Merge pull request #115 from nerc-project/adding_pricing_model_page

added menu and new pricing model page

docs/get-started/cost-billing/billing-faqs.md

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+# Billing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
+
+Our primary focus is to deliver outstanding on-prem cloud services, prioritizing
+reliability, security, and cutting-edge solutions to meet your research and teaching
+requirements. To achieve this, we have implemented a cost-effective pricing model
+that enables us to maintain, enhance, and sustain the quality of our services. By
+adopting consistent cost structures across all institutions, we can make strategic
+investments in infrastructure, expand our service portfolio, and enhance our
+support capabilities for a seamless user experience.
+
+Most of the institutions using our services have an **MOU (Memorandum Of Understanding)**
+with us to be better aligned to a number of research regulations, policies and
+requirements but if your institution does not have an MOU with us, please have
+someone from your faculty or administration contact us to discuss it soon by emailing
+us at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]?subject=NERC%20MOU%20Question)
+or, by submitting a new ticket at [the NERC's Support Ticketing System (osTicket)](https://mghpcc.supportsystem.com/open.php).
+
+## Questions & Answers
+
+???+ question "1. How often will I be billed?"
+
+    You or your institution will be billed monthly within the first week of each
+    month.
+
+??? question "2. If I have an issue with my bill, who do I contact?"
+
+    Please send your requests by emailing us at
+    [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]?subject=NERC%20MOU%20Question)
+    or, by submitting a new ticket at [the NERC's Support Ticketing System (osTicket)](https://mghpcc.supportsystem.com/open.php).
+
+??? question "3. How do I control costs?"
+
+    Upon creating a project, you will set these resource limits (quotas) for
+    OpenStack (VMs), OpenShift (containers), and storage through [ColdFront](../get-an-allocation.md).
+    This is the maximum amount of resources you can consume at one time.
+
+??? question "4. Are we invoicing for CPUs/GPUs only when the VM or Pod is active?"
+
+    Yes. You will only be billed based on your utilization (cores, memory, GPU)
+    while your VM or Pod is on. Utilization will be translated into billable
+    [Service Units (SUs)](how-pricing-works.md#service-units-sus). Persistent
+    storage related to an OpenStack VM or OpenShift Pod will continue to be
+    billed even when the VM or Pod is off.
+
+??? question "5. Will OpenStack & OpenShift show on a single invoice?"
+
+    Yes. In the near future customers of NERC will be able to view per project service
+    utilization via the XDMoD tool.
+
+??? question "6. What happens when a Flavor is expanded during the month?"
+
+    a. Flavors cannot be expanded.
+
+    b. You can create a snapshot of an existing VM/Instance and, with that snapshot,
+    deploy a new flavor of VM/Instance.
+
+??? question "7. Is storage charged separately?"
+
+    Yes, but on the same invoice. To learn more, see [our page on Storage](how-pricing-works.md#storage).
+
+??? question "8. Will I be charged for storage attached to shut-off instances?"
+
+    Yes.
+
+??? question "9. Are we Invoicing Storage using ColdFront Requests or resource usage?"
+
+    a. Storage is invoiced based on [Coldfront Requests](../get-an-allocation.md#how-to-request-a-new-resource-allocation).
+
+    b. When you request additional storage through Coldfront, invoicing on that
+    additional storage will occur when your request is fulfilled. When you request
+    a decrease in storage through [Request change using ColdFront](../get-an-allocation.md#request-change-to-resource-allocation-to-an-existing-project),
+    your invoicing will adjust accordingly when your request is made. In both cases
+    'invoicing' means 'accumulate hours for whatever storage quantity was added
+    or removed'.
+
+    For example:
+
+    1. I request an increase in storage, the request is approved and processed.
+        - At this point we start Invoicing.
+
+    2. I request a decrease in storage.
+        - The invoicing for that storage stops immediately.
+
+??? question "10. For OpenShift, what values are we using to track CPU & Memory?"
+
+    a. For invoicing we utilize `requests.cpu` for tracking CPU utilization &
+    `requests.memory` for tracking memory utilization.
+
+    b. Utilization will be capped based on the limits you set in ColdFront for
+    your resource allocations.
+
+??? question "11. If a single Pod exceeds the resources for a GPU SU, how is it invoiced?"
+
+    It will be invoiced as 2 or more GPU SU's depending on how many multiples of
+    the resources it exceeds.
+
+??? question "12. How often will we change the pricing?"
+
+    a. Our current plan is no more than once a year for existing offerings.
+
+    b. Additional offerings may be added throughout the year (i.e. new types of
+    hardware or storage).
+
+---

