Why is registration needed in OPS 3.2?
OPS receives traffic from many hundreds of concurrent user hosts per day. The service is connected to several EPO backend databases used by the EPO examining divisions. It is designed to be responsive to our external users without overwhelming the servers, thus enabling the EPO to continue its core operations unimpeded by OPS. Registration and the 2.5 GB/week usage limitation (4 GB as of 2018) for non-paying users helps to relieve the servers and to provide a stable environment for all users.
There are two user roles available in OPS 3.2. What is the difference between them?
Users are categorised in the following way:
- Registered users are granted free access to a specific volume of data up to a certain ceiling defined in the OPS terms and conditions.
- Registered users willing to pay for more substantial volumes of data can record billing contact details and apply for access to higher volumes of data in the form of a yearly subscription.
The published fair use policy and associated terms and conditions define what we consider to be appropriate usage by registered users.
The policy is enforced in the following ways:
- All registered users must authenticate when accessing OPS using HTTPS and OAuth (described below).
- Dynamic fair use monitoring inside the OPS system gives users feedback on usage in a way that enables them to control the behaviour of their client application. This feedback takes the form of HTTP headers, with each response generated by OPS specifically for the user.
- If the user behaviour exceeds the terms of the fair use policy, the dynamic fair use controls ensure that access is reduced accordingly.
- Users that are found to be especially disruptive can be completely shut out of the application until agreement is reached with OPS support to release them.