UBackup
-- UDrive Backups
| New for Fall 2006: restore old versions of files! Click here for details. |
Summary
Every night (actually every morning starting at 4:00am) your private folder is duplicated to another storage space, "UBackup", in another building. If you need a copy of a file that you accidentally erased, edited, or otherwise messed it up, it may be in this alternate location.
In the Fall of 2006, the Shadow Copy Service was implemented on this server. That means files erased from the UDrive (and therefore erased from UBackup the next morning), and old versions of files, can be retrieved. Go here for details.
The backup process takes several hours, so the time at which your files are copied will vary.
Important Points:
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How to Connect to the Mirror
Map any drive letter to \\ubackup.win.psu.edu\users. If you are on Windows NT, 2000, or XP, you can map right down to your own folder, e.g.: \\ubackup.win.psu.edu\users\x\y\xyz123 or just type that "UNC" in the Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer) address bar. See more about connecting on the home page.
You should now be able to find the copy of your folder (on the V: drive, unless you picked a different letter) as it was early this morning. Drag and drop files you want back to your folder (on the U: drive). Be careful not to overwrite anything you want to keep.
Other Backups and Archives
UDrive files are also backed up to tape, and tapes are rotated weekly to a secure location outside of the blast radius for University Park. These backups are usually not easily accessible for file retrievals, but if you are really desperate, you may send the name and full path of the file, and the date and time of the version you would like restored, in a email to admin at staff.win.psu.edu. We cannot guarantee results, but we'll try to find it.
Some time after you leave Penn State and your account is marked inactive, your files will be archived and removed from the UDrive. These archives are kept for as long as spare disk space permits. If you come back and re-enroll for UDrive space, you can write to admin at staff.win.psu.edu to see if we can find your files. Please give the date you left. We cannot promise to find and restore files.
STAAs - Short Term Access Accounts
STAA users can enroll for UDrive space and use it; when the accounts expire the data is deleted. Files are not archived as with regular accounts.
Last Word
You are responsible for making your own backups and archives of your files. Files you "can't live without" should be frequently copied to removable media such as CD's, USB keys or portable disks, or at least copied to your own computer. For something like a thesis, it is not unreasonable to make a backup after every editing session, to save every version on removable media, and to save multiple copies in different places.
While we make reasonable efforts to secure and backup your data, we can make no guarantees.
Very Last Word
Backup your files to your own media and/or computer. Really.
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This page was last modified: 2/26/2007 5:39:45 PM.