SAM server availability can be affected by planned system maintenance and upgrades or unanticipated service interruptions.
Server Availability
Excluding scheduled maintenance outages, every reasonable effort will be made to provide a server availability of 99.5%. "Availability" is defined as the amount of time SAM is available and capable of receiving, processing and responding to incoming transactions from the requesting users. If the Internet is having problems or a customer's Internet service provider is having problems, any downtime resulting from such problems will not be deducted from SAM availability time.
Maintenance
To perform system maintenance, backup and upgrade functions, there will be approximately eight (8) hours of scheduled maintenance downtime per quarter. Maintenance, backup and upgrades will be scheduled during a low-usage time, typically Sunday mornings. For normal maintenance, Cengage Learning will make all reasonable efforts to notify SAM instructors, administrators and supervisors of the scheduled maintenance two (2) weeks prior to the maintenance.
Cengage Learning retains the right to shut down, reboot, modify or fix servers at any time if it is deemed necessary to prevent security breaches or operational failures (including, but not limited to viruses, worms, date bombs, time bombs or denial of service attacks). This may require loss of access to the system for a period of time. Such protective actions shall constitute scheduled downtime.
Upgrades
Cengage Learning may provide SAM users with upgrades of the SAM software. SAM supervisors, administrators and instructors will be notified of impending upgrades. This notification will include any new functionality and content.