The Cloud Computing Service provides access to, and management of, a range of cloud computing technologies, including but not limited to: virtual servers, data storage, serverless application hosting, and container orchestration. The service provides a range of options, including on-premise and vendor-hosted solutions, as well as WashU IT- and customer-managed solutions.
Outcomes
- Constrain on-premise data-center growth to avoid significant future capital expenses
- Empower advanced research through rapidly scalable cloud computing and storage resources
- Improve teaching, research, and patient care by providing access to, and support for, cutting-edge technologies available on cloud platforms
- Maintain high uptime and availability for WashU computing and storage resources
Requirements & Considerations
- Customers must be a current employee of Washington University in St. Louis
- Customers must provide a funding source (FIS Charge number, PO Number, etc.) when requesting services
Features & Options
- Virtual Servers – Hosting of virtual servers, management of server OS and underlying infrastructure
- Location options:
- On-Premise
- Off-Premise (Azure)
- DR (disaster recovery) options:
- Option 1: RTO 4 hours, RPO 15 minutes
- Option 2: RTO 48 hours, RPO 30 minutes
- Option 3: RTO 45 days, RPO 24 hours
- Opt out: Best effort
- Backup options:
- Option 1: Daily backups for 90 days, monthly backups for 18 months
- Option 2: Daily backups for 60 days, monthly backups for 6 months
- Option 3: Daily backups for 30 days, monthly backups for 1 month
- Opt out: No backups
- Extra-regional backups: Can be added to options 1, 2, or 3
- Patch options:
- Patch Window 0: Second Tuesday of Month, 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
- Patch Window 1: First Sunday following Second Tuesday of Month, 12:01 a.m. – 4:00 a.m.
- Patch Window 2: Second Sunday following Second Tuesday of Month, 12:01 a.m. – 4:00 a.m.
- Location options:
- Storage – Enterprise grade data storage management supporting file storage, VM storage, blob storage, and more.
- Location options:
- On-Premise
- Off-Premise (Azure)
- Replication options:
- Option 1: Storage replicated to redundant site every 15 minutes
- Option 2: Storage replicated to redundant site every 24 hours
- Opt out: No storage replication
- Speed options:
- Standard HDD (spinning disk with flash cache): 50-100MB per sec to read and write
- Premier SSD (solid state disk): up to 500MB per sec to read and write (coming soon)
- Location options:
- Cloud Account Management – Access to Public Cloud Platforms via University-negotiated, policy-compliant contracts
- Serverless application hosting (coming soon)
- Container orchestration (coming soon)
- Cloud consulting services (coming soon)
- Virtual Servers:
- OS and Patch Management of Windows and RHEL servers
- Remote console access (RDP, SSH)
- Local administrative privileges
- Controlled Access via Multiple Network Options
- High Availability – Infrastructure
- Virtual Machine (VM) Image Backup
- Server Disaster Recovery
- Storage:
- Optional replication to second data center location
- Cloud Account Management:
- University negotiated, policy compliant contracts with select public cloud vendors
- Account Management
- University Billing
- Access to cloud consoles via WUSTL Key login
- HIPAA BAA (select vendors)
- Service Discounts
Service Level Expectations (SLE)
Cloud Computing Service Request SLEs:
Service Request |
Fulfillment Target |
---|---|
New Virtual Server | 3 business days |
Virtual Server size adjustments | 3 business days |
New storage allocation | 3 business days |
New Azure subscription | 3 business days |
New AWS accounts | 5 business days |
New GCP Project | 3 business days |
Cloud Computing Support Request SLEs:
Priority |
Description |
Response Target |
Resolution Target |
---|---|---|---|
Critical | Global Issues Business critical issues – impacting ability to perform mission Issues affecting multiple users unable to be productive | 15 minutes | 4 hours |
High | Issues affecting individual or multiple users with no workaround available | 1 hour | 1 business day |
Medium | Default priority assigned to all tickets. Issues affecting multiple users with workaround available. | 1 business day | 3 business days |
Low | Issues affecting individual users with workaround available | 2 business days | 5 business days |
The Cloud Computing Service follows the Infrastructure Hosting bundle of SLEs (PDF).
Training and How-To
- Cloud Account Management