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Storage

The Biology and Evolutionary Anthropology departments provide a variety of services related to storage of data. These services range from local workstation storage to highly-redundant network-based storage. Each type of storage is appropriate to a specific set of circumstances. Outlined below are the general categories of storage services offered, along with details on how to use these services if appropriate.

Departmental Storage

The data stored in both Home and Group directories located on the departmental network storage named storage.biology.duke.edu reached the end of life and has been officially retired as of May 1, 2017.  All data has been archived on TTS storage located in BioSci 246; retention policies are outlined below:

Home Folders

  • After May 1, 2017 Users Home folders located on storage.biology.duke.edu will be archived on TTS storage until the end of the FY 2018, in the event of an emergency this data can be retrieved by the IT manager by submitting a help ticket. At the end of FY 2018 (June 30, 2018) the archived data will be removed and will no longer be recoverable.

Group Folders

  • After May 1, 2017 Users Group directory folders located on storage.biology.duke.edu will be archived on TTS storage until the end of the FY 2018, in the event of an emergency this data can be retrieved by the IT manager by submitting a help ticket. At the end of FY 2018 (June 30, 2018) the archived data will be moved to cold storage off-site and kept for an additional 3 years.

Departmental Cloud Storage (Dropbox)

Home folders have been replaced with Bio_Ea Dropbox accounts

  • Biology and Evolutionary Anthropology users have been provided Departmental Bio_EA Dropbox account with unlimited storage, backups, versioning and deleted file recovery options for the use of storing their home directory folders (personal data/files)
    • Access to unlimited storage, unlimited backups, unlimited versioning, and deleted file recovery options for the use of storing their home directory folders (personal data/files)
    • No file size limitation for uploads
    • Access to Team (Lab) folders- Managed by PI
    • Licenses/Access is terminated upon NetID termination
    • All users are required to sign an acceptable use policy in person before licenses can be provisioned
    • Upon termination it is the responsibility of the user to back up their data and remove from Dropbox, Data can be accessed up to 90 days after termination of licenses by departmental IT Manager

Group folders have been replaced with Team Folders located on Bio_EA Dropbox

*Note: Users are highly encouraged to store all research data relevant to non-personal (i.e. lab) grants and projects within the designated Team folders.

Team folders are shared with groups and are the hub of content for a team. All content inside your team folder is automatically shared with anyone who can access the team folder. If you’re an editor, you can share content in your team folder with collaborators outside of your group.

  • All Biology and Evolutionary Anthropology users have been provided Departmental Bio_EA Dropbox TEAM folder account with unlimited storage, backups, versioning and deleted file recovery options for the use of storing their Team directory folders.
  • The PI is designated as the “owner” of the Team folder, as the owner, he/she can grant permission/access to users to their Team folders
  • The PI can set up a proxy for their lab i.e. a Lab manager as an additional “owner” of a Team folder who can also set permissions/access to the Team folder by contacting the IT manager

Bio_EA Dropbox Data retention policies

  • Upon termination of employment, the User is responsible for removing/backing up their data before their NetID has been deactivated.
  • All data located in the Department Dropbox for education account will be remotely wiped from any machine connected.
  • All data will be archived for a maximum of one hundred twenty (120) days upon deactivation of Duke NetID access and only accessible by the Department IT Manager.

University Cloud Storage (Box)

  • Duke’s Box is a cloud-based storage and collaboration service for all Duke University and Duke Health faculty, staff and students. With Box, users can access, store and share content securely with Duke and non-Duke users — anywhere, anytime, on any device.
  • Box accounts have been provisioned for all University faculty, staff, and students. Box accounts are available for University affiliates and sponsored guests. You simply use an active NetID and password to login. The enterprise box account provides the following:
  • Access to 50 GB storage, 15 GB file size limitation for uploads
  • Licenses/Access is terminated upon NetID termination
  • To learn more about the Duke Box account click here: https://oit.duke.edu/what-we-do/applications/duke-box
  • To login to your Duke Box account click here: https://box.duke.edu/

 

External Hard Drives

External hard drives come in many varieties and sizes. All external drives are required to be fully encrypted, the Biology_EA Service desk purchases approved external drives which can be purchased at your request.

External RAID Arrays

Some situations require a more robust storage device. In these situations, external RAID arrays can be utilized to provide additional redundancy or data protection. These devices are typically used in situations where loss of the data would result in a large loss of resources (time or money) for a specific group. Generally, it is wise to speak with someone in the Biology/EA IT group to make sure the device acquired will appropriately match the situation into which it will be deployed. We have several models that we have used extensively and are comfortable using, including:

(TODO: Add something about Webatech devices and usage)

Other Storage

    • What other storage options do I have?
There are a wide variety of other storage options including OIT’s WebFiles, cloud storage and specialized commercial solutions. If you’re not sure which solution is best for you, please contact the Service Desk so we can discuss your needs and determine the most fitting way to meet them.
    • What is cloud storage?
“Cloud storage” is a general term used to refer to data storage offered on the Internet for a variety of purposes. There are many providers of general storage services which allow you to save any data you want on their servers, which will the be accessible any time you have access to the Internet. Some popular cloud storage providers are: Drop box (https://www.dropbox.com) Mozy (mozy.com), iDrive (idrive.com) and iCloud (http://www.apple.com/icloud/). If you are interested in learning more about this, please contact the Service Desk or come by one of our offices and we will gladly discuss with you your options.
    • What commercial storage solutions are available?
Commercial storage solutions come in many shapes and sizes. On one end of the scale, there are external hard drives and “thumb drives” that can be used for small to medium amounts of data storage on a limited number of machines. On the other end, there are dedicated servers and enterprise-level data storage intended to be used by many people simultaneously. The correct solution for you will depend on many factors including amount and type of data, availability requirements and available funds. We recommend contacting Sasha Calden or Ryan Hardy if you plan on purchasing a storage solution, as we can help guide you to the one that matches your needs and resources.

Data Backup

    • Is my computer automatically backed up?
No, automatic backups are not in place for any individual Biology computers (e.g. your desktop). If you wish your computer to be backed up, you must request this service from the Biology IT Team. It is your responsibility to ensure that your important data is backed up.
    • Is my data on “Storage” backed up?
Every night, all data stored on “Storage” is backed up over the network to a data storage system located at the American Tobacco Campus. In unlikely event of a catastrophic failure here in the BioSci building (fire, etc.) we would still be able to retrieve your data.
    • Can I back up my files to “Storage”?
Yes. If you use your files directly from “Storage”, you don’t have to do anything in order for the files to be backed up; it is done automatically. If you have files on your local computer that you’d like to back up periodically, there are several programs that can assist you.
    • What programs should I used to automatically back up my files to “Storage”?
Faculty and staff members may use GoodSync free of charge, as the Biology Department has purchased licenses for both Windows and Macs. If you have questions about this software or would like to have it installed on your computer please contact the Service Desk
Macintosh Users are encouraged to use Time Machine as a secondary Backup solution to backup their entire HD
    • How else can I back up my important data?
You can use any of the aforementioned “data storage” options for backing up your data.
    • What if I don’t back up my data and my hard drive fails?
Depending on the type of failure, there are some companies that provide hard drive recovery services to restore lost data. However, these services are typically expensive, time-consuming and not always effective. You may permanently lose all your data. We recommend you back up your data regularly in order to avoid having to go through this process. If you want to know more about these types of services, please contact the Service Desk