abstract
| - Cloud computing terms of service are determined by a legally binding agreement between the subscriber and the cloud provider often contained in two parts: (1) a service agreement, and (2) a Service Level Agreement (SLA). Generally, the service agreement is a legal document specifying the rules of the legal contract between a subscriber and provider, and the SLA is a shorter document stating the technical performance promises made by a provider including remedies for performance failures. For simplicity, the following discussion refers to the combination of these two documents as an SLA. Although the self-service aspect of a cloud implies that a subscriber either (1) accepts a provider’s pricing and SLA, or (2) finds a provider with more acceptable terms, potential subscribers anticipating heavy use of cloud resources may be able to negotiate more favorable terms. For the typical subscriber, however, a cloud’s pricing policy and SLA are nonnegotiable. Published SLAs between subscribers and providers can typically be terminated at any time by either party, either “for cause” such as a subscriber’s violation of a cloud’s acceptable use policies, or for failure of a subscriber to pay in a timely manner. Further, an agreement can be terminated for no reason at all. Subscribers should analyze provider termination and data retention policies. Provider promises, including explicit statements regarding limitations, are codified in their SLAs. A provider’s SLA has three basic parts: (1) a collection of promises made to subscribers, (2) a collection of promises explicitly not made to subscribers, i.e., limitations, and (3) a set of obligations that subscribers must accept.
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