Where should your data live?

All considerations of data storage start with understanding the risk level of your data and the various aspects of data security, especially for High-Risk and Restricted data. The only appproved environment for Restricted data is the Controlled Unclassified Information Environment (CUIE) managed by DIT.

UMD Box is a self-serve, one-size-fits-most solution for Low-Risk and Moderate-Risk data. Although it is rated for up to High-Risk, special considerations have to be taken into account if you are working with High-Risk data (contact Mary Shelley for additional guidance). Anyone with a UMD DirectoryID can access up to 500GB of storage immediately. If you need additional space, you can request a shared account (requires two owners) with a default of 1TB, extendable up to 5TB. Workflows involving Box are easy to build; it connects with many systems on campus and can be accessed securely using Box Drive (without syncing) so that files are never saved anywhere except Box. In addition, Box allows the account owner to invite internal and external collaborators with various permissions settings.

If the size of your data exceeds what Box can handle, network storage options are available through OACS and DIT. Although these are not self-serve, they can be extended up to multiple terrabytes. Access to both systems are managed by OACS, and account owners cannot add users by themselves. This may be a benefit for some data security plans which require a separation of duties. DIT bills $18/TB per month for space used on the network storage system.

If your requirements exceed more than about 10TB, it may be worth investing in your own server. These are expensive (thousands of dollars) but sometimes necessary for storing or working with very large data sets. Contact OACS for additional information.

Why isn't Google Drive listed?

While the university supports Google Drive, there are several reasons to prefer Box for research data.

1. Individual accounts have a quota of 256GB v. 500GB for Box.

2. Google Drive is not as highly rated for security. One reason for this is that all of Box's servers are located in the U.S.

3. Box offers finer-grained permissions controls with roles such as "uploader" and "previewer."