docs/get-started/cost-billing/billing-process-for-bu.md

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+# Billing Process for Boston University
+
+Boston University has elected to receive a centralized invoice for its university
+investigators and their designated user’s use of NERC services. IS&T will then
+internally recover the cost from investigators. The process for cost recovery is
+currently being implemented, and we will reach out to investigators once the process
+is complete to obtain internal funding information to process your monthly bill.
+
+## Subsidization of Boston University’s Use of NERC
+
+Boston University will subsidize a portion of NERC usage by its investigators.
+The University will subsidize $100 per month of an investigator’s total usage on
+NERC, regardless of the number of NERC projects an investigator has established.
+Monthly subsidies cannot be carried over to subsequent months. The subsidized
+amount and method are subject to change, and any adjustments will be conveyed
+directly to investigators and updated on this page.
+
+Please direct any questions about BU’s billing process by emailing us at
+[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]?subject=NERC%20Boston%20University%20Billing%20Question)
+or submitting a new ticket to the [the NERC's Support Ticketing System (osTicket)](https://mghpcc.supportsystem.com/open.php).
+
+---

docs/get-started/cost-billing/billing-process-for-harvard.md

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+# Billing Process for Harvard University
+
+NERC billing at Harvard will be similar to how AWS accounts are billed and leverage
+the HUIT Central Billing [Portal](https://billing.huit.harvard.edu/). Your HUIT
+Customer Code will be matched to your NERC Project Allocation Name as a Billing
+Asset. In this process you will be asked for your GL billing code, which you can
+change as needed per project. Please be cognizant that only a single billing code
+is allowed per billing asset. Therefore, if you have multiple projects with different
+funds, if you are able, please create a separate project for each fund. Otherwise,
+you will need to take care of this with internal journals inside of your department
+or lab. Each monthly billing cycle, the HUIT billing team will review and update
+the cost per asset. Subsequently, they will email billing cost information for
+each asset to the corresponding billing email addresses of all customers.
+
+Please follow these two steps to ensure proper billing setup:
+
+1. Each Harvard PI must have a HUIT billing account linked to their NetID (abc123).
+NERC must have HUIT “Customer Code” for billing purposes. To create a HUIT billing
+account, sign up [here](https://billing.huit.harvard.edu/portal/allusers/newcustomer)
+with your HarvardKey.
+
+    !!! abstract "What if you already have an existing Customer Code?"
+        *Please note that if you already have an existing active NERC account, you
+        need to provide your HUIT Customer Code to NERC. If you think your department
+        may already have a HUIT account but you don’t know the corresponding Customer
+        Code then you can [contact HUIT Billing](https://billing.huit.harvard.edu/portal/allusers/contactus)
+        to get the required Customer Code.*
+
+2. Provide NERC your six-digit HUIT “Customer Code” via
+[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]?subject=NERC%20HUIT%20Customer%20Code%Details)
+and specify which OpenShift or OpenStack project this is for.
+
+    !!! info "How to get the Allocated Project Name and Allocated Project ID?"
+        By clicking on the Allocation detail page through ColdFront, you can access
+        information about the allocation of each resource, including OpenStack and
+        OpenShift as described [here](../get-an-allocation.md#general-user-view).
+        You will need to provide us **Allocated Project Name** and **Allocated Project
+        ID** attributes, which are located under the “Allocation Attributes”
+        section on the detail page.
+
+    Once NERC has receive the six-digit HUIT Customer Code for the PI, the NERC
+    admin team will create a new ServiceNow ticket by contacting
+    [HUIT Billing](https://billing.huit.harvard.edu/portal/allusers/contactus)
+    or by emailing HUIT Billing directly at
+    [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]?subject=HUIT%20Customer%20Code%For%20NERC)
+    for all approved and active allocation requests. In this email, NERC admin
+    needs to specify the Customer Code and Unique Project Allocation Name. This
+    will be mapped to a unique Asset ID in the HUIT billing portal.
+
+    !!! danger "Harvard University Security Policy Information"
+        *Please note that all assets deployed to your NERC project must be compliant
+        with University Security policies. Please familiarize yourself with the
+        Harvard University Information Security Policy and your role in securing
+        data: [https://policy.security.harvard.edu/](https://policy.security.harvard.edu/).
+        If you have any questions about how Security should be implemented in the
+        Cloud, please contact your school security officer: [https://security.harvard.edu/](https://security.harvard.edu/).*
+
+---

