Data classified as "Level 1 - Confidential Information" by the KU Data Classification & Handling Policy, including information protected by HIPPA (health info), FERPA (student records), GLB (financials) and PCI (e-commerce), should not be stored on KU group file storage or personal file storage via KU Central File Storage. For a complete list of data classified as "Level 1" please see the KU Data Classification & Handling Policy: Appendix 1. Please contact your Technology Support Staff regarding the special permissions and processes required to store Level 1 data.
Users can access their stored folders and files from home or a remote location by connecting to the server through the KU Anywhere Virtual Private Network (VPN) service. The use of VPN technology ensures that access to files is protected when using the Internet for connectivity. Please note: Users will not be able to login to the HOME domain from outside of KU and should use permanent (persistent) mapping of shares, a script to mount shares, or manual mapping to access their network drives.
File systems are automatically backed up on a daily basis through snap-shotting and traditional back up to tape.
Self-Service File Recovery (snapshots)
A snapshot is a locally retained point-in-time image of data. A snapshot is a "frozen," read-only view of a volume that provides easy access to previous versions of files and directories. Users can directly access snapshot copies to recover accidental deletions, corruptions, or modifications of their data. The procedure for self-service file recovery can be found here for Microsoft or here for non-Microsoft operating systems.
Since the security of the file is retained in the snapshot copy, the restoration is both secure and simple and eliminates the need to involve KU IT in the restoration process.
The space required to keep snapshots does not count toward share quotas and is considered a benefit of the storage service. Snapshots are taken once a day and retained for 10 days.
Off-Site Backups
All files are backed up to tape daily, and after one week, the data is stored off-site for 90 days.
