Hosting Terms & Conditions / Service Level Agreement
- Undertakings and Acknowledgements
1.1. We agree to use all reasonable steps to provide the Services to you on a continual basis, for the duration of the Agreement.
1.2. Although we take appropriate and reasonable measures to ensure that the Services are:
- Available
- Error free
- Up to date and
- Reliable
The Services are rendered “as is” and “as available” and are used at your own discretion and risk.
1.3 We will establish and maintain reasonable security measures to secure the integrity and confidentiality of any personal information that we host or store for you as referred to in section 19 of the Protection of Personal Information Act 2013 (POPI).
- Hosting terms
General
2.1. We provide Servers, space on shared Servers and hosting of Customer Servers, together with web services and email facilities for web sites controlled by individuals or companies that do not have their own web servers.
2.2. We will only be required to give you the Server type and configuration that is advertised at the time you decide to obtain the Service from us. If you are an existing Customer and you wish to upgrade to a new Server, we may charge you an additional setup fee.
2.3. We will use all reasonable steps to verify the identity of your representative that wishes to access your Server at the Location. However, we will not be liable for any loss or damage you suffer because of a non-authorised person gaining access to your Server at the Location. You must notify us in writing of your representatives who are entitled to access your Server at the Location.
2.4. If we find that you have breached any of these Specific Terms, we may exercise any rights we may have available to us in law, including (without notice) the right to terminate access to any Services, or suspend or terminate any Services.
Content
2.5. We have no knowledge of, nor interest in Customer content hosted on your behalf by Silva IT Services on a Server or a shared hosting package. We also do not in any way contribute to or approve the content.
2.6. Nothing that we do in the performance of our obligations under the Service will be seen as an assumption of responsibility or liability by us as a result of any content. In particular, the limitation of liability in the General Terms will apply specifically to any loss, destruction, or corruption of your data, irrespective of the cause, including our negligence and any system error or failure, whether foreseen or unforeseen. Managed Shared Hosting (Web Hosting).
2.7. We will make a package available on a Server, where the Server is shared with other Customers. The Server will (at all times) remain our property. We will setup the Server according to our standard managed hosting Server configuration, at the Location on your behalf. We will not be responsible for the use of software you install (and for any vulnerabilities including traffic generated as per below, that may result from the use of the software). You use the software at your own risk.
2.8. Where appropriate, we will maintain the software on our managed Servers.
2.9. You are solely responsible for all bandwidth and traffic related to your hosting package. This includes regularly monitoring usage. You will be liable for any over-usage charges. Any traffic management and reporting tools we give you are given solely to assist you in this process. This does not free you from responsibility, or place any responsibility on us. If you decide to make use of any traffic management and reporting tools:
- All information will not be real time information and there will always be a one day delay in the furnishing of information and
- We will not be responsible for any traffic spikes, information or denial of service attacks, or any loss or damage you suffer because of the information not being provided in real time.
- We are not required to give you further information on traffic usage other than what is reported.
2.10. We are not responsible for any licensing of any software you use.
Self-Managed Hosting
3.1. We will make a Server available to you, installed with the latest version of an operating system, from a list of available options we give you. If you elect to have a Microsoft operating system installed that we provide, you are bound by the licensing terms & conditions of the relevant Microsoft Software with effect from when the Microsoft Software is first installed on the Server.
3.2. You will manage the operating system and all software on the Server. Silva IT Services will not and has no obligation to get involved in any aspect of managing the Server apart from the hardware.
3.3. The allocated Server remains Silva IT Services sole property.
3.4. If you request any deviation from the standard hardware offering we will give the non-standard hardware, but the cost will be passed directly on to you. The hardware remains our property. If you opt for an on-site spare for the hardware, the spare components will remain your property.
3.5. If your Server becomes the target or source of any form of denial of service attack, we reserve the right to disconnect the Server from the network if we find that no other solution is possible at that stage.
3.6. We will not be responsible for your use of any software that you may install (and any vulnerabilities including traffic generated, that may result from the use of the software). You use the software at your own risk.
3.7. We are not responsible for any licensing of any software you use, other than where you are leasing Microsoft software.
Support and Service Level Guarantee
Network Uptime Guarantee
4.1. We guarantee that our network will be available 99.9% of the time in a given month, excluding scheduled maintenance. This means that you should not experience network downtime of more than 43 minutes in any given month counted from the first day of every month.
- Network uptime includes functioning of all network infrastructure including routers, switches and cabling, but excludes services or software running on your Server.
- Network downtime exists when you are unable to ping the Server and it is measured according to our monitoring system.
Troubleshooting, ad-hoc (intermittent) and emergency work
5.1. Any troubleshooting you request will be charged at our standard hourly rate. If the cause turns out to be due to the gross negligence on our part, these charges will be waived. Our senior management will decide whether or not an act of gross negligence has been committed.
