README text file

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON RESEARCH DATA STORE (RDS)

RDS INFRASTRUCTURE Currently RDS is a group of file servers running on Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system. Upon request, a user (or group of users) will be allocated a certain amount of disk space (a 'share') to store and share their research data. Data backup is set up on specified folders. ICT is planning to upgrade RDS in 2011.

SUPPORT CONTACTS Call ICT Helpdesk: 9351-6000 Or email directly to the ICT Research, Learning & Teaching support team: ictrlt.support@sydney.edu.au

SYNCHRONISING PASSWORDS Before connecting to the server, everyone in the group should first resynchronise their Unikey password at the address: http://itassist.usyd.edu.au/staff/account/synchronise.shtml After doing so, please have a try at connecting to the server. If that doesn’t work please contact the ICT Helpdesk on 9351-6000.

HOW TO CONNECT (MAPPING NETWORK DRIVE) Connecting with a Windows PC: 1. Open any folder on your computer. Select “Map Network Drive” from the Tools menu at the top of the folder. A dialog box appears. 2. Pick any drive letter you like from the Drive dropbox. Where it says folder please insert path to your network share, for example: \\ssri-fs-pro-1.mcs.usyd.edu.au\<your-share-name> 3. Tick the “Reconnect at logon” checkbox. 4. Click the “different user name” text in the line “Connecting using a different user name”. Another dialog box appears. 5. Enter “mcs\<unikey>” in the user name field (without quotes) and your Unikey password in the password field. For example, “mcs\jtwyman” or “mcs\dpha1608”. Click OK to return to the first dialog box. 6. Click the Finish button. The dialog box disappears and the networked folder should appear, showing the six subfolders.

Connecting with a Mac 1. Whilst “in” the Finder, select “Connect to Server” from the Go menu. A dialog box appears. 2. In the text box at the top, insert the path to your network share, for example: smb://ssri-fs-pro-1.mcs.usyd.edu.au/<your-share-name> 3. Click the “+” button to add this entry to the list for quick “reuse” in the future. 4. Click the Connect button. Another dialog box should appear. Enter the following information: Workgroup/Domain: MCS Username: <unikey> Password: your Unikey password You may wish to tick the “Add to Keychain” checkbox for easier use in the future. 5. Click OK. The folder should open and be accessible from the desktop with a disk-style icon.

FOLDER STRUCTURE In each share, there can be a set of enumerated folders, e.g. FOLDERNAME01, FOLDERNAME02, FOLDERNAME03... each with 250 GB size limit. If this is the case, users are recommended to store their data in these folders to ensure data is backed up. This is a limitation of RDS’ current backup solution.

USAGE Disk space quotas are applied to each RDS share (total share limit) and in many cases the subfolders below (250 GB each for backup). Notifications will be sent out to users and support team when any quotas are reaching 85, 95 and 100% limit. Extra space can be added upon request.

OTHER ISSUES It is worth noting that the Windows server supports file paths of up to 256 characters long (i.e. the length of "C:\Path\to\the\folder\and\myfile.txt"). It is therefore possible to run into problems when copying files over to the server because either the source or destination paths exceed this length. Programs for Windows such as TeraCopy can help mitigate against this problem but it is always wise to shorten the folder and file names if this problem occurs.