| Services & How They Work | Overall Storage Quota | Accessing Content on the Go | Document Synchronization Across Devices | File Sharing | Backing up Files | Other Considerations |
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Google Drive (formerly Google Docs) Part of your UM Google account, Drive is a personal stash of files that you can access with a web browser or mobile device wherever you go. You can upload most file formats, but it is primarily geared toward word processing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Drive gives you the ability to work on, create, or edit your documents right inside of the web browser. |
Unlimited for docs created in Drive; 5gb for uploaded files. |
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Great for collaboration and real-time editing; note that Google Drive is not compliant with regulated data (except for FERPA). |
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Online storage space where you can upload any file. The agreement between UM and Box gives us a HUGE amount of storage space. |
50gb |
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Ross Xerox machines scan directly to your Box account. Not compliant with regulated data (except for FERPA). |
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Ross Network (U: drive) On Ross machines connected to the Ross domain, the U: drive is your "My Documents" folder. Anything stored inside that folder is backed up at regular intervals. |
20gb |
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Ross Network (R: drive) On Ross machines connected to the Ross domain, the R: drive is the "root" folder of everything on the network. GuestFTP resides here. |
Variable |
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Files put within the "GuestFTP" folder in the R: drive can be accessed by non-UM colleagues. Instructions can be found here. | |||
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Ross Network (S: drive) On Ross machines connected to the Ross domain, the S: drive is a shortcut to a network location on the R: drive that is shared only within a department. |
Variable |
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No one outside of your department will have the same S: drive as you. | ||
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Portable Hard Drive or USB Flash Drive Can be a full-size portable external hard drive, a smaller "pocket size" hard drive, or a really small USB "thumb" drive. |
Varies |
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As these can get pretty small, be careful not to lose them. | |
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Recordable CD or DVD Most computers will have a CD/DVD-RW drive (or at least the capability to connect with one). If you purchase "burnable" CD or DVDs, you can write files or data onto them to keep or share. |
DVD: 4.7gb CD: 700mb |
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CDs and DVDs can degrade over time, and therefore are not recommended for permanent archival storage. | |
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"Local" Drive This will commonly be referred to as your "C: drive," but it contains every file and folder stored within, including your Desktop. |
Varies | In the event of a hard drive failure, data is often not recoverable. Try not to store data "locally." | ||||
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Sharepoint An online organizational tool for managing and sharing content. |
Varies |
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Only available to Fac/Staff. | ||
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iCloud Apple's "cloud" storage service is limited to the data that you sync with your iPad, iPhone or other iDevice. Usually, syncing your device with iTunes will automatically backup the device to iCloud. |
5gb |
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Only backs up content from iDevices. | ||
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Provided by ITS, this service provides regularly scheduled, automatic, secure backup and easy-to-manage disaster recovery for individual faculty and staff computers. It encrypts and saves multiple copies of your files on remote, secure servers. |
Differing plans, from 40 to 200 gb. |
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Available to faculty and staff, through ITS, for a small fee. | |||
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Other Cloud Storage Services Google Drive and Box aren't the only services out there. Dropbox, SugarSync, and Microsoft Skydrive are examples of competing services with similar features. |
Varies |
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For tips on how to manage sensitive regulated data, please see the University of Michigan's policy.