9. File Management in the FNAL NT Domain

This chapter discusses file storage within the FNAL NT domain. A personal, backed-up file storage area (also called a user volume) is provided for each supported FNAL NT domain user on his or her designated server machine. Common file storage areas can also be set up for departments, groups and projects in order to facilitate file sharing.

There are no restrictions on the use of these areas other than general lab restrictions; see Fermilab Policy on Computing . The size of each area varies depending on the availability of space on the server.

Note: At present, file storage areas are only offered to members of departments that are supported by PCS. Most of the supported departments have one or more dedicated servers. If you are not sure whether your department has a server, contact your local administrator or send email to pcs-group@fnal.gov . There is no general-purpose server at this time, but we are planning to make one available in the near future.

9.1 Storing your Files

The PCS group recommends that you store all your important files in your personal area on your designated server, not on your local hard disk. This includes both document files and applications (when possible; not all applications will install on a server). There are a few reasons for this recommendation:

Backups are done automatically for you, so you never need to remember to backup your files.
In case of a severe problem on your PC, the support person may need to wipe your machine clean and start fresh; any files you maintain locally would be lost in this event.
We run virus-checking on all the files stored on the servers.

For each application, check the default location for saving files. Most of the PCS-supported software is configured to save files to your user volume on your server. Many other applications default to your local hard disk, and you may want to change these locations to your server volume.

Pull up the Windows NT Explorer (click on the Start button, and look under Programs ). Assuming your machine was configured according to the PCS group's convention, you should see a server symbol for drive U: which is your user volume on the server. Double click on your folder to open it; on the right-hand side of NT Explorer you should now find a folder calledpcapps .

9.2 Backing Up and Restoring your Files

Assuming you follow the recommendation of maintaining all your files on the server, you should never need to worry about backing up your files.

All supported servers are backed up nightly. Incremental backups are run every 24 hours, and a full backup is run once per week. Contact your group's PC administrator, Customer Support (see section 3.2: Who Do You Contact for Support? ), or your local server administrator to request file restores. The waiting period on file restore requests depends on urgency; under normal circumstances the average waiting time is about two hours, and 24 hours can be taken as an upper limit.

Individual workstations are not included in these backups. You are responsible for backing up any files stored on the hard drive(s) local to your machine. We do not provide backup media or software for this purpose.

If you have questions about a particular virus, feel free to send email to pcs-group@fnal.gov . We are on many of the major security mailing lists and we can let you know if the information you have is valid.

9.4 File Sharing

Most of the time file sharing is done within a group, department, or project. An area for shared files may already be provided on your server, so check with the appropriate persons in your group.

9.4.1 Individual Users

As an individual who needs or wants to share particular files, we recommend that you first find out if a shared folder exists or can be created on your server (outside your personal area) to meet your needs. Contact your group's PC administrator or your local server administrator.

If you can't access a shared folder, your other option is to create a special folder in your personal area on the server, and apply the appropriate permissions to it, as well as to the files in it that you want to share. Be aware that you need to apply these permissions to your top-level personal folder as well, so that the authorized user(s) can access the share folder and files.

Setting permissions is described in the help files on NT. Select Help from the Start menu, and look under files/permissions , folders/permissions , and/or folders, shared/permissions . You can also contact the PCS group at pcs-group@fnal.gov for assistance, or refer to a text describing standard NT features and functionality.

9.4.2 Departments and Groups

PCS provides file storage areas for information needed on a department-wide or group-wide basis. The department/group leader is given full control over the contents of the provided area, and he or she is responsible for controlling access to it by members.

9.4.3 Projects

Projects sometimes span departments and groups, and may not include all members of them. Project areas are similar to department/group areas, but allow for this overlap. The project leader is given full control over the contents of the provided area, and he or she is responsible for controlling access to it by members.