Resource usage policy

What this policy is for

Our shared hosting, business hosting and reseller hosting run many accounts on one server. Each account has its own allocation of the server's resources, set by its plan, and our systems keep each account within it so that one busy website cannot slow down everyone else.

This policy sets out the allocation for each plan and the rules that keep a shared server fast and safe for everyone. It applies to shared, business and reseller hosting. It does not apply to cloud servers or dedicated servers, where the resources are the ones you ordered.

This policy forms part of our terms and conditions. The rules that apply to every service we provide, such as the bans on illegal content, adult content, hacking material, malware, spam and file sharing, are in our acceptable use policy, Annex 4 of our terms. This policy adds the rules that apply because a server is shared.

Most accounts never reach their allocation. To see how much of it your website uses, and how to make it go further, read our guide Understanding Resource Usage in cPanel.

Resource allocation for each plan

Shared and business hosting

The allocation for each shared and business hosting plan. Reseller accounts are in the next table. Plans in italics are older plans we no longer sell.

The allocation belongs to the account as a whole. Where a plan hosts more than one website, all of them share it.

Each account starts with 30 MySQL connections at once. Where the plan allows more, we can raise it after our system administrators have reviewed the account. Page or database caching can often reduce the number of connections a website needs.

Reseller hosting

Each cPanel account a reseller creates starts with the Standard allocation. A Boost raises one account to a higher level.

Each account a reseller creates has its own allocation; accounts do not share or pool them. As a reseller, you make sure your own clients keep to this policy and to our terms (clause 13.5 of our terms). The rest of this policy applies to every account you create.

"Unlimited" features

Our plans describe some features as unlimited. Depending on the plan, these include:

• data transfer (bandwidth);
• the number of websites hosted, addon domains, alias or parked domains and subdomains;
• email accounts, forwarders, aliases, autoresponders and mailing lists;
• MySQL databases and FTP accounts; and
• free SSL certificates for the domains in the account, within the limits the certificate authority sets (paragraph 7.3 of Schedule 1 of our terms).

Unlimited means we set no fixed number or monthly amount for that feature: you can have as many as your websites and email need, and we do not charge for data transfer by the gigabyte.

An unlimited feature does not lift the allocation in the tables above. Every account still works within its CPU, memory, I/O, process, file, email, database and mailbox allocation, and within its disk space. These allocations are the caps paragraph 5.5 of Schedule 1 of our terms refers to. Each new website, mailbox, database or file adds to what the account uses, so large numbers of them count towards the allocation like anything else. The other rules in this policy still apply too: unlimited mailing lists, for example, may each still have at most 2,000 recipients. Each website's free certificate can cover up to 100 domain names; this is a limit of the certificate authority.

Unlimited features are there for your own websites and email, used in the way that is typical for accounts on the same plan. That is what we mean by fair use. Unlimited data transfer is for visitors using the websites in your account, not for distributing large files, streaming or anything else this policy does not allow on a shared server.

Where a plan describes disk space as unlimited, no fixed amount is set, but the space is still for your own websites and email, within the file allocation and the rules in this policy, and if use far above what is typical for the plan affects the server we will contact you to agree a way forward under paragraph 5.3 of Schedule 1 of our terms.

Databases

• MySQL queries should not use more than 1 second of CPU time each, on average over any hour.
• A database may be reached only by websites in the same account, apart from managing it remotely.
• A database must be in active use by its account. Databases may not be kept as archives.
• A database may not be shared between accounts.
• A single database may be no larger than the allocation for the account's plan or Boost level.

Database management tools

Tools that manage a database through your website, such as Adminer, SQL Buddy and MyWebSQL, may not be installed in your account. Copies installed by customers are often left out of date, and an out-of-date copy puts every account on the server at risk.

Use the phpMyAdmin in your control panel instead, which we keep up to date. You can also connect to your databases from a desktop tool such as MySQL Workbench, through an SSH tunnel.

Email

• Attachments larger than 25 MB should not be sent by email.
• Each mailbox must stay within the allocation for the account's plan or Boost level. Archive or delete old mail to stay within it.
• A single email should not be sent to more than 50 recipients.
• To send to more than 50 recipients, use mailing list software that can limit its sending to the account's hourly email allocation. Mailing list software without this ability is not allowed.
• Mailing lists sent from our shared servers may have at most 2,000 recipients. For a larger list, use a cloud server or dedicated server, a third-party sending service, or our email marketing platform.
• Every email sent to a mailing list must contain an unsubscribe link that removes the address automatically, without a password or sign-in.
• Email warm-up services, which send automated messages to make an address look busy, are not allowed. If you need warm-up or reputation tools, use a third-party sending service or a server of your own with its own IP address.

