Data backup and transfer of files collected in LMCF
It is your responsibility to backup your data that you collected on LMCF microscope systems. You and your advisor own the data and are responsible for the storage and backup. Please realize that the Light Microscopy Core Facility (LMCF) does not have the resources to be a data storage and management entity. We will help you transfer your data and help you find a location or procedure to transfer your data, but we can not guarantee that the data will remain available on LMCF computers for any amount of time. We inform people about this during training sessions and have an LMCF Rules document and data management plan.
Rules for files in LMCF
Please back up your data (make a copy on another drive or transfer a copy to another location outside of the LMCF) at the end of your imaging session. Some of our systems generate more data during one session than others. For instance, our lightsheet can generate multiple terabytes in a session (potentially daily) and we need to keep enough space open for the next users to collect their data. Other systems have smaller files, but can still generate multiple gigabytes per session. Since we have variable size data collections and various size data drives available on each microscope, our policy is that each user must backup their data at the end of their session to make sure that they have it. Please appreciate we have several hundred users and more than twenty 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.
-- You are responsible for your data. --
Please backup your data from the acquisition computers.
- The LMCF computers are not safe places to store your data.
- Please either move the data (rather than copy) or delete the local copies (on the LMCF computers) after you have confirmed you have them safely saved elsewhere.
- You should back up your data elsewhere at the end of each of your sessions on the microscope(s). We can not guarantee that your data will remain in tact (computers and hard drives fail). You may keep a copy of your data on an LMCF microscope computer for up to one week* while you are making sure you have it backed up to your own lab based storage location.
- 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 (example: to reload settings) so it is fine to keep a small volume of data in a clearly labeled folder and clearly labeled filename)
- Any files on any computer should be in a folder with your full name or netid on the data drive. Please do not use the desktop or "my documents" or any location on the C:drive as it buries the files in places less easy to maintain.
- *if we need more space for new data on lightsheet or other systems in a shorter time than one week, we reserve the right to delete older data (we will start with the oldest dates saved)
Saving data when you are in LMCF
Log on to the microscope or workstation computer as you do normally
We recommend that you directly save to the data drive on the local computer and then move the data when you are finished your session and have closed the software. Sometimes the software has problems saving to remote locations, and often for timelapse etc the speed of your drive or the network is not fast enough. Moving rather than copying data really helps LMCF keep the computers clear. (But you may copy your files, check that you have them elsewhere, and then delete the files off of the LMCF microscope computer.)
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.
#Please contact us if you need temporary server share storage space to move your data from the LMCF computers to your lab backup location.