Getting Started
Requesting Your Storage
Applications for storage should be made via the RDS service request form.
Requests via this form are approved by the Research IT Team, a member of whom will contact you to discuss the details of your request if more information is required.
Deciding What Storage You Want
Several different types of storage are available. Once you have requested RDS, you will be contacted by the Research IT team to determine which type of storage will be allocated to you. A brief description of storage options is given in the next few paragraphs.
- For most use-cases, the default is best: a standard MS Windows-style (i.e., SMB) share, which is resilient and which is backed up. This storage can be mapped as a drive on PCs / laptops that are on or off campus (GlobalProtect required.)
- For those making use of the University “HPC” clusters including the CSF and iCSF, an Unix-style (i.e., NFS) share will be more suitable.
- For those wanting to access storage on PCs/laptops AND on the central HPC platforms, we will allocate both of the above types, each having half your requested quota (or some other ratio you specify.)
- Other options include: less resilient storage or storage which is not backed up — this may be appropriate for large quantities of temporary files.
If you believe one of the non-default cases is appropriate for your share, please make it clear on the application form (see below).
More details are described in the User FAQ.
Using Your Storage
There are different types of storage share that can be allocated to you, depending on your requirements. Most are accessed via a network path, just like your P: drive. This network path will be supplied to you and you can view details of how to map a network drive in the User FAQ section.
If your storage share is allocated for use on the Computational Shared Facility (CSF) or iCSF, the Research Infrastructure (RI) team will contact you with further details of how to access this.
Increasing the storage quota or adding/removing users
If you need to increase the quota, add or remove users to your share, or need any advice on using an existing share please use the Research Data Storage (Amend or get help with an existing share) helpdesk form.
More Information
There is lots more information about the RDS Service in the User FAQ, including information on types of available storage, accessing storage from MS Windows, OS-X and Linux, and known issues.
Help and Support
You may find answers to your questions about the RDS service in the User FAQ section of this site. Alternatively, you can contact the Research IT team directly to discuss any query or problem: its-research@manchester.ac.uk
If you have a query concerning the Computational Shared Facility (CSF), please contact the Research Infrastructure (RI) team: its-ri-team@manchester.ac.uk