ResearchDrive - Mounting a Biochemistry Lab RDrive

Mount a Research Drive on macOS

1. Open the Finder
2. Open the Go menu and choose Connect to Server
3. Enter the server address: smb://research.drive.wisc.edu
4. Log in with your NetID and NetID password
5. Select the box next to Remember this password in keychain if you want to save your login information.
6. Select the PI's NetID for the ResearchDrive you wish to connect to
7. The drive will open and be accessible in Finder

Configure the Research Drive as a Login Item

1. Follow Steps 1 - 6 above to mount the Research Drive
2. Open macOS System Settings
3. Navigate to General > Login Items & Extensions
4. Under Open at Login, click the Plus + symbol to add a new login item
5. In the popup Finder window, select the ResearchDrive from the left-hand panel, select the PI's NetID from the center panel, then click Open

The selected Research Drive should now appear in the list of login items. Please note that in order for to automatically mount the Research Drive on login, you must be connected to the campus network at the time of logging in. If you are not connected to the campus network at login, you will need to manually re-mount the drive.

Mount a Research Drive on Windows

1. Open the File Explorer
2. Right click This PC and choose Map Network Drive...
3. In the Folder: field, enter \\research.drive.wisc.edu\PINetID (Replace PINetID with the NetID of the PI) 
4. If prompted, authenticate with your NetID@wisc.edu email address and your NetID password
5. Click Finish
6. The drive open and be accessible in the File Explorer under This PC

Mount a Research Drive on Linux Desktop

1. From the sidebar in a desktop window, choose Connect to Server
2. Enter the server name: \\research.drive.wisc.edu
   • Use your NetID for the Username
   • Domain Name: wisc.edu or ad.wisc.edu
   • Use your NetID password
3. Click Connect
4. Choose which share you would like access

Mount a Research Drive on a Server

Biochemistry IT can configure managed servers to automatically mount ResearchDrive. The Biochemistry Computation Cluster and managed lab servers are configured this way.

You should be able to access your lab's storage by visiting: /mnt/rdrive/<PI NetID>

Mount a Research Drive on iOS or iPadOS

iOS and iPadOS include server capabilities within the Files app.

1. In the Files app, choose Browse at the bottom
2. Tap the ... option
3. Choose Connect to Server
4. Enter the server address: research.drive.wisc.edu
5. Click Connect
6. Select Registered User (it should be selected by default)
7. Use your NetID@ad.wisc.edu username and your NetID password
8. Click Next
9. You should see a list of drives, select the PI's NetID for the desired ResearchDrive

Mount a Research Drive on Android

There are several apps available that are capable of connecting to the file server. For this example, we will be using Astro File Explorer. You can download it for free from the Google Play Store.

Get ASTRO File Manager 

1. After installing and opening the app, tap the plus (+) sign next to the Storage Locations
2. Choose SMB Server
3. Enter \\research.drive.wisc.edu\PINetID in the Server field, where PINetID is the NetID of the PI
4. Log in with your NetID@ad.wisc.edu email address and your NetID password