Storage and Data Transfer

Storage
MEMORI

The MEMORI storage cluster was created with the help of an NSF MRI grant (grant# 1625039).  The cluster has a raw capacity of 7.5 PB.  Storage on the Memori cluster is highly redundant, and the ORC will maintain a regularly scheduled backup copy of any data.  Storage from this cluster is provided to researchers on a cost-recovery basis, at a base rate of $50 per terabyte per year. For large storage purchases, a sliding scale may be negotiated.  MEMORI storage can be provisioned via a number of methods: as a block device attached to a virtual machine hosted by the ORC, as a POSIX file system mounted on the Hopper HPC cluster, or as a share provided via the ORC SMB/CIFS server.

If you are interested in purchasing storage from our cluster please submit a help request to schedule a consultation.

GitLab

The ORC operates a GitLab server that is available to all researchers at Mason at no cost.  Please submit a help request for assistance accessing this service.

Data Transfer and Sharing
GUI and Command Line File Transfer

File transfer between ORC systems and between ORC systems and end-user systems is generally performed using command line file transfer commands such as scp or sftp, or graphical clients such as Filezilla or Cyberduck that support the scp and sftp protocols.  If the storage has been provisioned as a SMB/CIFS share normal Windows files sharing may be used to transfer files.  Data may also be shared with non-Mason collaborators and transferred to and from external repositories using Globus. We recommend using Globus, especially for large transfers, as it provides a robust transfer method that is tolerant of interruptions.

Globus

Mason subscribes to the Globus research data management service operated as a non-profit service by the University of Chicago. Globus provides a web-based interface to securely facilitate parallel, load-balanced, fault-tolerant data transfers ranging from Megabytes to Petabytes. Users may access the Globus Connect portal to transfer data between clusters operated by the Mason ORC and clusters run by other agencies, such as the NSF ACCESS program or other high-performance computing centers worldwide. The portal may also transfer files from home, office, or lab-based systems such as laptops, desktops, or scientific instruments. Globus also provides a simple method for sharing data with collaborators and a feature-full REST API and python-based programming SDK to permit the creation of data portals and automate routine data distribution and sharing tasks.

Globus allows sharing data without requiring accounts for collaborators on the system where the data resides. Any storage system provisioned through Globus can be easily configured to enable secure data sharing. Once configured, select directory paths may be shared with either read-only or read-write access. Collaborators receive an email with a link to the shared directory paths and can then use Globus to transfer data from/to your storage system directly and securely.

Mason has the High Assurance subscription levels of Globus. This subscription enables Mason to identify storage systems that contain sensitive data requiring a higher level of protection, including Personally Identifiable Information (PII), and controlled but unclassified data. Globus will ensure that stricter access policies, as required by the institution, are enforced on High Assurance data.

Detailed information on using Globus at Mason can be found on the ORC Wiki.