At IUB and IUPUI, what options do I have for storing my files?
Indiana University's diverse computing environment offers several methods for file storage. Below is a list, including advantages and disadvantages.
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 CL 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 CL Resources |
| Share non-sensitive files with colleagues (outside of IU 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 CL).
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
-
Oncourse CL: The Resources tool
in Oncourse CL provides 1GB 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 CL.
-
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 Massive Data Storage Service (MDSS). Accounts are
available on these systems for faculty, staff, and graduate students.
To find out which storage service is best for you, see the Research Storage group's Frequently Asked Questions about Distributed Storage at IU.
-
Unix accounts: You can store files on Quarry, a
general-purpose Unix system. See:
Temporary storage
-
Scratch: 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: If you choose to use one of the temporary or scratch directories, you must realize that the files could be deleted and that UITS does not maintain any backups for these storage systems, so you will not be able to retrieve your files if they are deleted.
- Slashtmp: The Slashtmp service is available to IU graduate students, faculty, and staff to share non-sensitive data. For more, see At IU, what is Slashtmp and how do I use it?
Also see:
- At IU, if I already have some computing accounts, how do I get others?
- For Mac OS and Mac OS X, what is Transmit and where can I get it?
- On Webserve, how much disk storage space is available, and what is my quota?
- In which IUB STCs can I find removable media devices?
- At IU, how can I apply for an account on the MDSS or RFS?
- What is OpenAFS?
Last modified on May 06, 2008.
