Network Rates
IP Billing Terms & Conditions
STATEMENT
This document will outline the process that NCS will follow when a user and/or department contacts NCS to request an investigation of charges on their IP(s) or requests to credit for charges on an IP(s). This document will also educate users/departments on the tools that are available to monitor usage and provide references to information on how to prevent usage abuse.
All information on the network billing structure for FY06 can be obtained via the following link: http://www.cit.cornell.edu/ncs/netrates/
Any inquiries on these IP billing processes in FY06 should be directed to the CIT Contact Center (HelpDesk) by sending e-mail to helpdesk@cornell.edu or by calling (607) 255-9980.
PROCEDURES
1. Individual and Departmental User Responsibility
The University cost recovery structure for internet usage places responsibility with individual users as well as departments/units to ensure that they are good stewards of their devices (PCs, Network Printers, Servers, etc). Users/departments are responsible for all the usage received and sent by the IP addresses they use. Users/departments are encouraged to closely monitor the traffic on their IP(s). Users/departments should educate themselves on the nuances of the Network Usage Based Billing (NUBB) system and how their usage patterns will affect their bills. User education and network usage monitoring are the key components to avoiding unexpected high usage bills. Section #2 will describe the tools that users/departments can utilize to monitor usage and avoid abuse. Most cases of usage abuse are due to security compromises of workstations and servers. Users/departments can avoid these compromises and are encouraged to take all possible preventative measures to avoid compromising of security by implementing the fullest and most updated measures of security.
2. Monitoring of Network Usage
2.1. Usage monitoring with NUBB: NUBB allows users/administrators to view network usage on a daily basis. NUBB accumulates usage every evening. When users/administrators view NUBB charges for the current month, they are viewing aggregated usage/charges from the first day of the month to the day before they are actually logging in to NUBB. Daily monitoring of IP addresses by users/administrators can help to detect spikes in usage that may be the result of a security compromise. NUBB is the definitive and final data of record for monthly billing. To access NUBB: http://nubb.cornell.edu.
2.2. Traffic alerts: The IT Security Office maintains a tool that generates email alerts when IP's experience abnormally high usage patterns. The alerts are generated automatically when there is a noticeable increase in outbound-only, off-campus traffic based on historical usage observations. This system serves as an aid to awareness of network activity and is purely informational. It is not in any way linked to the Network Usage Based Billing Usage (NUBB) application. Email alerts are sent once daily to network administrators who are registered in the DNS database (DNSDB).
http://www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/support/hostreg/2.3. Real Time Monitoring: A client software called "Cornell Log" provides real-time IP usage monitoring. Cornell Log is free and available for download and use by the entire Cornell user community. Cornell Log is currently available only for the Microsoft Windows Operating System, but we hope to make it available for other Operating Systems (Mac, Linux) in the future. It is designed to aid and educate users/administrators on their IP usage patterns and may not exactly map to the amount of usage billed by NUBB. Info on Cornell Log and download instructions can be found at: http://www.cit.cornell.edu/services/cornelllog/
3. Requests for Credit
3.1. Credit Request Criteria:
| ResNet Subscribers: | Credit Requests will only be considered for charges
which exceed $40/month: $40 = [($0.0015 X 24.5 GB = $37.63) + $2.75 base fee] |
| Departments: | Credit Requests will only be considered for charges
which exceed $77/month: $77 = [($0.0015 X 48.5 GB = $74.50) + $2.75 base fee] |
Smaller usage amounts/charges cannot be considered for credit because we would have to recover administrative expenses for handling the small credit requests and those expenses would exceed the value of the small credits being requested.
3.2. Credit Procedures: Users/administrators who want to request a credit should contact the CIT Contact Center (HelpDesk) at helpdesk@cornell.edu. Users/departments can contact CIT by phone at 5-8990 and all requests for credit must also be submitted in writing to helpdesk@cornell.edu. If the request is justified, CIT will issue a one-time credit to the account that the IP in question currently bills to. The amount of credit awarded will be based on the last non-credited monthly usage bill for the IP. Example:
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Bill
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Charges
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Status
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July 2005
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$175
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Uncontested Regular Bill
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August 2005
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$800
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Contested
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Credit would be $625
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||
NCS Operations Support will inform the user/department that a credit is one-time only for any given IP. No additional credit will be awarded.
3.3. Timeframe for Credits: Users/Administrators who want to request credits for IP usage charges can contact NCS Operations Support at any time during the month, however the credit amount will not be calculated or issued until the monthly billing cycle is over.
Credit requests for charges billed or posted during the current fiscal year may be submitted at any time. For charges posted or billed during the previous fiscal year, credit requests must be received by NCS Operations Support within 90 days of the posting or billing date. The fiscal year ends June 30.
3.4. Suspected Security Incidents: NCS Operations Support does not have the ability to investigate the technical details of a security incident, but will consult with users to discuss potential credits after research by the IT Security Office has been confirmed. Inquiries regarding the specifics of a suspected security incident should be directed via email to the IT Security Office at security@cornell.edu. A security case will be opened for tracking purposes, and the Network Administrator will be contacted. Network Administrators must include the following information in the email to the Security Office:
- Identify the IP address that is affected.
- Description of the suspicious activity in your own words.
- Copies of log files including dates and times of the incident.
- Description of any remedial work the network administrator has done to try to repair the situation.
The Network Administrator will receive a case number via email. If more information is required from the IT Security Office, they will contact the Network Administrator directly. Confirmation of problem resolution will be sent to the network administrator directly. The resulting information will be useful to the billing administrator for a credit request as described above.