Servers are typically deployed within 30 minutes of form submission.
A single-slice virtual machine includes:
Additional RAM, CPU, and disk resources can be added after deployment. Configurations and pricing can be seen here: UW-IT Service Catalog entry for Standard Hosted Server
Note: Additional disk resources cannot be removed once added, RAM and CPU can be increased or decreased.
To request additional resources, email help@uw.edu with "Standard Hosted Server" in the subject line. Include your SHS instance name (vXXXX)
The virtual machine runs on physical resources resistant to outages caused by single component failures or routine hypervisor maintenance, but it is not resilient to regional or datacenter-level outages.
No. Backups and VM snapshots/images are not part of the Standard Hosted Server offering. If you need backups, see the UW-IT Data Backup service.
Use the console link at vmmanage.s.uw.edu. This console also provides power-cycle functions and will always display the original vXXXX instance name, even if you've changed the hostname.
First, try connecting via the console at vmmanage.s.uw.edu. If the issue is environmental (not an OS-level problem), contact UW-IT via the Get Help page on IT Connect.
No. Once deployed, the IP address cannot be changed.
No. Each Standard Hosted Server is allocated one static public IPv4 and one static IPv6 address, or one static private UW P172 address. You can create your own DNS names pointing to the allocated IP.
The Standard Hosted Server infrastructure is professionally managed (access agreements, secure data centers, UW NetID-based authentication). However, these systems have not undergone a formal HIPAA compliance audit. We can provide information to support your own compliance audit.
The largest security risk is typically how the server OS and applications are managed — which is entirely the customer's responsibility. UW-IT does not have administrative access to your server. If UW-IT is alerted that an SHS system is compromised or otherwise problematic, our response is the same as with any non-UW-IT managed server on our shared networks: removal from network, notification, forensics, etc.
Yes. Rocky includes firewalld enabled, and Ubuntu includes ufw enabled. Both are configured to reject incoming connections except SSH; outgoing connections are unrestricted. To manage your firewall, use firewall-cmd (CentOS) or ufw (Ubuntu).
You are responsible for requesting, installing, and renewing any required SSL certificates. Register a departmental DNS name for your server (CNAME or A record) and request certificates using that name. The *.s.uw.edu domain is reserved for UW-IT managed resources and cannot be delegated for certificate issuance.
Windows Standard Hosted Servers are pre-configured with a 50 GB OS (C:) drive. Any additional storage you requested is allocated but left unconfigured. You can extend the C: drive or create additional partitions as needed.
Yes. You have sufficient administrative rights to domain-join your server.
Yes, but UW-IT's internal references and the console at vmmanage.s.uw.edu will continue to use the original vXXXX name. Include the vXXXX name in any future support requests to avoid routing delays.