Skip to content

General Terms of Use

HPC Vega General Terms of Use

Thank you for using HPC Vega services for research (the "Services"). By registering a HPC Vega user account ("Account") or using any of the Services referred to in these General Terms of Use ("Terms"), you (the "User") are agreeing to these Terms. Please read them carefully.

For some services, additional terms or requirements may apply. These additional terms are available in connection to the relevant services. The additional terms become part of your agreement with EuroHPC if you use those services.

1. Use of the services is intended for research and innovation purposes, unless otherwise agreed in advance

The use of HPC Vega Services shall be primarily for research and innovation purposes falling under public funding programmes, shall have an exclusive focus on civil applications and its results shall be open to users from the public and private sectors...

The User can only use the Services for the purposes for which they have been granted. The purpose is defined before an Account is opened for the User. The purpose may be specified when approving an application for the User’s Account or in a research plan, objectives, proposal, contract, or other definition of scope.

Use of the Services may involve additional license terms or conditions set by third parties. For example, software or hardware manufacturers or third-party funding authorities may limit the use of services for research purposes only or based on the nationality or affiliation of Users. In cases where extra license terms are applied, HPC Vega will make the terms available to the User.

Users are responsible for making sure that their use of the Services is in compliance with any applicable laws including international law, sanctions and other restrictions, and any applicable regulations and license terms.

2. Research results should be public

Unless otherwise agreed or specified, e.g., in a contract for industrial or other commercial use, research results must be released publicly, preferably for peer review.

The User agrees to cite in publications and presentations that the Services provided by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking have been used to produce the results. How to cite EuroHPC in a publication is published on the HPC Vega documentation website under the Acknowledgement section.

The User commits to follow good research practices.

3. Registering an account and becoming a User

To use some of the Services users must apply for an Account as described on the HPC Vega documentation website. Requirements of User authentication methods, including the accepted identity federations, are described in website on webpage EuroHPC Access for EuroHPC users and for users of Slovenian share on the Cluster Access webpage and on the SiGNET Certificate webpage. As explained on HPC Vega Instructions Summary, for SSH access, Vega only allows login with a SSH key.

For EuroHPC Access users must use an email address provided by their organization (e.g. university or company) as theirs primary contact information. For users of Slovenian share, Access is described on SLING website and on SLING user documentation. EuroHPC and IZUM maintains a customer register and a customer register information sheet about Euro HPC Users of HPC Vega share in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and national data protection regulation. EuroHPC requires EuroHPC User contact details to notify users about changes to these terms, service interruptions, service information, and other important issues. All Users are responsible for always keeping their contact details up to date.

EuroHPC is entitled to publish general information about the EuroHPC Users and the purpose for which the user rights have been granted. These are: the user's name, organization, science area, project name, description, and resource usage. We may transfer your data outside of the EU/EEA only in connection with services provided by third parties for example to comply with software license agreements, in compliance with Chapter V of the GDPR on transfer of personal data to third countries or international organisations.

4. As a User, you are responsible for the use of the Account and Services

General conditions:

  1. You will use the systems and services provided in accordance with the stated goals and the description of work basis on which the access has been granted.
  2. You will follow the acceptable use policy of ARNES, Academic and Research Network of Slovenia.
  3. You will not use the Services for any unlawful purpose or engage in any activity which is illegal under local, national, EU or international law, including data privacy rights, intellectual property and confidentiality agreements.
  4. You will ensure the use of software with licenses valid for the use on the system.
  5. You will use the services at your own risk. You accept that there is no guarantee that the services will be available at any time or that they will suit any purpose.

