Network Disk Space at the SSCC

This article is your guide to the disk space provided by the SSCC. Topics include:

• Key Locations at a Glance
• Windows, Linux, and Silo
• Private Space
• Project (shared) Space
• Temporary Space
• Backups and Restores
• Managing your Space
• Web Directories

Key Locations at a Glance

Windows, Linux, Silo, and ResearchDrive

The SSCC has two parallel file systems: one for Windows and one for Linux. Thus you have two home directories, there are two project directories, etc. The Linux file system is available to Windows, but not the other way around. This can be a big help to Windows users who are learning Linux, but if you're only using Windows programs Windows disk space will give slightly better performance.

Those with limited accounts, either students who receive SSCC accounts for classes or graduate students from social science departments that are not members of the SSCC, only have access to the Windows file system.

The Silo environment has a separate secure file system. It is a Linux-based system, and thus has only Z: and V: drives, not U: and X:. It also has an S: drive, or /smph, containing project directories for SMPH researchers.

The campus ResearchDrive file system is also accessible from SSCC servers, though you'll need to set up a connection to it. See Using ResearchDrive at the SSCC for details.

Private Space

Private disk space is provided in "home directories." In Windows, your home directory is the  U:  drive. In Linux, your home directory is ~, or /home/{first letter of your user name}/{your user name}  (e.g. /home/b/bbadger). You can access your Linux home directory from Windows as the Z: drive.

Students who receive SSCC accounts for classes are given 20GB of space in their Windows home directory (U:). All others are given 40GB of space in their Windows home directory. Linux home directories have 80GB of space with a 1 million file quota. If you need more than this, consider requesting a project directory. To check how much space you're using in Windows, right-click on your  U:  drive and choose  Properties. In Linux, type quota.

Home directories are private: other SSCC users cannot access files in your home directory.

Project Space

Most research data is stored in project space. Projects directories can be shared with a research group for easy collaboration.

Most new non-Silo projects go in ResearchDrive. See Using ResearchDrive at the SSCC for details. Each PI is given 25TB of free space in ResearchDrive.

For projects stored at the SSCC, new project directories will start with a quota of 1TB and a quota of 1 million files per project. If you need more space, you can request a quota of 5TB and/or expand your file quota to 5 million using the form on the SSCC website. If you need more space beyond that, you can request a quota of 25TB, again using the web form. Your sponsoring agency will be informed of this request. If you still need more space, up to the technical limit of 60TB, email the Help Desk and we’ll schedule a meeting to discuss your needs.

You can check your current storage usage and file count on the SSCC self-service portal. You must be on campus or connected to a campus VPN (UW-Madison VPN, SSCC VPN, etc.) to access the portal.

Research Drive Windows project folders can be found on the X: drive. Linux project directories can be found under /project. Linux project directories are available from Windows on the V: drive. SMPH projects in Silo are found under /smph, available from Windows as the S: drive.

Each project directory has an associated group of users who can access the directory, any other users outside of the associated group cannot. If you need access to a particular project directory, the owner of that directory must contact the SSCC Help Desk and ask that you be added to the group. Project owners can also give people access to their project using the SSCC self-service portal.

You can request a project directory by filling out the project space request form.

Normally project directories should be created in the same operating system (Windows or Linux) as the programs you'll be using. However, if you'll be using both Windows and Linux programs the directory should be created in Linux.

Temporary Space

Both Windows and Linux have space where you can store files temporarily. Files placed in these spaces will be deleted after 30 days.

In Windows, temporary space is available on the  Y:  (Temp30days) drive. If you wish to use it, make a folder for your files (e.g. Y:\bbadger). The  Y:  drive is completely public: any SSCC user can read, change, or delete any file on the Y: drive. This makes it a convenient place for sharing files with others, however, it should never be used for confidential data (or for any serious research data, really).

In Linux, temporary space is available in /temp30days. If you wish to use it, make a sub-directory for your files (e.g. /temp30days/bbadger). Directories under /temp30days are private by default, but if you're familiar with setting Linux permissions you can make them public if you so desire.

If you need to access the Linux temporary space from Windows, you'll need to map a drive to it.

Note that temporary space is not backed up in either Linux or Windows. Temporary space is not intended for long-term storage or important files.

Backups and Restores

SSCC backs up data daily: see the SSCC Data Integrity Policy for details. We hate to see anyone lose data, so please store all important files on the network where they are backed up.

If you need a file restored, send the Help Desk an email with the following information:

• The operating system the file was stored on (Windows or Linux)
• The name of the file
• The full location of the file (e.g. U:\dissertation\absolutely critical data or ~/dissertation/absolutelyCriticalData)
• The date on which you want it recovered (e.g. "the most recent backup")

If the file has been deleted and you don't know some of this information, just do your best and we can usually find it.

Please keep in mind that restoring files from backup takes a significant amount of staff time.

Managing your Space

The SSCC uses Storage Attached Network (SAN) devices to provide disk storage that is extremely fast and reliable. However, this storage space is much more expensive than a regular PC hard drive—in fact disk space is a major component of the capital SSCC's budget. We're pleased to provide all the disk space our members need without charging individuals or projects, but please help keep costs down by using disk space wisely:

• Compress large files that are not in active use.
• Share large data files among researchers rather than everyone making their own copy.
• Delete intermediate data files that can be reproduced at will, keeping just the raw data and the version of the data you're currently working on (along with all the code that gets you from one to the other).
• Delete data files that are no longer needed (but only if you're sure they're no longer needed).

Web Directories

The SSCC's web server will publish any files it finds in your PUBLIC_web directory on the web server. If you are using Windows, you can access your directory on the web server as \\users.ssc.wisc.edu\username and optionally map a drive to it. If you want to use SFTP (Secure FTP), you can use SFTP with SecureFX to users.ssc.wisc.edu from any SSCC connected computer. Your FTP program may allow you to tell it to start in PUBLIC_web  automatically, or you may need to change to that directory each time you log in. See Publishing a Website on the SSCC's Web Server for more information.