Spam and unsolicited email

Spam costs money and damages our network's reputation, which can stop our other customers' email being delivered. Our terms ban it for every service, including sending to bought or rented lists, advertising a website hosted with us by spam sent from anywhere, and anything likely to get our addresses blocklisted (paragraph 4 of Annex 4 of our terms). On shared and reseller hosting we go further:

• You may not send unsolicited commercial email in any amount from our servers, including low-volume cold outreach. Email on shared and reseller hosting is for small volumes of email that people expect, not for marketing to people who have not asked to hear from you.
• You may send only to lists you have collected yourself.
• You may not post the same message in bulk across forums, comment sections, social networks or other websites, or post obscene or threatening messages, while using an email address or website hosted with us.

Processes and SSH access

Processes run by or for your account must not:

• create core dumps;
• run a script or program that forks in a way that creates a fork bomb, or spawns subprocesses;
• keep running in the background;
• listen on a network port;
• open more than 100 files at once;
• open or read a file larger than 2 GB; or
• run find or a similar command recursively more than 5 folder levels deep.

Node.js, Python and Ruby applications set up through the application tools in cPanel are fine: cPanel starts and stops them for you, so they don't count as running in the background or listening on a port.

You can use SSH on our servers to move your own data, for example to copy files to or from another server with rsync or scp, or to fetch code with Git. You may not use our servers as a route into other servers or networks: no logging in to other systems from them, no tunnels or proxies, and no scanning or attempts to reach systems you aren't authorised to use.

Storage, backups and the trash

Hosting accounts are for websites and their email. They may not be used to back up other computers, as general file storage or as an upload store.

• You may keep backups of your own files and databases in your account for up to 45 days.
• Music, video, photos and other downloadable files may be stored only when they are used on your public website.
• Files you delete in cPanel's File Manager and emails in an IMAP trash folder count towards your disk space until they are removed. You can empty the trash at any time; anything left in it is removed automatically after 30 days.

Web applications

You are responsible for keeping the web applications you install, such as WordPress and its plugins, up to date. We suggest checking for updates at least once a month. An out-of-date application can be exploited, and that puts the whole server at risk.

Our security software scans the files in your account and may block, clean or quarantine any it finds to be malicious. We tell you when files are quarantined, and if nothing is done, we may delete them after 14 days (paragraph 2.3 of Schedule 1 of our terms).

What we don't host on shared servers

Our terms already ban some things for every service, including Tor relays, public VPN, proxy and anonymising services, BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer file sharing, nulled software, attack services and hacking kits, and bulk scraping and bots (paragraph 2.3 of Annex 4 of our terms and paragraph 3.2 of Annex 4 of our terms).

These also put a shared server, its network or its reputation at risk, so they are not allowed on shared, business or reseller hosting:

• game servers or other real-time multiplayer gaming services;
• live chat software running in your account (chat services hosted elsewhere that you add to your website are fine);
• proxy servers, including private or password-protected ones;
• web crawlers, spiders and indexers;
• web-based shells, terminals or scripts that run server commands from a browser;
• contact form scripts that can send email to addresses other than your own;
• public download mirrors;
• free or paid image, file, document or data storage offered to others;
• free hosting or email services offered to others;
• banner exchanges and link exchanges; and
• scripts that keep their data in large flat files instead of a database.

If an account goes beyond this policy

When an account goes beyond its allocation, we follow paragraph 5.3 of Schedule 1 of our terms: we ask you to bring usage down, we may limit the account, and we offer a plan or Boost with a larger allocation. An account at its allocation may slow down or show errors until usage falls; that is the allocation working, not a fault. Other breaches of this policy are handled under paragraph 6 of Annex 4 of our terms. We act reasonably and in proportion, and we suspend or end a service only as the terms allow.

Changes to this policy

We may change this policy under clause 31 of our terms. A change that lowers an allocation in the tables above or adds something to what is not allowed gets at least 30 days' notice, and you may cancel the affected service without penalty before it takes effect, unless a shorter period is needed to comply with the law or to deal with an urgent risk to the security or stability of our servers or other customers, as clause 31.2 of our terms allows. Changes that raise an allocation, add a plan or correct wording can take effect straight away. This is about changing the policy; what we can do straight away about an individual account is set out in paragraph 5.4 of Schedule 1 of our terms.

If you have questions about this policy, contact us through MyKualo or our contact page.

Kualo Limited is registered in England and Wales, company number 04004280. Registered office: 20-22 Wenlock Road, London N1 7GU.