File Storage

There are multiple options available to students, faculty and staff on storage provided by the University.

Local storage includes Files, X Drive and RS (Research Storage available for researchers) are hosted on campus and can be accessed via any personal computer using an Iowa State VPN.

Cloud storage is hosted on the cloud by third party services, including options like CyBox, OneDrive, etc., and can be accessed anywhere with an internet connection.

Local Storage

Available as storage that is hosted on campus, but could be mapped for access on your home computer using an Iowa State VPN.

Files (U: Drive)

All students, faculty, and staff in the College of Engineering are provided with a home directory for storing data (U: Drive). The home directory is the same whether you are logging in via Windows or Linux and can be accessed from anywhere using the University VPN service. Student home directories have a limit of 10GB.

To access your Home Directory see the information below:

Windows Computers
  1. If off campus connect to VPN.
  2. Open Computer (from Desktop or Start Menu).
  3. Click “Map network drive” from tool bar (near top of window).
  4. Select your drive letter (any drive letter will work).
  5. Next to folder enter \\my.docs.iastate.edu\Users\<netid> (if on campus skip to step number 8)
  6. If you would like your MyFiles path to attempt to reconnect at login you can select the check box “Reconnect at logon.”
    • Note: The drive will fail to map if you are not connected to the University VPN service when not on the campus network.
  7. Check the box next to “Connect using different credentials.”
  8. Click Finish. (if on campus skip to step number 12)
  9. A login box will appear.
  10. Enter your username as: yournetid@iastate.edu
    • Note: Replace yournetid with your University netid.
  11. Enter your University password in the Password box.
  12. Click OK.
  13. You should now see your drive mapped.

Apple Macintosh Computers
  1. Connect to VPN.
  2. Click on Finder in the dock (should be far left icon).
  3. Click on the Go menu (top of screen).
  4. Select Connect to Server.
  5. In the Server Address enter smb://my.docs.iastate.edu/Users/<netid>
    • Note: replace deptshare with your departmental share name; this is usually your department or college’s shortname, such as engr or las. Department shares may end with a dollar sign ($).
  6. Click Connect.
  7. If you receive a login prompt, enter the following information:
    • Username: yournetid@iastate.edu (replace yournetid with your University netid).
    • Password: Enter your University password.
  8. You should now be taken to your MyFiles Storage.
Linux Lab Computers
Please Note: These instructions are pertinent for Linux computer labs managed by ETG. If you need assistance with a different Linux system, please contact ETG.
  1. Start the “Thunar” application.
  2. Select “Go” from the menu on top and then select “Open Location”.
  3. In the location field (top of window next to the house icon) enter smb://my.docs.iastate.edu/Users/<netid>
  4. Press Enter
  5. If you receive a login prompt, enter the following information:
    • Connect as Registered User
    • Username: yournetid (replace yournetid with your University netid).
    • Domain: iastate
    • Password: Enter your University password.
  6. You should now be taken to your Files Storage.

X Drive

All students, faculty, and staff in Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineering are provided with a Linux home directory for storing data. Likewise, all systems in the department are configured to use your Linux home directory when you log in to Linux and will map in windows as the X drive.

The home directory is the same whether you are logging in via Windows or Linux and can be accessed from anywhere using the University VPN service. Student home directories have a limit of 100GB.

To access your Home Directory see the information below:

Windows Computers
  1. If off campus connect to VPN.
  2. Open Computer (from Desktop or Start Menu).
  3. Click “Map network drive” from tool bar (near top of window).
  4. Select your drive letter (any drive letter will work).
  5. Next to folder enter \\xfiles.ece.iastate.edu\home\<netid> (if on campus skip to step number 8)
  6. If you would like your X files path to attempt to reconnect at login you can select the check box “Reconnect at logon.”
    • Note:  This is discouraged if off campus as the drive will fail to map if you are not connected to the University VPN service when not on the campus network.
  7. Check the box next to “Connect using different credentials.”
  8. Click Finish. (if on campus skip to step number 12)
  9. A login box will appear.
  10. Enter your username as: yournetid@iastate.edu
    • Note: Replace yournetid with your University netid.
  11. Enter your University password in the Password box.
  12. Click OK.
  13. You should now see your drive mapped.
Apple Macintosh Computers
  1. Connect to VPN.
  2. Click on Finder in the dock (should be far left icon).
  3. Click on the Go menu (top of screen).
  4. Select Connect to Server.
  5. In the Server Address enter smb://xfiles.ece.iastate.edu/home/<netid>
  6. Click Connect.
  7. If you receive a login prompt, enter the following information:
    • Username: yournetid@iastate.edu (replace yournetid with your University netid).
    • Password: Enter your University password.
  8. You should now be taken to your X drive storage.

Research Storage (Departmental Storage)

Available to researchers, RS is provided as a free departmental storage with restorable snapshots in the event data is lost. RS has the limit of 1TB per research group, and has the ability to do granular file permissions which CyBox, Google Drive, and LSS cannot. It could be accessed through the University VPN service.

To access your Home Directory see the information below:

Windows Computers
  1. If off campus connect to VPN.
  2. Open Computer (from Desktop or Start Menu).
  3. Click “Map network drive” from tool bar (near top of window).
  4. Select your drive letter (any drive letter will work).
  5. Next to folder enter \\rs.ece.iastate.edu\research\<netid> (if on campus skip to step number 8)
  6. If you would like your RS files path to attempt to reconnect at login you can select the check box “Reconnect at logon.”
    • Note:  This is discouraged if off campus as the drive will fail to map if you are not connected to the University VPN service when not on the campus network.
  7. Check the box next to “Connect using different credentials.”
  8. Click Finish. (if on campus skip to step number 12)
  9. A login box will appear.
  10. Enter your username as: yournetid@iastate.edu
    • Note: Replace yournetid with your University netid.
  11. Enter your University password in the Password box.
  12. Click OK.
  13. You should now see your drive mapped.
Apple Macintosh Computers
  1. Connect to VPN.
  2. Click on Finder in the dock (should be far left icon).
  3. Click on the Go menu (top of screen).
  4. Select Connect to Server.
  5. In the Server Address enter smb://rs.ece.iastate.edu/research/<netid>
  6. Click Connect.
  7. If you receive a login prompt, enter the following information:
    • Username: yournetid@iastate.edu (replace yournetid with your University netid).
    • Password: Enter your University password.
  8. You should now be taken to your RS drive storage.

Cloud storage

Cloud storage allows you store and share files for your own use, and share with others at ISU, or with collaborators anywhere in the world.

Cloud storage is a good solution for collaborative documents, small files, or archives of large files. It is not recommended for large data files that you are actively working with, as the transfer time up/down from the Box cloud service will be too long to be useful.

If you plan to use cloud storage for research data, we strongly encourage you to ask ETG for the lab which will persist independently of any individual user account.  This will protect your data in the event that a postdoc, grad student, or PI leaves, allowing the lab to retain access to the data.  

Details on cloud storage options, accessibility and storage comparisons can be seen here: IT Services – File Storage