At IUB and IUPUI, what options do I have for storing my files?
On this page:
Quick guide to storage options
| If you need to: | Consider using: |
|---|---|
| Access your word-processing documents, spreadsheets, media files, and presentations and work on them from multiple locations | Removable storage media or Oncourse Resources |
| Store and access data and program output related to your research | Distributed storage services |
| Share files with a class you're teaching or a project team | Oncourse Resources |
| Share non-sensitive files with colleagues (outside of Indiana University as well as within) via a web interface (grad students, faculty, staff) | Slashtmp |
Removable storage media
An excellent option for storing and transporting your files is a portable USB drive (thumb or flash drive). Flash drives are useful for files, such as word processing files (e.g., papers or other assignments, notes), PowerPoint presentations, and other files you need to access and work on from multiple computers.
For more permanent storage, consider burning a CD-R or DVD. This might be useful for completed projects or as a backup.
While these media give you greater physical control over your files, use of them is subject to the availability of the drives (except for portable USB drives, which require only a USB port). For more about removable media at IU Bloomington, see In which IUB STCs can I find removable media devices? and At IUB, in a Mac OS X STC, how can I view a DVD? For more about removable media at IUPUI, see In which IUPUI STCs can I find removable media devices?
Note: Removable storage media can be easily misplaced, damaged, or magnetized, causing you to lose data. You should always have more than one copy of important files. For critical files, you should have one copy on your computer for convenience and easy access, one on removable media for quick recovery, and one on a server that is regularly backed up and can be reliably recovered (e.g., Oncourse).
Centralized storage
UITS maintains several systems on which you can store files. The primary advantage of centralized storage is availability. All you need in order to access most of these systems is an IU Network ID and a connection to the network.
Long-term storage
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Oncourse: The Resources tool
in Oncourse provides 1 GB of storage space for individual
use. In addition to storing files in Resources for your own use, if
you are an instructor or the owner of a project site, you can use
Resources to share files with a class or project team. For more, see
File storage in Oncourse.
-
Distributed storage services:
IU offers a rich set of distributed storage services to researchers on
all IU campuses, including the Research File System (RFS)
and the Scholarly Data Archive (SDA). Accounts are
available on these systems for faculty, staff, and graduate students.
-
Unix accounts: You can store files on Quarry, a
general-purpose Unix system. See:
Temporary storage
Graduate students, faculty, and staff can use the Slashtmp service to temporarily store and share large files via a web interface.
Important: When using Slashtmp to store data subject to HIPAA or FDA CFR 11 regulations, or other information classified as critical at IU (e.g., Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or bank account numbers), you must choose the "Critical" version from the Slashtmp home page before proceeding with your upload.
Also, the Unix research systems have a scratch or temporary directory in which you can place files. For more, including information about when scratch directories are purged, see At IU, how much disk space is available to me on the research systems?
Note: UITS does not maintain any backups for temporary or scratch directories, so you will not be able to retrieve your files if they are deleted.
Last modified on July 24, 2011.
