Keep enough copies
Ensure that you regularly backup copies of important data in multiple locations so that you can restore it in case you experience data loss. The rule of thumb here is the 3-2-1 principle:
- Keep at least three copies of whatever is important for your research;
- Store these three copies on at least two different media;
- And have at least one media on a different geographical location.
For more information on the various solutions that the UAntwerpen has made available for data storage read further on cloud solutions and central servers.
Cloud solutions
Employees and students with an UAntwerpen account have access to OneDrive for Business as a part of our institutional Microsoft Office 365 license, offering no less than 1 TB of storage space. There you can easily save and edit files for yourself. OneDrive is accessible via the Office desktop software, via Windows Explorer with the sync client software, or via the Office apps on your smartphone or tablet.
- IMPORTANT: the ICT Department does not make its own backups of data on OneDrive. For recovery, you can fall back on the standard recovery methods provided by Microsoft.
For working optimally with coworkers on the same documents, or for sharing your files and folders, you can use Microsoft Teams or Sharepoint (both offered by Office 365). Both have up to 25 TB of storage space available for each employee and student. For logging in, please note that it is important to use the professional version and your UAntwerpen account and password. Microsoft Teams allows to set up a common folder in which all files, chat, voice, and video conversations can be collected and stored. Sharepoint offers fewer tools and a less intuitive user interface compared to MS teams.
- IMPORTANT: the ICT Department does not make its own backups of data on both facilities. For recovery, you can fall back on the standard recovery methods provided by Microsoft as also described on the Pintra ICT webpage.
For more questions, you can contact the ICT Department.
Central servers
Employees and students with an UAntwerpen account have access to the personal and common network drives via the extra drives H:\ (personal home folder), N:\ (common data), and P:\ (programs), with an automatic backup facility for files up to one year old. In the home folder (H:\ drive), you can store documents to view and/or edit independently of the workstation on which you work. Only the owner of this folder has reading and writing rights. The maximum capacity for employees is 1.5 GB (up to 10 GB when temporarily allowed) and for students 100 MB. In the common disk zones (N:\ drive), you find the common folders for the departments, services, faculties, and centers. Depending on the user who is logged in to the workstation, one or more particular folders will be visible, wherein you can read and write documents. The maximum capacity per department/service/faculty is 40 GB. Given the personal character of the H:\ drive, it is therefore recommended to use N:\ drive so much as possible, to have access to data at any time (also when someone has left the workplace). The central programs/updates (P:\ drive) contains programs that you can install on your computer. Additionally, updates are available that can be installed locally. All staff members and students have read-only access. Zones for specific purposes (e.g. specific access security) can be offered, on specific requests from end users.
For more questions, you can contact the ICT Department.