Fair use

1. Purpose and scope

This policy applies mainly to services built on shared resources: web hosting, WordPress hosting, professional email and cloud backup. It also applies to VPS, cloud and dedicated servers with regard to network use and infrastructure components shared by several customers.

It forms an integral part of the Terms of Service. Its purpose is to give every customer stable performance and a secure platform, by preventing excessive or improper use by a single account from degrading service for others.

2. What “unlimited” and “generous resources” mean

When a plan describes a resource as “unlimited”, “unmetered” or generous, it means that Upkyo does not set a numerical cap on that resource for the normal use of a website, an online store or a business mailbox, in line with the usual activity of customers on the same plan.

It does not mean that physical resources are infinite or that the service may be used for purposes other than those the plan is designed for. Every server has finite processor, memory, disk and network capacity, shared among the accounts it hosts. Any technical limits specific to a plan are shown on the plan page or in the client area and take precedence.

3. Shared resources: CPU, memory, processes and I/O

On shared hosting, each account receives a share of processor time, memory, concurrent processes, connections and disk read and write operations. These shares may be enforced automatically by isolation mechanisms that temporarily slow down an account when it reaches its limit.

You must not use a disproportionate share of these resources for extended periods, or run programs that execute continuously, such as daemons, game, chat or live streaming servers, bots or background processes unrelated to the normal operation of your website. A slow or heavily loaded website should be optimized, for example with caching, more efficient queries or removing unnecessary plugins.

4. Files and inodes

Every file, folder or link stored on an account uses an inode. An unusually high number of files slows down backups, malware scans and restores for every customer on the server.

Avoid piling up unnecessary files, such as cache files that are never purged, expired sessions, large log files, backup copies stored in your web space or millions of small auto-generated files.

5. Storage reserved for your website

Hosting disk space is intended for the files needed to run your websites and mailboxes. It must not be used for archiving, for storing backups or data unrelated to an active website, for file sharing or distribution, for hosting large files meant for mass downloading, for serving large video or media streams, or as a mirror or software repository.

To keep data or backup copies, use a plan designed for that purpose, such as cloud backup, in accordance with its own terms.

6. Bandwidth and traffic

Bandwidth or traffic described as unmetered covers traffic generated by legitimate visitors to your websites under normal use. The following are not normal use: mass file distribution, continuous streaming, relaying traffic for third parties, bulk automated downloads or traffic generated by bots you control.

During a legitimate traffic spike, for example during a campaign or media coverage, Upkyo makes reasonable efforts to keep the service running and may contact you to suggest a suitable solution if the situation continues.

7. Databases

Databases are intended to store the dynamic data of your websites and web applications. They must not be used as a data warehouse or to store massive logs or large binary files.

Your queries must remain reasonable: very long, unindexed or looping queries that monopolize the database server may be stopped automatically. Purge outdated data regularly, such as revisions, logs and temporary application data.

8. Scheduled tasks and heavy processing

Scheduled tasks, or cron jobs, must run at a reasonable frequency justified by the website’s actual needs. A task must not start before the previous one has finished, or run almost continuously.

Heavy processing, such as mass image or file generation, large imports or exports, archive compression, full catalog indexing or bulk sending, must be split into batches and preferably scheduled outside peak hours. Processing that requires sustained high computing power belongs on a VPS, cloud or dedicated server.

9. Email

Mailboxes are intended for everyday business correspondence. They must not be used as unlimited archives, for file storage or as automated inboxes collecting abnormal volumes of messages.

Sending is subject to the limits shown in the client area or in the plan documentation, and to the anti-spam rules of the Acceptable Use Policy. Newsletters and mass campaigns must go through a dedicated email marketing service. Accounts that exceed sending limits or whose mail generates complaints may have outgoing mail temporarily blocked.

10. VPS, cloud and dedicated servers

On a VPS, cloud or dedicated server, you have the resources described in your plan and may use them fully for any purpose that complies with the Terms of Service and the Acceptable Use Policy.

The network, any shared storage and certain infrastructure components remain common to several customers. Use that disrupts these components, such as sustained abnormal network traffic, disk activity that degrades other virtual servers on the same host, or outbound traffic linked to an attack, may be subject to the measures in Section 12.

11. Monitoring and assessment

Upkyo automatically monitors aggregate resource usage indicators on its servers, such as CPU load, memory, I/O, traffic and email volume, to detect accounts that affect the platform. This monitoring does not cover the content of your data.

Whether usage is excessive is assessed by comparison with the usual activity of customers on the same plan, taking into account its duration, frequency and actual impact on other customers.

12. Measures when usage is excessive

When an account goes beyond normal use, Upkyo applies proportionate measures, generally in this order: a warning by email or in the client area, with explanations and optimization advice; a temporary limit on the resources concerned, stopping a process or task, or blocking outgoing mail; an offer to move to a higher or better-suited plan, such as a VPS, cloud or dedicated server; and, as a last resort, suspension of the service concerned.

When usage poses an immediate threat to the stability, security or availability of the platform, Upkyo may limit or suspend the service without prior warning and will inform you as soon as possible. If you do not reduce your usage or change plans within a reasonable time, Upkyo may terminate the service as provided in the Terms of Service.

These measures are there to protect service quality for everyone. Our support team can help you find the cause of excessive usage and choose the right plan: write to support@upkyo.com or open a ticket from the client area.

13. Changes

Upkyo may update this policy to reflect changes in its plans, technology or usage patterns. Changes are notified and take effect as provided in the Terms of Service.