About
Students, Faculty, and Staff have a variety of option for data storage. The key difference between the options is whether or not your data is backed up.
Data Storage Options
Flash / USB / Thumb Drives
Never use these devices as the only storage location for a file. While great for temporary storage and for moving files from location to location, these drives tend to fail at the most inopportune time. We see this at least once per term
On your personally owned Windows computer hard disk
This is the default storage location for the vast majority of personally owned computers
Hard disk sizes on laptops and desktops very wildly, with 1 TB or higher drives becoming popular - especially for desktops
While handy, this method is susceptible to the failure of the hard disks. The question is not if, but when a drive will fail
Solid State Drives (SSD) are also becoming very popular. While very quick and reliable, the risk of total data loss is significant if the drive fails
You need to have a backup solution in place
On your college-issued Windows computer
By default, the folder redirection process places items placed desktop or in My Documents is stored on the College's servers. These servers are backed up nightly
If you work on a full-fledged computer, you may store data on the local hard disk. However, data stored on the local hard disk is NOT backed up by ITS
Laptops will sync to your redirected folders each time you connect to the campus network, Your data will be backed up that night
"Home Accounts" on Faculty, Staff, or Student Servers
Directly associated with folder redirection, Home Accounts offer data storage on Knox's servers. The amount of storage you have available is defined by your role at the College. The storage may be upped for valid academic or business needs
Faculty: 20 GB
Staff: 10 GB
Students 10 GB
Data stored on your home account is backed up nightly
See here for instructions on accessing your home account
Departmental Accounts
Departmental Accounts are available for users to store data which needs to be shared members of a department
Storage in these locations is limited to available space on College servers
See here for instructions on accessing Departmental Accounts
Google Drive / Google Drive File Stream
As a Google Apps for Education institution, all Students, Faculty, and Staff have unlimited data storage while formally attending or working for the College
Google Drive File Stream in access method in which your Google Drive appears as a "Drive Letter" (Windows) or Folder (Mac) on your computer
Data stored on Google servers is constantly backup across multiple servers
See here for more information using Google Drive and Google Drive File Stream