Resource usage policy

What is the resource usage policy?

On shared hosting, a server's resources are divided between the clients using services on that server. Although the machines behind the shared services have considerable resources and computing power, no single user may consume them in an uncontrolled or improper way. Limits therefore apply to user accounts; their purpose is to protect the accounts of Host4Biz clients who use the shared services in the standard, normal way — for their own websites and their own e-mail. The limits are defined, but it is Host4Biz that decides whether a given account is abusing the hosting service. These rules apply to shared hosting and to reseller hosting.

Measures that restrict the activity of a hosting account in certain situations are dictated solely by the care we take to protect our clients, more than 99.5% of whom use the services in such a way that the limits described here do not apply to them and their use of the account stays within every limit described.

Enforcement

It is worth knowing that many of the limits presented here are so-called soft limits, so exceeding one does not automatically have consequences. If, however, your activity on the hosting account starts to affect the overall performance of the server it sits on, such limits have to be defined. Without them it is extremely difficult to explain to a client that their account is causing excessive use of the server's resources. A quantitative statement is therefore necessary.
If a client's account exceeds the defined limits, we will try to work with the client and allow 24 or 48 hours, 5 or 10 days (depending on the kind of excess and its effect on the server) for the client to take steps that eliminate the problem. If the client takes no action to reduce resource usage within that time, we will be forced to terminate the agreement within a further 24 or 48 hours, 5 or 10 days (depending on the kind of excess and its effect on the server). We therefore reserve the right, in accordance with the hosting services Regulations, to suspend the service immediately if it is the cause of more serious problems.

Rules

E-mail and spam

Using Host4Biz servers and network to send unsolicited bulk commercial e-mail (activity bearing the marks of spam) is strictly prohibited. Spam in any form, whether deliberate or not, is neither accepted nor tolerated by Host4Biz.
Transmitting spam from our servers and network may cause irreversible financial damage and may seriously affect the reputation of Host4Biz. Any activity of this kind will be pursued with the full force of the law.
Cooperation with any client who unambiguously sends spam from our servers or network will be terminated immediately, and the service the spam was sent from will be deleted without notice.

General restrictions

Backups
Host4Biz does not permit the use of its servers as space for storing backups, or as space for file sharing and the like. A client who needs space for archive data or shared files should use services designed for the purpose, such as Dropbox or Google Drive.

Reselling
Reselling space on a hosting account is not allowed on shared services. If you run an agency that, for example, builds websites and you want to offer hosting services to your own clients, you should buy a reseller plan or dedicated hosting for that purpose.

Adult content
Pornography is not allowed under any circumstances. Nudity and adult content aimed at earning revenue (e-commerce, shops) is allowed as long as it does not breach Polish law. Host4Biz is the sole arbiter of what constitutes a breach of this rule.

Chat applications
Any interactive web applications such as chat are prohibited on Host4Biz shared hosting accounts (this does not apply to dedicated hosting). This covers applications written in PHP, Perl, CGI, Python, Ruby and the like. Any web application that enables real-time chat and uses the resources of any Host4Biz shared server is prohibited — for example shoutboxes, chatboxes, live chat, helpdesks and the like.

Web applications
Any web applications that are out of date yet still actively used will be removed from the server immediately and without prior notice. As a webmaster — or as someone who has entrusted the care of their site to a third party or another organisation — the client should be able to assess the web applications and scripts they use. The client should keep them under review, assessing their condition, how up to date they are and their level of security.
Forums and any applications with a comment system should be equipped with spam protection or moderation. CAPTCHA is a popular mechanism for eliminating a significant proportion of spambots on a site.

Other

Creating so-called SEO link farms or similar on Host4Biz servers is prohibited. SEO farms can place a considerable load on the server they sit on.
Banner rotation services and link exchange networks are prohibited, for example hosting ad servers.
Offering services connected with archiving and storing data (files, photographs, documents, multimedia and so on) is prohibited.
Storing files on the server for publication on external services is prohibited, for example storing photographs published in Allegro auctions.
Generating artificial network traffic, for example by means of socialbot-type software, is prohibited.
Keeping a public mirror of a site is prohibited.
Using the service to host databases (MySQL/PostgreSQL) for services placed outside the Host4Biz infrastructure is prohibited.
Running a proxy server or anonymiser, public or private, is prohibited.
Running BitTorrent applications, trackers and clients used for any file-sharing or peer-to-peer activity is prohibited.
Running game servers (such as, but not limited to, Minecraft, Counter-Strike, Half-Life) is prohibited.
Providing services that consist of offering guest books, statistics, aliases, forums, blogs and the like is prohibited.
Spider and indexing applications are prohibited.
IRC scripts and bots are prohibited.
Proxy scripts and anonymisers are prohibited.
Pirated software and warez are prohibited.
Image hosting scripts (such as Photobucket or Tinypic) are prohibited.
AutoSurf/PTC/PTS/PPC sites are prohibited.
Scripts such as Adder, Publiker, Escat, OmniADD/Ping/CRM, RapidLeech are prohibited.
IP scanners are prohibited.
Bruteforce programs, scripts and applications are prohibited.
Spam-sending scripts are prohibited.
Rapidshare-type scripts are prohibited.
Audio and video streaming is prohibited.
Sites promoting illegal activity are prohibited.
Forums or sites distributing links to warez, pirated content and other illegal material are prohibited.
Anonymous or bulk SMS gateways are prohibited.
All other kinds of content and activity that may contribute to increased use of the server's resources are prohibited.

The services and content listed above, which may create excessive or uncontrolled system load on Host4Biz servers, may only be run in a suitable environment (for example a dedicated server). Any breach will result in the account being disabled or suspended, and even in termination of the agreement.

General resource usage limits

Maximum momentary CPU core usage is 35% (the level depends on the hosting plan held).
Maximum average CPU core usage is 5%.
Maximum momentary RAM consumption is 1 GB (the level depends on the hosting plan held).
The number of simultaneous processes should not exceed 15.
The number of open files may not exceed 64.
Programs may not run in the background or listen on a network port. If you want to run your own bot or daemon, you should consider a dedicated server.