Computer, network and server access

Purpose of the LMCF file server

Moving data between departments and buildings at Duke isn't always trivial. You may be able to simply use your departmental server directly, or USB memory or external drives may be adequate for your needs. LMCF provides a server called "pixels" to make it easier to move data around and store it while you are working on it. The server is accessible from anywhere at Duke, from both the University and Medical School buildings. It is intended to act as a means of transfer and temporary storage but not unlimited long-term storage of all your images.

Rules for files in LMCF

This is quite a challenge. Please appreciate we have several hundred users and more than a dozen systems, and microscopes generate A LOT of data. Our aim is to keep the computers fairly clear and make sure you can move and access your data safely and easily.

Please move your data from the acquisition computers -

• They really aren't safe places to keep anything
• Please either move the data (rather than copy) or delete the local copies after you have them safely elsewhere
• We may delete any files without warning if space is required for experiments
• (Caveat for small files, we understand sometime it is useful to store a reference file (eg to reload settings) so it is fine to keep permanently a small volume of data in a clearly labeled folder)
• Any files on any computer should be in a folder with your full name or netid on the data drive (please don't use the desktop or "my documents" as it buries the files in places less easy to maintain)

Files on pixels:

• You get a quota for pixels, use it how you like but if your space is full of archive files you might not have space for your new stuff.
• Any files left on the server when you leave Duke (Criteria for judging this: your email no longer works) will be deleted
• Your files can be seen only by you and LMCF staff (this is a good way of getting images to us)

When you are in LMCF . . .

Log on to the microscope or workstation computer as you do normally

You can save directly to the server or to the local hard-drive and move the data afterwards. In general we recommend saving directly to the data drive on the computer and moving the data when you are finished and have closed the software. Sometimes the software has problems saving to remote locations, and often for timelapse etc the speed isn't good enough. Moving rather than copying data really helps LMCF keep the computers clear.

Most computers have multiple hard-drives on those systems and you should save data to the data drives rather than the C:/ drive. Please don't use the desktop or "my documents". Storing data is labeled folders on the D:/ drive or similar helps make data management easier and windows working better.

How do I connect to and use pixels?

You can connect to the server from any of the LMCF microscopes/workstations or the PC's or Macs in your lab using Samba (SMB). On a Windows PC this is called a “share” or a mapped network drive, on a Mac use “connect to server”

\\pixels.microscopy.duke.edu\home

This should work from anywhere at Duke. If you need to access the data offsite (eg at home) you can use VPN to gain a Duke IP address.

How safe is it?

The server is RAID5, this means if one drive fails all the data is safe as it is redundantly written across several drives. This makes it much safer than a single hard-drive in a computer or an external drive. The server is not backed up beyond the RAID configuration. If two drives were to fail simultaneously or the building burns down, all the data will be lost. Geeky details about the server are here.

Having given those warnings, it is quite a lot safer than just storing data on a single computer. Especially a multi-user one such as those in LMCF.

How much space can I have?

10 GB. Enough to move files around and perhaps temporarily store images you are working with.

"But I need 100's GB of storage". Then you'll need to find somewhere safe to put all that data elsewhere. Hard-drives are fairly cheap, servers are probably 10 times as expensive per GB. LMCF doesn't at present have the resources to store everybody's files for ever. I hope you agree it is better we provide a modest service than none at all.

How do you recommend we archive the data? It is important to work out how to transfer and store your data. External hard-drives are very useful but are not 100% reliable, it is best to store data long-term on a backed-up file server if your department or institute provides such. If not, redundancy is highly recommended.

How do I get an account on the server?

• You don't have one by default.
• You don't have to have one to use LMCF, only if it helps you.
• You can request an account on this page

How do I connect to my departmental server? Didn't you have another server before?

This page lists a few more commonly used servers, including a couple of legacy servers not really used any more that will be phased out.

Webfiles are also a convenient way of moving data (this is a service provided by OIT where you can use a web browser to upload and download files to secure file space secured by your netid password). If you are in the University you have an account automatically. If you are in the Med School you may have to request an account from OIT.

More information

If this page doesn't answer your question please contact Sam.