docs/get-started/cost-billing/billing-process-for-my-institution.md

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+# Billing Process for My Institution
+
+## Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
+
+The New England Research Cloud (NERC) is a shared service offered through the
+Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC). The MGHPCC will
+enter into a lightweight Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with each institutional
+customer that consumes NERC services. The MOU is intended to ensure the institution
+maintains access to valuable and relevant cloud services provided by the MGHPCC
+via the NERC to be better aligned to a number of research regulations, policies,
+and requirements and also ensure NERC remains sustainable over time.
+
+## Institutions with established MOUs and Billing Processes
+
+For cost recovery purposes, institutional customers may elect to receive one invoice
+for the usage of NERC services by its PIs and cost recovery internally. Every month,
+the NERC team will export, back up, and securely store the billing data for all
+PIs in the form of comma-separated values (CSV) files and provide it to the MGHPCC
+for billing purposes.
+
+The following institutions using our services have established MOU as well as
+billing processes with us:
+
+1. [Harvard University](billing-process-for-harvard.md)
+
+2. [Boston University](billing-process-for-bu.md)
+
+!!! info "Upcoming MOU with other institutions"
+    We are in the process of establishing MOUs for institutions not listed above.
+
+PIs from other institutions not listed above can still utilize NERC services with
+the understanding that they are directly accountable for managing their usage and
+ensuring all service charges are paid promptly. If you have any some common
+questions or need further information, see our [Billing FAQs](billing-faqs.md)
+for comprehensive answers.
+
+If your institution does not have an MOU with us, please have someone from your
+faculty or administration contact us to discuss it soon by emailing us at
+[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]?subject=NERC%20MOU%20Question)
+or, by submitting a new ticket at [the NERC's Support Ticketing System (osTicket)](https://mghpcc.supportsystem.com/open.php).
+
+---

