Throughout your time in the Communication Department, you'll need to retrieve and upload files from our central storage solution, commonly known as “The server”. The server we refer to is a Blackmagic Design Cloud Store that uses NVMe M.2 flash storage as its primary and only way of storing data. This setup ensures that your files are always accessible, giving you the confidence to work on your projects without any hassle.
Given its pivotal role, it’s crucial to grasp the nuances of our central storage solution. Whether you're in a class that requires large file storage, collaborative editing, or redundant storage, this solution is your go-to. Let's delve into these nuances.
The Blackmagic Cloud Store is an unmanaged drive. This means several things for you as the device's user. This means there are no accounts, passwords, or permissions you must be concerned with. This adds a layer of convenience for everyone in the department and is one less account for which to remember the username and password. The server should be viewed as a very large portable SSD plugged into the university and accessible to everyone. Although this is convenient, it also means there is no way for the files you put on the server to be relegated to a specific group of people. If something is on the server, everyone in the university can view, download, alter, or delete it, so be mindful of this. If content gets inadvertently deleted without your knowledge, the equipment room manages its own local server, which backs up 1:1 all content from the Cloud Store that no one has access to other than the production manager of the department. If something of yours got deleted and you do not have a backup of this content elsewhere, please contact the equipment room at equipmentroom@calvin.edu so your content can be restored to the server.
When uploading files to the server, it is critical that you practice intentionality when naming your files, as the server cannot backup files that end a certain way or use certain characters. Below is an excerpt from Qnap (the manufacturer of our backup server) regarding file names.
The following naming conventions cause issues when storing content:
Ends with a period (.)
Ends with a space ( )
Includes the following special characters:
- asterisk (*)
- backslash (\)
- colon (:)
- greater than sign (>)
- less than sign (< )
- question mark (?)
- quotation mark (")
- slash (/)
- vertical bar (|)
The server is considered a “NAS” or network-attached storage. This means a couple of things. First, you must be connected to the “Eduroam” Wi-Fi network to access the server. If you are not connected to the Eduroam Wi-Fi network, you will not be able to access the server. In addition to this, because of how Calvin University’s network is configured, you will need to be in either an academic or office building on campus to be on Eduroam and, therefore, access the server. From the user’s point of view, it may look like you are still on Eduroam when you are in your on-campus housing, but unbeknownst to you, you are actually on a different network while in campus housing, even though it looks like you’re not. Second, the speed of the server is not only beholden to the speed of the drives within it (which are very fast), but because it’s a NAS, the speed of the server is also beholden to the speed of the network. This means that during peak times of the day, when many students are trying to access the server simultaneously, server speeds may be slower than off-peak times.
As previously alluded, because one’s computer must be connected to Eduroam to access the server, users cannot access the server off-campus. There are no ways around this.
Users of the server must maintain the file structure laid out at the beginning of the semester on the server. Since the server is a shared device that everyone has access to, things will quickly devolve and become chaotic if users don’t place their files in the appropriate folder, class, semester, etc. If you are unsure or have questions regarding where to store a piece of content, ask the faculty member whose class you’re in for directions.
The server reboots itself daily at 4:00 AM. This ensures that the server’s system memory registers are refreshed and restored to a startup state that provides optimum resource availability when you call upon them. This also means that you should stay aware of how long your upload(s)/download(s) will take to accomplish. The server will restart at 4:00 AM every day regardless of whether or not a transfer is taking place.
The server will be completely erased annually on the second Monday of May. There will be no backup of any content on the server. Though the server is large, it has limited space; therefore, it needs to be freed up at the end of every academic year. If you want to retain any content on the server prior to it being completely erased, you must provide your own storage solution and back up all desired content by the second Monday of May.