New Tiered Research Storage Environment & Researcher Charge-Back Model
In fall 2024, TTS will deploy a multi-tiered storage solution providing more economical and appropriate options for researchers to store their data vs. the current single-tier storage environment supported by TTS. When the new tiers are available, TTS will work with researchers to move portions of their data to the appropriate tier:
- Tier 1 (hot) for active, high-performance compute use.
- Tier 2 (cool) for inactive, infrequently accessed data, no compute on data.
- Tier 3 (deep cold) for static, rarely accessed data, “attic” storage. HPC storage only.
Beginning July 1, 2026, the University will implement a charge-back model that includes a charge-back for storage usage over a specified threshold. Tufts individual faculty member or faculty member’s research group will be provided with a base allocation at no cost. Storage usage beyond the base allocation will be billed monthly to the researcher or department. The new model will include the following base allocation and costs:
- Tier 1: 10 TB quota, $85 per TB per year beyond 10 TB quota.
- Tier 2: 10 TB quota, $35 per TB per year beyond 10 TB quota.
- Tier 3: 0 TB quota, $6 per TB per year. HPC storage only.
Rates will be reviewed and adjusted annually.
The effective dates and deadlines for tiers and charge-back implementation is as follows:
- July 1, 2026: all Tufts faculty/research group will be utilizing these new tiers at the approved rates.
- Interim between July 1, 2024 and July 1, 2026:
- Tufts faculty/research groups can be allocated up to 5 TB across both RStore Drive and HPC Cluster storage per research group per year at no cost
- On 8/1/2024 Tufts faculty/research group’s storage quotas will be reduced to a maximum of 5TB above storage usage as of 7/1/2024.
- Tufts faculty/research groups with need for greater than 5TB per year growth rate will need to engage individually with TTS to address their needs.
- Beginning fall 2024, TTS will work closely with Tufts faculty/research groups to move data to appropriate tiers to free up Tier 1 storage allocations. New data generation will be stored in Tier 1.
Research Technology Research Data Storage Tools
RStore Drive (Tier 1)
Research use only. An onsite research storage solution available to researchers and research groups looking to collaborate and share folders and data files over the network that require high-speed performance storage.
- Access to storage requires faculty sponsorship and TTS approval.
- Networked storage space starts at 50 GB.
- Additional storage is available to faculty researchers based on their research-specific computational and data needs.
Please see Data Storage Finder for detailed features, policies, costs, requirements, and storage requests.
HPC Cluster Storage (Tier 1)
The High-Performance Computing (HPC) Cluster storage provides a reliable, scalable, high-performance, and highly available storage solution for distributed computing environments. HPC Cluster storage consists of a dedicated multi-petabyte (PB) VAST all flash-based high-performance storage system. Dedicated login, management, file transfer, compute, storage and virtualization nodes are available on the cluster, all connected via a dedicated network infrastructure. Users access the system locally and remotely through ssh clients and several scientific gateways and portals, enabling access for both experienced users and emerging interest across all domains. Tufts provides web-based access via the OnDemand (OOD) web portal software.
- Access to storage requires faculty sponsorship and TTS approval.
- Networked storage space starts at 50 GB.
- Additional storage is available to faculty researchers based on their research-specific computational and data needs.
Please see Data Storage Finder for detailed features, policies, costs, requirements, and storage requests.
Secure Enclave
Tufts Secure Enclave employees Microsoft Azure 365 Government Community Cloud High (GCC High). It provides reliable, scalable storage and compute for data required to meet NIST 800-171 security controls. A variety of storage options are available within the GCC High environment. Required for data requiring NIST 800-171 security controls. Researchers must cover the cost of compute, data storage, specialized software licenses, etc. Cost varies depending on configuration. Usage requires consultation with TTS Research Technology.
Please see Data Storage Finder for detailed features, policies, costs, requirements, and storage requests.
Research Storage Dashboard
The Research Storage Dashboard allows researchers to view their data storage usage in TB across research storage environments. Available to PIs and their approvers only.
Get Started
To request research storage space:
- Complete the research storage request form.
- When finished, click Submit Request.
Other Tufts Research Data Storage Tools
TTS provides a variety of data storage tools available to the Tufts community such as Box, SharePoint, OneDrive, LabArchives, etc.
To determine the appropriate storage for your usage, please see Data Storage Finder for detailed features, policies, costs, requirements, etc.
-
Digital Notebooks
-
LabArchives: Research data management system that provides electronic lab notebook functionality for research projects, data, and collaboration.
-
- Archival Storage for Research Data
- Tufts Archival Research Center works with students, faculty, alumni, and the public to support teaching, research, and access to Tufts' physical and digital archival resources.
- Tufts Digital Library is a place to explore and discover Tufts' research, teaching, and unique collections online. Available collections include faculty and student scholarship, archival, manuscript, and photograph collections, oral histories, student and university publications, and more.
Support
If you need assistance with storage for research, contact the TTS Research Technology group.