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K-State data-storage options

data storage imageby Information Technology Services

Faculty, staff, and researchers create and consume data on a daily basis. Keeping that information safe is vital, which requires good data storage to safely backup the information and to distribute data quickly when required.

K-State offers three data-storage options for storing and backing up your computer files. Each option has a unique combination of features so you can tailor your choices to your specific needs. These options are centrally supported and documented, and each is a secure mechanism for storing and retrieving your files.

  • CrashPlan — A cloud-based, automated, whole-disk backup solution. Once the CrashPlan client is installed on your Windows or Macintosh computer, it runs automatically in the background to back up all of your files to a secure, off-site location. If you just need to back up your files with a minimum of human intervention, this is an excellent choice. CrashPlan licenses are available for purchase by departments for faculty and staff. To apply for a license, submit a completed CrashPlan license request form.
  • CatFiles – K-State’s internal solution for user file storage. Your files are stored in the Hale Data Center where they are automatically backed up on a regular schedule. This storage is fast, convenient and offered at no charge to university departments except in cases of extremely high volume storage needs. However, any catastrophic disaster such as a tornado or severe flooding that would likely threaten your computer may also impact your ability to retrieve your data from CatFiles. Use these step-by-step directions to map Windows network drives and map Mac network drives in CatFiles.
  • OneDrive – Included as part of our subscription to Office365 with Microsoft. OneDrive offers each user up to 1 terabyte of storage at no charge. Files can be accessed via the web client or with the OneDrive for Business client that makes it appear as a local drive on your computer. OneDrive is an excellent choice for sharing files with other K-Staters or people outside of the university. View this article to learn the do’s and don’ts of OneDrive. Note: Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data should not be stored in OneDrive.

CrashPlan, CatFiles, and OneDrive are the only storage options that are supported by ITS. The safety and integrity of your data cannot be assured with other services like Dropbox and Google Drive.

If you have questions, contact Greg Dressman, director of Enterprise Server Technologies, dressman@ksu.edu.

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