Access Research Data Depot

The WVU Research Data Depot is a centrally managed, reliable, secure, and fast data storage system specifically designed to meet the university’s diverse research storage needs. Designed to handle all size of files, from small to very large, researchers who use this service will have access to their data both on and off-campus and can also use it to collaborate with researchers outside of WVU.

Access to the Data Depot can be purchased at a low rate that provides access for 5 years of storage. The data stored can be replicated and/or encrypted for an additional fee. Contact Research Computing to request access to the Research Data Depot.

Connecting to Research Data Depot

ITS designed the Data Depot to be easy to use. Researchers have access to drag and drop files through an interface they are accustomed to using such as Windows, OSX, or Linux file managers. Command line tools, such as sftp, and Linux based commands, such as mount, can also be used to access the files on lab PCs/servers.

Accessing via File Share (SMB/CIFS)

SMB (Server Message Block) is the file transfer protocol that has traditionally been utilized for accessing Windows File Shares. MB has become the standard protocol for transferring files in heterogeneous environments, such as in the research community where researchers have Windows, OS X, and Linux PCs and servers. Files can be transferred over SMB through graphical user interfaces or through traditional command-line utilities (mainly in Linux and OSX).

Windows:

• Windows 7:

  • Select Start -> Computer -> Map Network Drive

  • Go to “Map Network Drive” Section
     

• Windows 8/10:

  • Select Window’s Key, type “computer” -> Select ‘This PC’ -> Select Computer ->Select  ‘Map Network Drive’ in top bar

  • Go to “Map Network Drive” Section

• Map Network Drive:

  • Select Drive R: (for research)

  • Enter: \\datadepot.hpc.wvu.edu\depot\

  • If not part of WVU-AD domain, you will be prompted for your WVU Login Username and Password. 

    • Example: Username -> WVU-AD\jdoe

OS X:

• Open OSX Finder

• Select Go - > Connect to Server

• Enter smb://datadepot.hpc.wvu.edu/depot/

• If not part of WVU-AD domain you will be prompted for your WVU Login Username in Password. 

  • Example: Username -> WVU-AD\jdoe

Linux:

Establishing SMB/CIFS connectivity in Linux requires using the command line interface. If you try establishing initial connectivity with a Linux File Manager, it will probably fail as it relies on an old version of the SMB protocol (SMBv1), which is not supported. 

Command Line:

• Find your uidNumber by typing “id –u”

• Find your gidNumber by typing “id –g”

• Create mount point:

  • Execute: mkdir /mnt/datadepot

• Use the previous values in the following command:

  •  Execute: mount.cifs //datadepot.hpc.wvu.edu/depot /mnt/datadepot -o username=wvuloginid,uid=uidNumber,gid=gidNumber,vers=3.0,domain=wvu-ad

  • Example: mount.cifs //datadepot.hpc.wvu.edu/depot/jdoe /mnt/datadepot -o username=jsmith,uid=1000,gid=1000,vers=3.0,domain=wvu-ad

Accessing via Globus Online

The Research Data Depot can be reached remotely via Globus Online. Please reference the Globus Online documentation located here. 

Once connected to the wvu#datadepot, you will want to browse the /depot directory for your research group's storage location. 

Note: Globus Online is the preferred method for large transfers (i.e., large number of files or large files in general) whether you are on or off campus. It is designed to transfer files in parallel and ensures file integrity during transfer. It is also the preferred method for accessing files remotely, although SFTP access is available. 

Accessing via SFTP

Researchers can access the Research Data depot via the sftp protocol. SFTP is built into most operating systems except Windows. For Windows, you may choose one of the many sftp client software packages available. FileZilla is one such client you may want to use.

The sftp server is http://datadepot-sftp.hpc.wvu.edu . You will want to change to the /depot directory upon successfully connecting to the service.