Security conditions:

  1. You are responsible for the security of your software, your data, and your access credentials, such as passwords and private keys. You will not share your credentials, leave them unprotected for others to see, or neglect any security responsibilities defined in the relevant Service description.
  2. You will not (attempt to) breach or circumvent any administrative or security controls.
  3. You will not send or transmit harassing, abusive, libellous, obscene, or unsolicited (spam) communications or distribute malicious content.
  4. You will not misuse or abuse any HPC Vega or third-party service or property, including intellectual property such as copyright, or act in violation of any licence terms.
  5. You will not tamper with or deliberately disrupt system resources or network traffic to the Services.
  6. You will not attempt to compromise the functionality of any computer systems and networks or to intentionally disrupt or prevent the use of the system by others.
  7. You will not access, alter, distribute, or destroy data owned by other users and misuse or abuse User Content, credentials, or other confidential information.
  8. You will not interfere with the use of Services by other users or compromise the privacy or security of other users.
  9. You agree to immediately report any known or suspected security breach or unintended access to data or any misuse of services and access credentials of the system.
  10. You agree that you are solely responsible for ensuring the security of your data, including setting appropriate security constraints and permissions, using appropriate locations to store the data, and using encryption when appropriate.

Personal information, identification constraints and data policies:

  1. You agree that the access granted is strictly personal, granted on an individual basis and usable only by its owner.
  2. You shall keep all your registered information correct and up to date. You shall not use false or misleading personal identification data with services that demand such data.
  3. You shall not permit third persons to access your account and will not facilitate gaining access to the system to third persons, including through carelessness or negligence, nor will you attempt to gain access attributed to a different user.
  4. You agree that information about you and your work will be retained by the system, including information provided for registration, security information, accounting records, and administrative information and that it may be used and processed for operational, accounting, monitoring, security, and administrative purposes. Furthermore, you agree that the information may be kept up to the end of the fiscal year after your access ends or after your last access.

Obligations towards the access-granting bodies and the hosting site:

  1. You agree that the access-granting bodies and system administrators entitled to access your software, data, and information as well as to monitor your network traffic to conduct security scans and usage oversight.
  2. You agree that the access-granting bodies and system administrators are entitled to regulate, suspend, or terminate your access, within the domain of their authority, and that you shall immediately comply with their instructions.
  3. You agree to provide information on the use and results of your work to the access-granting bodies and system administrators as required for reporting and informing the public about the use of public resources.
  4. You agree to provide appropriate acknowledgment of support or citation for your use of the resources and services provided as required by the body or bodies granting you access. Users agree to notify EuroHPC and IZUM promptly if their account has been used without permission, if their credentials have been lost or stolen, or if they notice any breach to the Terms of Use. Users agree to exercise all reasonable care when accessing the Services.

Users are liable, even after the user account has been terminated, for damage and costs to HPC Vega:

• as a result of violating these Terms.

• as a result of violating 3rd party licensing terms.

5. User and Project management for EuroHPC users

EuroHPC Users need a HPC Vega Project ("Project") to use some of the Services. Allocation of resources is based on Projects.

Every Project has a EuroHPC User who is also the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Project. Project may also have a named co-PI to whom the PI has delegated the same rights as the PI.

• The PI serves as a primary contact person between the project and EuroHPC.

• The PI can add or request IZUM to add Users to Projects and remove them and is responsible for always keeping the list of Project members up to date.

• The PI is responsible for ensuring that the identity of each User added to the Project is vetted.

A Project is valid for a fixed time period as communicated in connection with the admission. IZUM will notify the members of the Project before the expiration date of the Project upon which the User’s Account may be terminated. Upon request, the PI must report on the progress of the Project and the use of the Services.

6. User Content

User Content ("Content") means the User's data, software, servers, systems, or processes that use or interact with the Services.

All Users are responsible for the Content stored in, or transmitted via, HPC Vega's Services and that it complies with all applicable laws and regulations, data policies, and with the provisions included in these Terms. If the Content includes sensitive or confidential information, Users are responsible for making sure that the Service used to handle the data complies with the required security measures, by examining the Service Description documents. EuroHPC User gives EuroHPC and IZUM the right to access Content to secure the accessibility, the quality, and the security, which includes, for example, keeping the information on HPC Vega’s IT service platform, automated monitoring for intrusion detection, taking backups, copying/moving Content, or reproducing faults. At all times, IZUM and EuroHPC protects the confidentiality of Content as permitted by law.

