Virtual Private Cloud

Virtual Private Cloud is what’s commonly referred to as an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).  Through this service IS&T will build, deploy, and maintain compute, storage, networking, and operating system infrastructure.

An optimized hosting platform is utilized to provide highly available and redundant virtual servers offerings that can meet a variety of business needs. The service, built on current best practices, is deployed in secure, professionally managed, and environmentally controlled data centers. There are two server support models, Standard and Premium Secure. Premium Secure offers enhanced security features for organizations who work with sensitive or protected information.

Benefits

Centrally provisioned virtual servers offer flexibility, convenience, rapid deployment, economy, and high reliability and availability. They support sustainability initiatives by optimizing resource utilization and reducing energy consumption. All servers are patched and managed in accordance with both the 1.2.E Minimum Security Standards and IS&T’s Vulnerability Management Policy

Key Features

IS&T provides the following key features unless otherwise noted.

Operating Systems

Virtual servers are available under the following 64-bit operating systems.  Unless noted, there is no additional charge for these operating systems.

• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2016
• Red Hat Linux (additional charges may apply)
• CentOS
• Other operating systems (considered upon consultation with IS&T)

Server Support Models

Two types of server support models are available, Standard and Premium Secure.  Standard is further detailed for some features depending upon whether it is a production or non-production server.

Standard Server

• Fault Tolerant Hardware:  This allows your virtual machine to dynamically recover from hardware failure within a single data center. A brief outage occurs while your virtual machine is rebooted on alternate hardware.
• Operating System Installation and Patching:  This covers installation of a standard operating system supported by IS&T.  Operating system licensing is a client responsibility.  This includes monthly system patching to maintain vendor supported levels including hot fixes, service packs, and security updates.
• Server Monitoring and Alert Notification:  This includes the monitoring of key performance and utilization metrics, service availability, and event alert notification.
  • Basic:  Designed for test or non-production servers.  Offers basic system monitoring and email/text/phone alert notification services Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.
  • Enhanced:  Designed for the more demanding requirements of production and/or mission critical servers.  Extends standard monitoring and offers 24/7 monitoring and alert notification.
• Server Backup:
  • Basic:  Provides base operating system and data file backup protection.
  • Enhanced:  Extends the basic backup offering to include application or database consistent backup capabilities.
• Technical Support:  Provide server support and respond to alert notification based on the nature of the server:
  • Production Servers: Respond to alert notifications on a 24/7 basis
  • Non-Production Servers: Respond to alter notifications Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm, excluding holidays unless otherwise arranged in advanced.

Premium Secure Server

Includes all the features of a standard server with extended security features required for compliance with Restricted Use Data.

• Premium Secure adds security features required to allow the system to collect, process and store data classified as Restricted Use and thus protected by law and subject to the security requirements laid out in the BU Data Protection Standards.  Restricted Use data includes such sensitive types of information as financial credit card data, medical information, certain kinds of research data, and information protected by Federal classification.
• This allows groups that deal with sensitive data to take advantage of the cost savings, performance improvement and greater reliability offered by the BU Virtual environment, while meeting the required level of security.

What to Expect

• This service normally will be available 24 by 7 except for standard change windows, as described in IS&T’s standard policies, procedures, and schedules for making changes or in urgent or emergency situations that may require an outage outside of the standard change windows (example, to apply an emergency patch to protect from a zero day vulnerability).

Requirements

• IS&T requires vendor certification that the application is supported in a virtual environment.

Getting Started

• Initiate your request by submitting our online questionnaire.
• Cost: Standard configurations along with various systems management options are priced on an annual basis.  Pricing for custom configurations will be provided after consultation with IS&T.
  

  Virtual Server Support Packages	Standard	Premium Secure
  Fault Tolerant Hardware	X	X
  Operating System Installation and Patching	X	X
  Server Backup	X	X
  Server Monitoring and Alert Notification	X	X
  IS&T Technical Support	X	X
  Support for Restricted Use Data		X
  Server Type
  Small (1CPU, 2GB memory, 64GB disk)	$149/yr	$198/yr
  Large (2CPU, 4GB memory, 64GB disk)	$220/yr	$318/yr
  Additional Cost Per Resource
  Per CPU	$33/yr	$56/yr
  Per GB memory	$19/yr	$32/yr
  Per TB disk	$50/yr	$50/yr