CISER Billing Frequently Asked Questions

CISER began charging for premium computing services July 1, 2008. If you need more information than what is provided below please write to us at ciser@cornell.edu.

Do I have to pay for my graduate student advisees?
How can a grad student apply for a thesis account?
I need a thesis account. What faculty member, if any, do I put down for that?
By when do I need to have my thesis account set up?
What about grad students who need more than the basic allotment for thesis research?
I am a student with a CISER account. I currently have files stored there for my own thesis research, as well as files for professors for whom I have worked in semesters past. What should I do?

Accounts for Research Assistants

Accounts for Coursework

Are Class Accounts available?

General Information

Concerned about the new CISER pricing structure?

Faculty are encouraged to share their concerns with their representative to the CISER Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) and/or the Dean of their college. If your college does not have a representative on the FAC please contact Deputy Provost David Harris directly. All CISER users are also encouraged to share their concerns with CISER Director Bill Block.

What is driving the new pricing policy?

It is important to note that the new CISER billing model is not being implemented due to declining support by either the Provost or the CISER member colleges. Rather, Provost support for CISER has increased in recent years, as have member college contributions to CISER. For the period FY08 and FY09, member college support for CISER has remained steady (with no increase from FY08 to FY09), due to an effort by CISER to keep costs under control in an era when users are being asked to start paying for premium use of CISER computing. The new CISER billing model gives each college more control over whose CISER supported work gets subsidized. Finally, a number of similar units across campus are undergoing a transition to a billing model for similar reasons.

When will the new pricing structure go into effect?

July 1, 2008

What CISER Services are available at no cost to the user?

Computing and data workshops.
Data analysis software help desk.
Social science data archive access and consultations.
Computing user support.
Up to $400 per account per year of system process usage on CISERRSCH and/or CRADC.
Up to 10GB per account per year of disk usage on CISERRSCH and/or CRADC.

Charges, Billing, and Payment Options

Can I track my computing usage?

Yes. Usage statistics are updated each night. Using your Cornell netid and password, you may log on to http://ciser.cornell.edu/beta/usage to check your latest computing use activity at any time. You should receive an e-mail alert from CISER before you exceed your $400 subsidy per account.

Will every user receive a bill?

No, only users who have exceeded the $400 per-user computing use subsidy and are not covered by a subscription, will receive a bill.

When will I be billed?

Near the end of the fiscal year, you will be contacted.

What are my payment options?

Using a Cornell University department account number you can either pay-as-you-go or purchase a subscription for your computing (i.e. system process) use.

What are the pay-as-you-go rates?

Pay-as-you-go rates for computing (system process) use were set by the Faculty Advisory Committee based on the estimated capacity of ¼ of a state-of-the-art server in CISER’s computing cluster.

System Usage Category	Rate
CPU Minutes	$ .0125 / min.
Memory MB Minutes	$ .00005 / mb. / min.
Application Load Time	$ .0005 / min.
I/O MB Used	$ .0000007 / mb.

What does a $12,000 subscription buy?

A $12,000 annual subscription includes system process usage up to the limit in one or more of the categories listed below. Usage in excess of any one of the parameters shown below will be charged at the pay-as-you-go rate unless you choose to purchase an additional subscription.

System Usage Category	Units	Maximum Value*
CPU Minutes / Year	2,160,000	$ 27,000
Memory MB Minutes / Year	1,200,000,000	$ 60,000
Application Load Time	540,000	unlimited**
I/O MB Used	88,440,000,000	$ 61,908

*As computed according to pay-as-you-go rates
** During active use

Can multiple users share a subscription?

Yes. Any number of users may join together to buy one or more subscriptions. If you wish to share a subscription with other faculty members but are unable to find someone with whom to share, CISER will assist you. Write to ciser@cornell.edu.

Is there a deadline for choosing my payment option?

Yes, you will have until December 15, 2009 to choose either the pay-as-you-go or subscription option for your system process usage for July 1, 2009– June 30, 2010.

Is disk use charged separately?

Yes. Every computing account will be allocated 10 GB of disk use at no charge. Backup of the data is included (but is not counted as part of the 10 GB total). Users may rent additional disk use based on the tables below. Prices include backup.

CISERRSCH or CRADC*

Disk Use	Annual Rent
< 10 GB	Free
< 50 GB	$ 100
< 500 GB	$ 400
< 1 TB	$ 800
< 1.5 TB	$ 1,200

*revised 6/17/2008. CRADC disk rental rates are now equivalent to CISERRSCH rates (earlier statements listed them at two times the CISERRSCH rate).

How can I track my current disk use?

Right-click on the folder icon at the top level of your home directory (example: user "cam6_TH" would right-click on the folder icon for "U:\user6\cam6_TH") and choose the "properties" tab. Then, under the "general" tab look at the "size on disk" number. That is how much data you have stored in your home directory.

How is disk use measured?

Disk use is captured at least once a week and averaged over time. Please see our Tips for CISER Computing for suggestions for safely minimizing your disk use.

Is there a separate fee for backup of files stored on CISER’s systems?

No, our disk rental charges include backup, as long as the data are stored in the user's home directory. (Data stored inappropriately, as on the “desktop” of any Research node, or in temporary “scratch” space on the T:\ drives, are not backed up.)

What can I do to reduce my computing costs?

Please see our Tips for CISER Computing to learn how to get the most use for the least amount of money when using CISER Computing systems. Our goal is to help you do your research by providing you with excellent computing resources for the least cost.

Will CISER help me find someone with whom I can share a subscription?
Yes, if you would like to participate in a CISER subscription but have had no luck finding other faculty with whom to share, please write to ciser@cornell.edu.