No ownership rights or intellectual property rights of Content are transferred when using the Services, if not otherwise agreed.

Users are responsible for sharing of their Content according to the Project's and their own requirements. For example, if a User leaves a Project, they should ensure they transfer Project Content to another User of that Project.

Upon request, we will make a reasonable effort to provide the User with a copy of the Content (to which the User has ownership or intellectual property rights) after account cancellation or termination. The User must make this request within 30 days of cancellation or termination and provide HPC Vega with a location to store the copy of Content.

7. Processing Personal Data in User Content

If Content contains personal data or special categories of data (i.e. sensitive personal data), referring to the GDPR articles 4(1) and 9(1), the User has to ensure that the service intended to process the data complies with the security level required for this kind of data.

In such a case, the User commits to take care of the Data Controller’s responsibilities as described in applicable data protection legislation. IZUM acts as a Processor of the personal data. The User and IZUM will execute IZUM’s Data Processing Terms and will execute the description of processing activities which together to govern such processing activities.

HPC Vega offers an IT service platform according to the service descriptions and these Terms of Use for the Users to process their Content on their own account. IZUM implements and maintains the measures required by the security of the processing according to the service descriptions and the certified security system.

8. Only limited backups are taken and not guaranteed

IZUM takes limited backups of User Content but does not provide guarantees regarding their recovery in case of loss or corruption. IZUM and EuroHPC decline any liability for lost files or data for any reason. Backup strategy is explained in detail on webpage Data Management.

EuroHPC and IZUM recommend that Users maintain an up-to-date copy of their Content by other means if they cannot afford to lose it.

9. Service level declaration and limited warranty

Use of the Services is at the User’s own risk, and nor IZUM neither EuroHPC are liable for any loss or injury. This also includes loss or injury caused by possible erroneous results. EuroHPC does not give any warranty or representation as to the availability, error- or interruption-free operation, or suitability for any purposes (general or particular) of the Service. EuroHPC also does not give any warranty that communications to or from the Service is completely secure. EuroHPC expressly disclaims any such express or implied warranties.

However, EuroHPC aims to follow industry best practice service management and security measures.

EuroHPC reserves the right to modify and terminate any Service at any time for EuroHPC Users. EuroHPC may from time to time make changes to any interfaces made available to the Service for EuroHPC Users.

10. How and when are User Accounts terminated?

The Vega Account is valid for a fixed time period, starting from the day when the Account is opened. IZUM will notify Users well before the expiration date of the Account.

The right to use Vega Services ends when the original purpose is no longer valid or the User has parted from the User's affiliated organization. The PI of the Project makes the decision whether the User can continue the use of Services when affiliated to a new organization. If the User is the PI of the Project, they must contact the party who has made the allocation decision for the Project to verify their eligibility.

The User Account and associated Content will be handled according to the corresponding service descriptions and their terms of use. IZUM will notify the User about their expired Account via the contact information provided by the User before deleting User Content and Account.

The User Account can be terminated or suspended by EuroHPC without notice:

• In the event of any unauthorized use of the Services.

• If EuroHPC or IZUM have a justified reason to suspect that the Services are used contrary to these Terms.

Users can terminate their user account by giving notice to the SLING Helpdesk. If no legal requirements are pending, the User Account and associated Content will be deleted.

EuroHPC will retain and use general User information as described in the EuroHPC Customer Register Privacy Policy.

11. Changes to these Terms

EuroHPC and IZUM reserves the right to change these Terms from time to time by notifying the User at least two weeks in advance of the amendment becoming effective. If the User continues to use the Services after the stated effective date of the amended Terms, the User is deemed to have accepted the amendment.

12. General

These Terms of Use may be published in several languages. In case of discrepancy the English language version shall prevail.

These Terms are governed by Slovenian law. The District Court of Maribor will have exclusive jurisdiction to deal with any dispute which may arise out of or in connection with these Terms or the User’s use of the Services, unless otherwise has been agreed (in, e.g. an agreement with the User’s home organization).