docs/get-started/cost-billing/how-pricing-works.md

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+# How does NERC pricing work?
+
+NERC offers you a **pay-as-you-go** approach for pricing for our cloud infrastructure
+offerings (Tiers of Service), including Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) – Red
+Hat OpenStack, Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) – Red Hat OpenShift and NERC Storage
+Tiers. NERC offers a flexible cost model where an institution (with a per-project
+breakdown) is billed solely for the duration of the specific services required.
+Access is based on project-approved resource quotas, eliminating runaway usage and
+charges.  There are no obligations of long-term contracts or complicated licensing
+agreements.  Each institution will enter a lightweight MOU with MGHPCC that defines
+the services and billing model.
+
+## Calculations
+
+### Service Units (SUs)
+
+![Service Units (SUs)](images/su.png)
+
+## Breakdown
+
+### CPU/GPU SUs
+
+Service Units (SUs) can only be purchased as a whole unit. We will charge for Pods
+and VMs on a per-hour basis for any portion of an hour they are used, and any VM
+"flavor"/Pod reservation is charged as a multiplier of the base SU for the maximum
+resource they reserve.
+
+**GPU SU Example:**
+
+- A Pod or VM with:
+
+    `1 A100 GPU, 24 vCPUs, 95MB RAM, 199.2hrs`
+
+- Will be charged:
+
+    `1 A100 GPU SUs x 200hrs (199.2 rounded up) x $1.803`
+
+    `$360.60`
+
+**CPU Example:**
+
+- A Pod or VM with:
+
+    `3 vCPU, 20 GB RAM, 720hrs (24hr x 30days)`
+
+- Will be charged:
+
+    `5 CPU SUs due to the extra RAM (20GB vs. 12GB(3 x 4GB)) x 720hrs x $0.013`
+
+    `$46.80`
+
+OpenShift Pods are summed up to the project level so that fractions of CPU/RAM
+that some pods use will not get overcharged. There will be a split between CPU and
+GPU pods, as GPU pods cannot currently share resources with CPU pods.
+
+### Storage
+
+Storage is charged separately at a rate of $0.009 TB/hr or $9.00E-12 KB/hr at a
+granularity of KB/hr. For ease of reporting, storage SUs are shown in GB but calculated
+in KB. OpenStack volumes remain provisioned until they are deleted. VM’s reserve
+volumes, and you can also create extra volumes yourself. In OpenShift pods, storage
+is only provisioned while it is active, and in persistent volumes, storage remains
+provisioned until it is deleted.
+
+**Storage Example 1:**
+
+- Volume or VM with:
+
+    `500GB for 699.2hrs`
+
+- Will be charged:
+
+    `.5 Storage TB SU (.5 TB x 700hrs) x $0.009 TB/hr`
+
+    `$3.15`
+
+**Storage Example 2:**
+
+- Volume or VM with:
+
+    `10TB for 720hrs (24hr x 30days)`
+
+- Will be charged:
+
+    `7,200 Storage TB SU (10TB x 720 hrs) x $0.009 TB/hr`
+
+    `$648`
+
+Storage includes all types of storage Object, Block, Ephemeral & Image.
+
+!!! note "Please note"
+    After issuing the *shutoff* command to an OpenStack VM, it will not use CPU
+    or GPU but will continue to use storage. Any extra *Images* you create will
+    also use storage.
+
+### High Level Function
+
+To provide a more practical way to calculate your usage, here is a function of
+how the calculation works for OpenShift and OpenStack.
+
+1. **OpenStack** = (Resource (vCPU/RAM/vGPU) assigned to VM flavor converted to
+number of equivalent SUs) * (time VM has been running), rounded up to a whole
+hour + Extra storage.
+
+    !!! info "NERC's OpenStack Flavor List"
+        You can find the most up-to-date information on the current NERC's OpenStack
+        flavors with corresponding SUs by referring to [this page](../../openstack/create-and-connect-to-the-VM/flavors.md).
+
+2. **OpenShift** = (Resource (vCPU/RAM/vGPU) requested by Pod converted to number
+of equivalent SUs) * (time Pod was running), rounded up to a whole hour.
+
+## How to Pay?
+
+To ensure a comprehensive understanding of the billing process and payment options
+for NERC offerings, we advise PIs/Managers to [visit individual pages designated
+for each institution](billing-process-for-my-institution.md). These pages provide
+detailed information specific to each organization's policies and procedures
+regarding their billing. By exploring these dedicated pages, you can gain insights
+into the preferred payment methods, invoicing cycles, breakdowns of cost components,
+and any available discounts or offers. Understanding the institution's unique
+approach to billing ensures accurate planning, effective financial management,
+and a transparent relationship with us.
+
+If you have any some common questions or need further information, see our
+[Billing FAQs](billing-faqs.md) for comprehensive answers.
+
+---

mkdocs.yml

@@ -11,6 +11,13 @@ nav:
   - Home: index.md
   - About: about.md
   - Getting Started:
+      - Cost & Billing:
+          - How does NERC pricing work?: get-started/cost-billing/how-pricing-works.md
+          - Billing Process:
+            - Billing Process for My Institution: get-started/cost-billing/billing-process-for-my-institution.md
+            - Billing Process for Harvard University: get-started/cost-billing/billing-process-for-harvard.md
+            - Billing Process for Boston University: get-started/cost-billing/billing-process-for-bu.md
+          - Billing FAQs: get-started/cost-billing/billing-faqs.md
       - User Onboarding Process: get-started/user-onboarding-on-NERC.md
       - How to Create a User Account: get-started/create-a-user-portal-account.md
       - How to Get An Allocation: get-started/get-an-allocation.md
@@ -126,4 +133,6 @@ extra:
 # Extensions
 markdown_extensions:
   - admonition
+  - pymdownx.details
+  - pymdownx.superfences
   - tables