mind and because it is centrally managed, researchers can expect uptimes that are an improvement over most local spaces, however they should not expect redundancy or failover capabilities or any uptime guarantees. Researchers are strongly encouraged to look for alternative means for improved uptime for their equipment such as rack-installed UPS systems.
Oversight and management of equipment located in the RDC is the responsibility of the equipment owner. DIT does not support, maintain, or administer systems located within the RDC. DIT will assist in the troubleshooting of problems related to the equipment upon request.
The RDC is designed as a cost-recovery implementation. All costs incurred in the installation of equipment in the RDC will be billed to the equipment owner as a one-time installation charge. There is no charge for the use of the space itself and there are no regularly occurring costs associated with the use of the RDC with the exception of costs related to networking equipment. In addition to one-time network installation charges, equipment owners should anticipate a recurring network charge per internet protocol (IP) address assigned and a recurring network charge for cost-recovery for networking equipment such as switches and routers on a per connection basis.
DIT will take responsibility for any equipment damaged through the negligence of DIT staff; DIT is not liable for equipment damage related to the facility infrastructure or any actions beyond the control of DIT personnel.
DIT offers common space including work tables, telephones, etc. which may be shared by all equipment owners. Requests for additional data center shared resources that will improve the facility for all users are welcome and will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
Key-card access is provided upon request for those individuals responsible for the management of equipment in the RDC. Requests must be made in writing. Access includes limited building access and access to the RDC. Since the RDC space is shared amongst all groups, it is the responsibility of each group to ensure that their personnel do not interfere with the operation of other equipment located in the RDC. Equipment owners are also responsible for the periodic review and updating of access to the RDC for their personnel. DIT must be immediately notified of individuals who no longer require access to the RDC.
DIT reserves the right to revoke or refuse access privileges to the RDC for any individuals at any time.
Use of the RDC and equipment housed within the RDC are subject to University of Maryland Policy on the Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources.
Partners to this MOU may request, in writing, an amendment to this MOU. Agreed upon changes will be documented, signed, dated and attached to the original MOU.
This agreement will go into effect on the date signed and will continue until one of the parties terminates the agreement and/or the equipment is removed from the RDC.
Signatures constitute acceptance of this Memorandum of Understanding.
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Authorized Department Signature Date
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DIT Authorized Signature Date