Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)

1.1 Unless a dedicated server with exclusive hardware allocation has been explicitly booked, all virtual servers (vServers/Rootservers), game server instances, bots, and web space packages are based on shared host systems. This means that physical resources such as CPU cycles, memory bandwidth, disk I/O, and network connections are used simultaneously by multiple customer instances.

1.2 The stability and performance of the overall infrastructure has absolute priority at all times over the individual interests of a customer. Any use that aims to or unintentionally results in slowing down, blocking, or damaging the host system or neighboring customer instances is considered a serious violation of the fair-use principle.

2.1 The customer is assigned virtual CPU cores (vCores) for their product. These cores represent computing time shares on the physical processors of the host system, not exclusive physical cores, unless explicitly agreed in writing.

2.3 Comprehensive Throttling and Stop Powers: As soon as a customer system violates the parameters defined in § 2.2, our automated monitoring system or administrative staff is entitled to take the following restrictive measures **without notice and without liability for any data loss or crashes**:

• CPU Capping: The computing time assigned to the server is heavily throttled to a fraction (e.g., maximum 10% to 20% of the booked performance) until the load drops.
• Emergency Stop (Power-Off): The server is immediately put into the "Powered Off" state. An automatic restart is blocked.
• Temporary Suspension: The server is completely locked and can only be put back into operation by the customer after contacting support and clarifying the cause.

2.4 Deliberate bypassing of CPU limits through nested scripts, time-delayed cron jobs or multithreading loops intended to operate exactly below detection thresholds is prohibited and will lead to permanent contract termination.

3.1 The memory assigned to the customer is available within the booked limits. Processes of the customer that attempt to allocate memory beyond the booked limit are automatically terminated by the kernel-side Out-of-Memory Killer (OOM Killer) of the host system or the virtualization layer.

3.2 It is prohibited to configure excessive "RAM swapping" onto the disk within the virtual instance, which primarily serves to artificially expand insufficiently booked main memory if this leads to noticeable wear or slowdown of the physical storage medium (continuous I/O load).

3.3 Applications that continuously block the RAM of the entire system due to faulty memory management (memory leaks) and thereby provoke instabilities on the physical node may be permanently terminated by BarryHosting without warning.

4.1 BarryHosting uses high-performance SSD and NVMe storage media. These storage media are subject to physical wear limits due to write and read operations (TBW - Terabytes Written). Any abnormal, excessive use of this hardware is prohibited.

4.2 Prohibition of Crypto-Storage Applications: Operating software based on continuous read and write cycles to generate or verify cryptocurrencies (e.g., Chia plotting, Burstcoin, Filecoin) is strictly prohibited on all systems without exception.

4.3 Prohibition of I/O Flooding: Continuous execution of benchmarks (e.g., via `dd` or `fio`), permanent unthrottled continuous SQL queries, uninterrupted archiving processes (e.g., ZIP/TAR continuous loops), or operating public file-sharing mirror servers (mirrors) that block the I/O channel of the host system for other customers is prohibited.

4.4 If the system detects that the I/O load of a customer instance exceeds the average load of normal server operations by more than five times, the I/O throughput of the affected instance will be automatically throttled to a minimum or the instance will be stopped.

5.1 The network connection provided to the customer is designed as a shared port. Unless otherwise declared, a fair-use limit applies to unlimited traffic offers: If more than 70% of the maximum port speed is used continuously over a period of more than 6 hours, BarryHosting reserves the right to throttle the port speed of the affected server to 10 Mbit/s up to 50 Mbit/s for the current billing month.

5.3 Handling of DDoS Attacks: BarryHosting has an automated DDoS protection infrastructure. However, if a customer's server is attacked and the attack volume or type exceeds the filter capacities or endangers the smooth operation of the entire data center segment, the customer's IP address will be instantly completely deactivated using null routing (blackholing). The service remains locked until the attack has completely subsided. Repeated incidents will lead to permanent termination for security reasons.

7.1 BarryHosting reserves the unrestricted right to suspend the customer's services with immediate effect (locking the server power status as well as access to the web panel) if there is an immediate danger to the hardware, the network, or the reputation of the provider.

7.2 Immediate Data Deletion in Case of Abuse: If a service is permanently locked due to proven abuse (e.g., DDoS attacks originating from the server, crypto-mining, hosting malware), BarryHosting is entitled to **immediately and irrevocably delete the entire virtual instance including all data stored on it**. There is no obligation to provide backups or data dumps to the customer.

7.3 Administrative Fee for Abuse Handling: If the customer's system causes a manual administrative effort for the BarryHosting team due to gross negligence or intent (e.g., through unpatched security vulnerabilities, spamming, or illegal activities), BarryHosting will invoice the customer an **administrative fee of 75.00 EUR per commenced hour** as well as any costs incurred for IP blocks or legal prosecution.

8.1 If BarryHosting carries out automated or manual protective measures (throttling, emergency shutdown, suspension) to protect the integrity of the infrastructure in accordance with this AUP, any liability of BarryHosting for damages incurred by the customer or third parties as a result of this interruption (e.g., data loss, website downtime, financial loss) is completely excluded.

8.2 The customer is solely responsible for configuring their applications in such a way that they do not overload the hardware resources and do not generate corrupt data states in the event of throttling.