E-Infrastructure

Here is the collection of information pertaining to the e-infrastructure resources available for software access and data processing. Specific highlights are the virtual desktop (VDI) system and storage drives for use with fourMs related data at RITMO.

Reminder: Data Classification

Color Classification System

Data color classification for UiO

Privacy and information safety is important at RITMO. To make it easier to comply with the law, UiO divides information into four color classes based on protection needs of the data. These colors are used to dictate how you interact with the data. Most of the data at RITMO is considered yellow.

All about the system and how to classify your data

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE RESEARCHER TO CLASSIFY THEIR DATA

Color -> Storage

Each color class has different guidelines for where the data can be stored and processed. Remember to follow UiO Data Storage Guide.

Where can I save my data?

A variety of solutions are available for data storage depending on what color classification of data you have. Here is a list of most common locations you may use at RITMO and information on use. General information on UiO storage services

Personal Storage

Data storage linked to your UiO user account. Note: When you are done at RITMO these are usually deleted so make sure anything collaborative is saved elsewhere. 

  • OneDrive
    • Online disk replacement for the M drive. Personal home directory that also can be used to share documents with sharepoint. Note: larger files are very difficult to share so chose something different for videos
  • Home area (M drive)
    • Your home directory is your personal storage area at the UiO. It is used, among other things, for personal files and setup files for various software. Your home directory should not be used for storing documents that should be accessible to others. This is being phased out so newer employees will only have the OneDrive
  • GoogleWorkspace
    • Cloud storage used at RITMO for collaboration of documents. This is only ok up to yellow data so make sure nothing is shared that should not be. 

Shared Storage

  • RITMO Felles Drive
  • TSD (services for sensitive data)
    • Most projects in the fourMs lab will not need to use TSD. However, it exists as a secure solution for sensitive data if needed.
  • Educloud 
    • Educloud Research is a project-oriented self-service Platform as a Service. It allows outside UiO users access to projects too. Right now it is not recommended for most users due to licensed software needs. 

Should I store anything on the hard drive of my PC?

NO! 

UiO PC standard setup for the hard drive (/C:-disk /D:-disk) is meant for software and other system files. Do not store documents on the hard drive of your UiO PC, local hard drives are not backed up. If the hard drive breaks or you spill coffee on it or the PC is stolen, your documents will be lost.

 

Full list of storage solutions at UiO can be found here

What other computing resources are there besides my PC?

Program Kiosk

Application kiosk gives you access to your home area and a large amount of programs without having to install the programs on the machine you are using. While the connection is most stable when using VMWare horizon client, there is also a webversion of programkiosk available at view.uio.no

Virtual Desktop

A virtual desktop interface (VDI) gives you access to a virtual UiO machine with the fourMs lab specific software and processing power you need. It is a secure method for computing needs beyond your PC. The RITMO Felles drive is also able to be directly accessed. This is suited for processing motion capture data for example. This was accessed through VMWare Horizon Client and is now called Omnissa Horizon Client. 

HPC Resources

A variety of high performance computing (HPC) resources are available when the standard options and VDI are insufficient. 

Fox

Fox is a powerful HPC-cluster available to all users of the Educloud Research infrastructure and is the recommended choice for RITMO HPC needs.

Other helpful things

What about securely sending files?

Refer to the UiO Data Storage Guide about recommendations for file transfer. FileSender is a web based application that allows authenticated users to securely and easily send large files to other users. The purpose of this software is to enable researchers and research groups to share data. With this service researchers can send a large file to someone, have that file available for download for a certain number of downloads and/or a certain amount of time, and after that automatically delete the file. The software is not intended as a permanent file publishing platform.

What do I do if I deleted something?

Information on restoring files from backup can be found at: Help! I have lost my document

Are there any AI tools available?

There are several options and tools available at UiO