FAQ

We’d be glad to have you. Our statutes say:

Applications for admission are to be addressed to the board; the members’ meeting decides on admission.

We have an application form which is sent to the board. The application is then circulated to our members via our chat. If no objections are raised within a week, the application is considered accepted and we are happy to add you to our mailing lists.

You will then also receive the information on how to get your server into the rack.

Rates

Our price depends on how many devices are in the rack. The more people take part, the cheaper it gets.

Membership of the association is a precondition.

Example

Server, 1 height unit, 110 W

What’s included

• Two power connections on two separate circuits
• Two network connections
• Network and power cabling (on loan)

To install hardware in the rack you have to be a member of the association. For that you need to fill in a membership application and send it to the board. More under becoming a member.

Send an email with your requirements to support@communityrack.org:

• Number of height units
• Device
• Power consumption
• IPv4 / IPv6 addresses
• Network ports

Of course. We count it as a 0U (zero unit) device. You’ll find the cost on our pricing overview.

But of course! As soon as you sign up you get an IPv4 and an IPv6 address. More under how hardware gets into the rack.

Since we have to keep to bandwidth commitments, and our acceptable use policy excludes Tor exit nodes, this is unfortunately not possible.

That’s annoying! Our operations group is happy to help. Send them an email at support@communityrack.org and somebody will get in touch with you so you can get to your server.

Version 2023-12-23

Use

The purpose of the Community Rack is to provide colocation / housing for the members of the association. Under no circumstances is the Community Rack’s offering intended to compete with commercial colocation / housing providers.

Funding

The community idea comes first. Costs are shared fairly between all participants. The more people use the rack, the cheaper it becomes for everyone. The price is adjusted monthly, or as needed, by the board.

We distinguish between the following costs:

• One-off costs for acquisitions and investment (entry fee)
• Recurring usage costs for space
• Recurring usage costs for power

Until further notice the bandwidth consumed is included in the usage costs as a flat rate; see also the “Fair use” section.

Entry fee

To cover the one-off acquisition costs for infrastructure, a rack entry fee of

CHF 100

is charged. This cost applies per device, not per member.

Recurring usage costs

The following basis of calculation applies as of 1 January 2024.

Every height unit has a power allowance included directly, per device:

• 1 height unit — 100 W power allowance
• Zero U — 20 W power allowance

Fair use: a graduated fair use policy applies, which allows members to exceed the power allowance without an immediate cost consequence. After one year the fair use factor is reduced, and finally abolished completely in 2026.

Fair use factors:

• 2024: factor 2
  • 1 height unit = max 200 W
  • Zero U = 40 W
• 2025: factor 1.5
  • 1 height unit = max 150 W
  • Zero U = 30 W
• 2026: fade-out of the fair use factors = factor 1
  • 1 height unit = max 100 W
  • Zero U = 20 W

Commercial use

The devices in the rack should mainly be used privately. If money is earned with the device, or it is used commercially, the board must be informed and will decide on its legitimacy. The aim: we do not want to compete with commercial colocation / housing providers.

SLA / availability

No SLA is guaranteed. Availability is best effort.

Base infrastructure and its operation (operations group)

Base infrastructure covers everything necessary to operate a colocation rack:

• Routing including BGP
• LIR (internet address resources)
• Switching
• Power and capacity provision
• Community servers (wiki, website, monitoring)

An operations group is responsible for operations. It organises itself independently and reports once a year to the members’ meeting. Acquisitions may be made within the budget approved by the members’ meeting. Larger acquisitions and changes to the infrastructure require a motion to the members’ meeting.

Tasks of the operations group:

• Maintenance of the base infrastructure
• Ensuring access to the rack
• Availability of network and power (monitoring)
• Assistance with problems
• Further development of the technical base
• Management of the available resources:
  • IP addressing
  • Power / capacity
  • Space in the rack
• Technical handling of arrivals and departures in the rack
• Processing and forwarding abuse or DMCA cases in consultation with the board

Access to the rack

Since every access (key / registration of a fingerprint) incurs a cost, access is limited to a minimal number of people. These people agree to be available to all rack participants for access to the rack.

Ownership of equipment

All base infrastructure material belongs to the association or is rented by the association. If a device is rented, a written contract with precise terms must be in place.

Fair use

Participants in the rack are expected to behave fairly towards the other participants and towards the association. This includes:

• No excessive use of the available bandwidth (max 100 Mbps — 95th percentile)
• No excessive load on the power supply
• No illegal activity

If a participant does not adhere to these rules, the resulting costs are charged to that participant. In severe cases a participant can be excluded from using the rack (see Exclusion).

Exclusion

If a member comes to attention through breaches of the acceptable use policy, or disrupts the smooth operation of the Community Rack, the operations group can report this to the board. The board will then deliberate on exclusion from the Community Rack.

Liability

The association gives no warranty for the availability of power and network connectivity. Every user is responsible for their own devices. All liability is excluded.

Actually vi — but you’re best off debating this question with the other members at a Beering!