File sync, recovery and backup

The college provides several methods to prevent you from losing your important files by making sure they are backed up and recoverable.

OneDrive for Business

ICT recommends you save your personal files to OneDrive for Business. Files saved in your OneDrive will be automatically synced to the cloud so you can access your files wherever you are. You have access to your OneDrive for Business on all College machines, and OneDrive can easily be set up on your own devices.

For more information on how to set up sync and back up with OneDrive for Business, visit the Microsoft Support pages. 

Home Directory

Home directories (H: drives) have been deprecated and existing drives set to read-only. Please use alternative methods for data storage.

Hosted systems and data

Unfortunately, we do not automatically back up hosted systems or data on research group or departmental owned servers. The system owner must request backups, typically copied to tape and we charge for this service - the fee is dependent on size, frequency, and retention. We also now provide an archiving service where data is retained on tape for long-term retention.

What is the difference between the backup and archive service: -

Backup:

• Purpose – Backups are created to recover data in case of hardware failure, data corruption or other loss.
• Frequency – They are made regularly or when the original data changes.
• Retention – Older backups are deleted in favour of newer ones.
• Use Case – Critical for restoring data after data loss or a compromised system.

Archive:

• Purpose – Archives manage space limitations and long-term retention.
• Data Change – Archived data does not change; it remains in its original form.
• Retention – Data is stored for a long term.
• Use Case – Archiving can be used for Legal documents, historical records or project or research data.

The backup charges are explained in the table below

An archiving service is also available, and the charges are explained below.