ICT Service Level Agreements

Core Database Services

Description:  All core database services provided to New Mexico State University by ICT.  The core database service consists of the production student and administrative database systems.

About This Service Level Agreement:
This document is a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the users of this service.  The purpose of this document is to define the service expectations and to outline the communication and escalation process.  By instituting this Service Level Agreement, the expectations and requirements of both parties shall be clarified and solidified.

 This document covers production services and support including installation, configuration, monitoring, and maintenance of the Core Database Service.

Services Provided:
Under the terms of this SLA, ICT shall provide the following services:

·        Install, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot the core database service.

·        Review all maintenance plans, upgrade plans, etc., and communicate with users to ensure minimal disruption of service.

·        All core databases supported under this SLA shall be protected against physical and logical data loss by the use of regularly scheduled backups.

·        All core production databases are monitored as necessary and database personnel are notified of outages as they occur.

·        Generate and maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation.

·        Develop growth, availability, and tuning metrics.

·        Provide and maintain contacts and procedures for reporting and/or escalating problems.

·        Provide overall restore and recovery and contingency planning.

Under the terms of this SLA, the users shall be responsible for the following:

·        Abide by all NMSU database use policies and procedures.

·        Contact ICT about suspected database problems.

·        Contact ICT about suggestions for improvements to the service.

·        Major functional changes will be shared with the appropriate NMSU communities and presented to Appropriate Steering bodies before they are implemented.

System Availability, Troubleshooting, and On-Call Support

System Availability
Core database services are normally expected to be available for use 24 hours per day, 7 hours per day, 365 (366) days per year, except for scheduled downtime.  Scheduled downtimes are available via the system job scheduler.  Administrative council will also be notified if the impact is or may be significant.

Troubleshooting, Response Time & Escalation
As soon as ICT becomes aware of a problem - either through automated monitoring or by user contact - problem resolution will commence and continue until the service is restored or a suitable alternative has been provided.

If the problem can not be resolved within a reasonable time after work commences, if there is an impediment to resolving the problem outside the control of those working on it, or if there will be a major impact on the university caused by the out of service situation, then the appropriate ICT management will be contacted to help resolve the problem.  The university community will be notified of the issues and its resolution.  

System Upgrades, Maintenance, and Replacement
ICT shall provide one (1) week notice of any planned outages/changes to the systems or services covered by this SLA. In emergency conditions or in the event of an unplanned outage, ICT shall provide as much notice as possible.

Service Assurance and Feedback
Users should bring to the attention of the Liaison any matter that may require resolution.

In order to tailor the ICT charter to meet the growing and changing needs of its clients, feedback regarding the services provided under this SLA is valuable. The opinions of those whom we support are important, and shall help ICT provide better service and identify the future needs of our clients. Therefore, your assistance with any customer satisfaction surveys that you may be presented with is greatly appreciated.