Information Technologies (IT) can host some types of Web-based applications on shared institutional webservers. Applications must be clearly related to teaching, research, or administration. Provided that the resource requirements are reasonable there is no charge for this type of web application hosting.
Note that these shared webservers are not suitable for applications which contain confidential data, due to the diverse range of software (and associated security vulnerabilities) that are in use on them. If you have stringent security requirements we recommend that you purchase a dedicated server and have it professionally managed.
Applications on shared servers generally run under Apache and/or Tomcat. They may be written in Java, PHP, Perl, C++, or Python. MySQL and SleepyCat (Berkeley DBM) database engines are also available.
Users are free to install additional software and/or run servers in their personal space.
Users must use secure methods to connect to the server. Telnet, ftp, and rsh are not supported (use ssh and scp instead).
IT Web servers are all UNIX-based, so Microsoft ASP and Microsoft Access databases are not supported.
Please carefully note the following responsibilities:
Information Technologies will:
- Host the application on an institutional Web server at no charge
- Perform an incremental backup once per day of any application files stored on IT servers (note that our software does not backup open files)
- Inform the owner of any planned server outages, via the comtech-L mailman list
- Inform the owner of any application problems IT happens to observe
- Do their best to maximize server platform availability
- Upgrade/update supported software to a stable,secure version as needed
- Take all reasonable precautions to ensure that server is secure
The application owner must:
- Conform with all requirements of the U of C Computing and Network Policy
- Run any customized application server processes in their process space (i.e., under a personal or organizational username)
- Locate all application program code and data in their user space (i.e. /home/username)
- Possess appropriate licenses for all programs and data stored in their user space
- Inform IT of any network ports required by the application so that firewalls can be appropriately configured
- Ensure that their data and program code are adequately secured
- Provide assistance to users having any type of difficulty with the application
- Name a primary and secondary person that IT operations can call regarding any issues that may come up (e.g. the owner and whoever is providing ongoing technical support)
The application owner should:
- Run a cron in their process space to periodically determine if the system is working correctly and inform the owner and IT operations if not...
IT reserves the right to:
- Temporarily disable the application (with subsequent notification) if in IT's opinion it is negatively impacting other users (for example, if it appears to be in a loop)
- Refuse to host the application if it uses an inordinate amount of system resources
- Change the numeric IP address of the server upon which the application runs
- Change/upgrade server software and/or platforms and/or configuration as required with prior notification
- Implement a firewall between the U of C and the rest of the internet, with due consultation
IT will not:
- Take any responsibility for application code
- Alter any application code
- Provide funding for any additional 3rd-party software required by the application
For a fee, IT can:
- Periodically check the application ports to ensure they are responding
- Follow predefined recovery procedures in the event of a system problem
For more information, please contact the webmaster at www@ucalgary.ca.
To request a mysql database, please send email to itsupport@ucalgary.ca with your IT User name and a suggested name for a mysql database.
To request a web applcation work space, please send email to itsupport@ucalgary.ca with an IT User name that you own. If this space will be shared by more than one developer, you should send us the name of a secondary account that you own.