Storage System Replacement

Updated 16 November 2009

Quick Links

• File Migration Background
• Quota Increases
• Migration Schedule
• Instructions for MAC users
• Instructions to update shortcuts and desktop icons
• Other Frequently Asked Questions

File Migration Activities September - November 2009

ITS commenced a project early 2009 to replace aging file storage infrastructure with the following objectives:

• Significantly increase storage quotas for staff and students to better meet storage needs (5Gb for Staff and general Students and 50Gb for Research Roles and Academics)
• Improve ITS' ability to support the growth in data storage requirements at the University, which is increasing by 50% each year

• Replace older equipment with more modern file storage technology

Where are we at?

The new infrastructure has been installed and is currently being configured to commence migration of all user and shared file systems from the old equipment to the new storage environment. This process needs to be completed before quotas can be increased and the old file servers can be turned off and decommissioned.

What does this mean?

In the next 6 - 8 weeks (September to November) all the files in your home drive (U: drive) will be migrated to the new storage infrastructure; in addition, shared file systems (S: drive) will also be moved. Once all files have been moved, your personal storage quota will be increased according to the new storage allocations. 

Some staff and students may remember the files project that ran in 2008, this migration will be much easier as there is no change to the network drive structure. Files and folders are "simply" moved from one storage location to another.

How will this happen?

User files are stored in home drives in large folders based on the last digit of the User ID (UID). ITS will move the files group by group, starting with UIDs ending in 0 and progressively moving all files to the new storage system. The majority of this work will be done after hours to minimise downtime.

Shared data will be moved in parallel to the user home drives, the process is similar to the method used to move the user files. Large shared data folders will be moved on weekends to minimise downtime.

A migration schedule can be found here on this web page which will provide date and time of migration for particular file systems.

How will I know when my files are being moved?

 You will be notified several days prior to your user files being moved (determined by the last digit of your UID). This notification will provide detailed information, what you can expect to see and where to go for assistance should you notice any issues after the migration.

How will this migration of files affect me?

There will be some downtime associated with the file migrations, and this will be kept to a minimum by staging the transition. After the migration, your files will be available to you as they are today and most users don't have to do anything. User with specific workstation devices (such as MACs and Linux) will be contacted to ensure that any hard coded paths to file systems are changed. For the majority of users this is not required.

What will happen to the shared data file systems?

The files in the shared file systems will be moved as well, and we plan to manage that on Faculty and Division basis. Schools will be contacted to identify a single point of communication; where appropriate, the local computing offices will be engaged to assist. These communications will take place in the next weeks in preparation for the migration.

If your school has a local computing office, you may wish to contact them should you have any concerns or questions.

Quota Increases

Why are we doing this? One of the most important reasons is to provide you with additional personal storage quotas. The table below provides you with an overview of the proposed quota upgrades.

In addition to this benefit, ITS needs to ensure that storage capacity can be increased much easier in future to support expected data growth. ITS has designed the new storage equipment and the method of access such that future increases will be almost transparent to users, without disruptive and complex data migration activities with every large capacity increase.

Migration Schedule

The following tables provide information on the migration schedule and will be updated at least a week in advance. The pre-migration notification to users and Faculty and Division contacts will provide further information regarding time and what you need to do.

Update 16 November - Due to the outages on November 13, the decision has been made to postpone any migrations until the 22nd of November. Migrations will be rescheduled with schools and divisions.

Shared File System Migration

User Home Folder Migration

Please note that user folders will be migrated based on the last digit of your UID, the dates are provided in a date range, you will receive an email several days ahead of the migration of your home folder. We ask you to follow the instructions in that email to ensure your files are migrated as planned.

 I am a Macintosh user, how will this affect me?

Macintosh computer users will be identified and contacted by an ITS staff member to migrate home folders and remount shared file systems and home folders. It is anticipated that the majority of Mac users will be able to change the file server mounts guided by the instructions, remote assistance will be available where required.

There are changes to the CIFS server names that are important to understand and ITS have mapped the old to the new server names. You can find the new server names and instructions how to mount the correct file system on Macintosh computers here. These will also be included in the notification emails to users.

Desktop Shortcuts will only need to be updated if you have used hard coded paths to point to the new location, information how to update your desktop icons can be found here. Typically, you do not have to change any of your desktop icons.

Embedded links in office documents, spreadsheets and databases will also need to be updated, ITS has a tool available that will automate this process for shared file systems and you will not have to do anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will happen if I have purchased additional storage?

 If you have purchased additional personal storage in the past, your existing quota will be re-applied in the new storage environment. For example, if you have purchased an additional 10Gb, this is what will be put in place for you on the new storage system.

I'm a laptop or tablet computer user. Will my u:\ (home folder) continue to be available on my computer when I am off the University network?

Technology Services will assist by identifying staff using laptop computers that may not have sufficient space available and provide advise to staff effected. Technology Services is not able to replace laptop computers where hard disk space is insufficient. Staff with laptops reaching the free disk space threshold may discuss replacing or upgrading with their school or division in the first instance.

It is also important to anticipate the possibility of a temporary performance degradation once a large amount of data is uploaded to your home folder after the quota increase, and your laptop computer copies it to make it available offline.  We ask you to keep that in mind when you upload a significant amount of data, and appreciate your patience should this occur on your laptop.

I deleted files before my home drive was migrated, but they appeared again the new home drive location, why is that?

Due to the sheer number of user home drives that need to be migrated (40,000+ as at the end of October 2009)  ITS is undertaking pre-copy runs to avoid heavy load on the network and IT systems and as such, prevent major disruption to existing services. Should you have deleted some files on the old home drive location, they may appear again once you are migrated and the final copy of your home folder is completed. This is a limitation with the data copy tools that ITS is using to move all your files accross to the new equipment. Unfortunately,  that is not an issue that can be fixed for techical reasons, and it means you may need to delete those files again in your home drive once you are migrated.

We thank you for your patience and understanding with this minor annoyance.

 Questions?

Should you have any queries about the migration and what that means to you, please contact the ITS Service Desk on 8303 3000 or email servicedesk@adelaide.edu.au with the subject Storage File Migration Question.