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--- guide:cloud:faq [2020/08/19 21:00]
lphukungoane [Billing FAQs]
+++ guide:cloud:faq [2021/12/09 16:42] (current)
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 ======Technical FAQs======
-**Q: Do you monitor my VM’s activity?**
+) ** Do you monitor my VM’s activity?**
-A:
+     Answer: We do not monitor user VM activity.
-**Q: I cannot SSH into my VM which was working fine yesterday, do you know what happened?**
+) ** I cannot SSH into my VM which was working fine yesterday, do you know what happened?**
-A: Please provide us more details about your VM in order to investigate. In the meantime, please click on the Instance name in the Compute -> Instances tab, and then click on the Console tab to see if there is any error output sent to the console.
+     Answer: Please provide us more details about your VM in order to investigate. In the meantime, please
+     click on the Instance name in the Compute -> Instances tab, and then click on the Console tab to see
+     if there is any error output sent to the console.
-If you see messages like below it means that the kernel has hung and you will have to hard reboot the VM using the Actions drop-down menu.
+If you see messages like below it means that the kernel has hung and you will have to hard reboot the
+VM using the Actions drop-down menu.
@@ Line 36: / Line 39: @@
-A possible way to avoid this issue in the future is described in this blog: https://www.blackmoreops.com/2014/09/22/linuxFAQ - SSH into VM Image-kernel-panic-issue-fix-hung_task_timeout_secs-blocked-120-seconds-problem/
 Basically, add these lines to "/etc/sysctl.conf":
@@ Line 55: / Line 52: @@
-**Q: How can I save the changes I made to my VM, so I can use it later?**
+) ** How can I save the changes I made to my VM, so I can use it later?**
-A: You can snapshot your instance which saves its state into a new base image that you can use later. The snapshot causes the instance to be paused temporarily and it's preferable to not have disk activity while doing this, and the snapshot might even fail if the instance has (or had) a lot of data written to it since it was started. Please see the User Guide section for more info on how to take a snapshot.
+    Answer: You can snapshot your instance which saves its state into a new base image that you can use
+    later. The snapshot causes the instance to be paused temporarily and it's preferable to not have disk
+    activity while doing this, and the snapshot might even fail if the instance has (or had) a lot of data
+    written to it since it was started. Please see the User Guide section for more info on how to take a
+    snapshot.
-**Q: I attached a large volume to my instance (10 TB), but when I try to format it takes a very long time. What can I do to make this step faster?**
+) ** I attached a large volume to my instance (10 TB), but when I try to format it takes a very long time. What can I do to make this step faster?**
-A: We recommend you format it as XFS and use the "-K" option:
+Answer: We recommend you format it as XFS and use the "-K" option:
     mkfs.xfs -K /dev/vdb
@@ Line 69: / Line 70: @@
-**Q: How do I give access to another user to my instance, without giving him access to my SSH private key?**
+) ** How do I give access to another user to my instance, without giving him access to my SSH private key?**
-A:You should never give another user access to your credentials or private key. Please run the following commands inside your instance in order to create a new user and allow him SSH key-based access to your instance. Replace "username" with your colleague's name.
+Answer:You should never give another user access to your credentials or private key. Please run the following commands inside your instance in order to create a new user and allow him SSH key-based access to your instance. Replace "username" with your colleague's name.
     sudo adduser username
@@ Line 83: / Line 84: @@
 ----
-====== Billing FAQs======
+**For More Technical Assistance**
-) **What payment methods are accepted?**
+If you can’t find what you are looking for, please contact our support team. We are working hard to get back to you within 1-2 business days. Submit the ticket at [[http://helpdesk.chpc.ac.za|Helpdesk]]
+----
-    Answer: ??
+====== Billing FAQs======
-) **Who is your payment provider?**
-    Answer: ??
-) **I powered off my instance but I was still charged for usage!**
-     Answer: Unlike Amazon EC2, CHPC charges for instances in any state, powered on, powered off, idle
+) **I powered off my instance but I was still charged for usage!**
-     etc.This is because in the CHPC cloud your instances local disk is stored with the hypervisor for
-     better performance. While the instance may be powered off, the data is still stored on the hypervisor
-     and the space/ram/vcpu allocated to that instance must be reserved to prevent oversubscription so
-     that the instance can be powered on again when the user requests it.
-) **How often am I billed?**
+     Answer: CHPC charges for resources allocated to the users whether they are actively using them or not.
+             The resources you were approved for are reserved for you therefore  you obligated to pay
+             for them.
-    Answer: CHPC will send out invoices near the beginning of each month for the previous months usage.
+) **How often am I billed?**
-    Payments are due upon you receiving the invoice.
-) **What if I am late paying an invoice?**
+    Answer: CHPC will send out invoices on the 5th of every month for the previous calendar month usage.
-    A: We do not charge any late fees for late payments but if there are unpaid invoices we reserve the
+) **If I have an unpaid invoice, does that unpaid invoice get rolled in to the next months invoice?**
-    right to terminate services for any accounts with overdue balances.
-) **If I have an unpaid invoice, does that unpaid invoice get rolled in to the next months invoice?**
+    Answer: Yes.
-    Answer: No, we treat each invoice separately and do not carry forward any unpaid balances. Please
+)** Why does my bill fluctuate each month even though I am consuming the same amount of resources each month?**
-    remember to pay all past invoices!
-)** Why does my bill fluctuate each month even though I am consuming the same amount of resources each month?**
+    Answer: We charge for resources used per hour and the number of hours per month vary throughout the
+            year (28 days, 30 days, 31 days).
-    A: We charge for resources used per hour and the number of hours per month vary throughout the year
+) **Why am I not receiving an invoice?**
-    (28 days, 30 days, 31 days).
-) **Why am I receiving an invoice for R0?**
+    Answer: CHPC sends cloud resource usage invoices to all paying users on the 5th of every month.
+If you would like to terminate your account please email  [[https://users.chpc.ac.za/helpdesk/ |helpdesk@chpc.ac.za]]
-    Answer: We send invoices for all accounts even those without any usage. Think of it as a reminder that
+) **I have a billing related question that is not listed here, help?**
-    you still have an active account with us. If you want to terminate your account please email
-    helpdesk@chpc.ac.za
-)  **I have a billing related question that i
+Answer: Email [[https://users.chpc.ac.za/helpdesk/ | helpdesk@chpc.ac.za]] with your question!

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