Types of Accounts and Their Management

I understand there are new computing account types. Please explain:

The following types of accounts are now available at CISER:

Class Accounts: These are time-limited accounts for students, instructors and student Teaching Assistants for use in graduate research methods courses only. Course instructors should contact CISER (ciser@cornell.edu) regarding class accounts for their students.
Sponsored Research Accounts: these are for faculty and their affiliated research staff and student research assistants. Each user involved with a research project gets his/her own account, with up to $400 computing usage and 10 GB of disk space (per account) at no charge. Usage beyond this amount per user is billed to the associated faculty member. Additional disk space may be rented, see disk use charges for rates.
Thesis Accounts: All graduate students are eligible for their own thesis account with up to $400 computing usage and 10 GB in disk space per account. Students who need more resources than the subsidy may apply for additional coverage provided by Graduate School Subscriptions.
Tech Support Accounts: These are for helpdesk consultants who assist CISER users and must be approved by the applicant's supervisor. Resources are more limited than those for thesis or sponsored research.
Other: Accounts for other uses must be approved by CISER staff. Please write to ciser@cornell.edu with your request.

How long will my current account be good?

Although your current account will not expire automatically, as they have done in the past, charges will begin accruing on July 1, 2009 to you or the associated faculty member you listed when you opened the account. In order to avoid inappropriate charges please Apply for a new account . In the application you may ask for your current account to be converted to a new account type, with updated faculty information.

Can I convert my current account to one of the new account types?

Yes, you may Apply for a new account and note in the "comments" field that you wish to convert your current account to the new account type.

How can I separate someone else's usage from my account?

Normally individuals working on funded research would be associated with a faculty account or subscription.
Individuals doing thesis work are eligible for separate accounts and may apply for a thesis account.
If the thesis research involves Restricted Access Data contact the CRADC Custodian for more information.
Instructors, TA's, or individuals doing class work may apply for a class account.

If I have multiple accounts, how will I be able to distinguish between them?

You'll have different user names, and with a scheme similar to the following (here I’m using "cam6" as the example netid, and User 6 as the example home directory):

Thesis account: "cam6_TH" would be your login name, and your home directory would be U:\User6\cam6_TH
Research Account 1: "cam6_RS1" would be your login name for a project with Professor 1, and your home directory would be U:\User6\cam6_RS1
Research Account 2: "cam6_RS2" would be your login name for another project with Professor 2, and your home directory would be U:\User6\cam6_RS2

File permissions may be set so that you can easily move files from one account to another to get them in the proper location.

Accounts for Thesis Research

Do I have to pay for my graduate student advisees?

No, Graduate students may apply for a thesis account. (See below for more detail).

How can a grad student apply for a thesis account?

Graduate students may apply for a thesis account.
- Each account will be granted 10 GB disk use and $400 computing usage per year.
- Students who need more resources may contact ciser@cornell.edu to apply for additional coverage provided by Graduate School Subscriptions.
Students using Restricted Access Data on the CRADC systems for their Thesis research should contact the CRADC Manager for more information.

I need a thesis account. What faculty member, if any, do I put down for that?

You'll need to list your faculty advisor on the thesis account application, but that advisor will NOT be billed for your usage. If your usage exceeds $400 in computing usage and/or 10 GB of disk space you'll be able to apply through CISER to be included in subscriptions purchased by the graduate school.

By when do I need to have my thesis account set up?

All usage balances will be set to $0 on midnight of June 30th, after which time billable charges will start accruing to all accounts. You should have your separate thesis account set up by then, or at least before you begin doing your thesis work on our systems.

What about grad students who need more than the basic computing allotment for thesis work?

Students who need more than $400 computing usage may apply for additional coverage provided by Graduate School subscriptions, by filling out and returning the Graduate Student Application for CISER Computing Resources form.

I am a student with a CISER account. I currently have files stored there for my own thesis research, as well as files for professors for whom I have worked in semesters past. What should I do?

You will need to open separate accounts for each purpose. Each account is entitled to $400 in computing usage and 10 GB of disk space. So, first of all, if you are a graduate student, you should apply for a thesis account for yourself and move your own research files to that account. Then, with the permission of the relevant faculty member(s), apply for a research account for each ongoing project for which you are working. If you are no longer working with a particular faculty member for whom you are storing files then you should compress those files and transfer them to the faculty member, or download and store them locally.

Accounts for Research Assistants

If you have multiple research assistants for a particular research project, how does the subsidy get allocated?

Every student or staff who does research for a particular professor can get their own "research account", with that faculty member listed as the faculty sponsor. Each account will be granted $400 in computing usage. Disk usage for all associated accounts will be combined and charges will only accrue when the aggregate usage exceeds 10 GB times the number of accounts associated with that faculty member.

If I am working for more than one professor simultaneously will I need separate accounts for work (and data storage) with each to be billed separately?

Yes, you'll need separate research accounts. You will get the full $400 in computing usage and 10 GB of disk storage for each account.

My CISER account is currently under one faculty member but I have begun working for someone else. What should I do?

You have two choices:

Change the faculty affiliation for your current account. In this case you should compress files from your previous work and transfer them to your previous faculty member before July 1st.
If you intend to continue working or storing files for the previous faculty member then you’ll need to open another research account for the new work. Please refer to the Account Types question.

NOTE: Each research account will be allocated $400 computing usage and 10 GB of disk space, and usage over that amount will be billed to the affiliated faculty member.

Accounts for Coursework

Are class accounts available?

Yes. Instructors, TA's and registered students may apply for class accounts on a semester basis. See Account Types for more detailed information.