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Your University file storage options

Find out what types of file storage are available to students and staff so you can use the right file storage service for you.

Your University home drive

Students and staff have 6GB of individual file storage space at the University, often called your H: (Home) drive. You can use it much like space on your home computer: save essays, CVs, and lecture materials. The H: drive allows you to:

Your University OneDrive

Staff and students have 1GB of individual file storage space in the University’s managed cloud service. It can also be used much like space on your home computer: save essays, CVs, and lecture materials.

Read our guidance on Your OneDrive at Bath on the University of Bath - Learning Pathways site.

View our guidance to help you decide if cloud storage is right for you and the University.

Shared storage on the X: drive

All staff have access to parts of the University shared drive, often called the X: drive. Once a supervisor grants students access, they can use it to save group and project work. Supervisors should contact IT support to set up the correct permissions.

Shared storage on Teams

All staff have access to Teams to store and share information with groups in a controlled way. Students can use Teams to save group and project work, once granted access by a supervisor. Teams can also be used to share work with external collaborators.

Please note that with Teams, you have full control and responsibility for managing access permissions to shared files. Please undertake regular reviews to ensure that only appropriate staff, students, and collaborators continue to have access. Do not set sharing to ‘public’ as this could result in unintended data leakage.

Read our guidance on how to Upload, create or share files in Teams on the University of Bath - Learning Pathways site.

Your personal data

You should not use the H: drive, X: Drive, OneDrive - University of Bath, or Teams for storing personal data that is unrelated to research activities or University business, such as photos, home budgets, and private to-do lists.

Research storage

Up to 1TB of space is available for academic staff, with up to 1TB for the second and each subsequent active, funded research project. A principal investigator (PI) or supervisor can request this storage by contacting their IT supporter. Typically, this space appears as part of the X: drive and is intended only for research data. It should not be used for personal data or backups.

Research data should be stored per the University research data guidelines. These advise using the X:, H: drive or University-managed cloud storage platforms (OneDrive and Teams) for security reasons. You can contact IT support to discuss bespoke storage support for large or unusual research project data needs.

Access options

You can access University X: and H: drives as well as your University-managed OneDrive, from any University computer through File Explorer and via files.bath. Files.bath offers a convenient way to access and share your files via the web. Alternatively, mapping your University drives enables your University files and folders to appear as if saved on your personal computer.

Your University-managed OneDrive and Teams files can be accessed via Office.com and the dedicated apps on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. You can add shortcuts to shared folders in OneDrive to easily find and work with the files.

Security and sharing of data

Security

These storage services are secure as files can only be accessed by those who have permission, and only via secure, authenticated connections. Occasionally, data you have collected or obtained from third parties may demand security levels beyond those provided as standard. If you believe you have such a requirement, you should contact us via the Self-Service Portal and we will discuss this with you.

Encryption

University-managed OneDrive and Teams automatically encrypt all data ‘at rest’ (where data is stored) and ‘in transit’ (when transmitted over the network) by default, and therefore offer a convenient and secure solution for encrypting data.

X: and H: drive data is not encrypted by default. IT support can assist you with effective encryption tools and key management should this be required.

Encryption tools can present a risk to good data practice. You should therefore encrypt only those files and folders you are required to, and IT support can assist you with effective encryption key management to ensure your information can always be retrieved. To comply with the University’s Code of Good Practice in Research more than one person at the University must have access to the encryption keys. As with all passwords, you must keep these keys secure.

Moving files securely

If you need to move files securely, the preferred approach is as follows:

  1. Transfer data using University-managed, network-based solutions, including files.bath, University-managed OneDrive, Teams, or mapped drives.

  2. If it is not possible to use University-managed network-based solutions, for example, if you are out of range of a Wi-Fi network, it is appropriate to store data temporarily on a University-managed and encrypted device, before uploading to University-managed OneDrive, Teams, or files.bath.

  3. Should large datasets require additional temporary storage, portable memory sticks, and hard drives can be purchased from your local purchasing team. Data should be encrypted when stored on portable devices, should you need assistance with this, please contact us via the Self-Service Portal. As with all such portable devices, they are not suitable for long-term storage. Only use portable memory sticks provided by the University and not those provided by third parties (e.g., provided at international conferences).

Further information on file storage

Storing and sharing files

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