Hosting

Summary
This page describes the possibilities that Fontys ICT offers to different target groups to host their own configurable applications. What possibilities are there? How to apply for hosting? And what about the costs and responsibilities of hosting applications?

The application landscape that supports the Fontys ICT processes needs a reliable and secure infrastructure and physical environment on which the software applications can run. We also see an increasing demand for an infrastructure that, in addition to reliability and security, is also sufficiently self-configurable. An infrastructure that is in line with the best practices of the real life environment. The most common questions focus on the facilitation of container technology and the possibilities of using and configuring a cloud infrastructure.

We distinguish three types of questions:

1. Educational infrastructure (lab environments)
   In this context, content does not need to be retained for more than one semester. A challenging and realistic infrastructure environment, which provides ample opportunities for students to come up with creative solutions. This environment has access to necessary services such as databases and sufficient possibilities to let services talk to each other. In such an infrastructure, for example, the Rancher environment of a module could run.
2. Semi-professional experimental infrastructure
   This context is especially important for experiments that last longer than one semester .
   This infrastructure provides opportunities for employees to develop educational or organisational support initiatives. In this environment one can think of possibilities to make applications available that can remain active for a longer period of time. There is a guarantee that the underlying infrastructure will not be cleaned up and there is access to internal open data sources to integrate into prototypes. In such an infrastructure, for example, the prototype development could be done.
   
3. Business Critical Infrastructure
   An infrastructure with the highest requirements to run business critical applications. Applications that run in this layer must meet specific quality requirements before they can be used here. Such an infrastructure could, for example, house the application landscape.
   

It is important to realise what kind of information is displayed or stored within the hosted application. If this contains personal, student or employee information, the application must be hosted within the Fontys ICT domain.

For hosting in education and research, there are three possibilities within Fontys ICT:

• VPS via Your Hosting (4 GIG RAM)
  
• Cloud via Azure, with an i-account
  
• Netlab internal at Fontys ICT (virtual machine, or Kubernetes)
  

The properties of the environments are:

• full control
• public IP
• solid computing power
• possibility to link DNS.
  

For use in education, Netlab is preferred.

Hosting of VPS and through Azure can be requested (by the PLOU) through a purchase request¹⁾ under the heading “IT Materiaal”. Hosting via Your Hosting and Azure is terminable monthly and will be terminated at the end of the semester, unless otherwise indicated.

Because the possibilities in the cloud (Azure) are diverse, each with a different (unpredictable because based on usage) cost package, these preconditions apply:

• Your application is discussed in detail with your lecturer. Make sure you have an overview of which Azure components need to be used.
• The use of the Azure environment is evaluated in a monthly meeting.
• Via the ticket system Topdesk, you can submit your request for a subscription. When doing so, please indicate your lecturer who has given permission for this. (See Azure Checklist)

Netlab can be requested through your lecturer or through the Topdesk ticket system and has no additional cost. Netlab will always be emptied at the end of the semester unless otherwise specified. For more information about the Netlab, see the intranet page: Netlab.

For all or all public Cloud options, the costs are deducted from the budget of the unit of study or the research project. The application must clearly indicate which colleague is responsible. It is not permissible to give a student this responsibility. Use of the Netlab is free for students and lecturers of the Fontys ICT study programmes.

Because it is full control and a public IP, the responsible colleague (e.g. the requester) is also responsible for password management, for security of hosting ?and for compliance with the GDPR (AVG).