RStor - Research Storage - Documentation
RStor - Research Storage
Documentation
What is RStor?
Short for Research Data Storage, RStor is a Research IT-provided, scale out network-attached storage platform by iXsystems called TrueNAS. It features massive scalability and is currently just over 420 terabytes in size. RStor solves the problem of access to high-volume, scalable storage of unstructured data for research needs, and through a hybrid central funding model it is cost-effective for storage of large volumes of research data. For data protection, the RStor system creates daily read-only point-in-time copies (snapshots) of files for 30 days. In addition, a nightly disaster recovery (DR) backup is taken of the entire system to different locations on campus.
Cost
RStor is $80 per terabyte per year. Billed at the beginning of the month for the previous month’s allocation, you will be charged approximately $6.67 per terabyte.
Increases can be requested any time (pending availability) and are charged at the same rate. Increases will be effective on the first day of the following month after an allocation change request.
Decreases are only allowed at the start of a new fiscal year.
By requesting a Storage Account and providing a Billing Account Number, you authorize Research IT to bill you monthly for your storage allocation to the provided account at the above-stated rate via a KFS Service Billing.
Creating a Storage Account
College IT administrators request a Storage Account in RStor by filling out the service request here. General researchers and scientists do not directly create accounts; having only IT Administrators with this access allows them to coordinate and maintain all storage needs for their areas. (Concordantly, only those pre-authorized IT Admins have access to add/edit storage accounts; if you are an IT Administrator and don't see your college/area on the homepage—or cannot log in—please contact rc2-request@colostate.edu.)
Subdividing/subleasing your space
Storage account owners are free to create subfolders in their storage accounts. You can control access to subfolders through your preferred methods (see below for access specifics).
Your Storage Account's overall/billed quota applies to your_root_folder, and that quota can have a quota-warning value and recipient email.
Quotas can also be applied to the first level of subfolders. As illustrated in this diagram, subfolder1 and subfolder2. Each can have a warning-quota value and one recipient email address for warnings. (If you need more than one recipient, enter an alias or shared mailbox or other.)
We cannot apply quotas below the first level (i.e., nothing for data, documents, stuff, morestuff, or otherstuff).
To set subfolder quotas, email rc2-request@colostate.edu.
Single accounts preferred per college/area
While we know this won't always be possible, for logistics it is preferred that each college/area create just one storage account, and manage subfolders and access to those subfolders (and any intra-college billing) internally.
Access Specifics
When we create your storage account, you will get a UNC path, such as:
\\Campusrstor1.onefs.colostate.edu\YOUR-ACCT
You can control access to your storage account with Grouper. When we create a storage account for you, we will also create a Grouper group for you, which you can manage at https://grouper.colostate.edu. You can add eIDs and use either colostate groups (like you might do with Exchange Coordinator groups) or your own child domain Universal groups to assign file permissions using Windows tools.
Several users are only using the Grouper group for root-level admin control and use Universal Windows groups in their child domain to provide access to other users.
Mounting NFS
Documentation for mounting RStor directories via NFS to a Linux machine
Data Recovery & Snapshots
RStor takes daily snapshots (default frequency; different frequencies may be available soon) and the best way to access these is connecting to your share with Windows, and making use of the "previous versions" feature built into Windows.
RStor's daily snapshots expire after 30 days.
RStor's daily snapshots are taken at the root of your file space only, so if you delete a subfolder it won't be gone from your daily snapshots until 30 days have passed.
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Please don't hesitate to contact rc2-request@colostate.edu with any other questions.