******** ABBREVIATIONS USED ********* SC stands for the Texas
A&M Supercomputing Facility, and TLS stands for tape
library system (the tape-based archival storage system)
WHO CAN STORE DATA. Only SC staff and SC users can store data
on SC systems, disk-based or the TLS
PERMITTED DATA. Only the following types of data are
permitted for storage on SC systems:
data that serve as input to executables that are run on
SC systems
data that is output from executables that are run on
SC systems
executable files that are run on SC systems
other directly relevant files: source code, object files,
user libraries, include files, make files, etc
CORE FILE DELETION. Users should regularly delete core files
in their directories. Core files that are useful to a user
should be renamed with a name that does not contain the "core"
substring. All disk-resident core files will be periodically
deleted.
ARCHIVING OF HOME. The SC staff archives on a regular (nightly)
basis all user home directories (/home/$USER) on all
computational servers
ARCHIVING NON-HOME FILES ON THE TLS. User files that are
not stored in users' home directories are not archived. You,
the user, can explicitly archive on the TLS any files that
you consider valuable. This kind of archiving is intended for
valuable files deserving long-term storage and undergoing
no changes. If changes should occur to such files, they
are expected to be highly infrequent, otherwise these files
should reside on disk. Instructions on how to archive data
files can be found in the user guides.
QUOTAS. Disk file quotas for home directories are 300MB on all
compute servers. For other disk areas consult the appropriate
user quide. The default file quota per user on the tape
archive is 50GB.
DISK-RESIDENT DATA RETENTION. All disk-resident user
data, on all compute servers, will be deleted six months
after account deactivation unless a user has made prior
arrangements with the SC staff and/or the affected data are
covered by special provisions. (An account is deactivated
if it is not renewed yearly during the August - September 15
period)
TAPE-RESIDENT DATA RETENTION. All tape-resident user data on
the TLS will be deleted 18 months after account deactivation.
Before the 18-month period expires, users can engage in any
of the following:
delete their archived files and/or
copy their data files to an external, non-SC storage
and/or
arrange with the SC staff for a tenure extension,
if possible, of their files and/or
any combination of the above
CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS. Faculty and/or student users who
plan to leave Texas A&M and whose archive area contains
files that contractually must be preserved must contact
the SC staff in writing to that effect in order to make
secure arrangements for their eventual disposition
THREE YEARS MAXIMUM TENURE. Three (3) years is the maximum
tenure for an archived file since its most recent use, if
space is available. Extensions can be granted by written
notification (to helpdesk) or at account renewal time.
Read our privacy policy
Document last modified: [Friday July 28, 2006]
