The Research Data Storage Core Facility
What is it?
The Research Data Storage Core (RDSC) Facility provides secure networked storage space for electronic research data for investigators. This service will be free for up to 25 GB. For amounts over 25 GB fees will apply. An additional 3 TB limit per Principal Investigator will apply.
This service will be free for up to 25GB. For amounts over 25 GB additional fees will apply.
What projects qualify?
As the name implies, only research data may be stored here. The RDSC is especially useful for large research data files, such as research imaging, microarray and sequencing data.
For other documents such as administrative, clinical, or financial information investigators are urged to use their department's server. Please contact your department administrator for more information on department servers.
Is the data backed up?
Yes. Files will be backed up each night, and users can recover files for up to seven previous nights. Beyond that point, ITS assistance will be needed to recover data. For undeleted files, up to three versions will be kept, the oldest for 30 days from its creation; deleted files will be kept for 90 days from their deletion.
Who will be allowed access to an investigator's folder?
The research investigator will decide who in their research team can access their folder. Since this is intended only for research data, there will be no hierarchical access to the data unless specifically required for that project. In other words, everyone in the designated research group will be able to access all the information within the research folder. Moreover, other researchers who are users of the RDSC will be able to drop large files into a designated "Dropbox" folder (write-only access) allowing for collaboration between different research groups.
How do I get started?
Please download the forms for new requests to get started using this service.
RDSC New Request (pdf)RDSC Change Request (pdf)
Once the requests are approved you will be contacted to arrange for setup.
Do I need more bandwidth to use this service?
This service does not require any special wiring. The bandwidth (or the speed) of your connection depends on the wiring in your location which is in the range of 10 Mbps to 1 Gbps.
What is the cost if I require more than 25 GB?
$1000 for 200 GB, up to first additional TB; $2500 for each subsequent TB.
What is the Dropbox folder?
Once your storage space is setup, you will log in and notice one of the main folders is named "dropbox". This folder allows data sharing between different groups that are members of the RDSC. Individuals in your group have full access to this folder, while individuals from other groups in the RDSC have write-only access to this folder (i.e. they cannot see the contents of the folder after dropping a file into it).
Can I access this service remotely?
Yes. This service is accessible via the Cisco Virtual Private Network (VPN). The Weill Cornell Web VPN cannot be used to access this service. For more information or assistance on remote connectivity please visit the Remote Access section of the Weill Cornell ITS web site, or e-mail the Help Desk at support@med.cornell.edu.
Support
ITS will only support connectivity to the file server using the CIFS protocol (Common Internet File System) from ITS-certified operating systems (Windows 2000, Windows XP and Mac OS (10.4 and earlier). Any issues that are not new requests or change requests should be directed to support@med.cornell.edu.
For More Information
Please contact Jason Banfelder at (212) 746-6363 or via email at jrb2004@med.cornell.edu for more information, comments or questions.
