Mass Storage - Appropriate Use
The Research Computing Mass Storage system (also known as SAM-FS or /ms) is intended for archiving files and storing very large files, tar or zip archives of many smaller files, and files that are too large to fit in the AFS quota space. It is not intended to be used as a backup location for disk drives, operating systems, or software. Mass storage should NOT be considered as a solution for archiving or storing sensitive data. In general, files that are changed often or directories with too many files in them will cause performance problems and consume too many tapes. The Iron Mountain PC backup software provided by UNC might be an alternative solution for you rather than copying your PC files to mass storage.
We vigorously enforce the appropriate use of the mass storage system. This means that should we find inappropriate use we may deny access to the directory in question, delete the files or directories in question, and, if necessary, disable the userid (Onyen) in question. We will always try to contact the owner of the data before taking any actions. Again, please remember that mass storage is not to be used for storing or archiving sensitive data.
If you are routinely storing large numbers of small files (more than several hundred files at a time) in mass storage, you should tar archive or zip archive those smaller files into one tarball or zip file outside of mass storage and then move that tar archive or zip archive file to mass storage. You are not required to compress the tar or zip file since the mass storage tape drive hardware will compress your data. Reducing the number of individual small files will help the overall performance of the SAM-FS Mass Storage system. More detailed list of things to avoid.
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Tags: mass storage facility , research computing servicesSubjects: Advanced Computing , Mass Storage
Audience: Everyone
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