5.2. If you require any ad-hoc (on request) work to be done outside Business hours you must specifically schedule this with us. We will only attend to emergency work outside of Business hours.
5.3. We may invoice you for time spent troubleshooting issues that we find are outside our control that we cannot reasonably be expected to have prevented or solved quickly. Only we may decide what is reasonably within or outside our reasonable control.
- Email terms
6.1. We will provide the following email related Services for Customers selecting shared or managed dedicated hosting only:
- Filtering of unsolicited commercial email (SPAM):This is done on a best effort basis, without any guarantees, using appropriate best of breed technologies (for example SpamAssassin which is the most widely used open source filtering software);
- Virus filtering:This is done on a best effort basis without any guarantees, using appropriate best of breed technologies (for example Clam that is a very popular open source solution).
- An SMTP(simple mail transfer protocol) server for the sending of outgoing mail;
- A POP3(post office protocol) server for the downloading of incoming mail.
- IMAP (internet message across protocol) Server for the reading of mail.
6.2. We will take appropriate and reasonable measures to make your email environment secure and reliable.
6.3. We will:
- Do our best to support the setup and configuration and
- not be held responsible if there is any incompatibility between our Systems and any other third party application.
- Domain Name Terms
Domain Registration
7.1. Silva IT Services runs the registry system used to process co.za Domain Name related transactions initiated by Domain Name Registrars, which include domain registrations, domain updates, domain renewals, domain deletions, domain queries and domain transfers.
7.2. All Domain Names that we register on your behalf within the .co.za domain name space are subject to the co.za Policies, which may be amended from time to time.
7.3. We act on your instructions to the extent that those instructions are possible and lawful. Domain Name Administrators have the right to cancel, transfer or suspend a Domain Name registration in certain circumstances. For example where it would put the Administrator in conflict with any law or upon receipt of a court order or ruling of an arbitrator.
7.4. We also use the Services of an international registrar to register generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs such as .com and .org) as well as Top Level Domains in non-South African country codes (ccTLDs such as .uk and .eu). This registration is subject to the terms of the relevant registrar, maintenance, or transfer of a Domain Name is subject to the terms of the relevant registry governing the Domain Name. We cannot guarantee the registration of any Domain Name selected by you.
7.5. The following principles apply with regard to Domain Name registrations:
- Domains Names are made available on a “first come, first served” basis. We therefore do not guarantee that the Domain Name requested by you is available for registration.
- We do not permit “cybersquatting” (also known as “domain squatting”): registering a Domain Name in bad faith with the intention of profiting from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else.
- Registering a Domain Name is like getting a licence. As long as the Domain Name is current, you can continue to use it. Domain Names are not regarded as property and cannot be “owned” by anyone. However, the domain name will be registered in the name of the “Registrant”.
- It is important to ensure that the correct person or entity is reflected as the Registrant as Silva IT Services will only act on the instructions of the Account Owner or anyone authorised to act on the Silva IT Services account. In certain instances the Registrant might not be the Account Owner.
- You as Registrant or your agent will retain control of your Domain Name. We will maintain the Domain Name for you as part of the Service.
- We will insert our details as the billing and technical contact of the Domain Name, unless you register the Domain Name yourself or manage the Domain Name record directly with the applicable Registry.
- Any Internet Protocol (IP) address that we allocate to you will remain our sole property. We give you a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the IP address for the duration of our agreement with you.
- All new co.za registrations are allowed a grace period of seven consecutive days immediately following the registration of the Domain Name, during which you can cancel your Domain Name registration with minimal cost implications.
- Domain Names are registered for one year. Whilst we will try to ensure that your Domain Name does not lapse, it is your responsibility to ensure that your Domain Name does not lapse. Our systems have been programmed to automatically renew your Domain Name unless you expressly tell us not to do so, in which case it will lapse. We will try to send you a reminder. It sometimes happens that reminders are not received due to events beyond our control and we will not be liable.
7.6. You must provide us with all the information that we request from you. We will not be held responsible if you give us incomplete or inaccurate information that will lead to a delay in the registration process, subsequently resulting in the Domain Name being registered by someone else.
7.7. The following fees will be incurred by you:
- The annual Administrator Fee for the Domain Name.
- Our Service fee for applying for, and where applicable, maintaining the registration of a Domain Name on your behalf and
- All reasonable expenses or charges relating to the registration, transfer, or renewal of the Domain Name.
These service fees are non-refundable.
7.8. You warrant that:
- You are entitled to register and use the Domain Name or
- if you are not the Registrant, you have the consent of the Registrant to use the Domain Name; or
- You are not prohibited by law or otherwise from registering the Domain Name and
- in using the Domain Name, you have not violated any Intellectual Property Rights of any person who may lawfully claim title to the Domain Name or to any word or name forming an essential part of the Domain Name.
7.9. You indemnify us against any loss or damage that we may suffer arising from your registration or use of the Domain Name.
