File Storage Options for Faculty and Research Groups

Research File Storage at UCI's Campus Research Storage Pool CRSP

The Campus Research Storage Pool (CRSP) provides each faculty member with 1TB of no-cost research data storage.

• Additional file storage available with contract pricing
  • As of 2/21/2020 recharge rate is $60/TB/year
• https://rcic.uci.edu/crsp/index.html
• Options for accessing data include NFS, web browser, SSHFS, SFTP
• The CRSP FAQ details pricing and data restrictions
  • ​This resource is strictly for research data

Cloud storage options at UC Irvine

The two cloud services available under enterprise contracts with UC Irvine are when used in conjunction with your UCI identity (name@uci.edu) credentials are:

• UCI's Google Drive (Google Workspace for Education) and
• Microsoft OneDrive (using your UCI identity)

Note that as of July 2023 Google Storage quota will be 20GB (total of all sources, including Gmail), so we recommend you choose a different option for large storage.

Standards for Using Enterprise Cloud Platforms - Google Drive & Microsoft OneDrive

The most important consideration when selecting and using a cloud platform or other SaaS (software-as-a-service) solution, is the protection level of the data you will be storing, transmitting or processing with the solution. If you are unsure what protection level your data falls under, visit our Data Classification guidance page.  Here, you will discover links to an informative Data Classification webinar, decision tree as well as UC guidance with examples of data by protection level.

More details: https://www.security.uci.edu/security-plan/Cloud.html

Advice for remote teaching: https://techprep.oit.uci.edu/2020/06/12/choosing-the-right-cloud-storage/

IMPORTANT: Storing files on your personal Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive using your personal identity affords no contractual protection. 

• If your data is exposed or stolen there is little to no recourse available.
• Storing your files on sites with no UCI contract (Dropbox, Box, etc.) affords no contractual protection.
• DO NOT STORE DATA ON NON-CONTRACTUAL CLOUD SERVICES
  • This includes services providing online cloud backup services

Warning against using network attached storage (NAS) devices

• While there is no explicit policy against using NAS at UCI, many of these devices have been detected as vulnerable by OIT security staff during routine network security scans.
  • ​Many of these devices are permanently disconnected due to lack of security updates by the manufacturer
• Please DO NOT use NAS at UCI Engineering
  • ​Contact helpdesk@eng.uci.edu if you have questions regarding file storage options at UCI.

More information against NAS:

Manufacturers have been slow to release security patches:

• Vulnerabilities and a Backdoor Plague Western Digital My Cloud NAS Devices
• WESTERN DIGITAL FIXES BACKDOOR IN MY CLOUD DEVICES

Note: Campus network uses public IP addresses different from a home network protected by a home router with private IP addressing