File Storage

Contact the LSA Technology Services Support Desk if you have any questions about which service is right for you.

Technology Services works with you to match your file storage needs with the various on- and off-campus solutions provided, including:

Home (H:) and Shared Group (S:) Directories (on MiStorage)
Information on Mapping Shared Drives
Dropbox at U-M
Google at U-M, also known as Google Drive
MiStorage (CIFS and NFSv3)
Research Storage (2TB sponsored on either MiStorage or Turbo)
Turbo Research Storage (NFSv3 or NFSv4+kerberos)

There is a comparison chart at the bottom of the page to help you decide which of these services is right for you. If you are or will be storing any sensitive data, including but not limited to credit card or payment card industry (PCI) information, export-controlled research, private personal information (PPI), protected health information (PHI), or social security numbers, please refer to the Sensitive Data Guide for guidance as to what types of sensitive data can be stored on these services. If you're still not sure which of these services is right for you, please contact the LSA Technology Service Desk or your regional support team for assistance.

Only the home and group directories and research storage services are administered directly through LSA Technology Services; for all of the other services, we just coordinate and liaise with ITS. Please refer to the ITS Storage Services portal page for additional information on their services.

Comparison Chart

This chart compares the various LSA-offered file storage services to each other to help you decide which is right for you.

For more information, please see ITS' Storage Solutions Summary Chart. While that chart doesn't list the LSA-specific Home and Group Directories (H: and S:) service, it uses MiStorage.

Feature	Services
Feature	AFS	H: & S:	Google at U-M	Dropbox at U-M	MiStorage	Research Storage	Turbo Storage
Size	—	10 GB chunks	Unlimited	5 TB	1 GB chunks	2 TB to start, 1 TB chunks	1 TB chunks
Sponsored	No	No	No	No	No	First 2 TB	No
Sensitive Data	No	Most	Some	Some	Most	Maybe ¹	Most
On Great Lakes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
On Linux	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
On macOS	Yes (with BlueDisc)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
On Windows	Yes (with BlueDisc)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Snapshots	Daily	Yes ²	Change-by-change	Yes	If requested	If requested	—
Web Access	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Read Only	No
Security	Detailed ACLs for users and groups	Standard Windows (CIFS)	Broad ACLs for users and groups	Broad ACLs for users and groups	Standard Windows (CIFS)	Standard Unix (NFSv3) or Windows (CIFS)	Standard Unix (NFSv3 or NFSv4 with Kerberos)
Typical Use Case	Personal or group files that don't need to be shared, or which need to be shared with other AFS institutions	Home (H:) for personal files; Group (S:) for unit-shared files	Personal or group files, shared within and outside U-M	Personal or group files, shared within and outside U-M	Personal or group files	Research files, shared among a U-M project team	Research files with high I/O or bulk access

Research Storage can store sensitive data only under certain circumstances. Refer to the MiStorage section for more information and please consult us if you have questions or concerns.

MiStorage, on which the H: and S: drives are stored, takes snapshots daily at 12pm and 4pm, retained for 3 days; nightly at 12am, retained for 7 days; and weekly Sundays at 12am, retained for 8 weeks. You can perform restores yourself by going into the appropriate snapshot and copying your file(s) back out.

User Groups:	Faculty Services ; Student Services ; Staff Services
Categories:	Computer & Desktop Support ; Services

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File Storage

Comparison Chart

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