Storing Large Amounts Of Data On Our Systems

INTRO

Our lab systems utilize disk storage that is shared by all in the CS department.
There might be times when you receive large amounts of data for a project you're working on in CS. Because our disk space is shared by others, we must all be conscious of the amount of data we store.
Additionally, for static data (data that does not change), because we have a backup system that backs up our data on a nightly, weekly and monthly basis, it's important that we minimize the number of times the backup system needs to backup the same large data over and over again. This will help reduce backup time and save backup storage resources.

If You Need To Store A Large Amount Of Data On Our Systems...

CS Grad students, Faculty, staff, researchers:

Static Data

If the large amount of data you receive or generate does not have to be backed up, then it is considered static. In this case, please see our page discussing the:
Grad Net Datashare

Dynamic Data

If your large data will change or be backed up regularly, it's most likely dynamic. If that's the case, and the dynamic data is more that 50gb of data for a project, etc, on our systems, please email support@cs.jhu.edu before-hand to let us know:
  • How much data you will be storing in your home directory.
  • When you plan to put the data in place.
  • How long you expect to keep the data in place.
To backup or not to backup your dynamic data with our backup systems.
For a large amount of dynamic data, you must also decide if that data needs to be backed up. As mentioned in the INTRO above, we back up data to our backup system on a regular basis.
  • If your large data is dynamic (changing), and you need it to be backed up regularly, please let us know you need it backed up when you email us.

Undergrads Must First, Contact CS IT Support

If you receive or generate more that 50gb of data for a project, etc, on our systems, please email support@cs.jhu.edu before-hand to let us know:
  • How much data you will be storing.
  • When you plan to put the data in place.
  • How long you expect to keep the data in place.
  • If your backup is static (will not change) or dynamic (will change.)
Second, Decide If Your Data Needs To Be Backed Up On Our Systems
As mentioned in the INTRO above, we back up data to our backup system on a regular basis.
  • If your data is dynamic (changing), you might want it to be backed up regularly.
  • If your data is static (it won't be changing), to help us conserve backup system resources, we ask that you set up your data to not get backed up on our backup system.

And Finally...

When you are done with your data and no longer need it stored, please remove it, and let us know that you've done so.