Research Data Storage Options
Research Data Storage Options
ITS currently offers the following storage services in support of research:
| Research Data Storage Service (RDSS) | Large Scale Storage (LSS) | Iowa Health Data Resource (IHDR) data enclave | R:Drive | Shared Drive | OneDrive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| About | Highly-available storage; is not accessible from high performance computing systems. Allows complex permissions nested inside a single file share. | Storage available from high performance computing (HPC) systems, including Argon and the Interactive Data Analytics Service (IDAS). Accessible from on-campus computers, through UI VPN, and RDCS for internal/external data collaboration and sharing. Does not allow complex permissions nested inside a single file share. | A secure data storage service for researchers to analyze data from University of Iowa Health Care.
Accessible only from the Argon and Interactive Data Analytics Service (IDAS) high-performance computing systems. | Low cost option ideal for large data sets or long-term storage in the Carver College of Medicine. | The goal of this service is to provide file storage for departments, units, or colleges. | An enterprise cloud storage solution for your file sharing and collaboration needs. |
| Use | Desktop File Sharing | HPC & Desktop File Sharing | HPC Data Analysis | Desktop File Sharing | Desktop File Sharing | Desktop File Sharing |
| Available on HPC Systems | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Backups | Yes | Optional | No | Yes | Daily | Continually |
| Snapshots | Daily | HPC: Hourly, Daily, Monthly Non-HPC: Daily | Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly | Daily | 30-day snapshots are online for users to do a "self-restore" | Data are backed up and synced continually to the cloud |
| Snapshot/Backup Retention | 30 days | 30-90 days | 30 days | 90 days | 6 months | Deleted items remain in Recycle Bin until it is emptied or 90 days |
| Access Methods | NFS, SMB/CIFS, sftp | HPC: NFS, SMB/CIFS, Mixed CIFS/NFS, GridFTP, scp/sftp, rsync, RDCS | SMB/CIFS from Argon and IDAS only | SMB/CIFS | SMB/CIFS | Web or Desktop Client |
| Approved Data Classification Levels | Public, Internal, Restricted**, HIPAA** (SMB/CIFS only), Export-Controlled* | Public, Internal, Restricted**, HIPAA** (SMB/CIFS only), Export-Controlled* | Data sets containing data generated by University of Iowa Health Care | Public, Internal, Restricted, HIPAA | Public, Internal, Restricted | Public, Internal, Restricted, HIPAA |
| Max Storage Capacity | 10TB | N/A | N/A | 10TB | 1GB of space per full-time employee | 1TB |
| Fees | If you are a researcher with a faculty appointment, a single 5TB share of backed-up storage is available upon request at no cost in your choice of either RDSS or LSS. Additional space is available for a fee; refer to the RDSS and LSS service pages for details. | No charge | $270/TB/year (can be purchased in smaller increments) | Additional space can be purchased for $.08/GB/month | No charge | |
| Recommended For | Researchers who need audited storage for sensitive data or need their data to be highly available | Researchers who need to use HPC systems to analyze their data, need to store a large amount of data, or have unique storage needs that require some customization | Researchers who need to use HPC systems to analyze data from University of Iowa Health Care | Researchers in the Carver College of Medicine who need to store a large amount of data or need HIPAA-Compliant storage | Research teams & departments who don't need to storage a large amount of data | Researchers who need an easy way to collaborate with others |
| Request | RDSS Request Form | LSS Request Form | Email the IHDR Data Enclave support team | Enterprise Service Center | Email the support team | Office 365 Sign-in |
* Please contact research-computing@uiowa.edu before putting Export-Controlled data on LSS or RDSS.
** If you intend to store protected health information (PHI) from University of Iowa Health Care on LSS or RDSS, you are responsible for obtaining approval from the UI Health Care Data Governance group. Please submit a request by navigating to the UI Health Care Data Governance Request Form.
Recommended Language for Grants
RDSS:
Data will be stored on managed University of Iowa, Information Technology Services systems. This is a secure space that includes daily backups. Space required for this project is approximately XX Terabytes. The cost of up to 5TB is free, however, should we need more space, the cost of additional TB is $270/TB/Year. We request XX TB = $XXX/year to support the storage needs of the project.
LSS:
Data will be stored on managed University of Iowa, Information Technology Services systems. Space required for this project is approximately XX Terabytes. The cost of 1TB is $35/TB/Year without backups and $70/TB/Year with backups. We will/will not require backups of our data. We request XX TB = $XXX/year to support the storage needs of the project.
R:Drive:
Data will be stored on managed University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine IT systems. This is a secure space that includes daily backups. Space required for this project is approximately XX Terabytes. The cost of 1TB is $270/TB/Year. We request XX TB = $XXX/year to support the storage needs of the project.
Shared Drive:
Data will be stored on managed University of Iowa, Information Technology Services systems. This is a secure space that includes daily backups. Space required for this project is approximately XX Gigabytes. We are provided at no cost with 1GB per full-time employee, however, should we need more space, the cost of additional GB is $.08/GB/month. We request XX GB = $XXX/year to support the storage needs of the project.
OneDrive:
Data will be stored on Microsoft's OneDrive for Business storage space. The University of Iowa has an enterprise agreement with Microsoft and have contractually agreed to safeguard UI data. This is a secure space that includes continuous backups. Space required for this project is approximately XX Gigabytes. The cost of up to 1TB is free.
Overview
Fees
Please refer to the chart for any fees associated with the storage solutions.