Research File System

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Research File System

• Getting to your research data from anywhere

Indiana University Research Technologies
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What is RFS?

• desktop-mountable
• widely accessible
• shareable
• secure
• fault tolerant

The Research File System was designed to provide
Indiana University researchers a storage space
with the following criteria
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What can RFS do?

• Access from nearly anywhere
• Share data with other RFS users
• 10GB or more of storage
• Backed up nightly
• Replicate reference information or programs

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Why should I use RFS?

• Backed up daily
• One day backup folder
• Project space
• Universal name space
• Widely accessible
• Extremely robust

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How do I use RFS?

• Getting an account
• Mounting RFS
• OpenAFS client
• Samba
• Access from Web
• sftp/scp access
• Project space / sharing

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Getting an RFS Account

• Go to http//itaccounts.iu.edu
• Create an account under Manage Accounts
• Available to faculty, staff, and graduate
  students
• Account generated in about 15 minutes
• Automatically added to rfs-announce-l list

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Mounting RFS - OpenAFS

• Download OpenAFS client and kerberos from
  http//openafs.org
• Follow KB instructions for details on configuring
  kerberos and AFS files
• Need to acquire kerberos tickets every day
• command line tools for managing access and
  creating groups

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Mounting RFS - Samba

• Use built in server mounts in Windows
• //rfs.iu.edu/username (Windows)
• smb//rfs.iu.edu/username (Mac)
• Need to authenticate against ADS.IU.EDU
• Is slower since this works through a gateway

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RFS from the Web

• RFS is available at https//rfs.iu.edu
• Can upload, download, rename, etc.
• Slower since going through a gateway
• Accessible outside IU network without VPN

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RFS via sftp or scp

• sftp or scp tools can get to RFS
• Provides encrypted protocol if required
• Useful for platforms incapable of running OpenAFS
  or samba
• Accessible outside IU network without VPN

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RFS Project Space

• Dedicated project space available
• Admin group and access group created
• Admin group controls members of access group
• Access group members access project space
• No shared password or group accounts

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Gateway Protocols
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What about HPSS?
Do we want to compare to GPFS and DC as well?
what else to compare
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Limits of RFS?

• Quota
• 10GB limit by default
• more available upon request
• Off campus must use VPN except for sftp and web
  access
• Kerberos tickets can expire

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OpenAFS - RFS core

• OpenAFS originally developed at CMU in the 1980s
• Distributed file system
• Extremely robust
• Can move user files between servers while users
  working with files

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Structure of OpenAFS
File Server 1
Client
Data
User Volume
File Server 2
Meta-Data
Database Server
Database Server
Meta-Data
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Hardware Implementation

• 4 file servers
• 64 bit
• 4GB RAM
• dual 2Gb FC HBA
• 4 gateways
• 64 bit
• 4GB RAM
• 2 DS4800 SAN disk controllers
• 50 TB total capacity
• RAID 5 configuration

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RFS Distributed
IUB
IUPUI
Gateway 1
Gateway 1
Gateway 2
Gateway 2
File Server 2
File Server 2
File Server 1
File Server 1
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Q A