# Blanca: *Memorandum of Understanding*

The **Blanca** compute cluster is a service provided by  **Research Computing at the University of Colorado Boulder**. Blanca aggregates compute nodes contributed by individual researchers into a heterogeneous compute cluster managed by Research Computing.

## Terms of Contribution
- **Ownership**: Contributions remain the property of the contributor and may be fitted with the contributor’s asset tag. 
- **Removal Rights**: Contributors may remove their contributions from Blanca if the environment no longer meets their needs. Removal also terminates access to Blanca-related benefits. 
- **Administrative Access**: Administrative (e.g., “root”) access to the Blanca environment, including contributed resources, is reserved for Research Computing operational staff and its delegates. 
- **Installation Location**: Contributions are installed in a CU data center at the discretion of Research Computing. 
- **Operating Environment**: Contributed nodes are provisioned with a Linux-based OS and environment at the discretion of Research Computing. 
- **Core Services Access**: Nodes are provisioned with access to Research Computing Core services and the PetaLibrary, to the extent technically feasible. 
- **Acceptance Criteria**: Research Computing reserves the right to determine which contributions are accepted into Blanca. Recommended configurations are published on the [Research Computing website](https://www.colorado.edu/rc/resources/blanca). 
- **Cluster Configuration**: Contributed nodes are configured as part of a Slurm batch compute cluster. 

## Usage Model
- **Preemptable Access**: All Blanca compute nodes accept preemptable jobs from all Blanca contributors and their appointees. These jobs may be preempted when contributors or their appointees schedule jobs to their own contributed nodes. 

## Hardware Lifecycle and Custodianship
- **Right of Refusal**: For equipment purchased directly by contributing departments (not through Research Computing): Contributors agree to give Research Computing **right of first refusal** before surplussing or otherwise disposing of any Blanca contributions. For equipment purchased by Research Computing/OIT using contributor funding, standard OIT property disposal procedures apply. All contributed hardware will be deployed under Research Computing's custodianship as Property Manager and operated as part of the aggregate Blanca environment for use by all active Blanca contributors and their appointees.  
- **Unrestricted Removal**: This agreement does not restrict the contributor’s right to remove their contributions for re-use outside of Blanca at **no cost to the contributor**, subject to applicable property transfer procedures. 
- **Warranty and Service Life**: 
    - All nodes must include a **five-year warranty** and are guaranteed to remain in service for that period at no cost to the contributor. 
    - Contributors may choose to extend service for up to two additional years (years 6–7), provided the nodes remain serviceable. During this period, contributors are responsible for hardware maintenance costs (e.g., DIMM or fan replacements). 
    - CURC will contact contributors near the end of year 7 to coordinate decommissioning. Nodes must be retired after seven years. 

## Policy Updates
- Research Computing reserves the right to update this MOU over time. Any changes deemed unacceptable by a contributor do not restrict their right to remove their contributions from Blanca.