Your University home drive
Students and staff have 5GB of personal file storage space at the University, often called your H: (Home) drive. It can be used much like space on your home computer: save essays, CVs and lecture materials. The H: drive allows you to:
- see how much space you are using
- request more space if you run out of storage
- get help with file recovery; this and other University storage is backed up by us on a daily basis, being kept for 3 months
- scan paper files directly to your H: drive or any email for free to help you store and organise documents
Shared storage on the X: drive
All staff have access to parts of the University shared drive, often called the X: drive. Students can use this to save group and project work, once granted access by a supervisor. Supervisors should contact IT support to set up the right permissions.
Research storage
Up to 1TB of space is made available for every member of 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 in line with the University research data guidelines. These advise the use of the X: and H: drive for security reasons. You can contact IT support to discuss bespoke storage support for large or unusual research project data needs.
Further details on research data storage allocation and deallocation procedures.
Access options
You can access University drives from any University computer and via files.bath. Files.bath is the simplest way to access your files and offers file-sharing facilities (similar to Dropbox). Alternatively, 'mapping your University drives' allows University folders to appear as if saved on your personal computer.
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 discuss this with us via your local IT support.
Encryption
Encryption can present a risk to good data practice. You should 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. In order 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 ensure that you keep these keys secure.
Moving files securely
If you need to move files securely, portable memory sticks and hard drives are available from the IT shop in the Library. As with all such portable devices, these are not suitable for long-term archive.
Cloud-based services
We offer OneDrive cloud-based storage, view our guidance to help you decide if cloud storage is right for you and the University.
Further information on storing files in Onedrive is available on the University of Bath Learning Pathways site.
Access options
You can access University drives from any University computer and via files.bath. Files.bath is the simplest way to access your files and offers file-sharing facilities. Alternatively, mapping your University drives allows University folders to appear as if saved on your personal computer.
Further information on file storage
- View the guidance on storing and sharing files on the University of Bath Learning Pathways
- View the help resources available on the Self-service Portal